Brand new Marvel Legends figures weren’t the only ponies sliding up and down the pole this Toy Fair, all decked out in glycerine, glitter, and bad childhoods. Plenty of other companies dragged large bags of toys and dumped them into big piles of wish-fulfillment. While I can’t (and won’t, you can’t make me) be covering everything, I will be reacting to a handful of things that really sizzled my bacon.
I’m going to be tackling what may be the biggest surprise first. Now, for me not to immediately start fingerbanging my love for a certain Super7 showing that started with Trap and ended with Jaw first shows just how taken aback I was with what I’m about to talk about. I was taken aback, front, and side.
I am talking about Neca’s Superman and Batman.
Now, I have to preface this with the fact that I have bought Superman and Batman over and over, dating back to Mego. I have Supermen and Batman coming out of my earballs, and I don’t even have as many as other people, because I haven’t bought every single version of the World’s Finest. Just the big deal ones. So to make me raise my eyebrows and nod my head in appreciation, the Superman and Batman have to really be something for me to be excited about a DC character that isn’t Ambush Bug.
I really, really like this Superman and Batman. Like, these just plain and simple look like cool as hell toys. While there’s no way to know how they play until they’re in-hand, I am seriously looking forward to them. It doesn’t hurt that they’re packed in with Predators and Aliens that are also great-looking figures. I dig those cross-title “blank versus blank” things that happen. Hell, I’m still waiting for someone to do an Archie vs. Punisher. I’m really, seriously waiting. NECA? Mezco? Anyone?
Pile on an armored Batman from the same Batman vs. Predator title the regular Batman was taken from, and NECA really won this round completely. Sure, they’re stylized, but … they just look so damn cool. And being comic-styled, 7-inch-ish figures, it’s a Superman that will fit in with a ton of slightly larger-scaled figures. Finally, a Superman that will look good going against He-Man.
And again, this is “just another Superman and Batman.” They’ve been done before. But these just look badass.
NECA showed off a lot of other cool stuff, but Superman and Batman win this round.
Speaking of He-Man, Super7’s era of Masters of the Universe Classics has been kicking more than the daily recommended allowance of buttocks ever since the announcement of the Ultimate figures. It’s like they’re not going to be satisfied until they’ve got goodwill coming out of their belly buttons.
Two 3-packs were shown off, intended to be exclusives to Powercon and joint offerings with Super7. I hope these are made available to those of us non-attendees like the last exclusives, because I need these sets. Especially the mini-comic box set. Blue-vest Adam might not excite a lot of people, but it’s the Adam I was first exposed to, so it feels like “my” Adam. I Love the Alcala head for him.
Skin-tone Stratos is another varation along the red Beast Man lines that I never thought I’d get, and now he’s coming, and single tear.
Finally, mini-comic Trap Jaw. Trap jaw is my favorite MOTU character as is, and the mini-comic version with the sickly yellow-green skin has been lodged in my brain like a tick that I can’t pull out for more decades than I care to think about. Ever since this line debuted in 2008, I’ve been banging this drum for a mini-comic Trap Jaw any time variants are discussed. Mini-comic versions started showing up pretty early in the line, but Trap jaw wasn’t one of them. Time passed, and passed, and passed … and finally, he’s coming. With regular, Filmation, and now the mini-comic version, I have three flavors of Trap Jaw. The world is good.
If I can get my hands on him, that is.
Super7 also showed off some Filmation figures. I know these divide opinions like a salamander at a samurai showdown, but I absolutely dig these. The Filmation style for MOTU is not something I ever considered wanting, but every time I see them in figure form, I can’t help loving what I see.
Tri-Klops is another character that I want every version of. Now I just need a mini-comics version of him to go along with regular and Filmation, mainly because I’m greedy. Greedy and spoiled. But anything’s possible.
In other news, in Star Wars news, in other, Star Wars news, Jawas are coming. 
Ufrickintifrackinni. This is the fortieth anniversary of Star Wars, which means vintage packaging, and Jawas. Did I mention Jawas? Okay, so there’s only one, but you can’t have just one Jawa. You need at least a couple to carry Artoo, pallbearer style. I am excited for the Jawas. Why am I excited for Jawas? The same reason I’m excited for Sandpeople. Something about those weird desert folk really hit all my warm and fuzzy Star Wars memories, which were created way way underneath the recommended age for pretty much anything.
I’m also excited for the Death Squad Commander, because if there’s anybody you don’t want to piss off, it’s a guy calling himself a “Death Squad Commander.” You don’t shake hands with him, because he shakes your hand … to death.
Love the vintage packing, kind of wish the Black Series had been like this since the beginning.
In sadder news, there was no announcement of a 6-inch G.I. Joe line. Again. Oh well. As I keep saying, there’s always SDCC. Or next year, or … you know. So on. These dreams will never die.