Over the weekend, I decided to take some time to discuss the revival of Hasbro Marvel Comic Packs coming up in 2016. But of course, those two-packs won’t be the only 4″ Marvel Infinite Series figures coming our way this winter! The successor to the Marvel Universe line rolls on next year, with six figures each in Marvel Infinite Series 2016 Wave 1 and Wave 2… and, oh yeah: Lockjaw is coming!

While distribution to this year’s Hasbro Marvel Infinite Series figures has been spotty (and fan response likewise due to decreased articulation in most of the new tooling that has been created for the line this year), collectors of the beloved Hasbro Marvel 3 3/4″ scale need not fear: the line seems to be alive and well heading into 2016.

And at San Diego Comic-Con 2015, Hasbro showed off over two dozen figures coming to the Marvel Infinite Series 2016 lineup, headlined by a Marvel Infinite Series Captain Marvel figure that I think may have a better head sculpt than the larger Marvel Legends version!

Marvel Universe/Marvel Infinite Series 2016 Wave 1 will include:

• Spider-Man Noir
• Ulik
• Captain Marvel (Carol Danvers)
• Original Iron Man (Silver)
• Triton
• Yondu (Classic)

Of this lineup, there’s only one straight-up repaint of a past figure (Original Iron Man repainted from the Original Avengers Team Pack Gold version), one character in a new guise (Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel), and four characters never-before-done by Hasbro (Yondu, Triton, Spider-Man Noir and Ulik)!

I’ll talk about all of these figures in-depth once Hasbro shows off final prototypes and puts these up for order, but my initial feelings on this wave are pretty positive.

There’s a lot of reused tooling from past Marvel Universe figures (particularly on Ulik the Rock Troll), so these figures are super-articulated (for the most part) and not saddled with the prevalent limited poseability of many of this year’s figures.

And as far as character selection goes: Noir Spider-Man and classic Guardians of the Galaxy Yondu…? Take my money, Hasbro.

Although they weren’t displayed at the show, the 2016 Marvel Infinite Series Wave 2 figures were also revealed in the SDCC 2015 Hasbro Marvel panel slideshow.

Marvel Infinite Series 2016 Wave 2 will include:

• The Vision
• Gamora
• Rage (!!!) of the New Warriors
• Spider-Armor Spider-Man
• Living Laser
• First Appearance Daredevil (Yellow Costume)

…Talk about some out-of-left-field picks! Rage and the Living Laser are characters I never thought would get the action figure treatment, and I am unbelievably psyched to see both characters coming our way at mass retail from Hasbro next year! Perhaps there’s still hope for my dream of a Speedball action figure…?

And yes, there’s still one more big dog to talk about–and I mean that literally! The final Hasbro 3.75″ Marvel 2016 figure to be revealed at SDCC was none other than Inhumans’ giant teleporting dog, Lockjaw!

Lockjaw consistently places highly in unofficial Marvel Legends poll for future Build-A-Figures, and while 6″ fans will have to wait a while longer (or forever) for a Marvel Legends Lockjaw, it looks like a Marvel Universe Lockjaw is on-track for next year.

No word yet on how the Marvel Infinite Series Lockjaw figure will be released, but instinct (and zero insider info) tells me we may be getting some sort of Hasbro SDCC 2016 Exclusive Inhumans Figure Pack (we are still missing Marvel Universe Gorgon and Crystal to complete the Inhumans Royal Family, after all). More on that (probably) in the spring.

All of these 2016 Marvel Infinite Series figures will be available online at BBTS, although I wouldn’t expect to see pre-orders go live for any of these figures until October 2015 or later. The time gap between figures going up for order and being released is rapidly shrinking, and I can’t see any of these figures being released in the United States until November 2015 at the earliest.

Having seen another dozen-plus upcoming Marvel Infinite Series 2016 figures, what do you think about where the line is heading, Marvel collectors? Are you pleased with the character selection and prototypes we’ve seen, or are you in the camps that feels like the Marvel Universe style is continuing to go downhill?