2022 - Happy Anniversary Marvel Legends

[K_Steel]

DC McFarlane pricing is definitely better. It isn't even a close. You're generally getting a fairer deal for the price paid.

Over here in Canada, McF figures are 24.99 CAN, and ML figures are 34.99 CAN.



With ML, at the prices they are now, you're overpaying... but they are quality figures nevertheless. So if you have the money to blow and the investment in the Marvel brand, it will probably be worth it for you. You're essentially paying scalper prices for some of these items.

Personally, I'm glad I filled out the bulk of my ML collection in past years when the prices were much lower. They're just going to go up from here.

There were some fantastic ML figures in 2021, like Iron Monger, Surtur, etc but could not justify paying the current expensive retail for them.

[Sgt. Stinky]

Can't wait to get this Cap! He is perfect!

[EnigmaticClarity]

It's worth noting for price comparisons that when McFarlane does a BAF they charge more for those figures. Their standard price is $20, but those build-a-horse wave figures are $25. That's a price increase they do that the Legends team doesn't.

[maverick10126]

The flip side is it only takes 4 figures when they do a build-a-whatever. ML takes at least 7 figures. So pay $100 for 5 figures from McFarlane. $161 for 8 figures (7 regular, 1 BAF) from Hasbro. So it comes out to just about $20 per figure. It's essentially a wash. The only different is buying less figures to get the build-a-.

I too am glad most of my ML wants were met before the price hikes started coming.

I prefer McFarlane's DC line to ML these days personally for a variety of reasons. But number one on that list is it's newer. McFarlane has the benefit of still being early in the line. The upcoming Endless Winter Aquaman is the first comic based Aquaman in the line. There are zero A-listers left in ML that you could say this is the characters first release. I like the depth ML has but that depth took time. It's produced so many figures that it's now burdened with the task of how to keep selling A-listers all while fleshing out the B and C's. It's hard to just make the direct comparison between the two companies right now. It would be fairer to compare McFarlane today with the first few years of Hasbro with ML and where each company stood at the time.

Strange how this exact topic is being discussed in the DC thread. Hmmm.....how'd that happen?

[EnigmaticClarity]

It's hard to just make the direct comparison between the two companies right now. It would be fairer to compare McFarlane today with the first few years of Hasbro with ML and where each company stood at the time.

McFarlane had been doing collector-focused toys for 25+ years before starting with DC. I have no idea what Hasbro's history with that was before Legends--does anyone know? When McFarlane got the DC license I know I wasn't thinking of them as new given that they've always specialized in this stuff.

[Enforcer]

I actually thought this idiot got banned in October.

That's too bad.

[maverick10126]

It's hard to just make the direct comparison between the two companies right now. It would be fairer to compare McFarlane today with the first few years of Hasbro with ML and where each company stood at the time.

McFarlane had been doing collector-focused toys for 25+ years before starting with DC. I have no idea what Hasbro's history with that was before Legends--does anyone know? When McFarlane got the DC license I know I wasn't thinking of them as new given that they've always specialized in this stuff.

I'm just saying that early stretches of the license are the only fair way to compare. Yes McFarlane has done other stuff and they aren't new, but their DC line is new to them. Just as ML was new to Hasbro and thus didn't have the depth it does today. They also learned things along the way and made tweaks to give us the product we have today.

Hasbro did SW and GI Joe before....pretty big large spanning brands.

[K_Steel]

Devil's advocate.

The biggest advantage Marvel Legends has is the Marvel brand is much stronger than DC. Thanks to the films.


McFarlane DC needs 70% Batman output to stay afloat.


Meanwhile Marvel Legends offers a much broader selection, bolstered by the brand strength of the films.


Hasbro is most definitely taking advantage of Marvel's mainstream success with the price hikes, but from a business standpoint.. it's understandable.


To most casual buyers, a Marvel figure just has more value than a DC one at this point.

[gpmartin414]

While I'm not a fan of the rumored ML price increase, I still think the line is better than McFarlane's DC Multiverse -- and I say that as someone who's been a completist with that line with the exception of the recent chase figures. There are a variety of reasons:

1.) Character selection/universe building: I haven't done the exact math, but there's no way the McFarlane line hasn't been two-thirds Batman characters (and among those, it's literally just variations of Batman, not even going far into his rogue's gallery). And it was higher with the initial year and a half. It's only recently the line has started to venture out. And even with the additional characters, it's still mostly limited to storyline-of-the-month looks or new movie looks and not classic looks. Compare that to ML, where there's great representation of classic looks, modern looks, movie looks, and video game looks. No character is truly off limits.
2.) Articulation: The McFarlane figures are essentially lightly articulated sculptures. The poseability is limited. Granted, they look really cool, but they don't lend themselves to anywhere near the articulation of recent MLs.
3.) Gimmicks: McFarlane releases multiple versions of figures at the same time -- masked and unmasked, slightly different head sculpts, etc. vs. ML where you get sometimes two or three additional heads and lots of hands and accessories for most figures. In that case, you have to pay twice (or even three times in certain cases) to get all the variations that would come in a single package. What's worse is that there are chase figures, which are just a horrible concept from the '90s. There are times when the chase is a better looking figure (like the goggles-up Justice League Batman), and there are times when the chase is horrible (like the recent unpainted artist proof ones) that not at all like the solicited figure.
4.) Size: I've collected many scales throughout this hobby -- going from the 5-inch figures as a kid to the 3.75-inch MU scale and 6-inch scale as an adult, with the occasional 7-inch Marvel Select or 12-inch Mondo figures. It's hard, though, to have a large 7-inch collection without running out of shelf or storage space and having to make decisions on what to keep. I'm already there with just two years of collecting McFarlane DC Multiverse. It took me about five years to get there with ML.

[TheSameIdiot]

I don't really want to get into the McFarlane-Hasbro thing because with the exception of video game figures, I'm a 6" scale collector. I have MAFEX to thank for filling out my 1/12 DC collection. If Todd revitalizes DC Essentials, he could fill in some gaps, but otherwise McFarlane's DC offerings leave me cold.

I too am glad most of my ML wants were met before the price hikes started coming.

I think this is where I'm at, too. I've got about 15 Marvel figures left before my collection is complete. I think I'll be glad to shift to a place where I'm only picking up upgrades and high-end toys that catch my eye.

[PantherCult]

Yeah... Most of McFarlane's output is irrelevant to me since my super-hero displays are all 1/12. The only McF figures I buy are those I can slide into my existing MOTUC shelves - the same as I do with Super7 Ultimates, NECA and Storm Collectibles. So, I do buy some of the figures (I want the Frost King for example) - but for the most part I pass. If Todd was doing the same figures in 1/12... well, I'd probably be buying a lot more figures. But the price point has little to do with my purchasing habits of the line. They could cut the price to $15 and I still would only pick up the handful I'm getting now.

Anyway - while I don't love the increased price on this Legends anniversary line - the good news is I don't have to pay it for most of the figures since we just got them done really well in the last year+. They kind of have me over a barrel with Toad, so I'll pay it.

It is true though that ongoing price increases are going to cure me once and for all of my completist tendencies. If a new figure isn't a significant upgrade on the one I already have, I'll skip it. This is going to be especially true of the Retro lines, I think. Re-releases of characters I already have just on new packaging (Shocker, Scorpion, Sandman) don't have to be purchased. I don't keep packaging anyway.

[maverick10126]

Comparing Hasbro and McFarlane at this point is silly. I started getting into ML more with the 2016 X-Men wave. I purchased zero McFarlane DC figures that year. 2017, 2018, and 2019 gave me some of my favorite figures in my ML collection. Meanwhile McFarlane put out zero DC figures those years, what were they thinking??? Lol.

There's about a dozen characters that I'm still interested in getting. I'll keep getting the upgraded versions of figures assuming they are upgraded enough. Only a couple new figures for 2022 for me so far. Hopefully they will release more from my list, but so far it's going to be a light year. That's just a testament to how much good stuff ML put out over the last several years.

I'm buying more McFarlane figures because ML has done such a great job giving us a lot of figures each year. In a few years the number of figures I buy from McFarlane might dwindle to what I'm currently getting from ML.

[joedick]

Have there been any sightings of Iron Man yet? A site that's local to me (but ships across Canada/US) has it in stock. Haven't bought from them yet but I can post the link if it's news. I was thinking of doing a local pickup but I don't want to break my existing pre-order.

[Stark Resilient]

Have there been any sightings of Iron Man yet? A site that's local to me (but ships across Canada/US) has it in stock. Haven't bought from them yet but I can post the link if it's news. I was thinking of doing a local pickup but I don't want to break my existing pre-order.

You should post the link

[Hbhf]

Devil's advocate.

The biggest advantage Marvel Legends has is the Marvel brand is much stronger than DC. Thanks to the films.


McFarlane DC needs 70% Batman output to stay afloat.

Yeah, someone who used ti work for Mattel did a video on this last year. DC as a brand just doesn't have the trust from retailers Marvel does, where someone like Target or Walmart will order an entire wave based on formerly obscure properties like Black Panther, the Guardians of the Galaxy or Shang-Chi just because they have a Marvel logo on the box.

I'm one of the people who has been advocating for. a more diverse character selection in Multiverse, but I get why the line is so heavily Batman-focused for now.