We all know X-Men 1, you know, that comic, the one that sold 8 million copies, well this character first appeared in issue 5, the series’ second storyline. Maverick, Wolverine and Sabertooth were a three-man commando squad for a few years. Depending on who’s writing X-Men on any given day, that period can be considered pivotal in Wolverine’s history, but that history seems to keep getting adjusted. At any rate, Maverick is interesting looking, with plenty of armor and guns for the sculptors to play with. He’d be a slam-dunk.

Also, Maverick eventually donned the “Agent Zero” identity, which wouldn’t make a feasible variant since the costume is completely different, but perhaps another MIA? No, too unknown, but Maverick was horribly scarred by the Legacy virus for a period, perhaps that could be an alternate version…

So Hasbro has taken the reigns of Marvel’s toys, including the juggernaut Marvel Legends line, but what’s the result? First there were a lot of rumors that the toys would be of lesser quality. Thankfully, those were all bogus. The toys are to the same high standard we’ve come to expect from the line, but what about the packaging?

Well the packaging was overdue for a refreshing, it did debut in 2002 after all, but that original design was pretty rugged and could fit a comic behind the figures. This new design has made some significant adjustments…

Good changes

1) We now have cooler graphics, including several character-specific images, which will help it on store shelves.

2) Stickers are now under the bubble, so no more scuffing there!

3) Packages stand better on their own, so no more Cyclops face plants!

4) The whole thing is an irregular shape… it’s just cooler.

5) No more twist ties! Our fingertips rejoice!

Bad Changes

1) This is a bubble and card, not the old clamshell, which was as close to body armor as collectors can hope to find. Wait, doesn’t Marvel Legends have a major collector following?

2) Against, the card is exposed cardboard, albeit thick and reinforced around the hook.

3) No more character descriptions on the back, so lesser known characters won’t have much of a shot with kids.

4) No more included comic books!

Now for my suggestions, in case any decision makers out there is reading…

At least fold the bubble around the bottom edge of the toy like you already do on the left side, that would further protect the card. With a small modification, the right side could fold over too a la D.C. Direct.

Bring the comics back! A half-inch taller bubble on the left side and they would fit. It’s great marketing for Marvel and really fleshes the product out compared to competing toys. (I’ll be writing my next blog on this subject actually)

It’s Marvel Legends versus D.C. Direct, us versus them, right versus wrong, better versus worse, but who’s actually right? This might seem corny, but both sides have their own reasons, so they are both (ugh) “right.”

Here’s the deal: toys cost nothing, but developing toys costs lots of money. It’s ten grand to tool up for every single piece in a toy, and that doesn’t include how much you paid to have the original sculpted.

So articulated toys have more pieces, they must be better!

Wrong. Take a good look at your figures and you’ll start noticing Namor’s (pictured above) and Punisher’s shoulders are the same piece, just painted differently. In a little while you’ll start picking out strikingly similar chests, biceps and thighs. Feet and hands are almost always identical. But does this matter?

Well now take a D.C. Direct figure like Captain Marvel (pictured above). Okay he’s not exactly a Barbie doll, but he does only have twelve or so points of articulation versus a Legend’s thirty-plus. While stiff, you do now get figures who look real! Compare the folds of clothing on Elseworlds Red Son Batman to the Legends attempt at Professor X, and you realize how poorly highly-articulated figures communicate clothing. Okay, that’s just clothes, most figures don’t have that Alex Ross-clothed look. Well it applies to thinner characters as well, like women. Example: Elseworlds Batgirl hands down trumps Mystique.

Also, there’s a volume factor. Legends are sold by the truckload and have to be produced on a massive scale. D.C. Direct is more specialized, so they take more care with the paintwork to make their figures more special, but you lose the freedom to pose them.

To be honest, I think D.C. Direct should work on being a touch more articulated (that Captain Marvel figure is permanently stuck looking down at a funny angle), and Marvel Legends should realize some of their slimmer figures would be better served without the ninety hinges.

It’s not like the Internet doesn’t have enough of these blogs already, so why did I decide to add one? Well DorkToys.com means I see a lot of figures (Marvel Legends mostly but we’re getting into DC Direct for 2007) and there’s a community to these toys. Some of our customers have emailed and asked about paint jobs on specific figures, and I don’t mean of about one figure in general, I mean about which toy I’m specifically sending them, which is exactly the sort of thing I myself would take note of when picking a toy off a shelf in a store. While building the site I wrote reviews, rated and photographed every toy that we put up, all this because we wanted to be the site where a collector can really find out what he/she is buying.

So what to do for 2007?

Well for one thing, I wanted to start doing video reviews. Youtube is fast becoming my replacement TV and it offers me a way to add ten times more dimension to these reviews. And secondly, I want to make a site where we can really talk about these figures. Up until now, there have been sites where people review these toys, and there have been some flat blogs where people compare where the best places to buy these toys are, but there isn’t really an engaging blog out there where you can go and get the dirt on the newest figures and then talk to other collectors.

Elseworls Series 1 and 2 reviews will be up first, then Hasbro Marvel Legends Series 1.

Hope to see you here!

Martin