The Many faces of Storm Shadow

The New York Toy Fair has come and gone, and now as many times we all get "giddy." Often I run through several message boards remarking on what I feel is the state of the 1:18th scale at that moment. However, after noticing people resurrecting the threads for some weird reason a full year later (some to advertise their own coverage, weird) I just decided to take this mess to the house. So first up MARVEL who has received a great deal of attention from me the last year.

Some will call me an A$$ cause I am not all sunshine and rainbows, but honestly I just call it like I see them. No one in the universe has to agree with me, I don't care about that. At the same time I will not sugar coat things that need to be said. Because of that I get that "negative" reputation no matter how much I counterbalance those views with the positive, I suppose cause some only want "Sunshine and rainbows" and refuse to see things in a different light. Whatever the case may be, this is my reactions to what we have seen.

Before I start, yes I actually stole press pictures ;-). Nobody recognizes my press cred man LOL.

Well this wave had been seen and talked about already, but there was an odd announcement that Cable would have a running change of possibly not having Hope. This suits me fine as baby armor is kind of weird anyway. Still it makes me wonder why did they bother to tell us that Hope would be removable. I tend to lean to incompetence again, but who knows.

Looks like the rumors are true, anyway. I am just grouping these by the rumored waves:

Ultron-UGGGH a total waste of time and energy, The only difference in this fig is some green highlights, simply put, horrible.
Sub Mariner-I have never been a huge fan of Namor, I got his MLS speedo version but I always felt it was an odd costume for a hero, even one who spent a majority of his time underwater. Not very impressed, easy pass.
X-23-She looks like a raccoon. Seriously. Fine we get a new female body sculpt but it is ugly, I mean shoulder pads died in the 1980's. Nevermind the fact I am really not interested in Wolverina.
Falcon-Best fig of the wave and the one I know I will be hunting down.
Steve Rogers-Not at a fan of this outfit nor the reason it exists. Rogers is Cap to me and should stay as such (unless forced out, not "Oh you do it a while Bucky" as is happening now).

This is quite possibly the worst MU wave I have ever seen to date. Almost the whole wave is an easy pass and the star of the wave makes me want to laugh. Even the "New" stuff doesn't interest me that much. Actually now that I think about it, we have 3 figs that have had renditions in MU already, so I guess that isn't really that new.

Dr. Strange-At last the Defenders can reunite. That one makes me very happy
Scarlet Spiderman-AKA Spider-bum, I have to many spider-man's anyway so this is an easy pass. I'll just say it, I hate Scarlet Spider (Yeah, I know some out there are going "How can you hate Scarlet Spider?" I just do, it would take too long to explain.
Skarr-HAHAHAHA is that Hulk in drag, Did someone slap a wing on WW Hulk, that is terrible.
Dr. Doom-Better colors but STILL the same figure, Those arms are crap (as they were on Ultron) and need fixing so Doom can set his arms down to his side. Not getting sucked in so I pass.
Darkhawk-OK truly the figure I never, ever thought I would see, I love it. Kind of makes you laugh at those who said the rumor list couldn't be real because of DH's inclusion. But of course they won't admit that now.

On to Comic Packs

Deadpool vs. Taskmaster-I've said it a few times, but TASKMASTER!!!!! I kind of like the Deadpool too.

Wolverine vs. Silver Samurai-AWESOME also with the few Wolverine's I would consider picking up. Definite grabber
Powerman vs. Iron Fist-I admit when I heard about this set I was skeptical, but now that I see it I like it. Granted I think Iron Fist could be better, but I will try to ignore that.

X-men First Class-That is one UGLY Jean. Someone announced this as X-Factor, which I would have been ok with, but the normal blue and gelds do nothing for me most of the time. Cyclops's body looks better somehow but the overall figures do nothing for me. Easy Pass

Wolverine vs. Sabertooth-My guess is Hasbro has some extra Wolverine Origins molds laying around, is there really any reason to consider this one? Did anyone really miss out on 'Tooth who wanted him when he was on clearance?
Spiderman vs Captain Britain-Honestly I have never liked that look for Captain Britain, plus this will be the 3rd release in under a year. Add to that, even though Spidey appears to have new articulation I HAVE ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

Quicksilver vs Wonderman-I am not sure who's idea this is, but give that man a beer cause literally that is one of the best groupings ever. I GOTTA HAVE IT!

Also not shown was a comic pack that included a favorite of mine, Adam Warlock. However, the figure is said to be packed with Thanos. Now keep in mind I had to jump through some hoops to get Thanos (and pay quite a bit extra) so in a way this pisses me off royally. Had I known or had a hint Thanos would be repacked so soon I would never have gone through all the crap I did to get him. It's moments like that in which I get so frustrated with collecting.

We also got closer looks at the Sentinel, I have to say that I am not excited over that one. I think the ML is better and I am honestly considering tracking one down rather than go after the MU one.

The Team Packs:

X-Force-This is the tough one, I really want Warpath, I have always said I would like an X-Force Wolverine with shorter stature, and I kind of dig Deadpool. However I am not a huge fan of the Wolvie Head and the exclusion of the silver subbed with gray makes this set less visually stunning. It is a maybe, but leaning to no.

Fantastic Four (Yeah I know some are calling it Fantastic 3, but I remember the Cartoon too)-First of I am royally peeved that Hasbro didn't release Sue in single pack. Thing looks improved though. I am not a huge fan of the short sleeve look of the FF either. But H.E.R.B.I.E is a cool addition. Ultimately I think the cons outweigh the pros here.

Avengers-Each Time I see this set I am more impressed. While Hulk's old look isn't my fav, I just love this figure. I really love what they did with the IM2 Original Iron man to make the gold one, and that Thor is the best produced by Hasbro yet (not sure if it beats the MLS version yet). Defiantly going to try to grab this one.

Ultimately it appears to me the MU line is losing steam. The Singles have some cool figs but most leave me cold. The comic packs are about 50/50 to me and the team packs are some good ideas but I am very unsure of most of them. This time last year I was very excited, now I am just kind of "cool but meh."

Next up THOR!

But first a few words about Thor, I am VERY DISAPPOINTED in the fact that there are NO Comic figures in this series. I think Hasbro is underestimating Thor. Thor is probably my favorite Marvel character so some might say I have a bias. But there was an opportunity to give fans characters like Ulik, Beta Ray Bill, Thunderstrike and many more that has been completely blown and Hasbro should be called on it. Hasbro implied strongly that there would be comic figures for us (search Q&A's). Would they sell, hard to say, fans say yes, but I personally feel they would sell better than the 100 repaints of Thor we are about to get.

We know this is (mostly) the first wave, however after this point things are still fuzzy, so I will do my best on it but it will probably be jumbled

Modern Thor-Not sure what is so modern here, but I don't like the false cape on him, easy pass

Sword Strike Thor-This is the one I kind of like and will probably grab. I do want a Movie Thor regardless of the fact that the Comic line is not here.

Loki-Holding out on the helmet Loki (see below) he looks tons better.

Odin-I like, but I think I like the repaint a bit more (see below). I have no need for multiple Odin's.

"Light up Thor"-Easy pass, lacking articulation and a gimmick makes a figure like this not a big deal to me.

So right off the bat, Thor is looking weak, but evidenced further by:

I mean, I expected a few repaints, but this is ludicrous, very few of these appeal to me but I will go over them anyway.

Asgard Attack Thor-Straight repaint of the Modern one, and easy to pass up as I am not too fond of that mold.

Cosmic Armor Thor-I do kind of like the darker colors, will probably get. But did they even bother to change the accessories?

Lightning Fury Thor-Is there even a change beyond the launcher? I am not seeing it.

Lightning Power Thor-I think this is the taller Thor, so easy pass, still hard to desert.

Lord of Asgard Thor-OK this one is a surprise but Thor looks dumb in his helmet. I was not expecting that. Not sure if that says something about the film and it's design or if it says something about Hasbro (probably both) but I actually like Thor without the helmet better. The helmet should be removable, but from all accounts it is not, another bone-head move.

Thunder Axe Thor-See above. Also isn't that the exact same figure? Looks like it to me.

So one out of six (that is if Lightning power is 1:18th scale). Yeah I am one person but really I cannot imagine what would be appealing about so many Thors and I LOVE Thor.

Further in the repaint-a-palosia:

Some people think I am unfair to Hasbro, but really this is where I get the idea they are not even trying. There is more that I will get to later in other lines as well.

Fire blast Destroyer-Looks much better than the other, but is obviously the same mold with some minor alterations.

Destroyer-not sure if "Light up" is the proper name but shares a great deal with the Fire blast, personally I think Fireblast is the one I will get.

Sorcerer fury Loki-Why does this figure exist, a terrible repaint of a figure I was none too impressed with.

Odin-While I question this figure's existence, I do like the colors better than the first one, especially the gold eye patch. Why not release this one in the first place?

Loki-again why not release this one first. He looks much more the part and (although he uses some parts of the other Loki's) looks ten times better than the other two. defiantly what I am holding out on.

ARRRGH! I hope everyone is seeing what I mean about being disappointed in this line, but lets get to the good parts: The other Asgardians:

So yes I blocked out Fendrals stupid launcher, only way I could fit them all the way I wanted.

Fandral-My least favorite of the Warriors 3, but a necessary part, he looks the part, defiantly getting.

Hogun the Grim-He seems off, part of it is the lack of the signature horned helmet and beard, even though this is movie influenced I would think those elements should be present. Still he is passable.

Volstaag-Did he go on a diet? The memories I have from the comic he makes Louie Anderson look thin, still I guess there were some limits set, and he does look ok.

Hiemdall-This is the character I was most on the fence about (and before anyone says it, it had nothing to do with race, those that are going on about that are morons) but honestly this figure really impressed me and is topping my list of Non-Thor figs to get.

Sif-Looks FANTASTIC. At least Hasbro gave us this to look forward to.

All in all a few gems among a pile of turds. Really disappointed in this line overall, too many Thors, too many repaints. Iron Man could get away with the variations, Thor doesn't fit into that category as well. Nor does Odin and Loki. The saving grace of this line is Destroyer and the Asguardians, but I expect to see plenty of Thor's clinging to the shelves and that is a shame.

On to X-Men First Class:

Oh wait, there is nothing. Which I must say is one of the biggest bonehead moves Marvel and Hasbro has done in a while.

For the sake of argument, let's just say First Class will suck. Still there was chances for tons of cool characters here that need to be done, Beast, Emma Frost, Charles Xavier. Even if the rushed nature of this movie is a problem, Hasbro could have easily released a mostly comic based line to support it. It kind of worked for Wolverine Origins (but I think price hurt that line mort than anything, once they hit clearance they seemed to fly off the shelves). Anyway I see a great deal of potential wasted here, especially since Hasbro implied they would have some X-men products for us (search Q&A's you'll find it).

Next up, Captain America

While Thor receives no Comic related figures, the Cap Line seems to be mostly Comic and Comic influenced figures. Why? Who knows, but it lends credence to the idea that bone-heads run Hasbro. My only other possible explanation is they are experimenting to see which sells better so they know how to focus the line for the Avengers movie. Gee, don't they often claim to have market research for that? On with the figs.

Once again not everything has been made clear so I will do my best:

WW2 Cap-I really like, but also have no use for. Might add to my B-day wish list.

Comic Cap-LOVE IT!!! 100 times better than any version from the MU line. A must have.

Ultimate Cap-Seems kind of pointless, I will have to pass on him, I really hate that shield.

Winter Soldier-The toughest fig for me to call. I like the MU version, I don't need another even though this is an improvement. I might end up passing on it ultimately.

"Bucky" Cap-Not a huge fan of that look to be honest, I will pass I think.

Crossbones-YES!!!! Love it, gotta have it.

Final Battle Cap-As the movie version I will grab this one. I kind have this desire to have all the main figs from the movies.

US Agent-One of the top of my "Cap but not Cap" list. I hate the shield but the rest of the fig rocks.

Captain Britain-As I said earlier, I am fine with the MU version, this one is an slight improvement, but I don't feel an overwhelming desire for him.

And like Thor, apparently Hasbro thinks Cap is like Iron Man:

So I am calling this what it is, STUPID! Again opportunities are wasted on repaints that serve no purpose. So I will run it down here:

Hero Power-ARRGH another light up, pass.

Desert Fatigues-Straight repaint of WW2, is there a point? Nope.

Arctic Cap-I give some props to this, at least it looks the part and required some new toolings rather than a straight repaint, I might just get it.

Jungle Assault Cap-This one actually irritates me. Camo with bright red and white? That's stealthy. Even as a novelty fig this is kind of annoying.

Night Cap-HUH? So I guess digital camo on the paints makes this fig new, NOPE!

Maybe I should thank Hasbro for saving me some money, but I doubt it.

No Red Skull, no Hydra agents. I suppose these will come out in the fall and Hasbro will blame the film for not having designs done? This FEELS like the same way they marketed the Iron Man line. However that will never work with Cap, the characters are too different. But also notice only one movie figure. Weird to say the least.

A brief stop at Iron Man for a sec:

Nothing very new, but I will say with closer looks I kind of like the Translucent Inferno Armor and the Blue War Machine. Added with the Gold Shield breaker and RP of the Hypervelocity, that brings me up to 4 out of a wave of 11 repaints. Still I think the point is made, while repaints can be expected and in some ways are not so bad for some characters, they can drag down many lines and give an impression of laziness.

Also absolutely no word about the unmasked Iron Man, War Machine with Black Widow three pack. WTH, one of the most popular and asked about 3 packs of this line and nothing. To me this reeks of Bone head moves.

Also there was a repaint of the Humvee type truck from the line. I kind of dig it but am also on the fence.

Now on to GI Joe (again going off of rumor lists for waves):

Blowtorch-UMMM why? This figure appeared about two years ago and is still easy to find on the secondary market, there is very little difference that I can see (maybe the mask but I am not sure) so what (if any) is the point of this figure other than to make the line seem cheap, What did they have extra lying around?
General Hawk-I am just going to say it, I think this was Duke but they changed the name to avoid a Duke revolt since they keep releasing him. Really a bland figure and that is shocking in a wave that appears to be mostly rehashes and repaints.
Steel Brigade Trooper-I have never thought highly of Steel Brigade troopers, easy pass, just a personal preference.
Cobra Trooper-Appears to be new, but at the same time I have a ton, I have the same trouble with Clones and Stormtroopers. Might get one but not more.
Cobra Commander-Best figure of the wave IMO. Wondering if Hasbro isn't shooting for an "Ultimate CC" here like they have done with Snake Eyes. However I am wondering why he has repainted accessories from the MASS device?
Jungle B.A.T.-I was really behind this figure, but the lazier than lazy reuse of HD's Gun and lack of arm attachments kind of makes me rethink that. Very on the fence for this one. But notice he has matching crystal to CC I sense a theme going on.

Next Wave:

Crazylegs-Not one of my favorites, but is a kind of cool figure, you would think that whoever took the pic would have straightened the head.

Iron Grenader-While uses Destro's body from the previous wave, since I avoided Destro it is easy to pass this off as a heavy weapons version of the IG.

Rock Viper-Not sure what I was expecting, but somehow I feel let down. Probably will pass. I will be honest that I am not 100% sure what turns me off. I know part of it is there is nothing that says "COBRA" about this figure, he could be a Joe for all anyone knows.

Viper-While I see some improvements, I am not overly impressed, feels like (once again) treading old ground.

Croc Master-LAZY! so they give him some of ROC Cobra Commander's and Crimson Viper accessories and Shadow Tracker's net and just repaint it. ARGH!

Temple Guardian Snake Eyes-I wasn't planning on getting this figure anyway, but I have to be blunt, this figure PISSED ME OFF! Look closely and you see this is flat repaint of "Training" Storm Shadow (from a comic pack about two years ago), now I go off on a tangent:

Now not sure what is going on at Hasbro, but let's look back a second. MU has loads of repaints (Granted not as bad as the movie lines), Thor, bunches of repaints, Captain America, lots of repaints, Iron Man is almost all repaints, now GI Joe is almost ALL repaints-what gives here? I know, some are saying "Oh but Hasbro has to repaint to off-set costs." I have always said to that, why don't they just produce less. In the past Hasbro has claimed that retailers like Wal-Mart insist they keep stock changing, yet when you look around lines like Ben-10, Power Rangers, ect. who get more shelf space barely change more than twice a year if that. Also Lanard's CORPS line might change once a decade yet they get lots more shelf space as well. So if it really is the retailers why isn't the rules universal? Thing is this type of marketing only came about after Toybiz started it in the early 1990's.

"Oh but you have to have lots of the main character(s) in the line" Yes that worked so well for Indiana Jones, that's the reason there are so many Spider-Man's and Iron Man's warming the pegs. Truth is you can't argue with people who "love" Hasbro (weather it is that they feel obligated due to "favors" from the PR department or if they own stock or whatever reason). In there eyes Hasbro can do no wrong no matter how much it smacks people in the face. But I have heard almost every "explanation" imaginable and I am just sick of it. Flat out, toy companies want my money, give me something worthwhile to buy and not the same old same old.

But to me, this just screams lazy, unimaginative, and failure to understand their market. Essentially I am saying this is why I refuse to make everything sunshine and rainbows, cause it ain't. Nor to I throw my support for an overabundance of repaints and rehashes. I want new characters and new ideas, not the rehashed ideas over and over. Sure you can improve on an idea like the above Cobra Commander, but make it an improvement and not just another rehash. I just refuse to toss my money away anymore hoping for improvements and not getting any.

AHH that felt good, now onward. I am not going over the repainted HISS and VAMP for what should be obvious reasons. But the remainder of the Joe figs revealed carry some promise:

Hazmat Trooper-is silly looking, but silly enough to work. I kind of like it.

Techno Viper-GREAT! Love it. Defiantly picking that one up.

Firefly-Not liking the nose peeking in the mask, kind of looks weird. Will probably pass even though I like the rest of the fig. However I still hate how he was handled in Renegades.

Duke-Is ok, even though he is Duke. Will pass as I have too many Dukes.

Snake Eyes-Is good, but after wave 3 POC I can pass on him easy.

Cobra Commander-Better than I would expect from Renegades design. After the above one I doubt I will get him, but he looks ok.

Lastly there are some mystery Figures out there.

There is some debate one what and where these figs fit into the scheme of things. The most prevailing theory is that they are figures for the 30th anniversary edition.

Sci-Fi-Looks great, a definite must have.

Stalker-not sure about him but will probably get. The Dreadlocks make me think of Bob Marley though.

Storm Shadow-AWESOME! I love it, looks like a stab at an "Ultimate" Storm Shadow. Defiantly a great looking figure.

Someone on a message board said Stormy was "Obviously influenced by Renegades" I was thinking when I read that "You ever actually watch that show?" and offer the below comparison:

OK the Renegades SS has short sleeves while this one has long, The fig has no gray highlights, the hand gear kind of matches, but barely and such gear has been seen on a dozen or so Stormys. The bandage like head wrap of the Renegades cartoon appears not to be present on the figure. The strap color doesn't match. The face is not as exposed on the figure as it is in the cartoon design. The bagginess of the pants isn't present in the figure either. Where exactly is the inspiration? In the above figures from the last wave the influence is obvious, but here it is nonexistent. I think it is hilarious the conclusions some people come up with.

The other thing I liked a great deal was the Black Dragon which is just a cool little toy:

This is a prime example of how Hasbro does something right. It's a cool vehicle with influences from real vehicles but also has a nice blend of streamlined elements that make it unique. This is where I think Hasbro really should be concentrating their efforts in relation to GI Joe and not on constant repaints and redone versions of tired concepts. Expand and give us fans something to be proud of, not feeding us the same old sad roster of worn out characters and ideas. I admit I wish it had a canopy, but a minor gripe in comparison to how cool this thing will look with the new retooled Skystriker, oh did I forget that:

On this one, at least the plane hasn't worn out it's welcome, it is a cool plane with a cool concept behind it and it harks back to those early days of GI Joe. Will I get it, probably not, but I can appreciate it as long as it's not shoved down my face with a million repaints. But the repaint of it does have an interesting twist.

Yes that is a Skystriker painted up to look like Starscream. Also it includes a repainted Ace with a Cobra Commander head who carries a blaster that resembles Megatron. This the version I want but it is exclusive to SDCC which probably means it will be costly. Still I am keeping my eyes open to see what the price point ends up being. I think I would love it if the plane transformed, but that isn't the case, oh well.

There was also a set of Zarana figs shown that are cool but no word on how those will be released.

Now on to STAR WARS:

The Vintage line has irritated me for many of the reasons I have listed about repaints and rehashes, is that changing, well no, but once again there are a few gems among the mess.

UGGGH!

Luke Skywalker-AGAIN, that is like 3 Pilot Luke's in a year, ENOUGH! I am sick of Pilots as it is.

Clone Trooper-AGAIN, and same old bland one AGAIN! stick it in Saga Legends

AT-RT Driver-See Above

Weegay Skiff Master-OK I know this is different (a bit) from "Skiff Guard" but it reeks of same old.

Fi-Ek Sirch-What, something I haven't seen a hundred times, COOL, will defiantly get.

General Lando-been a long time since the last one, but this one doesn't look like much of an improvement.

So one out of six for this wave, yep saving more money.

Bespin Han (maybe Echo base since he does have the welder and goggles): IT'S ABOUT FRACKING TIME HASBRO!!!!!!! Super win.

Barriss Offee-VERY COOL, her Clone Wars counter part is good too, but I like this one a bit better despite the fact I am almost certain that is Ventress's torso.

Rebel Blockade Trooper-feels like the last run of him, easy pass.

Bom Vimdin-Interesting but about got my fill of aliens, maybe.

Captain Fordo-At least he is different, not sure about him yet. Feel a bit overwhelmed by clones but an interesting variation.

Logray-The OTHER Ewok I need, good job!

So to be blunt, this is how you do a wave, even the stuff I don't want I can see selling so it works on that level for me.

501st Trooper-How many of these frackers have we had in the past few years, really he is ALWAYS on the shelf, easy pass.

Aayla Secura-While I am happy with the Clone Wars one I have, I do like this one, I think I will get.

Dr. Evazan-Another "about time" figure. Easy grab.

Kithsba-Not a huge fan of the Jabba guys, easy pass.

Nom Anor-Awesome fig, I love it, YES.

A few stinkers but not a bad wave overall. Getting better.

Not much on this wave, but with what we have:

Bastila Shan-While it is photoshoped, I like the way the figure is shaping up, will wait until the final product.

Echo Base Trooper-As swamped by these as I am many other army builders.

Panda Boba-Butt face for the win, awesome!

So both the tail end of GI Joe and Star Wars are looking up, for now.

There is a Prototype armor of Boba Fett up, looks to me like an excuse to re-release the Concept version again.

A bunch of Blu-ray commemorative sets that simply bore me, all re-releases.

There is also a "Revenge of the Sith" set of 12 figures in a Death Star case. All repacks but when the display was shown, other figures were sitting in the spaces, some very odd matches in there too, but one of the oddest was:

Now while I get that sometimes plans go off track and you cannot display the exact product ect. let's look at this from a basic Marketing 101 perspective. So do we really want to give off the impression Samuel L. Jackson will appear in a metal bikini, I would hope not. Still that is the first thought most people have when they see this even if they say it or not. It would have been better to A. Have the cards in there with no figure or B. have paper printouts of the characters in the bubble.

Now I know there are a ton of counter arguments, but bare with me. When fans first see this (and all the other figures that are on the wrong cards) their first thoughts are "Hey is something wrong?" or "Did someone tamper with it?" or maybe "Is this a joke by some jaded fan?" and not "Oh this is so cool!" or "Interesting" or any of the 50+ responses most people would want a fan to have. This confusion distracts from the presentation, THE LAST THING YOU WANT TO DO! Sure you can recover, and in this case it appears to have worked, but don't think people are stupid. In fact some people are going to be insulted because they think you think they are stupid and wouldn't notice. I mean this is very basic in most college classes, I HOPE those in Hasbro did go to college and WOULD learn this kind of stuff. It's pretty fracking sad if I know it and they don't.

Moving on to Clone Wars.

On this I am just picking some gems, enough is enough LOL.

Ashoka-LOVE the new mold, must have for me.

Aqua Droid-Kind of cool, I dig it.

Barriss Offee-Having a hard time choosing between the vintage and the CW version, I like both.

A thing or two to also mention: The Republic Shuttle is very cool, but I doubt I will grab one. It is on my "if I get the cash" list.

One of the best announcements was the second Raiders line will be available at SDCC, AWESOME!!!!! I am sure this will probably cost a bit, but it is great to finally get these guys, IMO that is the wave Indy should have started out with (along with Bellog and Saylla).

So does that wrap it all up, of course not, that just finishes off Hasbro. There are others in the 1:18th union.

Next up Bandai and the revitalization of Thundercats:

It's pretty clear that these are influenced by the current animation but they are in 1:18th scale which makes them interesting. I was vastly disappointed in the playset and tank, but the figures are ok. I was never a huge fan of the old cartoon but I had watched it a few times, enough to know who was who and such. I am only going to pick up a few of the main characters I remember from the original cartoon as I can see some uses for them in my web comic. Anyway I would be remiss if I had passed these up, not the greatest looks for the Thundercats but not terrible too.

Now on to the line that really, honestly and truly has pissed me off more than anything this year:

I have been a huge Green Lantern fan since I was a kid. I loved the idea of a hero that is entirely based on his willpower. Anyway after the cancellation of the DC Infinite Heroes line there was a promise of a line supporting the Green Lantern movie. It was implied this line would be vastly improved and start off right rather than like the DCIH line which really never got it's stride until the end.

Now if you look closely you will notice there is virtually no articulation in these figures. At first I and many others believed these first views were prototypes (which it is common for prototypes not to have articulation, so no big deal). But then Mattel answers with this ASININE statement in one of their "Ask Matty" Q&A sessions.

2) Will the 3.75" Green Lantern line look and feel just like the DC Infinite Heroes line, or should we expect something substantially different? Perhaps something closer to the Avatar format of figures in the same scale? With Toy Fair right around the corner we were wondering if we could get a hint at what's to come.

A) It will share the same scale as IH, but the GL 3 ¾-inch basic figure line is aimed at kids and we therefore put more development into the accessories such as a ring and construct with every figure and a bit less in articulation. We are still doing highly articulated figures for collectors, but those will be in the 6-inch MM scale.

WHAT THE FREAKING HELL!!!? Ok I grant you I heard about this well before Toyfair, but that doesn't take away the sting. All this time (well over a year since the cancellation of the DCIH line and the announcement of the GL line) I was getting a bit excited over the prospect of a good 1:18th scale DC line. Even if the line was nearly exclusively Green Lantern based that was a great opportunity for Tomar Re, Abin Sir, Kilowog, ect. Perhaps even (if it did well enough) a further line and finally Mattel would give us some cool 1:18th scale DC heroes.

The thing that really pisses me off about this is they are fully capable of this feat. They did it with Deathstroke, they did it with the Na'Vi and Avatar, so pardon my French but what the FUCK is their problem now? Oh sure this is for kids, and kids don't care about articulation-BULLSHIT! Hasbro said that with Clone Wars and then quickly have changed their tune, I guess cause us whiney fanboys kept whining. I know kids who actually do care, who wanted the Cad Bane on his bike for ARTICULATION. Yes my kids have friends who like this stuff too, ok. Some say "Oh they have done research" REALLY!!! Show me a set of published findings (and don't scream corporate secrets, experimentation on humans CANNOT be kept secret BY LAW, how do I know, cause this is the course of study I picked in college).

Oh and the patronizing way they said "for collectors" about the 6-inch line, well (and I know I am going into whiney fanboy area here) I DON'T CARE ABOUT 6 INCH SCALE!!!!! I have no faults with people who like the scale, but my focus has been and always shall be 1:18th scale. Yeah that is what I want, but I want them to be able to move a bit too. And what is worse I am NOT an articulation hound who thinks every figure needs to be one step below Microman to be worthwhile. But something more than THAT!!!!

So I predict these will pegwarm, I know I am only going to buy exactly 1, only to make fun of it.

OK maybe two for an Abin Sur, but that is it!

And for those of you who say I only piss on Hasbro-There you go.

So after all that ranting, raving, cheering, hoping, and all that crap, what is the state of the 1:18th Union.

Bleak, loaded with repaints and rehashes there just isn't much going on, it is the first part of the year and from the looks of things this might turn around after the summer, I kind of hope so. But right now Star Wars is the winner of this year's Toyfair with the 1:18th scale IMO. The rest need to get their game back.

That is all for this year, I wanted to look at Pirates of the Caribbean, but no info anywhere I looked, sorry.