I don't pay much attention to toys I don't want, but I'm compairing Hasbro to Mattel in the SuperHero department and right now Mattel OWNS Hasbro. That overabundance of Iron Man 2 toys? They've been out almost a year and still aren't moving. Apparently no one wants them. I don't see that too often with Mattel's products.

Yes, I think Marvel Universe is too epensive for such a little piece of crap toy. At least with Marvel Legends (and DC Universe) it seems like you're getting the value for your money.


I know it's the way I originally stated. And I don't see what's so great about MU anyway.

Why should Hasbro just put most it's efforts into the Thor and Captain America movie lines, especially if they just hang and collect dust like their over produced Iron Man 2 line? Mattel has does comic, animated and movie styled figures from all of the DC properties. Why can't Hasbro do the same? There's nothing wrong with doing a line from "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" in proper scale.

That's hilarious.

Wolverine and the X-Men didn't work at retail. The animated Iron Man line didn't work at retail. There's no reason in the world for Hasbro to invest in an idea like this just so the few remaining people who still buy a dying JLU line can add Marvel characters to their displays.

Like Avatar? Like Superman Returns? Like the Movie Master figures TRU can't give away? Like JLU?

Hasbro has Marvel, G.I. JOE, Transformers, and the biggest seller of all action figure lines, STAR WARS. Mattel barely scratches the surface of what Hasbro does in the action figure market.

Only if your idea of "value" is as simplistic as more plastic. Personally, I prefer quality, and that's what Hasbro delivers with Marvel Universe and the rest of their 3¾" lines.

Because that's what retailers want. It's really quite simple.

MODS: these two Avengers EMH threads are practically identical, especiall with the way the discussion has evolved.

Perhaps they should be merged?

Bomber, maybe you'll be happier when Legends makes it's return. So you're not a 3.75 inch guy. We get it.

Also have you seen the 4" Movie Green Lantern Figure Line that is coming (What hope and what promise these could have been until Mattel got their hands on them), I am sorry but that's your real turds of this year - oh and then theres the DCIH Line they come from Mattel and what a waste of plastic these were (I would have loved to have seen the same detail and attention put into that line that Hasbro put into the MU Line and any other lines from Hasbro), what was that about Hasbro being owned I seriously think it's the other way around.

I was really disappointed that an Avengers: EMH action figure line or even sub-line in the Marvel Universe wasn't announced at Toy Fair.

But, with The Avengers film due in 2012, I can only hope we'll see an avalanche of Avengers-related product in both the Marvel Universe and Marvel Legends lines (and maybe even in their own sub-line).

I could be way off here, but seeing as how the Thor movie toys are sporting Avengers branding (and assuming that the upcoming Captain America toys will be doing the same), it could just be that Hasbro doesn't want to compete with themselves by having a non-movie toyline with the Avengers logo on shelves at the same time.

There's precedent for the theory. Both Transformer and G.I. Joe non-movie lines disappeared from shelves for awhile (or at least diminished) when their respective movie toy lines were in full swing.

Good point, Sean. That may very well be the reasoning behind it. Or at least part of the reason.

So are you suggesting that Hasbro should never make another animated line again just because the 3.75 ones were crap? Those lines didn't work at retail because they were crap. The Spectacular Spider-Man line was successful. Hasbro shouldn’t invest in animated Avengers figures to please JLU collectors, but rather to make money off of people who would like figures based on the animated Avengers show that’s airing on Disney XD. And judging from the toy isles there are more of those few reaming people buying JLU than Iron Man 2. There's also no reason in the world for Hasbro to flood the toy isiles with more movie based Iron Man figures that just don’t move.


Fair enough with Superman Returns, but to the other non-Avatar lines no. I haven't seen an abundance of them like the Iron Man 2 figures that flood the toy isles. I don’t know about or couldn’t care less about Avatar. Again, I was not talking about non-super hero figures. As I said before "I'm compairing Hasbro to Mattel in the SuperHero department and right now Mattel OWNS Hasbro". The only era Hasbro succeeds Mattel is in is the 3.75 inch figures, but that’s not saying much.


More plastic and better detail alone makes Marvel Legends better. Why pay so much for a tiny weak looking figure. If that’s what you like that’s fine with me. They certainly better than the infinite heroes line. Also who said Hasbro wouldn’t deliver with quality if the made an animated Avengers line?


Oh yes quite. And they always say no to animated lines.

Maybe, but I’d be the happiest if Hasbro makes an Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes line of figures.

And Caped Crusader hates non-articulated figures that aren’t Bruce Timm style.

That's the most intelligent post I have read on this subject and you just may be correct with that theory. Well done sir.

No, I'm saying there's no logic for what's been suggested here.

But there's no money to be made if retailers don't want it. After Wolverine and the X-Men only lasted one season and Armored Adventures barely made it anywhere other than TRU, there's no compelling reason for retail buyers to want it.

So the one chain that has a couple of pegs for JLU, pegs which are rarely stocked with anything, is selling more of those than all chains have sold for Iron Man 2? Be serious. Hasbro delivered what retailers ordered for Iron Man 2. They don't just arbitrarily ship a quantity to those stores and say, "Here, this is what you get, so pay us now."

So The Dark Knight Movie Master toys aren't collecting dust at TRU? Really? Wow.

It's saying a lot, actually, when their lines dominate the action figure aisles and Mattel's products barely have a few pegs here and there. Other than a few three-packs at TRU, JLU is only (and barely) at one store. Their retro line is only at one store, unless you count the discount retailers who are selling them for half the price because Mattel couldn't unload them anywhere else. Their 3¾" line died. Action League doesn't come close to what Hasbro is doing with Super Hero Squad. Availability of their 6" line is seriously limited.

Just because you happen to personally prefer what Mattel offers, that doesn't mean they "own" anything. Far from it.



Not always, but often. Mattel tried getting a Legion of Super Heroes line to retailers, but they passed. If Wal-Mart and Target wanted a line based off this show, Hasbro would produce one. It's as simple as that.

I had heard that about the Legion of Superheroes and it's too bad. At the time my kids loved Teen Titans and LoSH, we had to settle for a Brainiac 5 from McDonalds. It doesn't quite fit with the Bandai Teen Titans figures (which had issues themselves).

Y'know, I really don't care who makes the figues, as long as they get made. Ultimately that's the thing isn't it? Every company is going to have it's highs and lows, all we can hope for as collectors is that they hit the highs more often than the lows.