The Fantastic Four is my favorite Marvel team. The Thing is my favorite Marvel character. Yes, you should feel very, very bad for me.
If you have been paying attention to comics, movies, and toys over the past several years, you know it has been an incredibly rough go of it as a fan of the First Family. The reasons have been covered ad nauseam during this stretch, but everything from speculation to cold hard facts doesn’t change the fact that F4 fans have been suffering as companies, pride, and marketing have left my favorite heroes practically invisible in all forms. That said, it is almost too on-the-nose appropriate that Sue Storm, The Invisible Woman, seems to be leading the team out of the darkness, and, for action figure collectors like me, back to where they belong: Marvel Legends.
The Hasbro ML panel at SDCC 2016 ended with a revelation for me: the Fantastic Four (or, at least, Sue and HERBIE) were coming back to Legends. But how could this be? How, in the midst of all of the fighting between Marvel and Fox over movie rights (and subsequent lack of branding) and the canceling of comics we have been told about, could it be possible? Frankly, I could not care one lick about the where-tos and why-fors, and what is fact and what is fiction in the cause for the lack of F4 support, all I know is that now, thanks to Hasbro and Walgreens, I have my very first GOOD ML Invisible Woman. And it only took about 17 years to get it.
Yeah, in another turn of the cosmos seemingly frowning upon the Fantastic Four, we have never had good figures of any of the characters. Disagree? That is fine, but I will take anyone to task on the fact that, ever since the second series of the old ToyBiz Legends days, the F4 have been a part of ML, but their figures have always been sub-par. Sure, that original Thing figure had a great head sculpt, but, man, did the articulation suck, Mr. Fantastic has been maligned by poor base body choices and artist-specific likenesses, The Human Torch has had the best luck, but even now, we are getting close to a decade without his presence, and the less said about Sue, the better. That is until now.
Now. The time is NOW. Hasbro has worked with Marvel to get the F4 our there, and by “there” I mean Walgreens. Yes, I would likely have never admitted that a discount drug store would become my action figure church, but it appears that their cooperation is what possibly finally put it all over. This new Invisible Woman is hitting Walgreens stores around the nation, and she is the best Fantastic Four Marvel Legends figure ever. EVER. Plus, Hasbro announced at Toy Fair back in February that The Human Torch would be quick to follow his sister to the drug store, and potential leaked lists and store computers are apparently already showing Mr. Fantastic present as well. Even without my favorite, Ben Grimm, showing anywhere as of yet, I have decided it was time for me to let go of my angst over this. I have been opining for this team for years and years, but now, I am going to TRUST.
I get it, this is only an action figure line, but it is also my hobby, so when it seemed as though I would not get a crack at modern Legends figures of the Fantastic Four, I started to lose interest in the line all together. Yes, I was a very discriminating cherry-picker for a while there, and I almost gave up the entire line at one point for the first time since I found that original Spider-Man Classics Daredevil at Toys R Us almost two decades ago. Not having a chance at the Four soured me so much that I was ready to call it quits. However, since last summer, I am have started to put my faith back in Legends to get me my F4, and I am almost back at full completist status with the line because of it.
I will admit, it is still a bit nerve-wracking waiting on these figures, especially since it will likely take the better part of a couple of years to get the whole group, but this new Invisible Woman figure has me brimming with too much happiness not to embrace the possibilities. Trust is a two way street, I know, but as long as Hasbro, Marvel, and Walgreens stay committed to the team, I will stay committed to them, and I will be buying multiples of each, guaranteed. Yeah, I am VERY specific about getting a CLASSIC team, but as long as Reed matches his wife here (in costume and iconic likeness), I will be good. The Thing is the tallest order due to the unique tooling required and my specific requirements of proper height, costume, and definite lack of teeth, but as uncomfortable as it can be, I am going to close my eyes and put my faith in Hasbro and the designers at Gentle Giant.
So, I will wait with bated breath for Johnny to start hitting this fall, and the additional news that will hopefully come at SDCC this July. I really hope that we get to see Reed then, and if that leaked list is accurate, Silver Surfer might even be getting in on the action as well. Yes, the Thing is the most important one to me, but even a hint at what to expect will keep me satiated — for a time. Sure, having the team (or maybe even their entire corner of the universe) stuck at one retailer can be more of a collecting challenge, but I will stay dedicated if Walgreens does, that is for sure.
I am allowing my tension to subside a bit. I am putting my faith in the fact that the Fantastic Four as a whole might finally be getting the Marvel Legends figures they deserve. If Hasbro can do for Reed and Ben (and maybe Silver Surfer and DOOM(!?) — I am getting ahead of myself here), what they have done for Sue and Johnny, I am going to likely be happy and certainly relieved. That relief makes it so I can enjoy Marvel Legends again as a whole, so bring on Marvel’s First Family. I am ready to have awesome figures of the Fantastic Four, and I am willing to have a little faith that I will. Yes, I have finally learned to stop worrying and trust Marvel Legends.
If you came here looking for an actual review of the Invisible Woman, Pabs has had you covered for several weeks now. Oh, and Reed, you might want to hurry up with, you know, getting released. Walgreens has already released your very specific “Mr. Steal Yo Girl” …
