Going into last week’s New York Toy Fair 2015, I thought we’d be lucky if Square-Enix just brought along a prototype of the second Marvel Play Arts Kai figure: Spider-Man.
But I underestimated Square-Enix. Not only did they have the finished Spidey on display at their booth, but also the third action figure in the lineup, Play Arts Kai Thor, and even concept art for the fourth figure: Play Arts Kai Venom!
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Most of my attention this week has been focused squarely on topics such as the 2015 Marvel Legends figures and the quickly-exploding assortment of toys and collectibles based on this year’s Avengers: Age of Ultron movie. But now it’s time to step back and chat about a toy line that’s just a notch (or two) below Marvel Legends and Age of Ultron on the popularity scale: Marvel Super Hero Mashers! While we wait for the rest of the Hasbro 2015 Marvel figures to arrive, three new Mashers have already snuck up for sale online: Marvel Mashers Agent Venom, Hobgoblin and A-Bomb!
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It seems like only yesterday I was predicting a late release for the Spider-Man Marvel Legends 2015 figures (because it was), but in the last 24 hours the gears have finally begun moving on this year’s Marvel Legends train: the Marvel Legends Spider-Man 2015 figures are now up for order! The case ratios for the series aren’t bad, necessarily, but for once, I actually wanted Hasbro to heavy-pack a Spider-Man figure, and of course, they did not…
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All good things must come to an end, and the popular Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series is arriving at its end. But in its final season, Ultimate Spider-Man is giving us a similar theme to Dan Slott’s masterpiece comic story-arc, Spider-Verse: Web Warriors! Multiple Spider-Men in the same place at the same time is like Hasbro’s dream, and as such, they’ve now released their latest series of Marvel action figures, including three iterations of Spider-Man… and a new Agent Venom!
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Last month, unpainted prototypes surfaced for a pair of previously unannounced Funko POP Vinyls figures that made me think that a Funko Spider-Man POP! Vinyls wave was in our near-future. And as it so happens, I was right–Funko officially announced a quartet of new 2015 Funko Marvel POP! Vinyls today! Of course, there is a little twist. See, this is going to be an exclusive wave of Funko POP Vinyls, and it’s not going to one of the usual retailer suspects like Target or Walmart: it’s the Walgreens Exclusive Funko Spider-Man 2099, Venom, Punisher, and Black Suit Spider-Man POP Vinyls!
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Funko is a bit of an odd duck in the toy manufacturing business, as they regularly give away and sell prototypes of their figures–oftentimes before they even announce that they’re coming!
Last winter we learned about the Guardians of the Galaxy POP Vinyls from prototypes before they were announced, and this winter the trend continues: a Funko POP Vinyls Venom figure has been revealed in an online auction!
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I was taking my sweet time getting around to talking about the updated Marvel Select Carnage figure that was shown off at the Diamond Select Toys booth at New York Comic Con 2014, confident that the new Carnage action figure wouldn’t go up for order for weeks yet so I could leisurely discuss him whenever I got around to it. Well, it turns out that I’m going to have to get around to talking about this magnificent maniac action figure right now, because the Marvel Select Carnage figure is now up for order!
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Ordinarily, I absolutely can’t stand ruthless, pure evil villains that have no mercy and no soul. Those types of villainous characters typically evoke no sympathy at all and are flat-out boring to read about. Usually. But there’s an exception to every rule–and in this case, his name is Carnage! The 90’s are back in style, and Carnage is finally getting more long-deserved merch in 2015. And the most high-end and impressive Carnage collectible coming out is definitely the Kotobukiya Carnage Fine Arts Statue is now up for order!
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With the release of the Marvel Legends Agent Venom Walgreens exclusive action figure, all of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends 2014 action figures have now hit stores (with the exception of the Target Marvel Legends Radioactive Man three-pack). But if you’re a diehard Hasbro Marvel figure collector, Hasbro still has quite a bit in store for you this year! They’re not everyone’s cup of tea, but a new four-figure box set containing three all-new Marvel Titan Hero figures has now been released, including the first-ever 12″ Titan Hero Venom, Green Goblin and Electro figures!
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It’s been quite a journey for Agent Venom. Over the course of the past 13 months, Agent Venom has gone from one of the most-wanted modern Marvel characters for the Marvel Legends line, to the headliner of Marvel Legends Series 6, to another in a long line of “lost” Hasbro Marvel Legends figures, to a pre-sold out and potentially hard-to-find Walgreens exclusive. But at last, the 6″ Marvel Legends Agent Venom figure is on the verge of arriving, and we can take a look at the final production version of the figure…
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As far as Disney Vinylmation collection goes, 2014 has been the quietest year for me since Disney began the line. There haven’t been many enticing Vinylmation sets released this year, and as a result my interest has waned quite a bit. But just when I thought I might be out, Disney has pulled me back in–with a vengeance! As a sequel to last year’s best-selling Disney Vinylmation Marvel Series 1 (which now sells for a crazy $250 for a set of 12 on the aftermarket), Disney has just unveiled a new set: the Marvel Vinylmation Spider-Man Series!
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San Diego Comic Con 2014 is officially underway, and the reveals are coming at a fast and furious pace–perhaps more so than any year I can remember ever! Though they’re not the biggest company at the convention and may be getting lost in the shuffle just a little bit, Kotobukiya has debuted some major Marvel statues at the show, including a Fine Arts Statue that hadn’t even been teased previously! Coming in 2015–Kotobukiya Maximum Carnage and Rogue Fine Arts Statues!
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I’ve been holding off on talking further about the Marvel Legends Agent Venom figure because the whole Walgreens aspect of the release has just felt totally out-there to me. But it’s now been confirmed by Hasbro and Jesse Falcon, so there’s absolutely no room for doubt. There have been several thousand Marvel action figures released over the years, but this 6″ Agent Venom Marvel Legends Infinite Series will be different in one crazy way from all the rest: Marvel Legends Agent Venom is officially going to be the first-ever Walgreens exclusive Marvel action figure!
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If Disney was trying to keep the inclusion of Spider-Man related characters in the upcoming Marvel Disney Infinity 2.0 video game a secret, they did a crummy job of doing so, as there were several Spidey-related scenes in the Disney Infinity 2.0 premiere trailer. Even if that was Disney’s intent, however, the time for secrets is past! At the 2014 E3 Expo this week, Disney officially revealed all the details for the Ultimate Spider-Man portion of Disney Infinity 2.0–including the Disney Infinity 2.0 figures of Venom, Iron Fist, Nova and more!
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Asia is becoming quite the hot spot for Marvel Legends news! The news that the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Marvel Legends Black Widow figures would be increased to two-per-case came first from Asia, as did the first leaked photos and information regarding this summer’s X-Men Marvel Legends Infinite Series figures. And now, we’ve got an announcement that’s almost as unexpected coming from a Hasbro Asia solicitation: the long-lost 6″ Marvel Legends Agent Venom figure appears to finally be shipping this summer!
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