Super-Articulate: Toy Fair 2019 Overview

Posted on February 21, 2019 by Troy Brownfield

Let’s get this straight right now. There’s NO WAY we can hit everything. There’s just too much. I’m going to zoom in on our regular areas, Marvel Legends and DC Multiverse, with a couple of side trips.

Funko Pop: Holy crap, just go look at the pictures. There’s WAY too much to digest there. Rest assured that they’re on fire. Catch our full Funko coverage.

McFarlane DC and Harry Potter/Wizarding World: Nothing to show yet, per the terms of the deal, but The Todd Himself seems very excited in his various interviews and personal postings. His comments seem to indicate that their DC license can pull from comics, animation, film, and video games; I’m really excited to see what they come up with, but for now we’ll have to wait.

DC ¡Lucha Explosiva!: DC Collectibles just hit this one out of the park. The Lucha Libre-inspired line is an unexpected visual joy. Even if you’re familiar with the luchadore wrestling tradition, you might not know that there’s an extensive history of heroic masked wrestlers in Mexican film, notably El Santo, Mil Máscaras, and Blue Demon. This assortment celebrates that, and its mere appearance has delighted collectors. I expect it to be a big hit, and I expect more to follow.

DC Multiverse: Not gonna lie. This was a let-down. I’m glad to see the Red Robin and Poison Ivy figures, which look great, but I feel like Mattel are squandering their chance to go out big with this line. While it’s always been hobbled by poor distribution, they had picked up a lot in the last couple of years. The ’89 Batman and new Joker are well-done, but ultimately another Batman and Joker.

Shazam — Photographer David C Stylist Audra Bennett

Imaginext DC Super Heroes: The 80th anniversary Batman figures, including the boxed set and individual carded figures, look super-fun. Including a Detective #27 figure, the Batmobile-armor version from Alex Ross’s Justice, a Sinestro Corps Batman, the “Rainbow” Batman, a GL Bats, an Azrael Bat, and the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, these kind of hilariously wonderful. The kids will love them, but adult collectors that don’t normally pick these up might be tempted to grab some, too.

Power Rangers Lightning Collection: Police, I’d like report a murder, because Hasbro KILLED THESE. I’m not a Rangers fan, but damn, these are awesome.

Marvel Legends: Where to even begin? Last week, I wrote a piece about the top 10 figures I wanted to see. And Hasbro gave us NONE OF THEM. And yet, I am extremely impressed and excited by the massive amount of reveals at the show. The Alex Ross Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America are outstanding. The fact that we’re getting Peggy Carter, Ghost, Luis, the Grandmaster, and Korg is insane. The four revealed Retro X-Men (Madripoor Wolverine, Silver Samurai, X-Factor Cyclops, and “Outback” Dazzler) are simply great. Boom Boom is perfect, and long overdue. The problem with Marvel Legends is the best possible problem; even as they make new, great stuff (or new, continually improving stuff), you still find yourself wanting the characters that haven’t been reached yet. The funny thing is that we didn’t even get the full 2019 picture; the other two Retro figures and the rest of the X-Force assortment haven’t been seen, and neither have the Endgame film figures. For me, Hasbro’s line was the clear winner.