The MARVEL Team at Hasbro has once again come through for AFI readers answering your latest and greatest Pre-Comic Con Hasbro/Marvel questions.  These questions were submitted by AFI readers via our forums. 

Q1. The SDCC Invaders pack is fantastic! Will we see any more team packs that pay homage to Marvel’s history (i.e. The Champions, The Defenders, Inhumans, or New Mutants)?

A1) We certainly hope so.  There are tons of great possibilities for these!

Q2. How long will it take you to provide fans with a full set of the Fantastic Four in matching costumes? We’ve got blue/black Johnny Storm and Thing, blue/white Johnny Storm and an up coming classic Torch in Secret Wars set #2. One would "assume" the likelihood of a blue/white Thing and/or Mr. Fantastic in the Secret Wars packs is high. This leaves the need for a blue/black Mr. Fantastic as well as an Invisible Woman in blue/black, blue/white and perhaps even a translucent/phasing version. Hopes are high for this but with your track record expectations are low.  Prove me wrong.

A2) We agree that The Fantastic Two just doesn’t have the same ring to it. With that said, team completion is always one of the discussion points in our character debates.  We have tons of characters on tap for 2010 (heck,we’re doing nearly 60 figures in 2009), but you’ll have to wait until SDCC for the next batch of reveals.

Q3. Will we EVER see any female characters in the Wolverine and the X-Men line or any other woman besides MS Marvel in the MU line?

A3) Yes.

Q4. Will there be more of a balance between the number of Heroes and Villains in Marvel Universe in the future? The figures are great, but the ratio is something like 4:1 so far, Green Goblin and Bullseye can only take so much abuse!!

A4) But they’ve got plenty of support from an army of Hand Ninjas along with Hobgoblin, Red Hulk, Klaw and Thunderball!  Not to worry, you’re going to some great new villains in SD next month.

Q5. I’m crazy about the Marvel Super-Hero Squad line. Are there any plans for a Fantasticar for the FF, a Quinjet for the Avengers and a Blackbird for the X-Men? I’ve seen the big rig for Logan on his motorcycle, but I’m hoping that we’ll see some other vehicles for the line.

A5) No news on those particular vehicles, but there’s an assortment of Super Hero Squad vehicles hitting shelves now that we think you’re going to like – be on the lookout for Squad Cruisers!  There’s a cool Spidey Car, a Wolverine 4×4 and a crime fighting Helicopter for Cap.

If you have a question you would like to ask the Hasbro Marvel team, you can submit them via this thread.   New questions are due by:  Friday July 3rd. 

UFC Fighters Get First Look at Their Own Action Figures at The Event!

What:     Top UFC fighters and MMA fans will get the first look at the official Ultimate Fighting Championship^® (UFC^®) action figures from leading U.S. toy maker JAKKS Pacific, Inc (Nasdaq: JAKK) at UFC® Fan Expo™ for UFC 100 in Las Vegas. The first two series of the line, Wave 0 and Wave 1 include some of the best and well known UFC fighters such as Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar, Chuck Liddell, Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva, Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson and Royce Gracie. Several of the fighters will be in attendance to view their new figures before they hit retail shelves this Fall, and are expected to meet and greet with fans at the JAKKS UFC Fan Expo booth (#427).

To help celebrate UFC 100 and the first ever UFC Fan Expo, JAKKS will also have Limited Edition UFC Fan Expo Platinum Chuck Liddell figures available for purchase by fans in attendance at the JAKKS booth while supplies last. The exclusive Limited Edition Platinum figures will be sequentially numbered 1:500 and will only be available at the UFC Fan Expo. The first 250 units will go on sale at 10:00 am on Friday with the next 250 units available Saturday starting at 10:00 am as well.

Who:      Leading U.S. toymaker JAKKS Pacific

   Top UFC Fighters and MMA fans

All attendees must have a ticket to enter UFC Fan Expo.

Tickets are available for purchase at www.ufcfanexpo.com.

When:    Friday, July 10 (10 am – 7 pm) – Saturday, July 11 (10am – 4 pm)

Where:   JAKKS Booth # 427

               Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Bayside Hall B, located at 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South.

               Las Vegas, Nevada

Why:       UFC Fan Expo is the world’s premier MMA event where millions of fans of the fastest-growing sport will have the opportunity to celebrate their passion through the experience of exhibitions, training and development, fan-inspired special events and competitions, meet and greets with the elite fighters, and demos of various fighting techniques – all held in conjunction with the UFC fighter weigh-ins and the 100th Pay-Per-View Fight Card.

For more information about UFC Fan Expo visit www.ufcfanexpo.com.

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The gang at Hasbro wanted to be sure and share the following Hasbro product news with you before heading into the July 4th holiday:

G.I. Joe Fans:

As if celebrating the 4th of July weren’t cause for enough excitement, imagine having early access to a slew of G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra figures and vehicles. Well, your wish is our command.

Hasbro is pleased to announce that the first wave G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra toys are going to begin to hit shelves ONE WEEK EARLY, starting Monday, July 6th.

Beginning this Monday and rolling out throughout next week, your favorite retailers will be adding G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra figures and vehicles to their stores. This is your opportunity to be the first to get your hands on these highly anticipated toys.

If you could help us spread the word to other G.I. JOE fans, that would be great.

Thanks and have a terrific 4th of July weekend!  Yo Joe!
 
Marvel Fans:
There’s a new wave of Marvel Legends 2 Packs on the way in 2010 and you help to decide who’s in them.  The basics are simple – six total characters, you pick three and we pick three.  Sound like fun?  Voting for this all new Fan’s Choice will start on July 22nd when we reveal all of the possible choices at San Diego Comic Con.  Some of them you might expect to see, some of them might take you by surprise, but you can bet your Sweet Aunt Petunia that they all could make a great addition to your Marvel Legends collection!  We’ve sent along three images to give you a small taste of what’s in store.  Enjoy!

 

LOS ANGELES, Calif., (July 2, 2009) – Leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., today confirmed that it has secured exclusive North American rights to publish future official videogames for the longstanding classic anime and manga series, Dragon Ball® across all major consoles and hand held platforms.

This agreement will run for five years beginning in January 2010 and supersedes the existing rights granted to publish titles on the Nintendo DS™, Wii™, PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment system, PSP^® (PlayStation^®Portable) system, and Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

Additionally, NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. has secured the right to initially publish three titles in 2009, Dragon Ball^®: Raging Blast for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PLAYSTATION^®3 computer entertainment system, Dragon Ball^®: Revenge of King Piccolo exclusively for Wii™, and Dragon Ball^® Z: Attack of the Saiyans exclusively for Nintendo DS™.

The Dragon Ball anime and manga series is a worldwide multi-million dollar entertainment franchise. Originally penned by famed Japanese manga artist Akira Toriyama in 1984, the Dragon Ball series has spawned several entertainment franchise sequels (Dragon Ball® Z and Dragon Ball® GT) spanning 11 years of manga, over 500 television episodes, 23 feature films, and countless mass merchandising products. FUNimation® Entertainment currently holds all U.S. distribution rights to the anime series.

The Dragon Ball Saga follows the orphaned martial arts boy Goku as he grows and matures into an adult throughout his many adventures. During his early formative years, Goku meets life long comrades, defeats diabolical superhuman enemies, and eventually settles down and forms a family. The Dragon Ball series is known for its often comical action adventure themes which are interspersed with long standing testosterone-driven action-impacted battles which escalate drastically over time into full-on conflicts for the survival of mankind. By the end of the Dragon Ball saga, the baton of planetary savior is passed to Gohan and Goten, Goku’s son and grandson respectively.

Commenting on the announcement Makoto Iwai, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc. said: “We are very excited to have signed this long term agreement with Toei Animation Co., Ltd and FUNimation® Entertainment, which grants NAMCO BANDAI Games North American multi-platform rights to the testosterone driven action packed world of Dragon Ball. This move reunites NAMCO BANDAI Games with the Dragon Ball series in North America which will considerably increase our ability to develop titles that perfectly capture every nuance of what makes the Dragon Ball world exciting to the consumer.”

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AFi’s own Peter "Vader" Go recently interviewed AFI’s founders, Daniel "Julius Marx" Pickett and Jason "ToyOtter" Geyer for his own great site, AFHub, to get their thoughts and insights about all things AFi and toys in general. This is the first time the boys have given a joint, in-depth interview. Mainly because it’s the first time they’ve been asked to!

Click here to go read part one all about the shenanagins and then here to read part two. Part three is coming tomorrow!

After the sell out success of Series One – TOY2R proudly releases the second series of 2.5" D.I.Y. Qees. This assortment contains pure D.I.Y. bliss with iconic QEE characters like the Qee Bear, Bunee, and Toyer included but now they are accompanied by a group of new QEE characters. Introducing Qee Grizee, Pigee, Boxee, Boxee Toyer and the first appearance of the DIY Kaiju Toyer Qee.

With a SRP of $5.99, this 30 piece blind box assortment is available for shipping from TOY2R immediately. Don’t miss out because this series may just sell out faster than the first – especially with the first appearance by some of these new QEES.

On behalf of CAPCOM Co. LTD.:

Also available will be a mini version of this exquisite statue. Standing nearly 4-inches tall, this sized-down version is made of high quality PVC plastic but still retains every bit of detail.   Priced at $10.00 (+ Tax), the quantity will be very limited

Both would be a perfect addition to your collection along with game, which will be available later this year.

DC Direct discussed Blackest Night plans at IGN and showed pics of all the related figures…

Wave #1
– Black Lantern Earth-2 Superman 6.5"
– Alpha Lantern Boodika with removable face plate 6.75"
– Blue Lantern Saint Walker with power battery 7.5"
– Atrocitus with power battery 7.25"

Wave #2
– Black Lantern Martian Manhunter 7"
– Green Lantern John Stewart with power battery 6.75"
– Indigo with Power battery 7"
– Kryb with removable back cage that stores two alien babies 7"

Wave #3
– Black Lantern Aquaman 6.75"
– Green Lantern Arisia with power battery 6.5"
– Star Sapphire with power battery 6.625"
– Larfleeze The Orange Lantern with Glomulus and power battery 7" (Glomulus is 2.375")

Wave #4
– Black Lantern Firestorm 6.75" to top of head (helmet increases height)
– Green Lantern Kyle Rayner with power battery 6.75"
– Black Hand with Batman skull 6.75"
– Wonder Woman 6.625" to top of head (not shown)

Click to read the interview!

We have a special treat for you today in the Toy Archive.   The fine folks over at Kotobukiya let us have a sneak peek that the finished product on the first in the series Marvel Bishoujo Statues- The Black Widow.

"A KOTOBUKIYA Japanese import! Continuing the series of Marvel Comics superheroines presented in the Japanese Bishoujo (pretty girl) style is BLACK WIDOW, the beautiful Russian super-spy and member of the Mighty Avengers. This original design has been specially created by the incomparable illustrator Shunya Yamashita! Fans should be familiar with Yamashita-sensei’s style as Japan’s leading Bishoujo artist, from his art books, video game work, as well as multiple figural collaborations with Kotobukiya."

This is a stunning piece that you need to see in person to appreciate the clean sculpt, the awesome detail and the clean paint applications.   This is a great start to the line.  

 In the archive we show the regular Natalia Romanova edition.   There will be a Yelena Belova version that will be a San Diego Comic Con exclusive.

You can check her out now in the AFi Toy Archive!

Just posted over on Matty’s Facebook page-

Hey DCU fans,

Our second shipment of Alex Luthor and Ultraman has just arrived. This Earth 3 DCU two pack will go back on sale this Wednesday July 1st at 12:00 noon!

Set your watches now and don’t miss out!  You can find the order page for this set here.

You can see complete turnarounds of this set in the AFi Toy Archive.