My X-Mas Wish – Hasbro, Make a Marvel Legends Squirrel Girl Already!

This holiday season, I’ve found myself playing a fair amount of Marvel Heroes, the action RPG from Gazillion Entertainment. I was a big fan of the earlier Diablo games (not so much Diablo 3), and the team behind the first two games drove the development of this one. As such, the game may look a bit “classic” but the non-stop action coupled with the Marvel lore makes it a very fun experience.

Before I started playing, I wondered about what it would be like, since as a player, you are limited to choosing from the roster of Marvel heroes in the game (versus designing your own hero, like in many other RPGs). But with a steady release of new playable characters, it’s not all a bunch of Wolverines running around. Which brings me to my point – of *all* the playable characters (and a fair amount of villains in the game), there’s only one who doesn’t have an accompanying action figure in Marvel Legends – Squirrel Girl. It’s time for Hasbro to step up to the plate and make her!

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Weekend Toy Run: Marvel Universe Iron Man 3 Hall of Armor 6-Pack

Iron Man 3 Marvel Hall of Armor Collection Action Figure 1 Iron Man 3 Marvel Hall of Armor Collection Action Figure 2

Amidst all this diecast Iron Man goodness from Play Imaginative, let’s not forget that there’s already a line of Iron Man action figures that could satisfy your urge to build a hall of armor. Sure, the Marvel Universe figures from Hasbro are all plastic, not diecast, but that combined with their smaller size means they’re a lot easier on the wallet, too.

However, this six-pack of figures has been selling in the neighborhood of $100 on the secondary market – while 4 of the figures are repacks with the ARC Reactor glow, the Mark 42 and the Tony Stark figures are exclusive to the set. And the only other way to get a Mark 42 in this scale is via the Assemblers line, which is not as articulated. Luckily, the set is now more abundant, and Amazon has it on sale.

Note: Just saw that Wal-Mart has the Iron Man 3 Hall of Armor for the same price, but you have to get to $50 to get free shipping.

Marvel Avengers Assemble (Successor to Marvel Universe) In Stock at Amazon

Marvel Avengers Assemble Cosmic Strike Red Skull Figure Marvel Avengers Assemble Inferno Cannon Black Widow Figure Marvel Avengers Assemble Sky Attack Falcon Figure

The first wave of the new Marvel Avengers Assemble line is in stock now at Amazon. Avengers Assemble is the result of Hasbro’s brand refresh for the Marvel Universe line. It’s intended to match Marvel Universe in terms of sculpt, articulation, and paint, while making it more accessible for both retailers and kids – the line leverages the success of the Avengers movie, and includes accessories with action features.

I’d say the first wave is a fair example of what to expect. With the collector-oriented figures we see the sculpt and articulation we have grown to love in MU – for example, Falcon comes with rocker ankles, hip swivels, and double knees. The more heavily packed big hitters of Captain America, Iron Man, and Hulk are not as compelling. I think Hasbro knows it needs only appeal to the lowest common denominator with them, and aren’t trying as hard.

SDCC 2013: Hasbro Marvel Panel Video

Hasbro Marvel Universe 2014 (from Panel)

Hasbro held its Marvel panel yesterday afternoon, featuring Adam Biehl, Dwight Stall, and Maalvika Mantripragada from the Hasbro Marvel team, and Jesse Falcon from Marvel licensing. They elaborate on the plans touched upon during our interview with Adam and Dwight for the Marvel Universe brand (that encompasses the Legends 6-inch and Universe 3.75-inch lines) – those plans include a brand refresh and new options for distribution.

Some new figure prototypes revealed during the panel will be in the Hasbro Marvel booth today, so stay tuned for some Instapics.

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SDCC 2013: Interview with Hasbro’s Marvel Team

Hasbro Marvel Diorama (2 of 12)

Sandman and I met with Adam Biehl (Vice President, Global Marvel Line at Hasbro) and Dwight Stall (Senior Marvel Product Design Manager, Hasbro) today for a brief conversation about Marvel Legends and the related 6-inch Marvel action figure lines. We talked about the health and direction of the Marvel lines, issues with distribution and the fate of running change variants, and more.

This was a great lead-in to the Hasbro Marvel panel, which we will be posting in full later this morning.

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