SDCC Hasbro Panel pictures

While I'm sure Chris must hate me for not getting them up earlier, the first set of his SDCC panel pictures are finally up. The ML waves, SDCC exclusives, Transformer Crossovers... all up. Thanks again go to Chris!

Translucent Zzzax?

Eagle eyed Monkey on Fwoosh's forums noticed how one of Cool Toy Review's SDCC Super Hero Squad pictures featured a boxed version of (what looks like) Zzzax that's different than the unboxed Zzzax. It does look like the same Zzzax sculpt, only translucent, which was our chief complaint when we first saw him. Whether it's a variant or just an early production version like the matte paint/metallic paint Thors shown at conventions earlier in the year, or the paint differences between early shots of Ghost Rider's motorcycle and later shots, we don't know yet.

News Clips for 7/27/08

Chicago Tribune has this gallery of some of the costumes seen this past weekend at SDCC.

Mattel's new Collector's Store launched today. If you were like me and waited for the site to open so you could get your King Greyskull, you would haven noticed there was some technical difficulty, but as of right now, everything but Lightning McQueen is still available.

The Fables Panel featured lots of insight into upcoming storylines, a Cinderella mini-series, a Jack/Fables cross-over, and a potential movie. Meanwhile, the upcoming Cloak and Dagger series (I didn't catch whether it's a mini or an ongoing) seems to be the thing everyone is talking about, but it's the return of Milestone that they SHOULD be talking about.

And finally, fans were able to see one half of Marvel's upcoming straight to DVD Hulk Vs., and apparently were treated to guest appearances by Lady Deathstrike, Deadpool, Omega Red and Sabretooth. Now that does sound like a fun Hulk/Wolverine battle.

Action-Figure.com has updated their gallery to reflect the new Marvel Universe 3.75 inch (or 3 3/4 or... someone should come up with a standard nomenclature) figures, with some really crisp up-close shots.

One of the interesting things is the number of snap-on weapons, like for instance Iron Fist's fist appears to disconnect from his hand for "powered down mode", and Spider-Man's web appears to disconnect as well for use with other characters, or if you have two webs, you can always have a web-slinging good time!

Cool Toy Review's Collection of SDCC pictures

It seems like most of the Super Hero Squad stuff died down after the initial revelation of the new figures, (other than being told that the Squad is continuing, did we hear anything new about the cartoon? The rumored comic book series?) but Cool Toy Review has some more photos of the SHS figures. They have several shots of what looks to be the finished mountain/tree/rocky area showcase that other sites have posted shots of (although many of the previous photos were of the unfinished/construction stages where many of the pedestals were empty) and some other general photos.

Go and enjoy all those figures we all want, but just remember that it may take months before you get a chance to put them on your shelves!

News Clips 7/25/08

A few more news clips from around the internet:

DC Minimates may not be as dead as some predict. DC Direct is apparently thinking box sets

A shot of the Super Hero Squad was shown during the Marvel: Your Universe panel. And nothing more was said about it. If you go to the site, obnoxious overlaid frames promoting the fact that the site you're reading convention coverage on is at the convention will result in browser slow-down. Nothing like treating your readers right. A better run-down is available through ENI here. Both include a bit of the tangle Marvel's movie rights have become. Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer, Wolverine and the Fantastic Four are stuck at Fox, Spider-Man and company are stuck at Sony... which on the plus side means there won't be a New Avengers movie featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Spider-Man for a long, long time. There's also a lot of apparent bashing for X-Men Evolution (9021X or 90210 X-Men, depending on what coverage you read), and the Comic Book Resources article has the following quote from Craig Kyle regarding new X-Men series:

"There's sixty mutants, it pays off in four and a half episodes, Dazzler is in it -- Disco Dazzler. It works only one way, the way it is in the comics. My plan is to kick the hell out of that show, don't judge us too soon."

Hopefully there's some miscommunication going on there. I would hate to think that Mr. Kyle is suggesting that you should watch the first 2 hours and 15 minutes of the series before it gets good, or that the entire first month the show is airing will be "getting to the good part", or that the number of mutants isn't going to be a cheap attempt to increase merchandising efforts by having more characters available for toys, and that there's still a chance for actual characterization rather than "find-the-cameo" style chases. But regardless of what he meant to say, we'll still give it a shot. Now, will we give it 4 and a half-episodes worth of a shot? Hopefully there's pay-off well before the second month begins.

After shoe-horning Sentry and Jessica Jones into the Marvel Universe, un-killing Namora and then continuing the living retcon that is the 50's Avengers/Agents of Atlas, Illuminati-ing the Secret Wars stories, and bringing back various Golden Age heroes as the Twelve, Marvel is continuing to complicate their history by introducing The Blue Marvel. Now if only they'll spend multiple consecutive mini-serieses trying to explain why he's supposed to be an important character. On the plus side, this retcon sounds like an interesting story, rather than an attempt to shoe-horn a Superman/Captain Marvel/Hyperion/Supreme character into the mainstream.

Hulk Wave 3 Pictures

Action-Figure.com has more pictures from SDCC, including pictures of Zzzax (We were hoping for translucent. Oh well, maybe next time...), the Leader, Skaar (a.k.a. Son of Hulk), a new Hulk Sculpt (ripping off a shirt that has Banner written on it), as well as better pictures of Weapon X Wolverine, Ronin, Ultron (who looks a bit too much like a Doctor Who Cyberman we think...) and others.

SHS At SDCC

Action Figure Insider has the first rundown of new Super Hero Squad figures saying their reporter saw:

Nighthawk
Black Panther/Storm
Kang/Thing
Gargoyle/Thing
Human Torch(clear yellow)/Hulk
Green Goblin/Sandman (comic versions)
Winter Soldier/Crossbones
Rachel Summers Marvel Girl/Classic Cyclops
Mary Jane/Spider-man
Captain America/Falcon
Black Costume Spider-man/Doc Ock
Captain America/Red Skull (with cosmic cube)
Wolverine (brown and tan)/Magneto
Master of Kung Fu/Sentry
Classic Ultron
Weapon X
Pyro
Ultimate Rhino
"a BIG new Planet Hulk"

Now for the rundown (keeping in mind we don't have the pictures to see what figures are new or old sculpts, and also keeping in mind that some of the pairings are likely wrong... sounds like there's just a bunch of figures placed on a flat space, like usual):

- Nighthawk was mentioned a few times during the NY Comic Con coverage but all we had to go on was reps saying the name.
- Black Panther and Storm have already had figures released. Once we see pictures we'll know if these are new sculpts or just showing off pre-released figures (which is common)
- Kang/Thing is part of the Walmart SKUs for Wave 12 (see here for our big rundown of the Walmart SKUs so far)
- Gargoyle could be part of the SKU for "Defenders" if it's the classic hero and not the Hulk villain.
- No idea if Hulk, Human Torch "clear yellow" or the Thing near Gargoyle are new sculpts yet
- Green Goblin, Sandman, Mary Jane and Spider-Man are most likely the upcoming Spider-Man Saves the Day/City in Crisis Pack, while Captain America, Falcon, Crossbones and Winter Soldier are likely the Winter Soldier Saga pack, both of which have been discussed before.
- Cyclops (by the way Action Figure Insider, seriously, what's up with your description?) and Marvel Girl (whom they're saying is Rachel Grey/Summers/Phoenix II) is another Wave 12 SKU
- Black Costume Spidey/Doc Ock, Pyro, Ultimate Rhino, Wolverine, and Magneto may just be old figures that were put out again but who knows. Unless by Ultimate Rhino, they mean the Rhino that may be "Rhin" from Wave 13
- Captain America/Red Skull and Sentry all appear to be the figures from Wave 10, which was shown on Hasbro Toy Shop then taken down, much to rumors of doom from the internet.
- Shang-Chi a.k.a. Master of Kung Fu looks to be rounding out the Wave 12 SKUs (with the exception of "Insulated SM" and "S" although who can tell with names like that)
- Ultron and Weapon X are Wave 11 SKUs and should come with "SPD" and Mystique respectively.
- and big new Planet Hulk? Who knows.

We'll give you more lowdown once photos start appearing.

News Clips

Since there's a bunch of little news items floating around on subjects that we don't normally (but have in the past) covered here at Rumorbuster, we thought maybe a brief rundown would be appropriate.

First, According to Action-Figure.com the next set of Marvel Mini-Mates (nope, still not dead will be Secret Invasion inspired. Phoenix, First Appearance Wolverine, Avengers era Beast and... Jessica Jones a.k.a. Jewel? With spare Skrull heads, and the ability to reveal any of these suspected Skrulls just by rotating their heads.

Then we have Hasbro's press release regarding San Diego, also from Action-Figure.com. There's not much information other than what's already known.

Marvel has their own itinerary for SDCC here with a few good panels like:

FRIDAY, JULY 25

Panel Schedule:
WHAT: Marvel: Your Universe Panel
WHEN: 10am – 11am
WHERE: Room 6A
THE 411: Become an integral member of the Marvel Creative Committee as Kevin Feige (President, Studios), Dan Buckley (President, Publishing), Joe Quesada (Editor-In-Chief, Publishing), and Craig Kyle (Senior Vice President, Creative Development, Animation) sit down with you and get your thoughts on all things Marvel. We'll be revealing what is on the horizon with Marvel Studios, Publishing, and Animation and looking for your feedback and insights on what we've done and what we are planning to do. From the day that The House of Ideas was built, Marvel has been your universe and now more than ever we'd like to hear what you have to say about everything from Marvel Cinematic Continuity to our upcoming slate of new animated television series in 2009 to the Skrull infiltration of our world.

and of course "Super Happy Fun Marvel Giveaway Hour" happening throughout the event.

And finally, DC's Infinite Heroes, a G.I. Joe size (3 and 3/4ths inch) line based on the far reaches of the DC Universe) has hit stores. We managed to pick up Captain Marvel, Professor Zoom, Guy Gardner and Adam Strange (in other words, the 4 characters released in the first cases) and have to admit that they're certainly interesting, both in terms of future Marvel play-ability and character selection. When the most name-worthy character of your first wave can't actually use his name as a comic title, you know the line is going to pay off in terms of character selection, but still, it would have been nice to have a bigger gun (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Hal Jordan, Joker) in the first wave. Still, Captain Marvel does have his own impressive credentials and deserves to be first string. Now that we've seen DC's opening salvo in the 3.75 inch line, it'll be interesting to see if Marvel comes out with a first wave of heavy hitters, or diverse fan faves.

One warning though, prices on DC's Infinite Heroes can vary. Targets have the figures for $4.99. Toys R Us's have them for $6.99. Now, that's a going rate for single G.I.Joe figures at TRU, and we'll probably sound like a curmudgeon for saying this, but we still remember the days when Marvel Legends figures were around that price, so the thought of paying $7 for a figure with half the plastic is a little disappointing.

First pics of San Diego (Set Up)

Well, although we can't go, we're hoping to bring you guys a collection of Super Hero Squad coverage from everyone else. So far SD Comics is the first out the gate with some photos of the set up.

There's a shot of the still empty display case and then the big time, over at the Marvel Comics booth... this huge backdrop featuring Colossus, Falcon, Iceman, Loki, Super-Skrull, Catpain America, Human Torch, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Thor, Magneto, Hulk, Cyclops, Doctor Doom, Wolverine, Sentinel, Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Abomination (in the comic style we've seen from other promotional materials and the box of the Gamma Lab), and the Thing. Since this isn't at the Hasbro booth, it's probably more related to the upcoming animated series and merchandising efforts than the toy line. Also worth noting is that Spider-Man doesn't get a square.

Although some of the art is obviously re-used (we're looking at you Iron Man), others look original (Loki, Super Skrull, Thing, Sentinel)

And just as a reminder, tonight is preview night!

If anyone sees something we miss, post a comment somewhere or drop us an e-mail and tell us how you want to be credited (what name you want us to use, what website you'd like to be linked to, etc.)

Kitty and Professor X are coming?

Toymania has a second July Q&A up which has this interesting bit of news:

5. Any chance of a Superhero Squad boxset featuring the 90s X-Men Animated characters and designs (Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Gambit, Rogue, Jubilee, Jean Grey, Professor X)?

Answer: There will be a cool new boxset coming out late in the Fall (at Toys R Us) that will feature an X-Mansion theme. It isn't specifically 90's, but it does feature Professor X, Kitty with Lockheed and 6 other X-Men faves. You'll get your 1st look at this one at SDCC this week!

Shucks. Looks like the guy who heard from his friend that the Collector's Pack (ie, Kitty and the Professor) would be a Wal-Mart exclusive this August was just mis-informed. Who could have guessed that?

Actually, we'll play fair here. It's possible that the new box-set featuring Professor X and Shadowcat won't be THE Collector's Pack 2, since we were told it has "6 other X-Men faves" (the original Collector's Pack 2 featured 6 X-Men related characters, a chrome Silver Surfer and a Spider-Man), which could mean that Wal-Mart gets the Collector's Pack 2 while Toys R Us gets this. But then wouldn't Q&A Man have said "Professor X and Kitty come in August to Wal-Mart, then in the fall to Toys R Us"? So while we did suggest shenanigans way back in April when that rumor started, and this Q&A certainly lends credence to that theory, we're willing to eat crow if it turns out we were wrong.

Marvel Animation (well, most of it) at SDCC

Hulk vs. Wolverine? Iron Man Armored Adventures? Wolverine and the X-Men? Spectacular Spider-Man? Next Avengers Heroes of Tomorrow? Black Panther? Wow... that's like all of Marvel's upcoming animation slate being screened and discussed in San Diego in a couple days.

Well, almost everything. Both Hulk's new cartoon and Super Hero Squad (both properties that, to the best of our knowledge are still looking for a network to air them) are left out of the promotion, but congratulations to all other fans of Marvel animation. Previews and discussion of 3 new series, one returning series and 2 upcoming DVD releases is still great.

More on Marvel Costumes?

As a follow-up to an earlier post where we talked about MSN's report on Marvel Super Hero Squad licensing, we have heard a bit more about the bit that said "Marvel has already secured deals with Hasbro as master toy partner, Disguise/Cesar for dress-up and Mega Bloks for construction toys and continues to seek deals with industry leading partners to develop merchandise based on the unique look of the Marvel Super Hero Squad property."

Comic Book Resources has posted a press release saying that the costumes could premier at San Diego this weekend.

"Come see Black Cat, Emma Frost, Spider-Woman, and more as you've never seen them- on the runway, as Marvel and Disguise transform Comic Con into Fashion Week, if only for an hour. The Fashion Show begins in the Marvel Booth (Booth #2429) Friday at 2:00 and will be followed by a photo-op with the models. For a preview of the costumes, visit this link: http://www.mallsoft.com/disguise/superheroines.html

Check out the fashion and find out how you can not only stop villains, but stop everyone in their tracks at this one-of-a-kind event only at San Diego Comic Con!"

The website they link to has an unskippable flash animation and no real information other than what's in the press release. The "disguise" subdirectory doesn't allow file listing, and the main Mallsoft URL is a very generic e-commerce provider site.

Having seen the animation myself, the "costumes" aren't shown in more than passing glances. There's some shots of women painted red and black, some shots of Captain America and Spider-Man (both red costumes and black), and some shots of a woman's dress featuring a Spider-Man logo. The press release seems focused on the "hot" factor and "the debut of the sexiest line of costumes" so who knows what, if anything, they'll be making as part of Marvel's Super Hero Squad licensing endeavors.

It's certainly... uhm... licensed. But stay positive, who knows what the future may hold.

Questions We Want Answered

After discussing the still-not-released Collector's Pack 2 with a particularly nice reader (as you can see, we're very long-winded here, so we love to talk about anything from current comic books, toys, weather... just not politics. E-mail us wish questions, comments, suggestions, whatever...) a post was born:

Questions That We Hope Get Answered at SDCC!

There's going to be lots of pictures, peeks into the future of Hasbro's Marvel lines, product revelations, and even a Hasbro panel featuring marketing and design staff, and while we can't be there this year we're hoping Super Hero Squad fans are able to dig up answers to the following questions.

1) What happened to the Collector's Pack, and when will it be out?

The "handicapped figures don't sell" theory just doesn't cut it, for the reasons we already talked about, and with August almost upon us we can finally settle whether some guy's friend was truthful when he said it was coming in August as a Wal-Mart Exclusive (we're not big on gambling here, but we'll take the safe bet of "nope, it's not.")

2) Where's Kraven?

He's designed. He's sculpted. We know you guys plan waves out well in advance of release so it might be hard to fit him into an upcoming wave, but we're still waiting.

And we know the question has been asked before, but usually people tag team it with "and where's Vulture and Rogue?" so we still don't know what "plans to source some (but not all) of these" means.

Just straight up, is Kraven coming?

3) And while we're at it, what are the plans for hard to find figures like Rogue and Vulture?

But notice, it's a separate question from "are you guys going to release Kraven?"

4) Can we expect any more single packs?

England received some Spider-Man single packs, and Target had had the Easter-egg packaging impulse singles, so is that something we can expect to see more of in the future? While Target's price point was a little higher than some would have liked (a single figure at $5, while a 2-pack was a little over $6) and having the identical figures still available in two-packs at the same time probably resulted in some lost-sales, could we perhaps see more exclusives (ie, the white-web-shooting-Spidey?

5) What goes into character selection?

In any toy line you're going to have fans asking why Puma and not Prowler? Why Sentry but not Iron Fist? Why Ultimate Giant Man but not regular Giant Man?

Usually the distinction (ie, why one should be made before the other) is the fan's personal preference, but in general, what makes one character more likely to be made into a figure than another? What criteria do you look for? What can fans of any particular character do to help their favorite's chances?

6) Where's our Quinjet? Or Blackbird? Or Danger Room?

So far the playsets (ok... playset) haven't impressed us. Nor has the Spidey-Jeep. But have you considered meeting the comic/collector market half-way by giving them vehicles and playsets familiar to fans of the classics? A Danger Room with both play value and pose value, or an Avengers Mansion that serves double duty as battleground and showcase appeal to both markets!

What other questions do you guys and gals want answered this year??

Hasbro's Convention Sketchbook

The ever talented Logan Lubera of Hasbro Design has posted the cover of Hasbro's SDCC Sketchbook over at his page here. Browse his gallery for examples of his great work (he's partly responsible for those giant Hulks used in recent theatre promotions and up for auction at Marvel.com so if that doesn't make him your hero, what will?)

Anyway, looks like visitors to San Diego Comic Con have one more thing to add to their basket! Hopefully we'll be able to see some of those sketches soon.

SHS at SDCC

Geek Tyrant has posted Friday, July 25's San Diego Comic Con schedule, including this little bit here:

2:30-3:30 Hasbro: Marvel- Jerry Jivoin, Michelle Favaloro, and Scott George of Hasbro marketing and Brian Wilk, Josh Lamb, Steve Redinger, Dwight Stall, and Logan Lubera of Hasbro Design present the Hasbro Marvel line, including Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Marvel Legends and Super Hero Squad toy lines from 2008. Also, see a sneak peek into the 2009 line and a Q&A session! Room 5AB

Ooh. Hopefully the sneak peek won't neglect the Super Hero Squad line in lieu of focusing on Legends and movie lines, but oh well.

Action-Figure.com's June Q&A

Action-Figure.com's June Q&A doesn't have any new Super Hero Squad information, per se, focusing mainly on Marvel Legends, but when asked about SDCC they say:

"Can you give us a sneak peek at what we will see at San Diego Comic Con?

HASBRO: Tons of stuff…pretty much everything from the 2008 line for all Marvel brands and possibly a couple of sneak peeks at early 2009."

So that means that, with luck, we can see the rest of 2008's Super Hero Squad figures in a couple weeks! Does that mean we'll finally see Ultron, Mystique and Abomination? We'll find out when the convention starts July 23.