[Shin Densetsu]

Because I am awesome I am making this thread for how I would have destroyed the universe and made Marvel Universe an even more awesome line. Long story short, I went hard collecting it at 1st but later stopped caring and am now getting back into it but not going as hard as before. I am going to not go in order but here is what I would have done:

Cancel the SILVER Sentinel, make the classic purple the 1st release, and the variant would have been MASTER MOLD
The X-men cartoon rocked in the 90's but did not age well. Nonetheless, I would rather have classic purple Sentinels and MASTER MOLD instead of the silver one I bought which I now stash behind something so it can cower in depression because it does not live up to my now exceedingly high and unobtainable expectations.

Have everyone planned for Thor that WASN'T Thor released in the 1st 2 waves of the Thor line
In yet another one of Hasbro's decisions that left all of us questioning the very meaning of life, and one which must have made the Watcher's head explode, Hasbro released primarily THOR in the Thor movie line's 1st wave. Oh, hey kids you want Thor's buddies the Warriors 3 and Lady Sif? HOW ABOUT THAT BAD ASS DESTROYER SILVER GUY FOR THOR TO FIGHT?!

Hell Thor's dad didn't even come with his bad ass helmet before he fell into a coma and helmet Loki with the horns of destruction was hard to find too. I would rather save the Thor repaints for later waves so that they could inevitably never make it to mass market and instead languish at clearance stores like they deserve.

Crap, Thor wasn't Marvel Universe,...WHATEVER THOR GETS IT TOO

Limit Extremis Iron Man repaints/retools to Iron Patriot and include unmasked Tony Stark head in the 1st release to begin with
Did we really need Extremis Iron Man released twice just so the second release could have Stark's head? Speaking of Iron Man....

Limit Bleeding Edge Armor Repaints
Okay....1st release was awesome, great mold...then we see it in not only the 3 pack with Red Hulk but also the TRU Avengers wave...why? WHY?!

Make a new Wolverine buck with thigh swivels/rocker ankles and retire the XMO Wolverine molds
see here also UGH...Gambit was in that Sinister comic pack, not cool!

Tell the factory workers not to put parts together until paint is dry
STUCK JOINTS SUCK

Shove Gladiator in a multipack of some kind
NO WONDER MARVEL UNIVERSE IS ON CLEARANCE AT TARGET THIS IS THE ONLY FIGURE THERE

Might come up with more when I post again but yeah already the line(s) would have looked better with my decisions har har

[FancyPants]

Not going to lie man. Those are some good ideas.

I think also having the adult figure community (who is spending money, not moms) have more of an imput who is actually made. If they made junk, we wont buy it. 85% of the avengers movie figures are garbage. Same with IM2, Thor, CA. at the retail price, they just aren't worth it.

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FancyPants

Not going to lie man. Those are some good ideas.

I think also having the adult figure community (who is spending money, not moms) have more of an imput who is actually made. If they made junk, we wont buy it. 85% of the avengers movie figures are garbage. Same with IM2, Thor, CA. at the retail price, they just aren't worth it.

That would be cool to see Hasbro take more of our input into consideration, but I get the feeling that would also mean a higher MSRP.

[Jason Abbadon]

The only thing I'd change would be to lose stuff like the conical blast thingie, the file cards and comic cardboard thing and give EVERY fig an unmasked head.
Really, it's a minor thing when you consider it and if they need .50 more per figure for it, I'd happily pay that.
Everyone would.
Guys like Osborn and sentry can have sane and insane heads, armored types can have unhelmeted heads so they can hold the other head as a removed helmet.

Stop making bullshit like "Pink costume Cap" or "Iron Man in horrible likeness armor" like the first three MU Iron Mans and focus on matching only the look of the comics.
This has gotten waaay better though.

SCALE. Guys like Iron Man should look like a guy in armor when placed next to Cap or Thor should be taller than Cap and Hulk should be bigger than most anyone.
The wave 18 Hulk is shorter than Steve Rogers!

Instead of repainting established characters into sully color schemes, repaint and parts swap to make new characters! Customizers can do this and so can Hasbro! And we know Hasbro can use GI Joe molds to make new MU figs (they did with Professor X's body, right?).
LOTS of possibilities to make new characters with minimal additions in equipment.

FAN INTERACTION Not every fanboy idea is possible but we have good practical ideas as well- even a simple Facebook page with someone from the MU line talking with fans and the occasional sneak peek would be great- Vonner may be gone but he was certainly not the only one there with love of the characters.
I'd bet damn near anything that those guys have made their own crazy customs and collections- and that they have figs on their desks a year before we ever see them!

And just for the record, the Thor line of figures was exceptional. Not so much the variant concept Thors, but sculpting, actor likeness and ever most of the articulation was just flippin great. That line gets a lot of hate and I dont see why, frankly.
As to stuff like the Avengers line's limited articulation, I think that the collosal flop taht is the Dark Knight and Green Lantern movie figures will make Hasbro look at the trend they followed of lessening quality and articulation and set things back on track with the IM3 figures...which I'm really hoping we get at thins point, since noting ahs been announced!

[Iceman]

Better QC in general would be a good focus. It doesn't help for business when kids and collectors alike get figures that break easily or are already broken. Just look at how many bad Punishers we've heard about. You've got to catch that because a kid sees that figure, thinks it's cool, and it breaks right when he gets is home. If that is his first or one of his first figures what are the chances his parents want to buy more?

The other thing I would change is revision cases of product from a year or more ago that we KNOW didn't/isn't selling. In 2012 why would we get a rev case with Extremis, Iron Spider-Man, and wave 1 Spider-Man in it?

Also, complete the teams you start in a timely manner. First Class X-Men, 90's X-Men, Fantastic Four in dark blue, X-Force, etc. Imagine how much easier those Cyclops/Jean first class packs would have been to sell if people knew we'd be getting the rest of the team. Any single-carded, two-pack, or three-pack that connects directly to other product released and makes teams/sets will drive sales.

[Iceman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Abbadon

The only thing I'd change would be to lose stuff like the conical blast thingie, the file cards and comic cardboard thing and give EVERY fig an unmasked head.
Really, it's a minor thing when you consider it and if they need .50 more per figure for it, I'd happily pay that.
Everyone would.
Guys like Osborn and sentry can have sane and insane heads, armored types can have unhelmeted heads so they can hold the other head as a removed helmet.

I get that the blast effects are mostly for the kids, like the gimmick weapons in the movies line but more accessories or heads/helmets would be great. When I hold and MU or Star Wars figure next to a Joe it makes me laugh at how much cool stuff the Joes come with. I guess the licenses just cost too much?

[FancyPants]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shin Densetsu

That would be cool to see Hasbro take more of our input into consideration, but I get the feeling that would also mean a higher MSRP.

Not necessarily. I mean before you spent the dough on R&D. Open a poll on whatever mediums. It might take a few months to collect the data, but think about it this way. You could almost guarantee sales. And adult collectors spend the most money.

Or another idea, just have a sub line of pure collectors figures. I'd pay 15 for a MU fig all day if it was fan chosen with care and handled as such. No assembly line garbage, no backwards joints, hands, feet. An absolute money back promise if that line came damage. Sell those online to save money on distribution and having to make deals with walmart or retailers that force you to mass produce junk for children. I suppose it would be like the DC infinite earths line. I wouldn't make a subscription though. I mean sure like the star wars fan club used to be. You can get all the cool fan figures, but if you pay money to be a member you get a couple of the really great ones. They yearly fee should never exceed 30 dollars though

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FancyPants

Not necessarily. I mean before you spent the dough on R&D. Open a poll on whatever mediums. It might take a few months to collect the data, but think about it this way. You could almost guarantee sales. And adult collectors spend the most money.

Oh I meant like Hasbro might pull something like that off, like "OH YEAH FANBOYS? YOU WANT YOUR VOICE HEARD? GET READY TO PAY UP AND SEND YOUR WALLETS TO HELL YOU WANT THAT GIANT ASS SHIELD HELICARRIER AND SOME NEW MASTERWORKS OR MARVEL UNIVERSE OMEGA RED OR EVEN WOLVERINE AS DEATH? I HOPE YOU INVEST IN GOLD SONS YOUR WALLETS ARE MINE HAHAHAHAHHAHA!"

I do agree with you however Hasbro hasn't been very open to forum participation/q & a's. I think they classify many of our ideas as unsolicited advice.

I mean I know they sometimes lurk boards to see what's up. Hopefully they start doing it more. I mean no little kid is going to understand how amazing the idea of Comic Packs are. That's something only a comic collector would know. I mean yeah I started collecting comics when I was young but mainly the comic fan knows the relevance of a comic pack.

[Jason Abbadon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman

I get that the blast effects are mostly for the kids, like the gimmick weapons in the movies line but more accessories or heads/helmets would be great. When I hold and MU or Star Wars figure next to a Joe it makes me laugh at how much cool stuff the Joes come with. I guess the licenses just cost too much?

I think that's exactly the case- Hasbro OWNS GI Joe so there the money they have to make extras is far greater...and there is a greater need to make extras to sell some 338th version of Duke or Snake Eyes to seel the figure than to get away with seling a Spidey with almost nothing.

But still, if they can make that silly webbing thing or the goofy backpack, they can make an extra head of Peter Parker! They sure make enough Spidey figs to stick it with, so it's not like molds or sculpting is a big issue there.
I can see guys like Darkhawk or Falcon not getting the extra head- not when they come with extras already, but when you have a figure like Apoclypse in one hand and a Guardian in the other hand, you dont feel good about getting the small fig with squat over the massive tank of a figure with it's hoses and heft.

Heck, look at the IM2 line- EVERY figure came with something and in every case a Tony or Rhodey head would have been better. Sure, you can skip guys like Guardsman or Crimson Dynamo if you like, but central characters really should have something.

Have I mentioned lately how excellent the IM2 comic series was?
Did you notice how the figs that peg warmed were the endless armor repaints and not unique characters? I watched a kid take a Titianium man to his mom and ask for it and he said "I dont know who he is but he's cool"...and really, "cool" is the thing that sells, not some idiotic-sized cannon with stuff shooting out two inches due to safety concerns.

If Thor's line had been limited to a couple of Thor figures (and where was de-powered Thor?) and one of each of the rest of the cast (no Jane Foster or carded Heimdall?) and then a Comic Series with accurate comic versions of guys like Odin, Classic Thor and Loki? Forget it- there would have been nothing left to clearance.

Or look at the cap line- excellent sculpts on those comic series figures and thhe COOLEST Winter Soldier! MOvie line figs that put the MU versions to shame? Articulation aside, those figures kick ass- and for a collector that just displays the figs, even more impressive to have a USAgent that's not just a Cap repaint, with his accurate face sneering. If anything was lacking in the Cap line it was that the Comic Series was not big enough and the idiotic stuff like "snowboarding Cap" or Desert camo Cap" clogged pegs.

Keep the Comic Series figures coming with movie lines!

Hopefully we'll see some new comic series figs in the IM3 and Thor 2 lines.

[Iceman]

You are totally right. The IM2 line is what really got me collecting full steam. Even some of the repaints weren't horrible but so much comic goodness made that line. Thor needed to get the other characters out first and have comic versions. Like, why was Ultimate Thor not in that line if they were making him?

[Prem1x]

I wouldn't have brought back Legends to retail, despite what Jesse Falcon wants.

[Colder Soldier]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Abbadon

SCALE.The wave 18 Hulk is shorter than Steve Rogers!

That's not even remotely accurate.

[Snowflakian]

I've already said my full piece on what I'd do over in the Marvel Universe Future thread.

I'll come back to this later and just do a bullet point list of the key elements of that plan though.

[synapse17]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colder Soldier

That's not even remotely accurate.

Agreed. I don't mean to harp on an issue, and I could go on and on about scale issues in the line. But so many misrepresent the size and scale of figures. Hulk should have been much larger, but he is in no way the same hight as CSR.

[Colder Soldier]

Adult fans should have the most input on what individual figures get made. Not that "moms" don't matter- buyers for children still account for more than half the retail sales (believe it or not). Especially the movie lines. The thing is- besides needing a saturation of characters that "look like the actors in the movie", pretty much everything else is up in the air. The truth about kids and action figures- they play with whatever you give them. As long as it looks cool, they'll still have as much fun with a Fandral they hardly remember from the movie as they would a comic version they may not even know. Thus they should mostly make figures fans want in all the lines. Especially the entirety of the non-movie based MU line.

So if I were handling MU...

-Perfect Sculpt and Scale. I'd try for the very best version of any/every character- the first time around! With that there would not be a single mold or tool made for a single part/piece without exhausted planning of how to fully maximize the parts use. I'm talking everything including single knee joints. Example:

Me: "Make sure the Captain America figure's chest, shoulders, and arms allow him to ADS perfectly!

DA Hasbro Employee: "Why? Cap isn't gonna be packed with a rifle..."

Me: "But USAgent might. You expect we're gonna keep making different molds for what should be the exact same arms? You're fired.

-Troop Builders With the other two "major" 4" figure lines Hasbro produces, troop building is a huge sales factor. I know most comic figure collectors don't understand the mentality of massive SW or Joe army builders, but army building in MU should count for much more. That being said, both Skrull figures should be much better. Why have we not gotten a proper Hydra Agent (Trooper) yet? Weshould be tired of those guys by now being in comic packs, team sets, and exclusive multipacks all making it easier to troop-build them.

-Specific Character Quotas for each new wave released. Per every 5 figs realeased, all of the following categories should be filled:

Avenger
X-Men/Factor/Force/etc.
Mutant
Villain
Female
Trooper
Classic (silver age and older costume)
Modern
Large (character that obviously looks over 300 lbs)

And at least twice a year there should be a non-powered or secret identity figure made. I am still amazed there isn't even a Peter Parker figure yet. And lastly for this chunk of post of which I am beginning to tire...

Stop the dumbshit. The whole silver Sentinel released in massover the blue is the very best prime example. It's great we can find the classic colors in deep discount stores now, but not great for the max ability of Hasbro's profits. And that hurts our chancesof future releases of certain product. "Ha! I got a $30 Sentinel! When's Foom gonna show up...?"

[ChuckSass]

one female per line is whack, we got two in the most recent wave and they were flying off the shelves. Did we really need 5 Spider mans, which the one people REALLY wanted is the hardest to get? that said, I agree with your line up.
I have no quams with using old molds as long as they are good and work. Like stated earlier, that same female mold was okay, but the heads need to be re-tooled for each character.
Lastly I agree with the Thor comment. I was waiting on the Helmeted Thor release which too months to drop, then I saw Sif once, now I'm trying to grab her off eBay.

[salsa4datass]

i agree with mostly every suggestion on here. especially making non-super powered figures. the spider-man and mu line could also do without one million versions of spidey, iron man and wolverine. but i would love to see mysterio, shocker, tombstone, vulture, j. jonah j., peter parker and even gwen in either the mu or spidey lines. i mean they did do mary jane. they should also do tons more unlikely figures that actually had comic runs. i would love to see sleepwalker, the new mutants and with the zombie craze being so high right now a whole marvel zombie line!!! i know the mu zombie line would fly off the shelves where ever they sell them... just my two cents...

[ChuckSass]

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsa4datass

i agree with mostly every suggestion on here. especially making non-super powered figures. the spider-man and mu line could also do without one million versions of spidey, iron man and wolverine. but i would love to see mysterio, shocker, tombstone, vulture, j. jonah j., peter parker and even gwen in either the mu or spidey lines. i mean they did do mary jane. they should also do tons more unlikely figures that actually had comic runs. i would love to see sleepwalker, the new mutants and with the zombie craze being so high right now a whole marvel zombie line!!! i know the mu zombie line would fly off the shelves where ever they sell them... just my two cents...

agreeeeed!

[trebleshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iceman

I guess the licenses just cost too much?

That is exactly the reason. Marvel/Disney gets a pretty sizable chuck of the profits for merchandise of their characters, so Hasbro has to work within that limitation with anything they make that's Marvel-related.

Transformers and G.I.Joe are in-house properties and Hasbro gets all the profit from those sales.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FancyPants

And adult collectors spend the most money.

On an individual basis, a typical collector's average spending does exceed most other types of toy-buyers. But the sheer number of parents/kids/non-collectors is a much, much larger group than collectors. So added up, we are not nearly the financial influence, as some of us would have us labeled.

And the problem with us dictating the what, the who and the how with Hasbro's Marvel product is we really don't know what will sell to everyone else. Sure, we know what we want and we like to think that everyone else will want it too. But the fact is, we don't and if some of the discussions on Toyark are any indication, we can't even agree amongst ourselves as far as what would be best for the line and what would sell better.

Quote:

Or another idea, just have a sub line of pure collectors figures. I'd pay 15 for a MU fig all day if it was fan chosen with care and handled as such. No assembly line garbage, no backwards joints, hands, feet. An absolute money back promise if that line came damage. Sell those online to save money on distribution and having to make deals with walmart or retailers that force you to mass produce junk for children. I suppose it would be like the DC infinite earths line. I wouldn't make a subscription though. I mean sure like the star wars fan club used to be. You can get all the cool fan figures, but if you pay money to be a member you get a couple of the really great ones. They yearly fee should never exceed 30 dollars though

I wouldn't mind seeing a toy subscription service, but only as a supplement to their retail offerings. Don't follow Matty's path anymore, Hasbro! It will only lead you to the Dark Side of the Store.

Quote:

Originally Posted by salsa4datass

i would love to see sleepwalker, the new mutants and with the zombie craze being so high right now a whole marvel zombie line!!! i know the mu zombie line would fly off the shelves where ever they sell them... just my two cents...

Hasbro has said in previous Q&As that Marvel won't let them do it.

[perrych]

I don't think we have to worry about the movie figures going away any time soon, as Marvel properties were what kept Hasbro going in their latest financial statement (Transfomers and Beyblade were disappointments).

The balancing act for Hasbro is making MOVIE figures and COMIC figures. Comic figures sell to the adult collectors who have more disposable income, but movie figures are what gets kids excited. Typically, Hasbro launches a line with comic figures or concept figures because these are designed well before the movie gets made. GI Joe exemplifies this as the first wave of figures had little to do with the movie except in the vaguest of ways. The Avengers was more an "Ultimates" line as well. So, as you get passed the first wave, you get more of the movie figures. That is just how they have been doing this recently.

With Thor, they just dropped the ball all the way around. Poor distribution, poor choices, some really great sculpts with some really lousy accessories. But the worst part of this series was that there wasn't a comic figure. I do hope that changes for Thor 2.

Captain America wasn't bad. Yes, way too many Cap repaints, but so many great figures thrown into the mix. And then they smartly offered a "classic" Hydra repaint. There was a lot more they could have done with Red Skull and Hydra, but it wasn't bad.

The saddest thing those was Xmen: FC. Two comic packs that had nothing to do with the movie. We could have had an Emma Frost and Banshee figure, not to mention a couple of awesome Beast figures. But nothing. That was such a disappointment. I get that its not a Disney property, but, heck, Marvel could have released these in the MU line as comic figures. But, alas ...

The biggest problem I have with MU is this: it still fails to measure up often to the older SHS figures. And I don't understand this. How could an older Thor figure still beat out the MU Thor figure that they have remade about 5 or 6 times now? How many Thing figures have we received ... and none are as good as the SHS. It is just sad.

[Exodus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by perrych

With Thor, they just dropped the ball all the way around. Poor distribution, poor choices, some really great sculpts with some really lousy accessories. But the worst part of this series was that there wasn't a comic figure. I do hope that changes for Thor 2.

Captain America wasn't bad. Yes, way too many Cap repaints, but so many great figures thrown into the mix. And then they smartly offered a "classic" Hydra repaint. There was a lot more they could have done with Red Skull and Hydra, but it wasn't bad.

The saddest thing those was Xmen: FC. Two comic packs that had nothing to do with the movie. We could have had an Emma Frost and Banshee figure, not to mention a couple of awesome Beast figures. But nothing. That was such a disappointment. I get that its not a Disney property, but, heck, Marvel could have released these in the MU line as comic figures. But, alas ...

The biggest problem I have with MU is this: it still fails to measure up often to the older SHS figures. And I don't understand this. How could an older Thor figure still beat out the MU Thor figure that they have remade about 5 or 6 times now? How many Thing figures have we received ... and none are as good as the SHS. It is just sad.

Totally agree with you there! I think the only good 2 pack that came from the line was the Sabertooth/Wolverine one. Let's see how 2013 movie line figures turn out. With new Cap/Thor/Iron Man around the corner should be interesting to see what figures they produce. But seeing the Amazing Spider-Man ones that came out it does not bold too well.

[tlasjr]

I never understood the love for shs. those are some of the worst figures I've ever seen. Admittedly the later and the larger figures were better, but better that MU? Not a single one.
The only one Im not trying to offload is Beast because we're not likely to get that look again.

And thats why I think MU has dont pretty well. The followed up a scale and character line up that had just utterly failed and turned it into the line to beat.
Trying to say what we would have done better makes me chuckle.

[trebleshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by perrych

The saddest thing those was Xmen: FC. Two comic packs that had nothing to do with the movie. We could have had an Emma Frost and Banshee figure, not to mention a couple of awesome Beast figures. But nothing. That was such a disappointment. I get that its not a Disney property, but, heck, Marvel could have released these in the MU line as comic figures. But, alas ...

Not having a full line for XM:FC was a business decision due to the other toy lines that they were working on for that year (Thor, Cap, MU). That, and based on X3's performance, both Marvel and Hasbro were unsure of how successful FC (and its toy line) would be.

In fact, I still consider the FC comic packs to be part of MU, not a separate "line" for XM:FC. But that's just my opinion, of course.

[behindthemask]

Stop making repaints, if the repaint is better then the original then it should be the original in the first place. Better distribution, quality control, base, weapons and or alternate headsculpt with every figure. Gi Joe can do it why not MU. I understand Hasbro pays marvel for Likeness rights and costs more then gi-joe which they own, but common. 1-2 guns with punisher is not cool, we should have 5-10. Retire shitty molds, every figure should maintain same levels of articulations and if anything get to the point where there's more articulation/better plastic.

MU subscription make it $120/year and you get 12 figures, 1/month... would sell like hot cakes!1

[bmorr]

I'd maybe would like to have a sub but i don't wanna have to buy figures I don't want.

But at least they have moved on from the older molds onto the revised 90s cyclops body. At least were getting improved figures aside from the quality control issues.