MARVEL TOYS ~ ON THE CUSP OF SOMETHING BIG

[Superwonderlantern]

Hey Toy Biz...er ah....Marvel Toys!!

 

You guys are in a very interesting position.....you get to make figures that would otherwise never make it to the pegs....PITT is an excellent example...no one but Marvel Toys could have pulled this off in such a spectacular manner. Aside from the Sentinel, the PITT BAF is my favourite.

 

I am very interested in seeing what the guys at Marvel Toys do next....will we see a Mantra figure?? A Phantom?? An Invincible?? Gen 13 boxed set?? Red Sonja?? Tom Strong?? What about all the Archie Comics heroes like the Fly??

 

While you are at it, why not do the TICK characters as serious (not cartoony) sculpts?? How about the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen??

 

Have you considered Sky High figures?? The possibilities are endless......and as long as you keep up the good work and pushing the envelope, you will have me as a fan.

 

I do have some complaints though........ ya gotta work on your female figures.....I recently saw a comparison pic of the Witchblade from Series 1 with the Witchblade made years ago...while the old one was NOT nicely articulated, it was a superior scuplt and had a much "prettier" face (can plastic be pretty?). You guys know how bad the Scarlet Witch sucked......Hasbro is doing better women (you really don't want that being said out loud to your friends do you?) So, pull up your socks in this area guys.....give us the gorgeous women we want........

 

All in all, I am behind you guys and your new endeavour.......

 

How about the rest of you TNI readers? What figures would you like to see?

 

Take care

[Dentarthurdent]

I could sure go for the Tick! I wouldn't mind some old Eastman & Laird/ Mirage studios style TMNT all with red masks, but I doubt Playmates would take that in stride. I also doubt Mantra or Gen13 will happen since Malibu is owned by Marvel, and Wildstorm falls under DC. But Invincible would be sweet. Maybe Scud... Maybe the Pro...

[Superwonderlantern]

I could sure go for the Tick! I wouldn't mind some old Eastman & Laird/ Mirage studios style TMNT all with red masks, but I doubt Playmates would take that in stride. I also doubt Mantra or Gen13 will happen since Malibu is owned by Marvel, and Wildstorm falls under DC. But Invincible would be sweet. Maybe Scud... Maybe the Pro...

 

I think the TMNT idea would be cool......but I agree that Playmates won't allow it.

 

I didn't know that Malibu was owned by Marvel .....are they included in the Hasbro license? Does anyone know?

[evenflow]

I really hope the line does well, but after wave one, i have no intentions of buying 2 or 3. The charatcers just dont interest me. There are alot of independant characters out there that are popular and more well known. They need to bring some of those characters in. This would be a good chance for them to pick up more image characters, Valiant comics, Defiant Comics, Chaos comics, and further build on the teams and character universes they have started (which they are doing).

[Superwonderlantern]

I really hope the line does well, but after wave one, i have no intentions of buying 2 or 3. The charatcers just dont interest me. There are alot of independant characters out there that are popular and more well known. They need to bring some of those characters in. This would be a good chance for them to pick up more image characters, Valiant comics, Defiant Comics, Chaos comics, and further build on the teams and character universes they have started (which they are doing).

 

 

Let's hope that Marvel Toys listens to fans (like you Evenflow) so that they WILL make more recognizable characters......

 

I think there is some awesome potential for them to do just that and give an opportunity for some good quality sculpts to characters we haven't seen in plastic as yet....

 

Someone from a similar post to this one (sorry I posteda similiar topic!) noted he would like to see the Rocketeer...cool idea....I want the Phantom

 

How about Doc Savage? Iron Giant...the list and the possiblities are practically endless....

 

Do I dare say "America's Greatest Hero"?.......

 

Cue theme music

 

Look at what's happened to meeeeee.....I can't believe it myyyyself.....

[ARROW]

I think we have to bear in mind the precedents, and the the difficulties in licensing with this line.

Every publisher means a different license, and some publishers might have sweet items, but want a mint for their characters---jus' cuz.

Some players just hold out for more money, and doing so might knock them off the list--a list that I gather has a lot of other players to choose from.

MEGO worked a deal with Marvel and DC in the 1970's that is considered to be impossible to pull off now--and even then it had a lot of bumps. Its a precedent for how difficult multi-license deal can be.

 

The initial premise here is comicbook characters, though we haven't heard of TV/movie characters being excluded, they are likely to be harder to license, simply because they have greater exposure.

 

The pattern is see thus far is just Image, Dark Horse and the British publisher ( Fleetway???)--that's it.

They have a stable of quite a few characters in just those three publishers, so other characters from other creators and publishers MIGHT come later.

 

 

If they come at all.

 

I'm jonesing for a Captain Canuck myself, a classic Phantom, Tarzan and others would be awesome too. It all depends on the licensing.

 

There's a point where the line either makes a choice to chase down some of the very prominent licenses, or just bypasses them for the ones that are easier to get.

[Superwonderlantern]

I think we have to bear in mind the precedents, and the the difficulties in licensing with this line.

Every publisher means a different license, and some publishers might have sweet items, but want a mint for their characters---jus' cuz.

Some players just hold out for more money, and doing so might knock them off the list--a list that I gather has a lot of other players to choose from.

MEGO worked a deal with Marvel and DC in the 1970's that is considered to be impossible to pull off now--and even then it had a lot of bumps. Its a precedent for how difficult multi-license deal can be.

 

The initial premise here is comicbook characters, though we haven't heard of TV/movie characters being excluded, they are likely to be harder to license, simply because they have greater exposure.

 

The pattern is see thus far is just Image, Dark Horse and the British publisher ( Fleetway???)--that's it.

They have a stable of quite a few characters in just those three publishers, so other characters from other creators and publishers MIGHT come later.

 

 

If they come at all.

 

I'm jonesing for a Captain Canuck myself, a classic Phantom, Tarzan and others would be awesome too. It all depends on the licensing.

 

There's a point where the line either makes a choice to chase down some of the very prominent licenses, or just bypasses them for the ones that are easier to get.

 

But therein lies the rub doesn't it Arrow........

 

Marvel comics has used an interesting tactic.....sell our license to Hasbro (for big bucks) but, at the same time, keep producing figures from OTHER comic (or other licensed properties) lines.....

 

For Marvel Toys to survive under this tactic, it necessitates chasing down properties that will appeal to people (liked your Tarzan suggestion by the way) and be recognized. I do believe some collectors will collect them because of their good scuplts and articulation, but many many more will BUY them if they are recognizable....

 

They have their work cut out for themselves, granted, but I think we will see some envelope pushing. They are in a position to do so with Marvel Legends (one of the most successful and well known 6 inch figure line) in their resume. I think their credibility as action figure makers is solid. At the same time, they can give the attention and service to licencse holders that Hasbro and Mattel can't because they are so big and deal in big name licences. Look at what Hasbro did with the Spiderman movie figures....they knew the sales would be there to coincide with the hype...but the figures are not all that good. That is what a big company can get away with.....

 

(Just for the record...I am not a Hasbro hater....in fact...I say give them a chance with the Legends....but I am not ignorant of what Hasbro is in business for....to make money....and they certainly know how to do it when there is movie hype that helps add to the sales...could Toy Biz gotten away with that....hmm not so sure....)

 

If I had an action figure worthy license I think that perhaps Marvel Toys may be the place to go......

 

Marvel Toys has the innovation (and the guts) to take it all the way.

[Opticon]

I will be happy if Marvel Toys can steal the Scud license away from Shocker toys....I really want me a GOOD super-articulated Scud, and while we're at it throw in Drywall, Jeff, Oswald, Sussudio, Voodoo Ben, etc etc etc.

[Dentarthurdent]

I will be happy if Marvel Toys can steal the Scud license away from Shocker toys....I really want me a GOOD super-articulated Scud, and while we're at it throw in Drywall, Jeff, Oswald, Sussudio, Voodoo Ben, etc etc etc.

 

Yea, and steal the Tick too! @firedevil@

[jjlecaros]

id liek to se og turtles, og gen13, usagi to go with the turtles. aphrodite x, fathom, flaming carrot

[evenflow]

I will be happy if Marvel Toys can steal the Scud license away from Shocker toys....I really want me a GOOD super-articulated Scud, and while we're at it throw in Drywall, Jeff, Oswald, Sussudio, Voodoo Ben, etc etc etc.

 

Yea, and steal the Tick too! @firedevil@

 

The Maxx too~!

[Rollo Tomassi]

I didn't know that Malibu was owned by Marvel .....are they included in the Hasbro license? Does anyone know?

 

 

 

Malibu had a bunch of minor comic book characters like the Ferret and the Protectors. Then after the Image fiasco and other startup hero universes like Valiant, and Dark Horse, they got a bunch of creators to start up "The Ultraverse" with Prime, Prototype, etc. It got fairly popular until Marvel bought Malibu out and did some major crossovers with their regular Marvel Universe characters ( I know Juggernaut was running around in the Ultraverse for awhile) then they promptly cancelled the entire line.

 

Who owns the rights to the characters as far as licensing to toys manufacurers? I don't know if it's the original creators, or the Marvel Corp. EDIT. Apparently Marvel has the rights. No forseeable Ultraverse Legends in our future, you'll have to settle for the figures that came out in the 90's.

 

Here's a little background on the Ultraverse...

 

and some on the Protectors.

[Cobra Commandacon]

Flaming Carrot, Mystery Men, Cerbrus, Mage, Martha Washington, Ghost, Warrior Nun, Valiant universe....the possibilities are endless. The drawback is, there will be characters that won't be recognized by the general public. The upside is, the lesser known characters would go pretty good in a comic shop, where said characters would be better known. And comic shops are going to host the target audience. I say go for the obscure characters, as long as they are mixed in with a few recognizable characters (kinda like ML has).

 

 

Edit: Forgot Mage.

[gr8waa3rd]

I have a few good ideas for Marvel Legends Action Figures. Here's a list that I recommend to Hasbro.

 

1. X-Men Series

Sunfire (Classic)

Thunderbird

Morph (90's X-Men Cartoon)

Spike (X-Men Evolution)

Avalanche (Classic)

Jean Grey (Jim Lee Style) with pony tail variant

Jubilee (Jim Lee Style)

Mikhail (Age of Apocalypse)

Abyss (Age of Apocalypse)

Magma

Warlock

Build-A-Figure - Shadow King

 

2. X-Factor Series

Havok (X-Factor)

Multiple Man (X-Factor) with green jacket variant

Wolfsbane (X-Factor)

Polaris (X-Factor)

Forge (X-Factor)

Build-A-Figure - Strong Guy

 

3.Hulk Series #2

Ravage (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Madman (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Half-Life (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Flux (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Hulkbuster Infantry Robot (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game) with variants

Mercy (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

Hulk (Retooled Figure)

Build-A-Figure - Hulkbuster Titan (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

 

The Retooled Hulk Figure will be made from past Hulk Figures.

Torso - Face-off Hulk

Head - Face-off Hulk

Arms - Hulk Classics Gamma Punch Hulk (Without Punching Action)

Legs - Hulk Classic Savage Hulk (Pants Repainted to Blueish Purple or Purplish Blue)

 

4. Villains Series

Baron Mordo

Crimson Dynamo

Silver Samurai

Grey Gargoyle

Gargoyle (90's Hulk Cartoon)

Blizzard

Whirlwind

Build-A-Figure - Devil Hulk (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

 

Obviously I have too much time on my hands to come up with this long a list. @loll@;-)

[gr8waa3rd]

I have a few good ideas for Marvel Legends Action Figures. Here's a list that I recommend to Hasbro.

 

1. X-Men Series

Sunfire (Classic)

Thunderbird

Morph (90's X-Men Cartoon)

Spike (X-Men Evolution)

Avalanche (Classic)

Jean Grey (Jim Lee Style) with pony tail variant

Jubilee (Jim Lee Style)

Mikhail (Age of Apocalypse)

Abyss (Age of Apocalypse)

Magma

Warlock

Build-A-Figure - Shadow King

 

2. X-Factor Series

Havok (X-Factor)

Multiple Man (X-Factor) with green jacket variant

Wolfsbane (X-Factor)

Polaris (X-Factor)

Forge (X-Factor)

Build-A-Figure - Strong Guy

 

3.Hulk Series #2

Ravage (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Madman (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Half-Life (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Flux (Hulk Movie Video Game)

Hulkbuster Infantry Robot (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game) with variants

Mercy (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

Hulk (Retooled Figure)

Build-A-Figure - Hulkbuster Titan (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

 

The Retooled Hulk Figure will be made from past Hulk Figures.

Torso - Face-off Hulk

Head - Face-off Hulk

Arms - Hulk Classics Gamma Punch Hulk (Without Punching Action)

Legs - Hulk Classic Savage Hulk (Pants Repainted to Blueish Purple or Purplish Blue)

 

4. Villains Series

Baron Mordo

Crimson Dynamo

Silver Samurai

Grey Gargoyle

Gargoyle (90's Hulk Cartoon)

Blizzard

Whirlwind

Build-A-Figure - Devil Hulk (Hulk Ultimate Destruction Video Game)

 

Obviously I have too much time on my hands to come up with this long a list.

[Dentarthurdent]

Umm... nice lists, but we're talking Marvel Toys and Indy Characters, not Marvel Characters from Hasbro Toys. Although it does get awfully confusing sometimes. @loll@

I'd like to see Lusiphur and Lirilith from Poison Elves. How about the Crow? My fiance would probably want Grace from Soulfire, and to tell you the truth, if they could fix that whole female body problem I wouldn't mind getting her either... along with Velocity from Cyberforce.

[CapnJeffro]

Well, I'm a sucker for all of the 90's Image titles.. yeah I got sucked in by the Giant Holo-Foil-Glow in the Dark-Holographic-Raised-Scratch n Sniff covers.

 

I would take:

Any Brigade team member (especially Battlestone, Atlas, Coldsnap)

Any Youngblood member (especially Shaft, Badrock, Chapel, Diehard)

Shadowhawk I

WildCats (especially Grifter, Spartan, or Mr. Majestic) - of course the whole DC owns Wildstorm thing kinda kills this I'm sure.

Supreme

 

Or you could do some Valiant characters and go with:

X-O ManoWar

Magnus Robo Fighter

Ninjak

Rai

Or an Armorine

 

But..

Usagi Yojimbo

Cerebus the Aardvark

Boris the Bear

Scud the disposable assassin

or the TMNT - aside from that whole Playmates thing in their original look (and a boxset would work fine)

[h3llfish]

I would love to see Marvel Toys go after movie, tv, and music licenses that McFarlane used to have, but have since expired. There are several properties that are proven sellers that fall into this category: Kiss, Robocop, or Freddy Kruger come to mind.

 

The difference being of course that these are super articulated ML-style figures, and so very different from the statues that McFarlane makes.

 

And while we're on the subject of McFarlane, why not a Spawn? I know that he has a whole toy company of his own, but is it really any crazier than Marvel making a Savage Dragon figure? Todd McFarlane still loves to make money I assume, so why not license out a few characters? Again, the idea here is that this is the same familiar characters that have all been done, but now in a totally different style. And please, don't say "never happen"

[Rollo Tomassi]

The "Spawn" idea is a good one, but even if he were to overlook the fact that he has his own toy company, Todd McFarlane would want more money and a bigger percentage of the profits than Marvel Toys would be willing to pay for the rights to do a few select figures, or even a Spawn figure alone. So I'm not saying Never, because it's a good idea from a fan and collector's standpoint, but I will say "not likely." Sadly.

[hebime]

I would want:

Grifter

TurokThe Dinosaur Hunter

Sam Slade Robo Hunter

Rogue Trooper

The Maxx

Many more Judge Dredd characters

Zealot

LOTS more Conan figures

Spawn - I don't think this could happen, but a super-poseable figure would totally rock.

TMNT - same as above.

Usagi Yojimbo

Lone Wolf and Cub - 2 pack

[Degato]

BAF Badrock!

[bossk73]

QUOTE(Dentarthurdent @ Aug 10 2007, 12:58 AM) *

QUOTE(Opticon @ Aug 2 2007, 11:36 PM) *

I will be happy if Marvel Toys can steal the Scud license away from Shocker toys....I really want me a GOOD super-articulated Scud, and while we're at it throw in Drywall, Jeff, Oswald, Sussudio, Voodoo Ben, etc etc etc.

 

 

Yea, and steal the Tick too! FIREdevil.gif

 

 

The Maxx too~!

 

Get Shadowhawk while they're at it.

[bossk73]

I will be happy if Marvel Toys can steal the Scud license away from Shocker toys....I really want me a GOOD super-articulated Scud, and while we're at it throw in Drywall, Jeff, Oswald, Sussudio, Voodoo Ben, etc etc etc.

 

Yea, and steal the Tick too! @firedevil@

 

The Maxx too~!

 

 

Grab Shadowhawk while they're at it.

[bossk73]

Sorry, double post.

 

Kids, don't drink and post.

[gunslinger]

How about the ThunderCats? Well recognized and their license is in a continual limbo it seems. Swoop in buy them up and voila. Then maybe some othe big names from 80's cartoon and comic and cartoon nostalgia. Bravestar, Centurions, Cops, Battle of the Planets. Whichever are currently owned or held by another company. eh?