Valo487

I hope DST is reaching out to Hot Topic with these, they would eat this up. And another chain is always a plus.

Sold.

I would also encourage DST to focus on Medusa and Karnak. And maybe Loki too, I still don't feel like we've gotten the definitive version.

I don't know, this is pure speculation on my part, but I thought I remembered a quote from Zack that Marvel had turned down Fantastic Four related characters as well, but then again it was a while ago when I read that. I seem to think he was saying that the Fantastic Four wave we got was good timing, because Marvel had told them not to do any characters from that part of the universe going forward.

Yeah, from what I understand the Fantastic Four are the only ones that are completely off-limits, the X-Men are still profitable enough that they don't want to shut them down completely.

I suspect modern, that's been more their leaning lately. As for NBX, these look great, I hope these are out by Christmas, I was hoping to make something with 'mates and I need a Santa.

Especially since rumor has it Jack O'Lantern is another character Marvel Legends is about to beat you to. And that's not even counting the Toybiz two...

Ah skeet skeet skeet!!

Make them all. I'll buy them.

I'm not trying to tag anybody specifically, but I missed out on Series 1 and was thinking of picking up these, and then when I looked for the first set and saw how much they were selling for, I pretty much decided there was no point in pursuing the rest. I know toy companies don't typically do second runs much anymore, but if you're going to put so many major characters together and never make the set available again, you're kind of shooting the rest of the line in the foot.

What about a case of police, firefighters, paramedics, doctors and soldiers with alternate parts to make them into zombies? You can mix and match them up and in theory have hundreds of combinations.

You know what I mean!! Haha

I'm glad to see they're finally making 'mates of kids where it's applicable.

Gordon and Bruce Wayne two-pack just revealed on Toynewsi. http://toynewsi.com/ig.php?mode=view&album=Diamond%2F2015_SDCC_Exclusives_DST&pic=Gotham2PkSDCC.jpg&dispsize=600&start=0&sl=24813

I don't think they'll ever completely ban X-Men, they're still too profitable and Marvel would be injuring themselves by ignoring them completely, I do feel they're likely to stay in their own seperate world for quite some time. The Fantastic Four though? I think they're gone until something changes with the rights.

Pretty sure Chuck said recently in Ask DST that the Wrecking Crew makes more sense for two-packs. And I don't know how well the first split-run Legends figure did, but I'm pretty sure they still have not released the remaining members. Calling the IM 10-pack a cheap cash-in seems a bit much. It was meant to be a nice display set for established collectors, as well as an introductory set for someone who hasn't been buying every variation of Iron Man since the first movie. Some of those figures hadn't been available at retail in five years. You're right, reading it back again I was a bit more harsh than was necessary, so I apologize for getting a bit snarky. I don't react well to people saying that giving your opinion to the people who want you to buy their product is somehow unreasonable. And if Chuck did say that I missed it, I just know that I have seen him shoot the Crew down several times as a standalone box set, and I recall one time making a case for packing each member of the Crew or a Master of Evil with a different variation of an A-Lister, and the reaction was something to the effect of "Even with an A-Lister some characters just aren't viable at retail" or something to that effect. I wish I could link to that exchange, but I believe it was a few years ago. It always sat wrong with me because that's exactly how Hasbro did it with the Marvel Universe series except for Wrecker himself. I understand where DST is coming from, really I do, as much as I have loved some of the comic box sets in the past, I wasn't blind to the fact that they didn't sell very well. Or at least not as well as was necessary. I am curious though, how did the Thunderbolts and the Dark Avengers sets do? Those are some of my favorites of all time, and I don't recall hearing that they weren't successful. Maybe I'm wrong about that. I do think the idea of possibly keeping the box set design as it is now but adding a cover that opens on the front that could simulate a famous image done in 'mates style might be a really cool marketing idea, it allows people to see what's inside but also catches the eye and draws attention to the superior playability that 'mates have over almost all minifigures. Finally, on a very off-topic note but I don't have anywhere else to ask you, any updates on the Valiant line? Thanks Zach.

Considering they're making a product that they want people to give them money for, I think any feedback is the right of the consumer, and it's a bit absurd to tell anyone to "give it a rest." Many people have made valid points about the successes and failures of past exclusives that varied in terms of how much they catered to collectors and casual fans. It's a real shame but also a bit of a reality check that the Alpha Flight sets didn't perform better when DST clearly put so much effort into them, but at the same time I'm rather glad to see the IM3 10-pack selling for 50% or more off the original price because that set was a blatant attempt to cash in on the movie while putting in almost no work or incentive to purchase it for people who had been collecting more than about a week. I certainly don't want to see that sort of product encouraged either. There is no sure bet choice, and I have to grudgingly admit a Wrecking Crew or Masters of Evil box set might not be as exciting to the casual fan as it would be to me. However, I call total BS on this idea that a set of four two-packs where each one contains one member of the Crew and one well-known Avenger won't sell, which has been claimed in the past. When characters are selling at retail in other Marvel lines at higher price points, I grow weary of hearing that they're not viable for 'mates.

I think it just comes down to the product itself, we have seen evidence that focusing on the hardcore fans doesn't sell very well with the Alpha Flight sets, and we have also seen that trying to tie in to a movie release can also be a huge flop with the Iron Man 3 10 pack. There is no perfect option, but I certainly think it doesn't have to be one or the other.

For better or worse, and there are a lot of people who whine about the Hasbro SDCC exclusives because apparently they live in this fantasy world where Hasbro should go out of their way to make sure they get one at no higher than the retail price and mail it to their house free of charge, but to me it feels like Hasbro and some other companies look at their SDCC Exclusives as something really special, an opportunity to do something they don't ordinarily get to do, and I feel like DST has started to view them more as just another opportunity to release product, especially this year, it feels like they are supplements to product they were releasing anyway, and this is just the avenue they chose. And there's nothing wrong with that approach, but it certainly makes it less exciting.

I know we shouldn't put this idea in their heads, but if they were making box sets with that level of variety and newness, I'd pay more than I'm paying for box sets now. $25-30 for a box set with 3-4 new characters is still a better value to me than $20 for a box set with only one new character.

I'm referring to a lot of characters who have as much or more presence in multimedia, such as Toad and Abomination. And this is not a criticism, because I think EVERY character can be viable, but I've seen an updated Abomination shot down unless they bring him back in the movies, and Toad has been in limbo for about a decade now. Toad was in two movies, Abomination was in one that is in the MCU continuity, both have been in comics for decades and in video games, but I have seen Chuck use very questionable logic to shoot down characters in the past, so that's what I'm referring to. Again, I'm not criticizing, I think this is a GREAT thing, but you can make a case for any character's viability, and there are lots of characters who are equally viable to Dazzler and Howard or even more so, that's what I'm reacting to. And I know DST gets to choose who they produce, and that's completely their decision, but I do hope that people remember this two-pack when we're told that Abomination doesn't merit a bulked up version or that Toad isn't in the works because they lack "appeal." Eye of the beholder.

I will say, and this isn't a criticism because I'm glad they're doing it, but the choice of Dazzler and Howard the Duck for a two pack in this wave renders a lot of the arguments against several characters not having the recognizability or the appeal to get made pretty much irrelevant.

I may end up with a second Winter Ops Hawkeye, I just want the Ultron Drone, if so I'm willing to sell it.

And what about that Wolverine cameo?! I didn't realize Marvel could use the X-Men as long as it was the Ultimate versions!!

How is it we have an army builder case and one in the LCS wave and I still am having a hard time finding Ultron Drones for a reasonable price?