love the Man-thing sketch, you should totally ink it! Black and white and maybe red the eyes.

so I'm going to put forth a question, now no politics on weather you collect toys for profit, or weather you think any particular figure has any real value beyond retail...

here it is: if you told me ten years ago that Shield would be a major part of the highest grossing movie franchise in history and have there own T.V. show I would not believe it. If you told me in the 90's that the Avengers would be more popular than the X-men I would have said "bullshit"! that said, using your amazing powers of precognition predict 25 years from now what will be the top three most desirable, rarest, or sought after MU figures on the collector market? (and don't mention White shirt luke, blonde, or short hair widow! of course they'll be desired in the future! there impossible to find now!)

here's mine:
1: Vision, He's already a legend (no pun intended) in 25 years he's going to be the vinyl cape Jawa of our time.
2: Omega Red, he's the new Vision, if you don't have one GET ONE! I regret not buying every Vision on Ebay for 60$ when I had the chance!
3: here is the sleeper... silver centurion Iron Man, no one bought him! He literally peg warmed for three years! I'm pretty sure Ross had to throw him away! as all the precious Visions trade hands and get the attention, in 25 years all the new collectors will look up and realize no one saved a Centurion.

Thank ya kindly, though I don't typically ink my sketches (I try not to spend too much time on one piece). Are you referring to the Iron Man 2 Silver Centurion, that's probably my favorite classic suit and a cool figure who sticks out in my collection.

I actually would love to come across a comic fury, not that the new sam jackson/nick fury jr isn't super cool but I have dreams of having figures of the cast of Elektra Assassin, so 80s fury as well as characters that will never have figures like garrett and chastity are included.


as for figures that i think will be more rare one day, my money is on…

Scarlet Witch, Kitty Pryde or Mystique: between movies and the current comics, these ladies are being pushed more and more to the forefront.

Ms Marvel: she will have a movie, and girls and boys will love Carol.

Mohawk Storm: She's rad, and one of my favourite MUs

Yeah this line is very frustrating to collect at times, especially here reall80. I saw someone on ebay near me was selling bag head loose for $40, I sure hope they didn't just buy him loose from happy and than jack up the price... anything for a buck I guess. I was fortunate enough to get an Omega Red somewhat cheap in a package deal on ebay with Black knight, aurora, and AOA nightcrawler, saw him a few days later at retail but passed since I already had one, he is way too expensive now. Still haven't found a wasp. I have that wave 2 case pre-ordered, but I shouldn't have to order a whole friggin case just to get these figures. I could see omega red as the next vision if they don't release him again. The only thing I like about these dry spells is that it gives me a chance to catch up on some of the old stuff I missed, but the well has been dry! It also kills me to see the crappy 5 POA stuff taking up resources and shelf space away from the good stuff.

Nooooooo... I don't see that at all. He was from the movie line and mass-produced in a way Vision wasn't. He was literally everywhere for a while. If every seller had the same amount of Visions as Silver Centurion we'd all have more than one and he'd be on eBay for $10. Plus CS was kind of reissued in the comic two packs with Mandarin (another super rare figure at the time...)

My money goes on the variants; metal Absorbing Man, Astral Strange, etc.

Then again, for all we know a fringe character will become really important sometime in the next 20 years and if they have a MU fig that might push up the price. Time will tell...

I'm referring to the MU silver centurion wave 5 series 1 #33... see no one even remembers him! sleeper all the way. My theory here is that the variants and super rare figs will be preserved by collectors, where as the commons will get eaten up as custom fodder, given to children and simply discarded in greater numbers leading to there eventual greater rarity. but like was stated above who knows? there could be a Captain Brittan movie in 2024 that puts his "old" figures in the spotlight, or the Namor film of 2030 that makes him hot shat for the moment, or the hit Broadway play of 2036 "The bag man comeith" featuring spidey in his ff/bag look. Hell think of all the characters of the 90's that you thought would be big deals that fizzled and the one dimensional players (Deadpool) that took off for no aperient reason! (that's not a knock on DP, I'm just saying when you first read new mutants 98 did you think 24 years later every comic would have a variant cover featuring him?) I'm going to add to my question... what obscure character should Marvel studios do a movie of?

Let's stop calling it Silver Centurion, because it isn't. The colors are an homage to the S.C.
Silver Centurionhttp://galleryplus.ebayimg.com/ws/we.../1000x1000.jpg
The figure in question (#33)http://www.showroomtoys.com/media/ca...m/img_1318.jpg

Looking at the character card that came with Iron Man #33, the note it included gives us a name to call it: The Pym Suit
http://www.cooltoyreview.com/Hasbro/...an/dossier.jpg

I saw a pimp suit last Halloween, have yet to see a Pym suit though.

You just made me realize that Pym Particles, sounds just like Pimp Articles. you think about that.

In 25 years, the MU line will be almost forgotten cause the action figure market will have imploded due to lack of interest. I will be amazed if this ends up being the new "'77 star wars" line of the 21st century.

I just had an email from BBTS saying that Hasbro has discontinued the Marvel Universe line and that my Hulk preorder from series 5 would no longer be honoured. I know we already knew the line was over, so no shock there or anything, but looks like they won't even distribute anymore figures.

I guess my question is, does anyone actually have the green Hulk from series 5? Was he even numbered different to the Grey Hulk? Or is he like Northstar and never came out in any revisions? Just to clarify, I am talking about the series 5 version only, and not the one that was packed in the wave with the mini comics.

As a MISB collector this bugs me!

Not much related to figs, but I had to share this hilarious manga I just received this morning.

As you may know, Marvel is trying to conquer the japanese market again (remember japanese Spider-Man of the 70es?) and they produced a Yugioh-looking anime... but when you say anime, you say publishing merchandise as well.
Here is the first chapter of "Avengers" published in the kids #1 magazine in Japan: Koro-Koro Comics. That's where are published Pokémon and Super Mario mangas, for reference.
http://www.toyark.com/attachment.php...1&d=1397644568
Summary is, Cap and Iron Man are saying "hi, we're the Avengers from America" and the kid answers "Who?".
Then the narration explains that Avengers was a huge success worldwide... except in Japan, and this manga will tell the tales of Avengers trying to get popular in Japan"
Of course, you guessed it, it's a comical manga, as crude (poo jokes, etc) as can be the mangas for kids in Japan.

I don't know man, "action figures" in some form have been around since ancient Egypt. and collector markets shift like any market. everything that's ever been made seems to have collectors, plus Marvel seems to have more growth every year, a lot of characters in the marvel universe have become more familiar to the general public and more popular than ever. that plus the fact that the MU 3.75 format has been going for five years now which means there are probably kids who have played with these most if not all of there lives, so to them these are like the GI Joes we (anyone who was a kid in the 80's) grew up with. And I know that if I'm still kicking at 55 I'll be collecting them.

I do think MU will still be collectable 15 years from now, but I also assume prices will drop, much like comparable Mass produced Toy-Biz 5 inch figures, where everything is $5 other than what was packed one per case.

For instance I never saw the Toy-biz MODOK when I was a kid, but last year I found it for $3.50 MOC, so he is now repainted and hanging out with a bunch of MU AIM soldiers.

Just a quick question, what is the most you would pay for a "rare" toy-biz figure from the 90's?

I think by that time it will be like how it is now. realistically how many 50s-70s figures are in demand right now? hardly any...and if you look at vintage 80s-90s figures people want an arm and a leg for them..so most stay away due to the perceived value and pricing. Then there is that group that thing that the $110 for MP10 was too much and don't want to pay the $200+ he goes for now.

When Spawn set off the articulation craze in the 90's you couldn't find them hardly..now most shops have them on super clearance prices....its just the circle of toycollecting.\

as for the toybiz question...I think it depends on what the figure is and how bad I want it...for reasons of my own I have paid upwards of $200 for certain figures/items that I wanted. As a completionist I couldn't relax until I had the "IT figure I needed...so it will vary person to person

Yeah the modok does fit good with the mu did it myself but dont have aim troopers. I had some but I sold them big mistake.

I need one of those.

Personally, I think MU/MI will stay popular so long as produced. Probably even long after so long as a new better engineered 1:18th scale figure series for marvel isn't created by then.

A key factor on line popularity over long durations has a lot to do with articulation, detail, and scale. There are other variables to consider, but when you look at old school toybiz, much of what has gone dirt cheap is due to the lack of articulation compared to modern standards. The same happened in the line's heyday itself when they started leaning more towards staction/inaction figures.

When a figure is released of a character that is better articulated than its previous, the newer typically becomes the replacement for the older. When a figure got it right the first time, it typically is the one that'll stay in a collection. If it wasn't done right the first time, then it might be replaced for the more articulated version later.

This is the mistake Mattel had made, though is correcting. Mattel with infinite heroes was a step backwards over modern articulation, but the better detailed they get and more articulation they have with the present offerings of that scale, are now becoming higher in demand.

So until Hasbro completely revolutionizes the articulation methods for the figures, they should stay pretty dominant and present as is. The same could be said of any toy line really. One of the main draws for me at least to the new TMNT line was the higher articulation among the turtles. That's the same draw I have to the megabloks minifigures over the iconic Lego ones. Better interaction to scale ratio creates better displayability and playability. These are the ones that stay with us as collectors or even as kids.

As a collector, many of us want to intermingle lines and cross universe displays. The same is true for kids who play with figures as one full world instead of as each to their own brand.

It really varies from property to property, but there are certain mainstays when the initial ones are done right. MU/MI to me ranks around how Transformers Generations/Classics is a mainstay on resale value.(Classics Jetfire to the new Jetfire coming out is another example of this, as is Warbot to Springer, so in other words, if you want any value on your current classics jetfire and you do plan on buying the new one coming out, sell the old now while it still has any value at all.) They'll go up in value over time unless a comparable medium is available that outdoes the previous version of the same character. This is due to brand recognition as well as many other variables.

When it's steps backwards and better is still available, the step backwards ones don't move. This is what we're seeing with spider-man's lines in comparison to MU/MI/Avengers Assemble. We're also seeing this present within Avengers Assemble itself where the more articulate figures are moving faster than the more rudimentary ones.

It's not about the newer or older, it's about which figure is the best representation. Amazing Spider-man 1's super articulated spider-man is still my movie-verse spider-man for that scale because it was done right from the start in comparison to the rest that have been made since. That's the one I'd expect that would go up in value unless a comparable updated version is created eventually. Even then, with the slight costume variations, I expect that figure will still hold value.

There are many factors to consider in this though. So it's a balancing act.

Speaking of Toybiz, I sold a bunch of my old ones for basically what I paid for at retail haha which is fine though:) Great points to all above though for sure^^^ Weren't the newer Toybiz figures just as articulated as the Hasbro legends now? Granted they weren't as attractive as the Hasbro ones for sure, I think that is one of the biggest appeal I realize why I prefer the Hasbro ones over the ToyBiz. Even though Toybiz had a heck a lot more better characters when it came to variety and very little repaints at all.

I think the toybiz figures are an anomaly, they were overproduced during the 90's collectors bubble and a lot of people bought them as an investment leaving a lot of MOC figures 20+ years later, I'm pretty sure the production numbers on the MU figures is much lower. especially since the whole run has occurred during a recession. but when we come out of the recession (and we will, these things come and go) there will be a lot of people who were out of work or kids whose parents had to cut back that will in a few years have that buying power again and the secondary market will come back. I never personally liked the 90's biz figures for collecting, the lack of articulation and poor sculpting never (as an adult) appealed to me, but I've been spoiled by legends and MU. but when I was a kid and they were the only game in town they were amazing, and you could not ask for more selection! I cant think of a character that existed in the X-universe at the time that didn't get a figure. plus I don't think the 90's nostalgia has quite set in yet, when I was a kid in the late 80's-90's I could pick up any Mego figure I wanted at the local flea market dirt cheap, now those figures would cost a mortgage payment. eventually when the 90's kids get there crap together they'll want there toys back and the circle will continue.

That's another reason as well I forgot to mention, they def were not hard to get at all, no such thing as a rare figure!

I can't say whether or not Hasbro's Marvel figures will become as demanded or wanted in X amount of years as vintage Star Wars toys. I can say that as long as we treasure them now and love the line, who gives two s#!%s what people say in the far future.

That guy?! He was one of my first buys. I don't think he'll increase in value. Iron Man has had too many figures for anyone to care about that one.

There's truth here. An awful lot of the action figure market is being sustained by people who grew up with and loved figures in the classic years, and some of whom have now passed it down to their children. I don't think the market will ever die, but I do think that the golden years ('77 - '89 ish?) will never be rivaled, and now the nostalgia age (usually about 10-15 years after the original age) is starting to fade, the market might slide with it. I think collectibles however - upmarket toys and models (Hot Toys, 6 inch figures, etc) will continue to do well, because people will collect them as ornaments relating to media they love.

Collectors are also buying MU as an investment - on a big scale, and I'd say the internet means it's easier to do by more and more people. MU also hit international retail in a way that Toybiz didn't.

I've purchased every single 3.75" Deadpool figure and sold or given it away (except for the Taco Truck set...I could never part with it).

Desperately waiting on a Marvel Now Deadpool.

Like this custom...OMG 3.75" Marvel NOW Deadpool By Fireflamespit - Marvel - MarvelousNews.com