There was so much going on this year at SDCC. Usually a few good things will pop up here and there that grab the eye for a second, but they’re quickly overshadowed by THAT BIG AWESOME NEWS OVER HERE!!1!11!
But this year there was awesome news all over the place. At least that’s how it was for me. I’ve already gone on about the great stuff coming out from Hasbro, both Marvel and Star Wars Black, but there are a few other things that were really exciting that need attention.
VeeBee already covered Mattel’s MOTUC reveals, and I pretty much agree with his overall assessment. Ninjor is the one I was hoping to see, and he doesn’t disappoint at all. A figure I never got in the vintage line getting a stellar release in today’s line is always the epitome of toy nirvana. I also dug the Alcala He-Man, with that brand new head sculpt that will become the new standard just like the Alcala Skeletor head quickly became the new standard for Skeletor. The vintage toy head is unexpected but awesome.
Transformers didn’t have much to talk about. Canonball covered those in his reaction article. Superion looks like he might be a purchase.
My man DisThunder was just a weeee bit excited over the next reveal. Mezco is Jumping with full force back into the 1/12th toy world with their One:12th line, and as everybody and their mudda knows by now, the first figure out of the gate is a Dark Knight Returns Batman. I’ll be honest, I get a little fatigued over Batman occasionally, only because it seems like he sparks a certain level of obsession. I like a full DC Universe, and Batman’s only a component of that. But the power of this reveal was beyond doubt. Fun toys are fun, and I can’t wait to get every flavor of Batman they pump out. And if they’re actually planning an ’89 Batman, I’ll plotz. Hearing Universal Monsters mentioned was already enough to make my heart pitter-pat with excitement.
Gentle Giant are doing their best to kill me. If I were made of money, I’d have a toy room that was wallpapered in their 12-inch vintage Star Wars recreations. Without a doubt, those are three-dimensional art pieces to me, as valid as a print of a Rembrandt. And now they’re entering the world of the 3¾-inch GI Joe. Come on! Killing me. I need Snake Eyes, of course, but I’m also heavily into the Stalker and Rock ‘n Roll. I wonder how deep they’ll be going. Expensive stuff, ladies and gentlemen.
Bandai Japan‘s inevitable, but welcome, Luigi to match their impeccable Mario looks great. Never having had a Nintendo or Super Nintendo, I never really played any of the original Super Mario games until the Gameboy Advance, but even without the technicality of “nostalgia” behind it these have been and are some of my most anticipated toys.
Sideshow had one new figure up that really caught my eye: Pinhead. I need this figure towering over my existence.
NECA finally showed off their Ripley figure from Alien, a long awaited addition that makes the Alien world feel that much more complete. They also brought out more of their 8-bit video game throwbacks, including Robocop versus Terminator (no updated articulation, unfortunately), and, oddest of all, a video game-styled ’89 Batman.
We’re all pretty confused how this happened. The bad news is there’s no plans to release this in standard black, the good news is black paint and a brush and he’s ready for action. But still, between this and Mezco’s teaser, somebody somewhere needs to put out an ’89 Batman before I lose my mind.
NECA didn’t stop there, bringing out the Rambo most everyone has been waiting for. NECA has been hitting that movie sweet spot like no other company, and as long as they keep putting out high quality iconic movie figures like they’ve been doing, I’ll keep buying. I’m only a short while away from Dutch and Rambo teaming up to kill more Aliens and Predators than they know what to do with. And then recruiting Robocop. Rambo versus ED-209? Works for me.
Ape with a gun!!!!
