Finally! Wave 9 and 10 hi-res photos!

Marvelous News! Hi-res!
Wave 9!
Wave 10! Nick Fury/Skrull!

Phew, now lets get on to the analysis! First off: Wave 9. And keep in mind, there's still a chance things will change from what we see here.

- Captain America's got a repaint. A weird one at that, with reversed stripes on the shield. Ok.
- Red Skull did end up with the clear Cosmic Cube
- Spider-Man (in the Electro pack) did end up being the white-web shooting one

Wave 10.

- The box says Nick Fury and Skrull Agent, so apparently Nick Fury is confirmed, and the SHIELD agent is possibly just an army builder in a box-set or a later character.
- From the way Ronin's knives change position in the box, can we assume he's got those wrist articulations that let you pivot the hand, even though it only looks "right" in a small area?
- Black Spidey looks to have metallic silver spider-logo... which, if true means everyone complaining that he's a straight re-pack can settle down. Now, such a slight repaint isn't any better for the majority of fans, but I'll accept it. Now here's hoping we don't have a new trend of taking all the Spidey-sculpts and releasing them as black-costume/silver spider variants.
- Spider-Man with the translucent red goop is coming with the Cyberman... I mean Ultron. Personally, I think translucent red goopy Spider-Man is one of the more visually dynamic versions of that sculpt, but that's opinion.
- Weapon X/Wolverine looks... well... like a Weapon X Wolverine should I suppose. There's been some banter on the trading boards about whether his near-nudeness will put off some parents, but look, let's be honest, the biggest potential sales problem is that he's not called Wolverine. I doubt many parents are going to freak out and refuse to buy the figure because he looks near-nude. More likely, they're going to wonder why he's near-nude, and then buy it anyway.
- Mystique looks good, but it's a little sad that almost every woman sculpt has been a virtual statue.

Wave 10 Pre-Order

Since we were using the Wave numbering from Wikipedia as our numbering system, and since someone decided to change it to make Wave 5 and 6 one big wave, which, retroactively, everyone decided they were, we're going to continue following Wikipedia, and as such, the Mystique wave is now going to be the Wave 10 wave, and we'll refer to Sentry's Wave as 9.

With that preamble out of the way, Big Bad Toy Store's pre-order for Wave 10, shipping in November, now has photos of the figures up. While their listing still says SHIELD Agent, their picture is clearly Nick Fury. Chase? Variant? Accurate, yet not totally, product listing wherein Nick Fury, who is a SHIELD agent, is listed as SHIELD Agent, instead of Nick Fury, possibly to avoid confusion with the previously released Ultimate Nick Fury, who happens to be the Nick Fury they've shown in promotional artwork for the upcoming animated series? Incorrect picture where they were sent a file of hi-res promo shots and picked Nick Fury out to be the SHIELD agent?

Who knows, but we're still going to love that wave!

Pictures of SDCC's Super Hero Squad

First Comingsoon.net has this picture of a Super Hero Squad display case featuring lots of classic figures.

Marvelousnews has pictures up of the Super Hero Squad figures being shown in San Diego. Analysis to come, but so far

-"huge planet hulk" is the Ultimate Hulk mega-pack figure
- Ronin is spotted behind Ultron and Pyro
- Weapon X looks to be the Barry Windsor Smith Wolverine Weapon X
- Mystique is shown in the distance of the photo featuring Stealth Iron Man, Wolverine, blond guy with a gun (SHIELD Agent maybe... he looks like the Nick Fury figure seen in another photo? We'll find out soon)
- There's a side angle of the Rhino/Pyro shot showing Mystique again, Spider-Man in clear red symbiote, Ultron, 616 Nick Fury, and the blond SHIELD agent (maybe Clay Quartermain?)
- That looks like Collector's Pack 1 Human Torch (translucent yellow), along with the Gamma Lab which has what looks like a TRU exclusive sticker, and a guy in a red flame-design skirt (Mandarin?)
- Yes the Mandarin. Also Dreadknight and Iron Monger, both in the same photo as the boxed Doc Samson figure and the assorted Iron Man repaints and new-dos (dark grey First Appearance armor, Stealth Armor, the upcoming Crimson Dynamo Attacks/Desert Face Off figures)
- A new version of the Silver FA armor Iron Man in the middle of a bunch of older figures and the Wave 10 Figures, plus, is that a movie-style Iron Man-type armor?
- Ah! Translucent Yellow Johnny Storm (repaint from Wave 5/6), along with long-time Defender Gargoyle, a new Thing, Shocker and apparently that red and blue abomination is the "Insulated Spider-Man." The Rachel/Marvel Girl is seen off to the side.
- Black Panther and Storm are repaints, Nighthawk and Kang are new. Are we looking at the New Fantastic Four (Black Panther, Storm, Thing, clear Human Torch? Or Kang? Hopefully more news will be coming) and Defender packs (Gargoyle, Hulk, Nightwing?)
- Skipping ahead a couple photos, we get a clear shot of Marvel Girl and the Classic Cyclops from the Dark Phoenix era
- A Skrull! Could Nick Fury, Skrull, and Shield Agent be part of the Alien Invasion set?
- Shang Chi can be seen in the picture with Mandarin, brown/grey Captain America (is that supposed to look like his new costume? His Ultimate costume?), and Sentry
- Sentry, Planet Hulk, Venom and Hulkbuster Iron Man going against Mystique, Nick Fury, Shield Agent and Skrull?

And that's what we've seen. What have you seen?

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.

Wave 10 up for pre-order at BBTS

I don't personally use Big Bad Toy Store (sorry, but the prices for many figures are on the exorbitantly high side, like Angel/Colossus for $15.00, and shipping is on the high side as well), but they have listed Wave 10 (aka, Wave 9 for the folks that combine 5 and 6 into one wave) up for pre-order, shipping in September for a price of $29.99, or a little over $7.00 a figure and the same price as Entertainment Earth's now canceled pre-order. I have heard anecdotal evidence though that Big Bad Toy Store ships quicker than other online stores, so mileage may vary.

It's not an outrageous price, but considering other retailers like Hasbro still sell Super Hero Squad for $6, and other recent waves have been fairly easy to find at retail you may be better off waiting for the figures to return to Hasbro Toy Shop.

The most important thing is that this is hopefully a good sign that we're on track for a September/October release.

And still more on Wave 10 not being canceled

Earlier this week we posted the response Hasbro Consumer Affairs gave us when asked about the Wave 10 Super Hero Squad figures that some people were reporting as canceled.

Now Hasbro Toy Shop has responded to our e-mail to them with this response:

From "customerservice@hasbrotoyshop.com"

"We apologize for the inconvenience, but the products you inquired about are not available at this time. We are unable to provide any additional stock availability information for these items.

Please check our Web site again in the near future for availability."

It's a bit more form letter than the response from Hasbro Consumer Affairs was, but doesn't mention cancellation, only current unavailability.

One thing to note though, is that if Wave 10 is delayed until October as Entertainment Earth suggests in their current Wave 10 listing we dissected earlier then the wave will be shipping 6 months after pictures first started showing up and almost 10 months after the SKUs for this wave started showing up online it certainly shows that developing these toys can certainly take a long time.

And more of Wave 10 NOT being canceled

Well we already reported on a Hasbro Consumer Affairs representative telling us that the reason for the delay was inventory based and we also speculated that an inability to keep up with production was the culprit as it was with Hulk Wave 2.

Well, now it looks like Entertainment Earth has put Wave 10 (aka, Wave 9 since they counted 5 and 6 as one wave) back up for order, shipping in October. They're posting the case composition as:

This Wave 9 Revision 1 case includes 12 individually packaged Superhero Squad 2-packs:
1x Spider-Man & Venom
1x Ben Reilly Spider-Man & Carnage
1x Spider-Man & Hobgoblin
3x Spider-Man & Electro
2x Spider-Man & Sentry
2x Captain America & Red Skull
2x Blade & Punisher

Which means people who missed the Spider-Man packs in Wave 8 and 9 (the Psylocke and Carnage waves respectively) have another chance to pick those up. This also means that stores will have to order additional copies of 3 previously released sets to pick up new and long awaited sets like Sentry and Blade.

Still, further proof that the figures are coming and with luck, this inability to keep up with inventory will put to rest the rumors that the line doesn't sell well.

Wave 10 not canceled

Super Hero Squad Wave 10 is not canceled, at least not according to the reply we received from Hasbro's Consumer Affairs.

Response (Veronica) 07/02/2008 02:29 PM

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Hasbro, Inc. regarding www.hasbrotoyshop.com.

Unfortunately, the inventory was not received to support these items, therefore, they were removed from the site. As soon as inventory is available, the figures will be posted to the www.hasbrotoyshop.com web site. Unfortunately, we are not able to advise of the exact date inventory will be available. Please continue to check availability as this web site is updated on a daily basis.

We appreciate having the opportunity to assist you.

So that's a better answer than canceled, right? And it also goes well with the number of stores still allowing Wave 10 orders through Previews. It does not jive with some responses posted by others who have managed to contact Hasbro, so it looks like fans have the chance to pick which official position to accept.

The Mysterious Wave 10

I had a great e-mail from a reader pointing out that the Super Hero Squad Wave 10 figures (Sentry et al) have been removed from Hasbro Toy Shop, and the third wave of 4-packs (City in Crisis/Spider-Man Saves the Day and Winter Soldier Saga) disappeared as well.

In late April Wave 3 of the 4-packs went up for pre-order, and as of right now, orders placed for the sets are still listed as "back-ordered" in HTS's account status and were originally scheduled to ship 8/14/08. Before those figures were up for pre-order, Wave 10 was never made it to pre-order stage.

I've read a couple posts on some trader message boards saying that the line is over, and Entertainment Earth did mark the wave as canceled but the figures remained up on HTS for weeks afterward.

Now, here's where things get even weirder: the first picture of Wave 10 came from the Previews catalog and said the figures were shipping in July. The figures are not listed in the July 2008 consumer cancellations however and we don't have access to earlier cancellation lists. We checked the Product Change Archives and the Shipping Updates but neither of those mentioned the figures. That's not necessarily determinative of anything though, as the only real Hasbro announcement made was when they bumped up some Indiana Jones figures shipping dates.

Midtown Comics still has the figures listed as shipping July/August, and is offering the cases at 10% discount, Urban Collector lists them at 18% discount and shipping in July, Statue Toys has them shipping 3rd Quarder 2008 for about a 10% pre-order discount, Galaxy Comics gives them a July 30 shipping date so apparently none of those retailers have any reason to think that orders will not be fulfilled. But as we've talked about before, simply being available for pre-order online does not mean a product is guaranteed.


We're going to try to get more information on the subject, but right now what we have is:

(1) Winter Soldier Saga wasn't shipping until August, and those pre-orders when placed before HTS took the product listings down have not been yet been canceled.

(2) Wave 10 is listed as canceled by Entertainment Earth, and the products which were shown on HTS (but never put up for pre-order) have been removed. The figures were originally scheduled by Previews to ship in July, and (from what we have access to) Previews does not list the figures as canceled/delayed, and many comic stores (or at least their online counterparts), still have the figures available for pre-order.

So the information we have currently says the products are still coming out.

Is Wave 10 Cancelled?

And the second rumor for today: that the Sentry/Red Skull/Electro wave is canceled.

Entertainment Earth has listed the set of figures from the Sentry/Red Skull wave (known as Wave 10 on Wikipedia and here, Wave 9 elsewhere) as canceled. Lending a little more credence to the rumor is the fact that Hasbrotoyshop.com still has the figures as “coming soon” but not listed as pre-orders.

The truth? Nobody officially knows what the hold-up is. It’s just as likely that when an “official” date couldn’t be met (and certainly not the “June” release date some online sites have reported) Entertainment Earth decided to pull pre-orders for the “set” rather than having to explain to people why the order date was being pushed back. It’s also possible that Hasbro decided that releasing so many Super Hero Squad sets back to back, like the Deadpool wave in April, the Psylocke wave and the first Hulk wave in May, and the Ares wave and Hulk Wave 2 in June, was a little much for the average collector and decided to slow down the releases. Who knows. But as of yet, that figures from that wave are still officially up as “coming soon.”

Blade, Red Skull at Hasbro.com

The Abomination 2-pack for the Hulk movie wave 1 is available for pre-order now at Hasbro Toy Shop and today they've added the new Blade, Sentry, Red Skull and Electro 2-packs.

Those last 4 aren't up for pre-order yet, but they've got entries which is usually a good sign that pre-orders are coming.

Sentry, Electro, Blade and Red Skull photos

Over on The Fwoosh Forums there's a scan of a catalog shot of the new figures. I won't link directly to the picture (since that's a little tasteless for total strangers to burn through the guy's photobucket bandwidth limits) but it's available for viewing in the Super Hero Squad forum.

Most important news: The ad says they start shipping in July. Now, the poster didn't say what company the ad was from, as companies like Entertainment Earth and Hasbro's catalog tend to ship after the figures are already available in stores, so they might hit earlier, but for now, it looks like the totally unsourced and absolutely made-up release date of June that some people are saying is wrong. Now, maybe this catalog is right and it will be July, or maybe the catalog is wrong and they'll hit stores a month before shipping from whereever this catalog is from, but at least it's slightly more reliable than a date picked out of thin air simply because it's somewhat near the pre-order dates for other waves on some other sites (because using that logic, Hasbro's Marvel Legends wave 4 should be hitting any day now.) Well, that's it for the soap-box.

The picture shows that Captain America is going to be in full shield-slinging glory (to go with our holding-the-shield and shield-on-his-back Caps), Punisher is in a trenchcoat with some non-street legal guns blaring from both arms (which solves the complaint people have about Mr. Rocket Launching Punisher from the early waves), Red Skull is in the classic green jumpsuit with a Cosmic Cube.

Blade looks very Wesley Snipes-ish, but that's fine since that's the look most people recognize (although there would be a certain nostalgia factor in a 1970's era Blade), and comes armed with a gun and a sword. Between reality warping cubes, Cap's shield, and the guns-a-blazin Blade and Punishers, this is definitely a more action oriented set of sculpts than we've seen before.

Electro is classic yellow-star-on-his-face, and not Sensational/Animated style or the post-modern mask-off, lightning everywhere style that artists sometimes try to pass off (yeah it's more realistic, but it's not more recognizable.) Fans of the Sinister Six rejoice.

Sentry is the last new sculpt shown, and it's a little... well... I'll hold off until we see more than just a low-res scan of an order form. He looks to be in mid-flight pose, and he's shown as bulkier than Spidey (which he probably should be) but I suppose it is hard to capture the character's powers in SHS format.

The two Spider-Man figures in the line look like re-sculpts, but as I discussed in this previous post promo shots aren't always the end result, and they could just be a place-holders.

If they're NOT place-holders, then one of the Spideys looks to be the white-web shooting Spidey from the Easter single packs (good news for everyone that lives away from a Target, bad news for everyone that picked up the rather over-priced Easter impulse set.)

The other Spidey is a black-webbed (aka "comic" version for those that care) version of the left-hand-shooting, right hand grabbing figure, but it's hard to tell if that hand is open (ie, ready to hold the webbing in the Bank Heist playset) or closed (punching) so we'll have to wait for a clearer picture.

While many people complain about the abundance of Spider-Men, at least we were still getting new sculpts, and even new Spider-Characters (Ben Reilly, the Iron Spidey costume now used by the Scarlet Spiders over in the Initiative) so hopefully this isn't a sign of future trends.

I know Hasbro's sculptors must be running low on ways of making Spidey look unlike the other 20 figures we already have, but just as a bit of pontificating here: Casual collectors will tolerate re-sculpts, and variant collectors will tolerate re-paints, but when it comes to straight up re-issues, you run the risk of alienating those markets.

Edit: a few posts down in the thread, someone says that the picture was from Previews, so there you go, a source for the picture.

Sentry, Electro, Red Skull and Blade at Entertainment Earth

Entertainment Earth has recently put up Wave 9 (although "wave" depends on how you see it since some retailers have started lumping 5 and 6 into 5, thus shortening all of the other waves by a number) of the Super Hero Squad for pre-order. It's not really news, since BoyWithAGun already published the skus on a couple web-sites, but Entertainment Earth is listing the wave as:

Spider-Man & Electro
Spider-Man & Sentry
Captain America & Red Skull
Blade & Punisher

Now, when the SKUs were released, we were given almost full names for the release, thus no "wait... is 'Marvel' supposed to be Marvel Girl? Rachel? Jean? Marvel Boy? Captain Marvel?" or "H? Is that Hulk? Hood? Oh... Hand Ninja... that makes sense." so as I said, it's not really breaking news, nor is it confirmation since online retailers can cancel pre-orders if Hasbro changes the wave up, but I thought a few of you may be interested.

Of note: this wave follows the 4 new, 4 re-do trend that's been going on recently.

It will also be the third wave in a row to feature 2 Spider-Men packs (although wave 8 features the Ben Reilly Spider-Man, so whether you want to call that an exception who knows). Skus for the next two waves feature packs with names like SPD, S-M and S-Man, which, if they turn out to be Spider-Man means we will have 5 waves in a row with 2 Spider-Men per wave for an additional 10 Spider-Men this year.

And finally, it's also a great little tip of the hat to the message board posts saying "Hasbro will never make a Red Skull because they're afraid of kids playing with Nazis!"