Crimson Twins

That is a horribly set up card. Looks like everything is slapped together. Really doesn't effect if I'm going to buy any one way or the other, but still, that is just ugly.

Still say that Storm Shadow looks like a modern era VvV Night Creeper.

Actually, most pre season games, they do play softer, and often not nearly as many minutes. It's more about getting timing down, and getting used to any new editions (players, coaches, different offensive and defensive schemes). Even during the season, guys were taking it easy down the stretch and resting guys. That's why they had to change the season to have divisional games at the end of the season. Those games could end up deciding the division in some cases, and guys would have to play more. Football is a very violent sport that doesn't really look after it's guys for the long term. They chew guys up and spit them right back out once they are done. You gotta stay healthy to stay relevant, or there will be a new guy ready to take your spot. I wouldn't mind if they got rid of the probowl game itself, and just named players to like an all NFC or AFC teams at the end of the season.

As for the Pro Bowl, and All-Star game comments, I have to disagree about baseball. Keep in mind, the baseball all-star game was such a joke at one point that they introduced the rule of the winning team's league would have home field in the Series just to get guys to actually play. Before that, it was just as bad. And I really don't see how baseball players have more respect for their fans. That's something that would be hard to back up, and even harder to measure to say that one sport does care more than another. Sounds like you are a baseball fan. I'm not, and I just don't see it. I think baseball players are more money hungry than any other sport, and give back the least amount of effort than any other sport. But, that's probably because I am not a fan of a sport where more than 75% of the guys are just standing around for half the game. To each his own. And as for football, I can't see them ever going as hard as they did in the past any time soon. Your career can end on one bad play at any time in any game in football. And what does the Pro Bowl matter in the long run? It has no bearing on anyone's season. Heck, they put it the week before the Superbowl to get more players to actually show up because after the Superbowl many guys were headed off to whatever off season life they have. It's hard to get someone to give 100% for a game that means nothing to their team, nothing to them financially, and they could get seriously injured, or possible have their career's ended. All for what? For the fans? Isn't that what a 16 game season is for? Does that one extra game mean that much more? The NBA all star game is a whole different animal. You get 12 guys coming from different team, different offenses, different defensive schemes, you get about 3 days to practice together, and then you throw them out there to entertain the fans. There is seldom any defense played. Mostly because the offense turns into isolation offenses, so it's a one on one game with whoever is guarding them. These are the best players in the league, and one on one, they are going to score regardless of who is in front of them. But, basketball has been moving towards and offense driven sport for years now, and those guys give the fans a great offensive showing. In the grand scheme of things, again, the game doesn't mean anything. It is a showcase. A chance for people to pay crazy prices for tickets to see a ton of stars in one spot. They're not going to the game thinking it's going to be a defensive showdown with the score in the low 70's. They want to see flashy dunks and raining three pointers. So, the NBA gives the fans what they want.

The Patriots really killed themselves. They had so many dropped passes, especially on what should have been a game winning drive. Guys were wide open, getting hit in the hands, and dropping passes. On the drive prior to the Giants TD drive, had the Patriots caught a very catchable pass from Brady, the game's over. Instead, it was dropped, Patriots punt, and the rest was history. Brady is not to blame for this loss. He wasn't spectacular, but his game should have given them the win if guys could do what they were paid to do and catch the ball. And don't even let me start on the stupid penalties that came back to haunt the Patriots.

Anyone else think the new Storm Shadow would make a better VvV Night Creeper if you added a little paint?

I really hope the vehicle drivers are only prototypes and the ones we get will actually have articulation. Right now, it looks like none of the drivers have articulated arms, and they suffer from T-crotches. Also, even the bikers seem to have preposed arms. I don't see an elbow joint on any of them. As for all the talk about no ankle articulation, there is actually some. The ninjas seem to have it on most of them, and the Joe Trooper does too. It's hard to see because of the design, but you can clearly see the rivet on the side of his leg. The vehicles aren't much to write home about. I don't like that we're getting another AWE Striker, but I do like that they at least changed it up a bit. Same goes with the VAMP. The Water Mocassin is no biggie to me. I've got enough already. I know I am not liking the retooled HISS treads. I'm sure it's a cost cutting measure, but it just really looks like a huge step back now. If they had released it with those treads first, and then gave us the rubber treads, I'm sure I'd be singing a different tune, and would have a reason to buy this new HISS. As it stands now, I have no use for it. Same with the HISS Scout, or whatever it is they're calling it now. That vehicle has never been a winner in my book, and a canopy (that doesn't even fit if you look at the pics) won't change my mind. Overall, it looks like Hasbro is trying to make as much money off of these figures as possible, and is taking some serious cost cutting measures. Most of the figures don't have double knees. Some don't even have the torso swivel. The new wrist articulation is only on a handful of the figures, but at least the rest at least have wrist swivel (minus those ugly drivers of course). To me, even a big name character like Roadblock looks more like a redone MAJ Barrage than he does the newer Roadblock mold. But maybe that's just me. As for the exclusives, I'm tired of guys that we want in the regular line that have received no modern figures yet showing up as exclusives. I get it, they want people to buy them. But it seems like these days, you could put out any crap figure, slap 'exclusive' on it, and there will be a line a mile long for people wanting to buy it. Why couldn't we get Jinx in the regular line, or the 30th line, or thrown in with the Renegade set? She could have been given to us multiple times before, but instead she will go the way of Slaughter and Zarana. But that rant could be a whole new post, so I'll just stop now. I think Hasbro finally told the collectors to take a hike on this one, and geared most of the toys towards kids so they can rake in even more money. I'm not mad at them for that. They are a business and should cater to their largest demographic. I'll just pick over the line like I did with ROC and grab what I like. No harm done.

Mine's pretty simple. Minus my CG collection, and most other army builders for that matter, rid myself of my RAH collection. I find myself using their modern replacements, and the figures just sit in containers never getting displayed. I think it's just time I moved on. Also, I'm going to be moving soon, and got to cut some weight somewhere.

Anyone else getting tired of seeing pics of figures we've all seen before yet still NO pricing info? This just comes across as the guy at the pawn shop showing you a nice watch. They keep showing it to you, showing the little features, and the 'quality craftsmanship', and then they dump the price on you and it's beyond ridiculous. But you've been looking at how great it is for so long, and you think you can't do without out, so you go ahead with the 'it's a bit more than I wanted to pay, but it is a really great product' line and you convince yourself to buy it. Then you get it home and show your friends and they're into it, so you feel great about the purchase. And then about three days later, you're looking at it again, wishing you had money for something else saying to yourself 'why did I spend so much on this piece of crap? My Timex was doing just fine.' I'm sure we'll get some more close ups for the next few weeks to help win us over, and then they'll drop the boom on us. I'm pretty sure someone out there will be posting 'it's a little more than I wanted to pay, BUT...' @loll@

Funny. Looks like this was the dumbest trade ever for the Clippers. A future All-Star shooting guard, a serviceable back up small forward, and a starting level center, not to mention a likely lottery first round pick. All for their fourth point guard on their team now. Really? You already had Billups, Williams, and Bledsoe at the point. Now you've given up any depth you had for another point guard. Did you really think no one else could throw lobs to Blake Griffin? They seemed to do a pretty bang up job of it last year. I think the Clippers took a step back overall with this trade. It seems like they did it just to get a star name on the floor with Griffin. It's not as dumb as what the Knicks gave up to get Melo last year, but it's pretty close.

I saw a Marvel Universe Giant X-Men set that was filled with nothing but GI Joes. They were nice enough to reduce it to $36 for anyone that wanted someone's casted off custom fodder.

Online is the way to go this year. Most of the deals available at the brick and mortar stores are also available online. I'm telling you, Amazon is the way to go for those video game deals. All of them are the same as the stores, and they have free shipping in most cases.

This is NOT the retailer's fault. This is the fault of a woman that did not take the time to do any sort of research, and thought this Wal-Mart deal was the one and only chance at this XBox. Here's what makes it even more sad. The same deal could have been had ALL DAY on Amazon with free shipping. She could have stayed at home, ordered her X-Box (I saw the same deal still available HOURS after this report had hit the news), had it shipped to her house for free and been good to go. Not to mention, Wal-Mart.com had the same deal available at the same time as well, with free ship to store. Just like the people fighting in Best Buy for the $200 42" TV. Do your research people. That particular model has been notorious for problems for a while now. There's a reason they are practically giving it away. Also, many deals very similar to that are going to be coming in the next few weeks. All it takes is about an hour's worth of research, and you will see why Black Friday isn't the end all be all of deals this holiday season. Research people. Research. Don't blame the retailers because you were not informed.

Personally, I don't see the big deal about Thanksgiving. I know plenty of people that don't really care one way or the other about the 'holiday.' I give thanks on a daily basis, so Thanksgiving is a little redundant to me. I use it as an excuse to eat a little too much and watch some football. It is fairly easy to request time off if done far enough in advance. And those that do work on Thanksgiving should be compensated anyway with at least time and a half for working a holiday. Those people that get dragged into working on those days either didn't voice their opinion to a manager, or request the days off in advance. I've worked retail. And I always had my holidays off. Why? Because I asked for it that way. It's not like when they decided to work at these places they didn't know that these stores would be open for days like this. Guess what? They're usually open on Easter, July 4th, Veteran's Day, MLK Day, Labor Day, New Year's, and some even on Christmas. So, it's not that these guys are mad that they are having to work on a holiday, it's that it's Black Friday and they're mad that they will be super busy on retail's busiest day. Don't like working retail, get another job. If you are having trouble getting another job, then you aren't marketable enough. Improve you, and the jobs will come.

Big Boa and Dice for me. Mostly due to nostalgia. Those guys were some of my favorites growing up. And I think they did a pretty good job on the figures too. But I can't see myself paying all that extra just for those two.

Thor didn't change because of all of those things. Thor was still the same arrogant bastard all the way up until he couldn't lift the hammer. And then he was moping around for about an hour, had a drink or two (dozen) with one of his new earth friends, had a cuddly moment with a hot chic that same night, and the next day he was all about selfless sacrifice for the human race. That is why I said it happened in one day. And yes, I did watch the movie. Him getting "stripped of his goddly power, exiled from his home, hit by a hot chick in her beat-up van (twice), tasered, drugged" didn't do anything to change who he was. The Thor that went into the SHIELD compound was no different than the one that went after the frost giants. And then "only to learn he isn't worthy to lift it, being told his father is dead, said death was his fault, and oh yes, learning his beloved brother was lying to him from the get-go, plans to start a war, destroy an entire realm. and has sent The Destroyer to kill Thor and everyone around him" this all takes place in the span of 24 hours. So his epiphany of "the poor fragile humans who despite their powerlessness are capable of the very acts of bravery, selflessness, and kindness that Thor seemed in capable of showing" came in one day's time. Which was my point exactly. I'm not saying it's impossible. As was noted, the whole idea behind the epiphany is that it's almost like a light swith turning on. But it just seemed rushed that he went from being solely focused on trying to get his hammer and get back home, to being so concerned about the well being of earth realm with very little true interaction other than one night's campfire book reading session.

One question. In the event that I was to win this contest (a guy can dream, right?), how would I be contacted? My PM's haven't worked in years for some unknown reason. Is there a back up plan? Just curious. I feel like this could be my month, and I'd hate not to get my prize because I couldn't be contacted. @loll@

It is so weird the reaction that this subscription is getting. I see on some places there are people that love each and every figure. They drool over them, talking about what a great honor it is to get our hands on these figures we'd never see otherwise, and how great the figure selection has been. Then on here, it's more people that have the same views I do. This line has been fairly hit or miss, and their character selection has been somewhat lacking with no real rhyme or reasoning behind it. Gotta love my good ol friends here at TNI.

That's a pretty good explaination of how I felt about the movie. It did feel more like a checklist that didn't really flow very well together. And I'm tired of two minute montage being used to tell months worth of story telling. I know they have to do it to keep it from being a movie that goes on forever, I just hate it when it is used. It almost cheapens it for me. Also, I didn't like how in the Thor movie, Thor went from being the super ego driven character from the beginning of the film, to being the selfless hero in one night's time. If there was ever a need for one of those two minute montages, it was there. Another rushed element all in the name of the Avenger movie was the so called introduction of Hawkeye. Here's your 15 seconds of fame. Now, Marvel fanboys knew that was Hawkeye, and thought it was a pretty cool throw in. But the thousands of people that don't know the Avengers outside of these movies were probably wondering what the heck that guy was doing with a bow and arrow instead of a rifle. No backstory, no further mention in the movie, just a 15 second scene that really didn't explain anything to the casual fan. Even Ironman 2, for all that people hated about it, did a better job of fleshing out additional Avenger characters (Black Widow and Fury). Hawkeye just seems like a throwaway character here. I don't expect to see 3-4 Captain America movies about his exploits in Germany before an Avenger's movie (though from what I've heard, his sequels will more than likely take place in the WWII era). I just didn't want to watch a typical origin checklist film. I didn't really feel like he was the iconic Cap we all know. It may just have been Chris Evans acting, but he seemed a bit stale and his character kinda fell flat. Those are just my opinions on it. I'm sure some people thought Evans did a great job as Cap. That's great. I'm not trying to convince them otherwise. I just didn't like it. And I felt like these last two movies have been rushed in the story telling department.

I've got TONS of these at the house. I was looking through them when I was organizing my toy closet on R&R. I was going to trash them, but figured I'd hang on to them a while longer. I guess that's the collector's mentality in me. Someday those cards are going to put my kids through college. Or they'll make a nice grab bag gift for a kid's birthday party. Haven't quite figured out which just yet. @loll@

This might sound odd, but I wish there were more of them. That must seem crazy since there's over 200 of them out, but I want some other characters. I want more of the X-Men. We should not be this far in and just now getting a good Iceman, and still no Beast. Especially when we have at least 3 Cyclops figures, and about 15 different Wolverines. Which brings me to another dissappointment: Too many Ironman, Spiderman, and Wolverine. I know why they do it. I know those are the popular ones with kids and what not. But those are also the ones that have had their OWN lines! I don't believe that there are a finite number of 'slots' and that another Wolverine is taking away from me getting another new character, but that doesn't mean I'm not tired of seeing those guys in ever uniform they've ever jumped into. Also, a lack of females and villians. And heck, female villians! Give me more baddies to fight off all these Spideys, Wolvies, and Ironmen. If I'm going to have multiple set ups to go with those multiple versions of those guys, it only makes sense that I'm going to need multiple versions of bad guys. And since the ML fanboys had their say, I'll say my biggest dissappointment is that this line didn't carry strong enough to do away with Legends completely. I've never been a fan of Legends, and was glad to see them dissappear from shelves after clogging them up for so long. I really hoped that MU would be strong enough that Hasbro wouldn't have to go back to Legends. I guess if these are the only gripes I have, then it's not all bad with MU. I can live with these flaws.

Well, I finally got around to watching this not too long ago. It wasn't horrible. Not really my thing, though. Found it a bit rushed, kinda sloppy with some story telling elements, and hard to get through the first half hour or so. I wouldn't call it the worst comic book movie, but I think it's far from the best. At least Cap didn't have a life altering epiphany all in one day's time while out drinking...ahem...Thor, I'm looking at you. I just feel like th ecloser they are getting to the Avengers movie, the more they are trying to rush through guy's stories to get to the next chapter in building the Avengers.

And why Sure Fire? Has there been some demand for him that I missed? I can't recall anyone saying "I can't wait until they make a modern Sure Fire figure!"

Barrel Roll was not a ball and socket head. I think the only ones from the DTC era that were, were Covergirl and MAJ Barrage.

They're basically celebrating just 30 years of GI JOE. It doesn't mean that the figures released have to be remakes of something from 30 years ago. Even the 25th figures weren't all from 1982. Hasbro is just celebrating the fact that these 4 inch figures have lasted for 30 years, and it gives them a reason to put out more figures for us.