Also speaking of X-Men and comics...as someone who's delved into digital for ease of access (while keeping my physical copies) - what's the protocol for appeasing Comixology about missing issues of a series? The 1991 X-men run has 271 of its 275 issues (if one counts New x-Men and the renamed X-Men Legacy) but it's missing issues 31, 32, 34 and 35. Baffling. It's been a few years since they've added any updates to that series, so I'm wondering what the heck is going on with those particular issues. It's probably just my OCD but it's kind of bugging me.

The 90's were a whole decade so this is one of many X-Force costumes she wore then.
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No idea. Sometimes it’s licensing related like for characters Marvel no longer owns, and sometimes it might just be sensitive subject matter. Is there anything in those issues that might check either of those boxes? There’s a whole bunch of Shang-Chi stuff they couldn’t reprint for years because Marvel no longer has the rights to Fu Manchu or his daughter (which is why they had the Mandarin be Shang-Chi’s dad in the movie instead). Same for a lot of the Transformers and Rom Spaceknight stuff.

I'm buying the entire X-Men wave.

Yeah, but they've been doing the costumes from X-Force #1 through X-Cutioner's Song before, so that is what I had expected for Siryn. This a tad disappointing, especially when they could have just reused the Firestar body.

Finally had time to sit down and watch the live stream from today. Overall thoughts:

Dr. Strange Wave: It's ok but I'll probably skip most of it. I did like Strange's new costume. Glad to also get Wong, especially after Shang Chi.

Target Deluxe figures: The accessories won me over with these two. I know of Ragnarok but I've never read a book featuring him/it. But the 80th Thor is a winner in my book so Ragnarok will be another good figure imo. Strange's Defenders costume wasn't bad. But is this supposed to be Strange at the end of he movie or will it be What If...? Strange making an appearance in the film?

Hulk: I'm probably in the minority, heck maybe even the only, who liked the 20th Hulk. I get why most people don't like the heads. But Hulk, imo, isn't supposed to be looker and the two heads had sort of a 60s/70s vibe. I also really liked the impact accessory.

X-Men wave: Better than Strange's wave but this X-Men wave isn't lighting a fire under me either. FA Sabretooth was the winner of the wave. Syren, Wolverine, and Havok were cool but I won't rush out to get them.

Walgreens exclusives: Will I be able to find them? If so, I'll take Zemo.

Backpack tease: Given that NWH officially comes out tomorrow, my guess is that the back pack accessory Ryan teased belongs to a movie Spiderman as the movie Peter Parkers have all carried back packs. AG's were all blue. TH and TM both carried a tan colored backpack so it could belong to either of them. TH carried a tan backpack on the Washington DC trip so maybe they're teasing a new, more accurate Homecoming Spiderman or a new MCU Peter Parker. It's a little trickier with TM as we don't get a clear shot of his backpack. But if it does belong to TM, then it confirms that Raimi series of figures are on the way.


Overall, not a bad live stream imo but most of the stuff doesn't necessitate an immediate preorder. I was definitely surprised by all of the energy effects and accessories. Makes me wonder if they're trying to compete with Can of Beams.

^I agree with with your general statement about the Hulk not being traditionally known for his looks, and would even extrapolate that thinking out further to mitigate some complaints about the Invisible Woman and other figs. However, for me, the problem with the Hulk heads stems more from the execution of the jawline (especially so, where the mandible hinges underneath the ears) and chin; they feel too wide and unnatural - whatever passes for natural for a 1200 lbs behemoth.

All that said, I'm not one to ever pass on a Hulk (unless it's MCU). And these heads are an obvious, to me at least, send-up of one of the greats (and a personal favorite of mine) in the form of one Sal Buscema...

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A decent enough job for me to nab, but, as per usual, really close, but just slightly askew of nailing it. Maybe, if they haven't already, Hasbro should rotate in some new sculptors.

Huge pass on Dr Strange wave, don't collect MCU & the 2 comic figs do nothing for me. D'spayre buck will be good for customs, so might get a couple when it's clearanced out. Just want the damn spinning hammer from the Thor clone, will resell fig. Zemo, Jigsaw look great, will be a miracle if I ever see em at Walgreens. Missed out on Ulik so that's a buy, plus he got new & better head sculpt plus has an alternate yelling head & 2 sets of hands which the SDCC version didn't come with. I'll wait on classic 20th Hulk to come down in price as I'm not shilling $44 for it. Classic Havok....YES!!! And once again Hasbro screws up Sabretooth! The head sculpt on this is cartoonish! And when are they gonna learn that if you're gonna give it a grinning/yelling/screaming headsculpt, you have to include a closed mouth stoic alternate head sculpt! Creed also throws punches, were are the alternate fist hands?? Rest of the figs in the wave are a pass. Bonebreaker looks great & a welcome addition to the Reavers team. I hope they make pretty boy, Macon, & Reese as well. America Chavez??? What a joke of a character. Vulcan buck is also ideal for customs, will get a couple when he's on clearance, So outta all these reveals, 8 figs is all I'm getting. Was hoping that they finally revealed the long awaited & long overdue classic US Agent fig.

Finally we got Siryn ! Hope she comes with a screaming head
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Jigsaw, didnt see coming, hopefully this hints at a punisher, want an updated one with a trench coat

Havok, Thor Ragnarok & Defender Strange , I might pick up for the effect pieces, maybe ? Possibly on sale...

Ulik is something I will attempt to get but in no rush.

pretty decent reveals.

This is all I see when I see that Hulk face:

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Thanks for the input, nothing I can tell like that, unless one of the creative team has issues with it (which seems unlikely given the team involved has other issues published). I may inquiry them, probably won't get me anywhere, but if you don't ask you don't get. It just seems like an odd omission at this point; it was different when there were 20-30 missing from the series.

Boy, Hasbro better be getting to work on that second NWH wave pronto.

X-Force just shipped.

As far as yesterday's reveals, a bit of a yawn-fest here. The new Hulk certainly doesn't warrant replacing the 80th, and I never cared about Dr. Strange. Sleepwalker is cool, but I'm only really familiar with the character through having collected the trading cards as a kid, so with space at a premium, I'll likely pass.

Super stoked for Siryn, and Bonebreaker looks legit, but it looks as though I'll be BAF parts hunting to build him- the rest of that wave is not for me. Jigsaw is another must-have for me, but with no Walgreens around me for miles, I'll be lucky to find him.

The Sunspot they did is also from the later era that this is Siryn came from. I agree it’s a little annoying. Maybe they’re planning on eventually fleshing out both line-ups, so they mixed them to get people a “kinda” line-up in the interim.

Possibly, Or, they didn't want to go all in for one look for the teams so they gave everyone a little bit of every lineup's look. in which case nothing matches but it's, for many, close enough.

Either way it's not a perfect strategy by any means, but I'm just glad we're getting some of these characters in any form. Though I agree for those who are wishing that Siryn had an alternate headsculpt. Open mouth characters aren't usually a great look, but if the character's power is sonic based? It should be a given.

I can sincerely say I prefer the Sunspot design they chose for the figure. Never liked his initial X-Force/late New Mutants look.

So yeah, they made a third Spider-Man movie in a row that is as spectacular as its two predecessors!!! Every character got a moment or two to shine and it was just so amazing.

MoonKnight is coming to Disney+... maybe we'll see a bad guy or two show up for Marc... until then: easy Bushman build. G.I.Joe Roadblock with Skullbuster's vest and a bit of paint

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...74e7a372_k.jpg20211217_165426 by lowanbing, on Flickr

I'm hoping that there's a second NWH wave and it includes Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and 2 certain characters.

I saw Now Way Home tonight. I thought it was good but not great. No spoilers but their choice to adapt elements from a particular Spiderman story from the comics left me a bit soured on the ending of NWH. But otherwise, I had a good time and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Just an FYI for those that haven't seen the film. The end credits scene is actually the trailer for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. So if you're not into the DS movies or if the trailer has been released before you see NWH, you can leave after the NWH mid credits scene.

I thought they actually made it work very well.


Anyway, my dive into Dawn of X continues:

Marauders 6-8: I knew about Kitty's "death" at the hands of Sebastian, but I had no idea it happened this soon. Seems kind of anti-climatic to happen now, so you know she'll be back. I was surprised at Iceman freezing a bunch of baddies and then breaking their arms off. That was a tad brutal and unnecessary. Not too much to really talk about, but it is still my favorite of these X books.

Wolverine 1 & 2: I'm bored and lost as to exactly what is going on. I think I'm going to just quit as it's just doing nothing for me.

X-Force 6 & 7: Well now, things are starting to get interesting, especially thanks to the ski chase Domino just had with an evil reverse version of her (???).

Excalibur 6-8: Excalibur continues to bewilder me. Some issues are very enjoyable, others, not so much. I liked the first part of the Warwolves hunt issue, but then the second issue was kind of lackluster and made little sense. The hunter dude was just too erratic. I am curious to see where Apocalypse's end game is at.

New Mutants 6 & 7: This series is starting to lose me. The conclusion to the stuff going on in Nebraska was a bit messed up, but I don't like the time jumps that are happening with the Shi'ar plotline. Sure, they had Psyche yell at Sunspot for recapping an issue that didn't happen, breaking the fourth wall, but it felt so out of place. I'm just not sure what the end goal is here with this one and it's starting to grate on my nerves. Worst of all, this series is becoming a tad boring. If it doesn't get better in the next few issues, I might drop it.

X-Men 6 & 7: So the Mystique issue was kind of interesting given it took place over three different time lines. On the other hand, the issue with the Crucible was very lackluster. They never really explained how this Crucible ritual works. I mean, if a mutant has to lose to Apocalypse to be reborn with their powers, why even bother fighting? Can't they just kill themselves and be resurrected with their powers intact? Why go through all of that trouble in the first place? I did like the moment when Nightcrawler and Cyclops discussed if their constant resurrections mean their souls are transferred or not. Lastly, what happened to the mutants that chased after the white skinned mutant and went into the Master Mold? That plot seems to have just been dropped completely. Then again, so has the one with the Golden Girls collecting the flowers.

They didn’t show alternate hands or heads for anybody in the wave, but there’s virtually no chance that at least some of them don’t have them. I wouldn’t stress out about Siryn’s head too hard yet. There’s a better than average chance we just haven’t seen her other head yet. Personally, I hope Sabretooth has another head…

Actually, Siryn and Darwin have alternate hands seen in the pics. But that doesn't mean Siryn, or other figures in the wave, won't come with more than what is seen in the pics

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Emotive heads have been one of the best additions to the line throughout the years IMO and I'm actually ok with even Sabretooth's toothy grin. I've seen him issue that sinister and diabolical leer so many times that it's become a bit of a trademark for him. Now could it have been executed better and do I want an additional more staid expression to be added? Yes, that would also be nice. It's similar to the 20th Hulk heads; they tried something and it missed by a small margin. Go back to the drawing/sculpting board and do better.

Lets put it this way, Id rather them fuck up trying to do something other than a smile or stoic look. 2/3 of the Excalibur set's figs have limited use to me because of the decision to give them smiles as though they are sitting for yearbook photos. I understand why they did it. Alan Davis has a definite penchant for drawing heroes with wide brimming smiles, the looks are consistent with what they might have researched in the way of Excalibur covers, and their pleasant countenances are consistent with Kitty's and Meggan's personalities within the book.

The periodic dropping of a heads, hands/fists, and effects pack would solve many of these problems. That said doing so would limit Hasbro's ability to tool new heads to slap on reused bodies and release as "new" figures, so this suggestion is unlikely to come to fruition.

LOL Holland, again, says he thinks it's time to move on from Spider Man. I like this dude...