Marvel Legends VS Marvel Universe
February 4, 2009The last wave of 6 inch Marvel legends that was released was the Ares series, if I’m not mistaken. If not that, then I guess it’d be the Red Hulk series. After some time, the 3.75 inch Marvel Universe figures were lauched. However, even after promising a January 2009 release for the 6″ ML Nemesis series, no 6″ figures were released after the 3.75″ saw the light of day. What does it all mean?
If you’ve been paying attention to the announced releases from Hasbro, you’ll notice that none of them are in the 6″ scale. None.
What are the new releases?
-Wolverine and the X-Men Animated Series Figures- all 3.75 inchers
-Wolverine Origins- again, 3.75 inchers (movie and comic-accurate)
-Marvel Universe waves 2 and onward- yes, they’ve announced at least two more waves.
-Iron Man Armored Adventures Animated Series Figures- well, said to be 4″ but that kind of places it around the 3.75 inch scale, too.
However, this forum post on Fwoosh from Jesse Falcon, Director of Merchandising at Marvel Entertainment, says that the 6″ line is far from dead.
Hey Guys it’s Jesse
Long time no chat right! I’ve been reading a lot of gloom and doom about the 6″ Legends line. Well, I wanted to come on the Fwoosh and let you guys know that next weekend your going to see something I think is amazingly cool that will be happening with the 6″ Marvel Legends line. And I really wanted to come here and let you know that the 6″ line is alive and Hasbro has a very dedicated team that plans on making some very cool 6″ product over the next couple of years.
I also wanted to let you know that the 3.75″ line look’s amazing! If when you get them in hand you agree an I think you will you should thank the entire Hasbro crew because they all worked very hard on this line to make it what it is.
So when you get a second if you come to NYCC swing by the Marvel booth, and say hi!
I think your really going to like what you see!
Best,
Jesse
Good news, right? Of course it is, especially with the 6″ Marvel Legends Nemesis Series to be released soon. I was looking forward to this, too. It’s got two Daredevils and Nova and cat-like Beast.
But to me, it seems like Hasbro, the king of 3.75 inch figures, is going to focus more on the smaller figures, and for good reason. With the economy the way it is now, it makes sense to cut some corners.
Why it makes sense:
-Less plastic, less costs
Smaller figures means the manufacturers will use less plastic. Less plastic means that for every x amount of plastic they get, they can spread it around more lines, more figures, more customers are satisfied.I don’t think now is the time to create a shortage, because demand may be low as well.
Also, smaller figures means smaller packaging, lighter freight and less shelf space- savings!
-Less cost, smaller price tags (but not by much)
In a time when liquidity is spread thin, people aren’t looking to rush to the malls to find newest releases. I think people are still willing to shell out money for figures, but not if the prices are a bit too ridiculous. People are spending less, that’s a fact; even I cut down 5 titles in my pull list.
-Smaller price tags, more figures, potentially more buyers
I think a good strategy to have these days is to make money in the long run by depending on the volume of sales instead of a large markup on a smaller sales volume.
Of course, the figures still have to be good. And really, I’m expecting great things from Hasbro. The 25th Anniversary G.I. Joes are awesome, have you seen those? I wanna buy a couple of those, too, just because they look fantastic. The Marvel Universe figures look good, but only Iron Man was a perfect fit. You’d expect Punisher to look awesome, right? No, he’s hydrocephalus man.
However, this was a good first effort. Thing is, there are a few reasons why I’m switching my main collection to the 3.75″ world.
My Reasons
-I started early.
Unlike the Marvel Legends line, I only started collecting those things after Hasbro took over. Yeah, that late. So it was a mad dash to get those really good Toybiz figures that I wanted- Juggernaut (sold though), Deadpool and Hawkeye (I have two!). And in this line, I can finally complete an Iron Man armory!
-Smaller scale means bigger chance of B-listers
I like B-list characters. Sure, the essentials to have are the big 3- Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, but I like having a Moon Knight here, and a Bob, Agent of Hydra there.
-Compatible Lines
There’s G.I. Joe, for one, which also used to be a Marvel title as well. Also, you wanted a Punisher armory? You got a Punisher armory.
-Might be Easier on the Pocket
It’s a tad cheaper than ML, and considering that I am already losing tons of money on credit card and phone bills, it’s a blessing. And with it being cheaper, I can spread my money around other things, like paying people to tell me I am good looking.
-Consumes Less Space
I’m a loose collector; I believe toys are meant to be set free, and not kept in their tiny plastic prison cells. To keep the Marvel Legends standing and visible, you’d have to have considerable shelf space. I bought two cabinets and they’re both already full, and my collection is far less than impressive. With these smaller figures, it’ll be much easier to display them in a diorama. There are playsets, too!
If you’re looking to get into a line this year, your best bet would be the 3.75 line. Sure, here their SRP is at Star Wars level, even though their SRPs abroad are the same with the cheaper G.I. Joes, but it’s okay, you don’t have to collect all of them, just the ones you like.
3.75″ FTW!
Previous Comments
@thomas
Yeah, dude, but they’re focusing more on 3.75 inchers, which I’m totally fine with. I love those suckers.
Posted by comicology at February 11, 2009, 10:16 amhow about your old 6 inch figs??? will you sell them????
Posted by thomas at February 11, 2009, 5:21 pmcan you also tell me about what happened to marvellegends.net?????? its gone
Posted by thomas at February 11, 2009, 5:46 pm@thomas
Dude, I like you, but quit it with the “????” One will do. Putting one exclamation point after the question mark is enough for emphasis, dude.
Anyway, yeah, I’m thinking about selling off my six inch figs but we’ll see. News says by 2010, more 6″ figures will be released.
And nope, no idea what happened to marvellegends.net. Probably just domain/hosting problems.
Posted by comicology at February 11, 2009, 6:58 pmI finally saw the smaller Marvel Universe figures at WalMart ($8.47), Target ($7.99) and K-Mart ($8.99) plus 9.3% sales tax. I buy for my adult son, who is an avid Marvel superhero collector (comics & figures). His opinion, like mine, is good bye. Too expensive for too little plastic, lack of graphics, etc. Hasbro can keep them. I use to buy the same amount of plastic for $1.98 years ago. Prices and the cost of living have not gone up 400% since then.
Posted by Steve at April 23, 2009, 12:11 pmI couldnt agree more …hASBRO can keep their Marvel Universe figures, the prices are ridiculous!!! $7.99 was the price of the 6 inch figures when TB had the license! I love Marvel, but I refuse to buy any Marvel Universe, not with that price. ESPECIALLY the way the economy is, they should be ashamed! If they discontinue the ML line thats where they ended their business with me and I believe a lot of people! Drop YOUR PRICES HASBRo, you will see a change in sales if not CLEARENCE and then DISCONTINUED!
Posted by abel at April 24, 2009, 7:48 am@Steve and abel
Okay, you guys are making me feel like a horrible crack whore who gets high on plastic men. 
I agree with you though, the prices are too high. I bit into the whole idea of MU because I liked their scale. Also, the line’s slightly cheaper than Hasbro Marvel Legends, which have been waning in quality.
They should lower their prices though- a couple dollars off, at least. Maybe we should stage a boycott. 
I’m also a loose collector and I like the Marvel Legends line much more than the Marvel Universe line. I have at least 100 legends and not much for shelf space, but with a little creativity, I always find a way to make them all fit and still look cool. These figures are too small for my liking, to put on display and be able to appreciate the way I do the legends. Finacially, they’re not that much cheaper than the legends, yet they’re half the size. That’s kind of a rip off if you ask me. On a different note, for people that are looking for more guns for their legends version punisher, I’ve found at a couple of different dollar stores a line called Army Heroes. You get a plastic container with 2 knock off GI Joes, some sceneary, and 3 or 4 guns that are way too big for the knock off joes, but are perfect for the punisher. If you’re looking to make an armory, I’d keep an eye out for them.
Posted by Comic Book Legends:Toys and Collectables at May 17, 2009, 8:47 am@Dude from above
100 MLs?! Damn, dude! Send over a pic so you get featured here, too. C’mon, I need the content.
Yeah, I’ve seen those China-made Army Heroes figures around and scale-wise, they’re great. Price, too. But the quality leaves much to be desired, bro.
Posted by comicology at May 23, 2009, 5:49 pmThis is good that people are able to get the loan moreover, that opens up new possibilities.
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will hasbro still release 6″ lines?????
Posted by thomas at February 10, 2009, 7:49 pm