This has been an unusually quiet week for Marvel toy news, but that’s fine with me, as I’ve got a huge backlog of stuff to photograph and review. In fact, things have been so busy this summer that I never even got around to reviewing one of my favorite Funko figures of the entire year.
It’s the figure I liked so much, I bought it three times (once with flocked fur and once with an, uh, exclusive sticker): the Guardians of the Galaxy Funko POP! Vinyls Rocket Raccoon figure!
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I’m a self-admitted X-Men fanboy, so I was anticipating this year’s X-Men Marvel Legends 2014 figures even more than the superb Captain America Marvel Legends and Spider-Man Marvel Legends series (not to mention the so-so Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends figures). As a shared Toys R Us/Diamond Previews exclusive, this wave was also more expensive and harder to get than the others. Are they worth your effort and money? I’ll start my reviews with the 2014 Marvel Legends Cyclops figure…
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Ah, Ares. Fans were skeptical when the Greek God of War joined the Avengers, but Ares’ smash-and-kill go-get-’em attitude quickly won over many readers. And then Ares died the most gruesome death in the history of Marvel Comics, as he was bilaterally ripped in half by the Sentry. To commemorate that memorable event, Hasbro is finally bringing Ares to the Marvel Universe scale, as the Marvel Infinite Series Ares figure was released this summer! Is this 3 3/4″ Ares figure worth adding to your collection? Read on…
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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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Some people think I’m joking when I talk about Funko being bent on world domination of the collectibles market, but I am dead serious. The sheer number of figures that Funko releases each year for various licensees is nothing short of awe-inspiring. And in summer 2014, Funko is launching another new branch of collectible figures: Funko Fabrikations! I was a bit dubious of these fabric-covered figures, but I ordered the Funko Marvel Fabrikations Deadpool for $17 shipped online anyway. I’m so very glad I did–the Funko Deadpool Fabrikations figure is one of my favorite Marvel toys of 2014…
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We’re only a few days away from the start of July, which means that there’s just over a month until the Guardians of the Galaxy movie arrives in theaters! As such, all street dates have now passed and every company from Hasbro to Funko to LEGO has begun releasing their Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy toys. I’m “all in” for Guardians of the Galaxy in a way that I haven’t been for any other Marvel movie, which means I’ll be reviewing just about every toy made for GOTG. Today, I’ll be discussing what’s sure to be a real hit with the masses: the Funko Groot POP! Vinyls figure…
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LIFO is an acronym for “Last In, First Out” in Computer Science (it’s one of the few things I remember from when I was getting my Computer Science degree). I don’t program anymore, but even so, I think of LIFO every time a new toy gets both announced and released before ones that we’ve seen and been waiting for for longer (yes, the whole world is toys to me). Such is the case with the Funko POP Vinyls Guardians of the Galaxy Unmasked Star-Lord figure that went up for sale long after its comrades, but has now arrived ahead of all the other Funko GOTG POP Vinyls…
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LEGO knows how to make money better than any other toy company on Earth, so even though their sole LEGO Marvel X-Men set wasn’t scheduled to be released until June/July 2014, there was no way that LEGO was going to miss out on the chance of moving the set more quickly by having it out in time for the release of the X-Men Days of Future Past movie debut. I spotted the LEGO X-Men vs. The Sentinel 76022 set unexpectedly last week before the movie premiered, but ended up not picking it up myself due to the outrageous amount of money LEGO and other Marvel licensees have already gotten from me this month. Luckily, it turns out that the set may actually be worth its price…
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Over the course of the last week I’ve given my reviews and impressions of all six basic figures that make up the Hasbro Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Series (and you can find all those reviews in the archives). But, of course, there’s one more figure that needs to be discussed–because you have to buy every other figure in the series just to build him!
He needs no introduction, but he will definitely give it anyway–it’s the outstanding Marvel Legends Groot Build-A-Figure!
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While there’s ample hype for this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the most talked-about and most-anticipated figure in the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Infinite Series isn’t from the movie at all! In fact, it’s not even a character new to Hasbro Marvel Legends. Instead, it’s the star of the most successful cosmic Marvel comic of the past decade.
The last basic figure in this series left for me to review is the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Nova figure!
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I have not exactly been gushing with praise in my reviews of the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends figures thus far, but lest anyone think that I’m totally unhappy with the series, it’s time to talk about one of the figures in the series that’s good. Really good. And it’s lucky that he’s really good, because we’re going to be seeing a lot of him, as he’s heavy-packed at two-per-case!
Peter Quill, the Prince of Spartax, has arrived–it’s the first-ever 6″ Hasbro Marvel Legends Starlord figure!
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The first three figures I’ve talked about in the Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Infinite Series have been mostly a mixed bag, and today’s figure will be more of the same. Though she’s been a staple of the Marvel cosmic universe for decades and a key member of teams like the Infinity Watch and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Gamora has never had a major figure release before (Minimates doesn’t count, sorry). But that’s all about to change, and Gamora is (hopefully) about to enter the upper-echelon of recognizable Marvel females! The Marvel Legends Gamora figure is the most high-end Gamora (for now)–unfortunately, it’s rather mediocre…
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I’ve had a Rocket Raccoon image as part of the site header since Marvel Toy News launched, so I haven’t been keeping my affinity for Marvel’s cutest superhero a secret. Me and Rocky (we’re on a first name basis) are pretty tight, so I’ve been looking forward to the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends Rocket Raccoon movie figure ever since the movie was announced. Unfortunately, Hasbro often doesn’t do smaller characters like Rocket Raccoon justice, and the new Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon is a bit of a dud and continues that trend…
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Just when Marvel Legends fans thought they were safe… he’s back! If there’s one character that Marvel collectors were reasonably certain would not show his armored face as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy Marvel Legends series, it’s Iron Man. But, well… here is. To Hasbro’s credit, they did choose an Iron Man armor that’s strongly linked to the GOTG, however. For better or worse, we’re stuck with Marvel Legends Cosmic Iron Man, so let’s take a look at the final production version of the figure and see if it’s any good…
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I was a Guardians of the Galaxy fan before the Guardians of the Galaxy were cool. Well, actually, I’m not sure that the Guardians of the Galaxy are even “cool” now, but they’re at least poised to become recognizable mainstream superheroes due to this year’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Anyway, the point is that I’m a huge Guardians of the Galaxy fanboy. So it is with a ton of excitement and pleasure that I get to show off the first production photos of the actual 6″ Hasbro Marvel Legends Guardians of the Galaxy figures, beginning with Drax the Destroyer!
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