The San Diego ComicCon has moved into a whole new stratosphere in recent years. Initially merely a large comic convention, it somehow migrated to a Geek Mecca where Hollywood, Comics, and Toy Companies collide to give us glimpses at what cool new things are on the horizon for our nerd pleasure. It is pretty astounding to see just what it has become.
Of course as part of the allure of ComicCon, there are the SDCC Exclusives…toys that are launched at SDCC and for sale initially only at SDCC. This has always created a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” which has sometimes generated some hostility not just in the fandom, but directed back at the manufacturers. But Hasbro seems to have found a balance. By offering the items through SDCC, but also at HasbroToyShop, they seem to be able to please everyone, and in recent years there hasn’t been an obvious shortage of opportunities to get what you want.
This is not the case with Mattel, who year after year generates mountains of frustration among their fans with a strange voucher pre-order system that doesn’t even guarantee you a figure if you travel all the way to ComicCon. Not to mention when they post items for sale after the fact, MattyCollector.com gets so hammered that nobody can access the retail store. In general, it seems like a mammoth cluster… you get the idea.
Now not only does Hasbro seem to have the system at least somewhat ironed out, but the numbers of cool exclusives they are getting out there is amazing. Now, most of this is probably because they’re far and away the #1 Boys Toys brand in the market, but it really is incredible just how many cool toys they can get into collectors’ hands through SDCC. Anyone reading this right now already knows about Sgt. Slaughter:
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I mean, look at this figure! Sure there are complaints about the lack of musculature and the placement of the torso joint/USA logo (which I can certainly appreciate) but there is a metric ton of new tooling, great accessories, and even new points of articulation. Any long time fan who has been clamoring for Slaughter is gonna be loving this.
And while I haven’t been keeping up with the Marvel stuff as much as I’d like to, I can’t help but drool at what Hasbro has there as well:
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Before I go on…let me say one thing. Yes that is a TWO FOOT FREAKING TALL CARDED ACTION FIGURE. How awesome is that? Not to mention the bad ass WW II Captain America and an impressive Thor figure to tie into the upcoming movie as well.
Hell, even Star Wars has my interest this year!
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Bet you thought Darth Maul was dead, eh? Hell, I’m an uber-geek and even I thought Darth Maul was dead. What the hell is this? It’s Darth frikken Maul with cyborg horse legs. ROCK.
So yeah…for G.I. Joe fans or for toy fans, Hasbro has got it going on this year. Maybe one day I’ll make it to SDCC…but until then I’ll sit back and enjoy it vicariously through the hundreds of thousands of others. Can’t wait to hear what’s on the horizon!
“Bet you thought Darth Maul was dead, eh? Hell, I’m an uber-geek and even I thought Darth Maul was dead. What the hell is this? It’s Darth frikken Maul with cyborg horse legs. ROCK.”
Wookieepedia entry (read non-cannon appearances section)
“Hunting Obi-Wan”
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darth_Maul
That Galactus WILL BE MINE, SHORT LEGS AND ALL!!!!!!!!!
*CANON
I don’t know about these Slaughters. The more pictures I see of them they just look kinda…off.
At first, I thought the belt buckle was a caricature like he adds on to his autograph but I think it’s actually supposed to be the Marine Corps emblem but it’s so poorly done that it looks like a caricature of Rabbi Slaughter. And the badge on the hat is pretty poorly detailed too.
I wonder what the camo pattern on the variant version is from. It doesn’t match the original figure or the cartoon model nor is it even modern Marine camo. Heck, it doesn’t even match the card art. Now, the card art look badass (with the exception of that stuck in there after the fact swagger stick). That’s the figure I wish they were delivering.
I think what really irritates me is the $12.99 price tag. The 3.75″ Marvel offerings are only $9.99 (there’s a movie Spider-Man too). Are they really charging $3 for a plastic case?
I mean, I’m probably going to try and pick up one of each online but I’m not going to be happy about it. I’m going to hit the keys really hard. That’ll learn ’em.
Due, the winner in that Star Wars pack is bad-ass Uncle Owen, who {spoiler} puts a rifle round through Robo-Maul’s noggin, saving old Ben Kenobi!{end spoiler}
And yes, Hasbro is teh bomb. I’m going to try and hit them up on preview night for my Slaughters and Captain A. We’ll see. Good times!
Can’t wait to get the Slaughters!
First Venom, now Slaughter, soon Low-Light! Woot!
I don’t need another Thor or Captain America, I can wait for Galactus at retail, and the Darth Faun figure is just ridiculous. Sgt. Slaughter is awesome, though, and I’m really looking forward to him. He’s the only Hasbro exclusive for me this year, but I might buy Mattel’s Starro set.
I can’t stand Slaughter as a part of Joe mythos. Never did like it. I’m glad they’re releasing him in this method, it makes sense. But, I’m a G.I. Slave, so I’ll get one of him.
As for the rest, Thor irks me. He’s a nice looking figure. Why’d they wait until an exclusive that has a Thor head that doesn’t look stupid? The comic pack was a joke, the single pack looked odd, every time I see his head, it reminds me of the creature from Pan’s Labyrinth. The Captain America looks good, but as I’m watching my budget, I can only get things that fit in my ‘world’ of things, and I don’t see him fitting. I might try for him, don’t know. Big negative on Darth Faun. It just looks goofy to me. Man, that Galactus calls to me, I just don’t have the funds for it now that we’re single income.
I bought the cartoon version Slaughter from a Hong Kong toy store last weekend. Guess it came directly from a Chinese factory before being shipped to the US. Anyway, awesome figure! My only complaint is that the baton is bent inside bubble. Wish they hadn’t placed it in the figure’s hand.
Well, I’m excited about the Marvel exclusives, the Star Wars exclusives and heck I even kinda dig the Transformers exclusives.
However, I’m a Joe fan and man do those Sgt Slaughter figures suck.
Marvel has a 19″ Galactus ! Star Wars has a reborn Darth Maul! Transformers has a G1 answer to Soundwave! We get….an overweight wrestler with flabby granny arms????
Worst GIJoe exclusive EVER. And this during an onslaught of some of the greatest GIJoe figures we’ve ever seen. Shame Hasbro. Shame.