Hey kids, did you enjoy SDCC! Well, it’s time to react to what was shown on the Marvel Legends side of things. Why? I don’t know, but I’m going to do it anyway.
As with every SDCC, it’s been a busy couple of days. Lots of news, lots of new toys, Disney fired a Gunn, stuff happened. I will admit up front that this SDCC didn’t really ignite my pilot light in the way past years have. Now, of course, a lot of stuff was shown that I’ll be buying, but I didn’t have that one figure that really made me “Wow!” You know the figure I’m talking about. Maybe you got yours this year. We all have that one figure that really pops out our eyes and makes it all worthwhile. The good news is that there are plenty of conventions now, so maybe I only have to wait until the next one.
Anyway, let’s tackle the stuff Hasbro put out early, the figures that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Hasbro would not be making any more comic figures other than the ones that they proceeded to show off, because the internet reacts at the speed of da-doi. Or however you spell that thing Britta always said.
Black Panther pretty much caught everyone by surprise, both by how good it was and by how much money it made. It made about a holycrapillion dollars. I ended up with the all of the movie figures because they looked so good, and that was before I watched the movie. After watching the movie, all I could think was “Where’s Shuri?” Number one, because the character was just as important as any of the others that actually got toys, and number two because she was frickin’ adorable and stole every scene she was in. So yeah, my own Shuri-crush besides, Shuri was missing from this little group of BP figures I ended up getting. Well, not only are they making her, but they’re trotting out M’Baku and a whole extra wave of Black Panther figures.
The Black Panther character designs are decidedly ornate, and that translates into gorgeous figures. Even if you’re a messed up individual that doesn’t like the movie, you have to admit that these are great looking toys. Unlike the previous Panther wave, there’s not a comic figure to be found amidst this assortment, so the comic purists won’t have to bitch, and the movie purists won’t have to bitch. Will this be a trend going forward? Probably not. Bitching is eternal!
The only lamentable aspect of all of this is the lack of a proper comic-styled M’Baku. I have to think they’re just trying to find an avenue for him. I have to!
Just in case you haven’t bought enough Deadpool and Deadpool-related figures, the Ultimate Riders line will be getting Deadpool on a Vespa along with Dogpool. I admit, I am out of touch on Deadpool comics, so I’m at a loss as to the amount of Deadpool related characters there are. Dogpool, Headpool, Lady Deadpool, I think I saw a Squirrelpool?…We’re in the deep end of the pool, ladies and gentlemen. They keep showing up and I keep being surprised by them. Despite how many Deadpools I already own, I’ll end up with this. Mainly for the Vespa. Is it canonically called a Vespapool? Can it be?
The vintage wave continues to be strange. I kind of want it to stick to the theme of literal 1:1 releases of updated versions of characters from the vintage Marvel Superheroes line, but Black Widow already screwed that up in the first wave, so apparently this is just a random line for random toys that don’t have a spot.
I can live with that, because it’s kind of turned into an Avengers wave.
I had the same kind of “wrong body” problems with Ant Man that many had, but I’ll get over them. He and Wasp look great. I need a lot of Wasps. I do wish she was on a smaller body, as Wasp has always been super-tiny, even before she shrunk. Not every Marvel chick needs to be an amazon. I’m fine with the Scarlet Spider I have, but Vision and Hawkeye are must haves. I knew they’d end up releasing every other Vision before the classic one. I’ve disliked every other classic Vision (all two of them) but this one finally looks like the search is over. Oh, and he comes with an Ultron head, because Hasbro is just trolling me at this point.
Man, I need an FA Wonder Man to go with Vision now. Maybe the next Vintage Wave can provide that.
There’s an exclusive movie Ultron that I’ll pass on, but also a deluxe Archangel. Now, deluxe figures with additional accessories is a concept I can get behind, because it can serve a wide variety of offerings. Hopefully this is the start of something big. I have the previous Archangel but I’ll be getting this one as well. Maybe they can continue to release Apocalypse attachments with random figures.
Onward and upward to the Marvel panel. As I said way up at the beginning, nothing shown during the panel really made my jaw drop. I was a little let down when it was all over, to be honest, mainly because I keep wanting to see things like classic Iron man or Thor, or Graviton and Count Nefaria, Loki, Wizard, Quasar, Squirrel girl…basically, if I’ve done a Legendary Focus on it, I want to see it at SDCC. This was not the year for that.
It started off with modern Hercules. That was kind of a bummer to me, as I would love to get a better version of Hasbro’s initial attempt. It’s not fair of me to poo-poo this costume, because I haven’t read anything with him wearing it yet, so I will probably be cool with it once I do. I’m simple like that. Simple minded, too. I think I have the first trade sitting in my gigantic pile of things to read, so, you know, give me a second and I’ll probably be cool. This is the time when I wish they would do multi-costume boxsets. Just imagine a set with skirt-Hercules, 80s chest strap Hercules and this modern Hercules, all at once. If you just scoffed at such a thing, then we can’t be friends, and I don’t validate parking.
Some new Spider-Man stuff was shown, and another minor disappointment was on the lack of Spider-verse costumes. No Assassin Spidey or the like. Instead, we got the recent new symbiote suit. I haven’t caught up to Slott’s Spidey run yet—good grief I am behind on so many things—so I’ll be more enthused when I read it.
And here’s a picture of Red Goblin.
Yep, that is the Red Goblin.
I don’t mind. I don’t care (yet), but I don’t mind. Green Goblin with a symbiote? Sure. I already got Doc Ock with a Symbiote, what’s one more? It’s feeling a little 1990s up in this bitch, but that’s to be expected.
The new Black Cat looks good, and Silver Sable is a welcome addition. She’s been around for quite a long time, so it’s nice to finally get a figure for her. The most important thing of all is the BAF (that I pronounce like a word, so suck it) for the wave: Kingpin.
I felt a little bit of that old stirring in my never-nevers when Kingpin was shown. First of all, because it looks great, with excellent proportions, and second of all, because it adds a new body-type. Mr. Fixit, Mr Hyde—basically if they’re big and their first name is “Mr.” then this body gets us on the road to getting them. Just…don’t make me wait forever.
I do wish Kingpin had purple pants, though. Or blue. There’s a precedent for white, but still, I like the contrast.
Next up, we’ve got some X-men. Ever since I joined Fwoosh, people have been shitting themselves over Blink. 
I’ve never read Exiles (I know, I know) but from what I hear it’s pretty good. Blink was a major part of it, so, you know, good for those who wanted a Blink.
Professor X and his hoverchair is finally making an appearance. Again, people have been making with the excrement for quite some time over him. So he’s another one that gets scratched off a lot of lists.
On to the showing that tweaked my personal buds: Skullbuster of the Reavers. There’s a heavy Deathlok reuse going on here, but it makes sense. I’m just happy that the Reavers are on the table. I love robots and cyborgs and all that crap. How long it will take to get through all the Reavers (if any more are even coming) I don’t know, but I do know I want Bonebreaker next! Half man, half tank, all awesome.
I’m dying over here for an updated classic Colossus, but, you know…
Gambit was the crowd-pleaser. You had to know he was an absolute inevitability. I have the old Gambit figure, but I remember his limbs being so loose his fabric trenchcoat was practically load-bearing. This one looks to be an improvement in every way. Now to have him call Rogue “cher” five cajunillion times.
I can’t get excited after all the previous rumors, but here’s hoping the BAF for this wave is Strong Guy.
And finally (I think) the sneak peeks. Again, nothing really groundbreaking. I have no idea what that one thing, but Zola’s head is the best guess I’ve seen. I guess it’s a modern Zola? Either way, they’ve got the body already so it would make sense.
Oh, wait, there was also last-minute Genis-Vell. Again, something I haven’t read, but it is a cool as hell look. Part of the upcoming Captain Marvel series, which will hopefully have classic Drax. I don’t even know why, other than space. Space counts, right? Just dump all the space things into the wave. Anyway, yeah, cool.
I think that covers almost everything, and in conclusion: where the hell is Squirrel Girl?