So psyched for Rom! One reason I loved the extra wacky-colored Iron Man speciality armors in his old Toy Biz 5” line was so that I could pretend that they were various Spaceknights.
So psyched for Rom! One reason I loved the extra wacky-colored Iron Man speciality armors in his old Toy Biz 5” line was so that I could pretend that they were various Spaceknights.
Akatsuki wins this week’s Golden Neutralizer Award for his unwavering loyalty to the Greatest of the Spaceknights!
The spinner rack can appear at any time if they make more of the comics, so no big loss there at the moment.
I am a little surprised this isn't at Walmart and Target though. I would have guessed they went this route of similar to the retro cards in hopes of getting this line to those retailers.
Love the cardbacks! Hopefully this is an ongoing series that anybody could be in.
Oh very snazzy. I love the contrast of the blue band against the black background. It's bold, but still manages to let the figures shine. Figure specific logos are great too.
The spinner rack can appear at any time if they make more of the comics, so no big loss there at the moment.
I am a little surprised this isn't at Walmart and Target though. I would have guessed they went this route of similar to the retro cards in hopes of getting this line to those retailers.
I'm really surprised, too. It has three "big names" that would sell to the casual buyer (an Iron Man, a Spider-Man, a "Wolverine"), plus an old school X-Men member, a shiny "robot" and a guy with some MCU name recognition. It seems tailor made for big box retail.
Love the cardbacks! Hopefully this is an ongoing series that anybody could be in.
I actually totally agree - the Cardbacks are pretty snazzy. Honestly, if the numbers are decent on this I could see them maybe transitioning to this style as the replacement for the BAF series to cut costs... I wouldn't love losing the BAF aspect, but it's obvious they've been straying from it more and more. No BaF for Spider-Man waves, no BAF for retro card waves, no BAF for anniversary product releases... the sun may finally be setting on the Build a Figure era... Unless we buy the shit out of that next X-Men wave and make them think the BaF is too good to give up on
I view the pack-in "comics" in much the same way as I do the trading cards with the DC Multiverse stuff. They don't sway me one way or another, but if people really like their inclusion and it doesn't impact the price, then cool. With these, I'll likely throw them into a bin in case I want to do something with them down the line (unlike the cards, which 90% of the time go right in the recycle bin with the package). Seeing as they are using it as a "theme" to unify and sell a wave with otherwise unrelated characters, I'm fine with them being in there.
I'm beyond ecstatic to be getting Rom in this line. I never had the toy as a kid, and honestly I didn't care for it based on the commercials I saw back then, but I read the hell out of the comic series. Back then I wanted toys of Rom and Micronauts that were based on their comic looks, as they were WAY cooler than the actual toys. Having even one of those realized after so many decades is such a joy for me.
Yeah, if it's between mini-comics and BAF parts, there's no contest for me. I have little to no interest in these mini-comics that don't even come with any type of code to read them. Many of my favorite Marvel Legends that I own were BAFs.
The mini comics are NOT replacing BAF parts. There's no equivalency there at all. GillMan's comparison to trading cards is probably the closest thing they come to. Yes, there may be fewer BAF waves, but those also tend to be the ones that hit clearance hard for whatever reason. I think people may be reading too much into why these things are included other than them being a cute gimmick.
The mini comics ARE replacing BAF parts in that this wave could have been done as a BAF wave certainly - especially since it's Fan Channel only and not going to big box retail - and instead it's being done this way. They chose not to make this a BAF wave in favor of this tiny comic gimmick. There are fewer BAF waves being solicited each year - that is simply fact.
In 2021 there were 9 BAF waves - Stilt Man, Theta Sentinel, Falcon Wings, Xemnu, Gilgamesh, Aoa Colossus, Armadillo, Watcher
In 2022 there were 7 BAF waves - Rintrah, Korg, Bone Breaker, Controller, Ultron, Attuma, Khonshu
In 2023 there were 7 BAF waves - Puff Adder, Hydra Stomper, Cosmo, Ch'od, Stature, Cho Hulk, Mindless One
Then in 2024 there were 3 BAF waves - Void, Zabu, Blakheart and that was it.
In 2025 solicited to date we have 1 - Nemesis...
It is obviously cheaper not to include the BAF and with Hasbro in consistent cost cutting mode a shift to these types of wave would make sense to be emphasized. I won't be surprised if we get no more than 3 BAF waves again this year. It's possible it's even fewer than that.
I'm not advocating for that, I'm saying it's very clear that Hasbro is consciously de-emphasizing the BAF in favor of other types of offerings.
The lack of BAFs may not be financially motivated, but that's the clearest explanation. It's cheaper to offer retro cards or mini-comics and charge the same as you would for an extra figure.
I know folks will respond to this saying they have a drawer full of spare BAF parts or never complete the figure, anyway, but that doesn't change the value proposition.
Deluxe offerings are what's replacing the BAFs. Bigger figures sold individually, like Hulkbuster or Odin, or sold in multipacks like Destroyer or Lockjaw. Big figures like that are not going away. They're just not giving us the big figures for free anymore.
Right, so they're replacing BAF parts with retro cards or mini-comics. 😉
So these go on sale at the same time as the Target X-Factor Jean Grey, and the BestBuy animated Clayface reissue?
Gonna be some folks playing "Beat the Clock" on multiple shopping sites.
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