stack32

If you were a retailer, would you actually risk your own money on that wave? Each individual pack might make sense as part of a TRU wave (though I'd question the wisdom of releasing a set to go with a box set from 2004) but putting them all together sounds suicidal.

Zach has said it would be mostly big names and mostly heroes, potentially one villain and one new character. And, despite all the discussion in this thread, there's no indication it has anything to do with the sexual habits of any Marvel characters.

While I'm sure much of the criticism is overheated and probably has as much to do with all of the other things that have upset people about the Spider-Man books over the past five years or so I don't see any inconsistency here. If you like the character of Peter Parker as Spider-Man and that character is removed than an awful lot of what you like about the book is gone. It's not like people are reading to catch up on the continuing adventures of Aunt May.

This might be the first TRU wave I skip. I have zero interest in the Phoenix versions of the characters and I'm not really a fan of the Now costumes. Maybe I'll change my mind once I see them in stores. Since we are getting all the major Avengers in Now costumes I might cave.

This is why we don't have a Thor with bulked-up arms: Come on, that's just ridiculous.

While I have some concerns about how the second and third cases will sell at TRU, isn't it just a bit early to be calling them pegwarmers? Didn't the first cases just start hitting stores 5-6 weeks ago? I've yet to see any minimate line that burns through three cases in that amount of time at my TRUs.

Given the lack of major success for anything Universal Monsters related, maybe it's a little presumptuous to be saying it's Chuck that's in denial? I would be interested to hear how DST decides to approach various properties. Obviously the expectations for Clerks are much different than those for Aliens, but they must see a way to make money off of both. I'd also guess licensing plays a big deal in all of this. Didn't Zach say Thief of Thieves is getting made basically because it came with all the other Kirkman properties?

Is anyone complaining about Wolverine burnout besides comic fans who were already complaining about Wolverine burnout? I find it hard to believe it's actually an issue for the average moviegoer.

If it's between the fans and Chuck as to who has a better feel for what is worth making, I've gotta give it to Chuck. He actually has sales and cost data to work with. And there are lots of fans who have a really skewed sense of the popularity of whatever property they choose to get behind. Which isn't to say DST gets it right every time, but I think they get it right more than we think. Universal Monsters, for example, probably could have been broken up in a way that would have helped it sell a little better. But how much better? If we're talking about minor changes that wouldn't have increased costs I find it hard to believe there's much they could have done that would have made another wave viable.

Was there an in-story reason for why Superior Spider-Man needed to change costumes again? Or is that just what Marvel does now?

If we don't hear Chris Hemsworth say "Ultron. We would have words with thee." in this movie I'm going to be disappointed.

Yeah, that control art is awesome. IMDB says there were 12 Marines. Think we'll get them all?

In the comics I can believe that Batman can handle Superman, at least to a certain degree and as long as kryptonite is involved. But Man of Steel so successfully showed the godlike power of Superman in a somewhat realistic setting that it's going to be very tough to make Batman a credible threat without diminishing Superman.

So if Electro is packed with Spider-Man we'll have a 616 and Ultimate figure packed together? In this case I don't care since I'm not interested in either figure but I'm not crazy about the idea in general.

I hope there's still time to make Thor less gold than the minimate (and Select figure) on display. That doesn't seem to match up well with the pictures on the movie site. Looks like Loki is just Avengers Loki without a helmet?

I liked the Mecha-Hulk minimate better before that review reminded me what the actual figure looked like. The figure design is much better.

One of the T-800 Terminators would probably be your best bet.

Needed some updates because of SDCC. Top 10: * Rocket Raccoon (2008 GotG) * Major Victory * Gladiator (Kallark) * Crystal (Avengers) * Black Knight (Dane Whitman) * Groot (2008 GotG) * Darkhawk * Drax the Destroyer (2008 GotG) * Star-Lord (2008 GotG) * Executioner (Has to come with an axe and two M-16s.)

If it's Age of Ultron then DST will have saved me a lot money with the last few box set announcements.

It still has to make $70 million to match Hellboy II. It's probably got a chance to beat that, but it sure doesn't look to me like it's going to make sequel money.

The Luke likeness is better than the 3 3/4" versions, but I think it's awfully generous to say it rivals Hot Toys. If you were assuming these were going to be essentially Star Wars versions of Marvel Legends then I can see how you might be satisfied. Well, aside from R2's scale issues anyway. However, between the already high quality of the 3 3/4" line and the impression of a premium product Hasbro has been giving since the announcement I was definitely hoping for something more. I didn't think they could match the level of work NECA has been doing lately, but I thought they might come closer, especially given the price.

The waves that are about to come out have new characters, but as far as announcements go it's been a while since we've heard that there are new characters coming. Or at least it feels that way, I don't know that I'd say DST is actually lacking in getting new characters out.

The minimate version of Yukio is much less creepy than the real actress. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.

If anyone is looking for MOTU or TMNT Pops there are some pretty good deals on Amazon right now. I picked up all four Turtles along with He-Man and Skeletor for $47.

I'm actually pretty happy to get various shades of Green for the different Hulks. Apart from being true to the art they are representing, it also makes for better diversity in my collection. Same goes for the yellows on Wolverine, Reds on IronMan, Blues on Cap etc... It also makes it impossible to swap parts. A little diversity is okay but it would be nice to not have every Hulk be a different color.