Released in 2009, Marvel Universe brought waves of joy to the 3.75-inch figure collectors, and a tsunami of terror and blinding rage to many 6-inch Marvel fans. Five years and over 20 waves later, these little guys are still hanging in there, albeit under a different name and new packaging. While not the focus of many Fwoosh collectors, Marvel Universe has turned out to be quite an expansive line, and it deserves its moment in the sun. With comic packs, team box sets, oversized figures, and tons of exclusives, Dave Vonner and Hasbro did a most admirable job in creating a wide-ranging universe in such a short period of time.
The first wave was released in 2009, and it was clear that this wasn’t going to be a line of just A-listers for the kiddies. Sure, it had Spider-Man and Wolverine, but also included were Black Panther and Bullseye, who, while not exactly the bottom of the barrel, were good indicators that Hasbro was willing to make characters not prominently featured on t-shirts and lunchboxes. The launch had a bit of a “wow” factor in that it was the first true Marvel line of that scale and had eye catching card art, had decent accessories (paper and plastic), and incorporated an online experience. The problem was that the toys themselves weren’t all that great. They weren’t the god-forsaken “Happy Meal toy” that some people claimed, but they weren’t what you’d expect from Hasbro—the reigning kings of that scale.
Lucky for all of us, Hasbro learned from its mistakes and made the effort to improve their product.
Single releases under the Marvel Universe banner continued until the end of 2013. As a whole, the figures were light years ahead of those initial releases. Reuse has always been heavy with this line (as is the case with most modern toy lines), but the figures themselves no longer have that cheap feel to them that some of the earlier figures had. Sculpts were sharpened and articulation was added and/or improved. We even got some pretty decent paint applications. They still aren’t up to par with G.I. Joe in my eyes, but they’ve come a long way since those early days.
One complaint that I do have is that the later releases no longer came with much in the way of extras, despite the always inevitable price increase. Of course, I don’t much care about the omission of the file cards or random energy blasts, but the stands are definitely missed. Marvel Universe figures shelf dive like nobody’s business, and those stands always came in handy.
Not resting on the single-carded wave concept, Hasbro took advantage of the scale and offered a wide variety of product that it could release under the “Universe” banner. Comic packs and team packs gave us some clever (and not so clever) repaints as well as some new sculpting. Gigantic Battles was the incredible concept that paired one 12-inch oversized figure with the standard Marvel Universe figure. It was inventive, clever, and a something new for superhero fans. So, of course, they were nearly impossible to find. Added to that already impressive roster of product are the Masterworks figures—the Sentinel and Galactus. Each figure was a whopping 19 inches tall and included sounds, lights, and an MU figure pack-in.
We were also treated to a number of comic-con and online exclusives over the years, and any line that gives me an Invaders box set is tops in my book. Unlike many other exclusive offers, I never had any particular trouble getting the ones that I wanted.
I cherry-picked the first two waves of Marvel Legends before an extended break from toys, so Marvel Universe was my first big chance to create an entire world of my favorite heroes and villains. As we all know, the toys themselves will still be available under the “Marvel Infinite” banner, but I have to wonder if the glory days are behind us. With the Gigantic Battles and Masterworks additions, Marvel Universe became one of my favorite lines to keep an eye on, but I can’t help but feel that it never fully reached it potential. Will we ever get Ghost Rider’s bike? The Fansticar? Lockjaw?? I hope so, but I guess only time will tell.
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