Oh! No, misunderstanding there. I have the toybiz box set Rogue. That's the one I'm saying I am glad I have but it's still fugly and will be glad to get a redo. No way could I afford the ebay prices the cancelled Rogue has gone for. Much as I'd like to be able to! I've edited my post so there's no confusion. :)

Edited because I'm not making any sense today AND cannot type....

Haha I have that Emma, although I've been tempted to get rid of it, but every time I pick it up to look at I change my mind :P

Regarding the possible reluctance to depict sexualised figures "aimed at children," I think it's a really interesting topic that could very well hold water! The sculpts are getting less and less toy like and more "realistic" (as far as comic realism is concerned), so is that an issue? With the new female buck we've got some very accentuated hips and thighs, so a thong on that sculpt might be too risque for Hasbro to feel comfortable in selling to children.
On the other end of the scale, how unlikely are we to see a new Hercules figure, complete with chest hair? What about All-New Odinson? These are figures which, while not sexualising the male form, depict it pretty frankly. How often have we seen nipples on a Marvel Legends Hulk? A no-nippled Hulk would probably scar children more than a regular shirtless man or a woman in a bikini imo!

Oh no, it's been a very logical conversation so far. It's not like the demand for buttfloss is palpable!

^
Awesome post! LOL A 'nipple-less' Hulk would scar me!

...and we desperately need a new Herc!

Oh wow, I didn't even think that we could be offending anyone. I wholeheartedly apologize if I have. And I totally forgot that Hulk never has a shirt on lol.
I still have the Toy Biz Rogue and the X-Treme X-Men Rogue. I will be selling the Toy Biz one once the new one comes out. I kind of want to now while there is still a demand, but I'm too afraid Rogue will get canceled and I'll have no 90's Rogue at all.

Im jealous you have the X-Treme X-Men Rouge. That's been on my wishlist for along time but I just can't quite make myself get it....it's $74 right now. I think having a Rogue with a great sculpt will help me remove it by removing the need for it.

In other news, I stumbled on a Carnage on Amazon for $28. Hopefully it will be Carnage, not Toxin. I have passed on Toxin several times this year, not lately, but I never saw a Carnage in the wild. Should get it next week sometime, after that I think the only older figure I'm wanting is a Namor, either version would do.

Man, I have 2 Carnages sitting in my fodder bin in addition to the one I use in my display... that highlights both his availability in my area as well as my bad buying habits that I need to seriously rein in. lol

I'm telling you...Middle Tennessee is a wasteland for collecting, however, once or twice a year a ton of stuff shows up for about a month and then sits on the pegs for another 8 months (if a peg warmer) or disappears instantly, never to be found again.

We really, really do! Have you seen his All-New look? It's a nice re-imagining of his classic costume, but with a bit of flare to suit it amongst the rest of Marvel's current roster. I'd love a figure of this, and where in ionic's name is a Wonder Man redo?!

Let's face it, there is a slim to zero chance that we're going to see a Chamber or Husk or a Layla Miller figure. So, I've changed my tune to accommodate the Avengers in my wish lists: Wonder Man, Hercules, Monica Rambeau, Echo, Shang Chi, Marvel Now Moon Knight, and Quake. That sounds like a reasonable set of guys right (minus Echo, who is dead and probably doesn't stand a chance)?

I have mostly retuned my single figure wish list to non-X characters - 5 out of my top 20 (Exodus, Madrox, Selene, Polaris, and Moonstar, which are all in my top 10 as well) and 6/7 more in my top 40 (Marrow, Syrin and if you do or do not count Deathbird, as well as Vulcan, Blink, Sunspot and Dazzler.) Also not counting ALpha Flight. Honestly if they made all 12 of those along with Sauron, Shadow King, Sebastian Shaw and Nimrod BAF (or single is okay too I guess) I'd have to turn to some very obscure characters that even I am content if they don't get made or not. The wishlist used to be a lot more X-centric though but I've come to realize offerings will be slim.

As far as Avengers: Justice, Firestar (I know both mutants....sigh) Spectrum, Living Lightening, and Sersi are my top choices for classic (pre- New Avengers) additions. I also would be very down with getting a Wonder Man redo. Newer members I'd like to see are Songbird (since she's now a member of an Avengers team) Shang Chi, and Blue Marvel - and it does feel like I'm forgetting one member but I can't remember who.....

So yeah, there's definitely some revision going on. There's a handful of characters who have had massive jumps upwards or brand new characters that are pretty high up on my list- Living Lightening, Shang Chi, The Wizard, Blue Marvel, Maximus and Black Swan are all in my top 40 wants. At least I can content myself that I'm sort of relegating X-related figures downwards, minus the main five I'd like to see (and four of which I think Hasbro should/will do). I refuse to let those five characters go lol.

With all this talk about showing skin on female figures, does anyone remember the old Typhoid Mary figure from the Toybiz vault line? It was practically wearing a super high cut latex teddy with fishnets and thigh high boots, and came complete with removable vinyl skirt so you could get a better look at her "assets." The only thing that was competing with it in terms of skin back in the days was those Clayburn Moore Lady Death figures...lol.

Shame I know that now. I had one still on the card that I recently sold for much less than that to pay some medical bills.

Honestly, you didn't miss too much there. That figure had some really delicate joints, some very bad poseability with paint that seemed to flake off every chance it got, especially on the leg joints, which were cast in red plastic and painted over in blue. Not to mention she kinda looked like Susan Sarandon, as opposed to the super hot southern belle we know and loved from the comic books.

With Hasbro's reoccurring theme of two female figures per wave, the reveal of Rogue is somewhat bittersweet to me. As much as I want Rogue, the reveal means there's only room for one more X-lady, but I have so many wants...

Well, Hasbro was comfortable enough to release Slave Leia in the Black series, and in comparison Leia shows more skin than Angela would. IDK.

Let's not forget jessica drew spider-woman and the pics i posted a few weeks back. While her costume isn't revealing,she sure had a very a very well perportioned body compared to the younger spider female figures i own.

Ironically, Rogue being the super hot southern belle was something of a retcon. She was originally envisioned as being middle-aged (check out the early artwork of her...particularly her first appearance).

But yeah, all the "X-Men Classics" series figures were kinda wonky on the QC and whatnot. Even more so than the typical Toy Biz stuff was.

I hadn't seen Herc's new look until you prompted me to take a look at it with your post. At first, it struck me as an attempt to give Herc the 'Ares treatment' (sword/modern gear - is that a utility belt?), then I began to notice the classic accents you mentioned (head gear and coloring that made it still 'feel' like Hercules) and my opinion softened. While normally my preference is for the classic version of a character, I'd rock this new Herc in many displays and photos!

I'm more than down for your list of Avenger wants! You never miss a beat with your steadfast support of Monica, a figure I have wanted for a very long time. Wonderman is long, long overdue for a debut in his 'Hollywood Simon' gear (I know many people want a different outfit, but I'm willing to compromise to get Simon on an updated buck). Shang Chi would be so spectacularly awesome that words fall short in describing the happiness a fig of him would bring to me as a collector and fan...He would all but complete my Kung-fu Marvel line-up and it is a travesty that he has not been made thus far. I'm torn on Chi as to whether I'd want his Master of Kung-fu duds or his current look (which is slick, but fairly subdued). Moonknight is a no-brainer! When I said the Master of Kung-fu all but completes my personal martial arts circle, the addition of Moonkight would make it whole!

Yes I can see the Ares in him now that you mention it. I'd definitely go and read some interviews by Dan Abnett, too! He makes some super points that Herc is always viewed as a bit of a joke character, especially in the past decade, and a lot of that is due to his costume. They hoped that by "bringing him into the now" he would be more appealing, so hopefully that comes across in the new book. Although, they have said he won't be adverse to using guns... Now you can compare him to Ares!

As for Chi, it's gotta be his classic Master of Kung Fu look, but if it were his Marvel Now costume I wouldn't mind (although both would be ideal ;)). I forgot to mention Jessica Jones as Jewel too, because her Netflix series demands a figure!

Man I hate that southern belle trope the 90's forced her into. Rogue will always be the member from the wrong side of the law on a quest of redemption to me. Although Rogue's always had problems with radical characterisation changes. Mike Carey made leaps and bounds with her character, only for Rick Remender to restore her super strength and flight, and made it impossible for her to touch people again. What's character development again?

I would say the idea of avoiding figures showing too much skin and particularly female figures showing unzipped or skimpy tops is definitely a factor with some of the figures right now. Particularly with the flack the comics industry has come under in the past year or so for depictions of female characters. The publishers (particularly DC) are making a lot of effort to cover up much of the pointlessly exposed flesh on their characters so it follows that it would extend to the figures based on those characters as well.

On another note, anyone have a chest and arms for the Rhino BAF they are willing to sell for a reasonable price? I snagged Scarlet Spidey and Ghost Rider tonight to complete the three figures I wanted from the wave and have no desire to buy figures I do not want for the BAF pieces. Trying to be more reasonable with my collection. Please shoot me a PM if you have some for sale. Thanks!

Rick Remender is a writing god! Okay, he's not at all a god but he is great. His team story arcs were some of the best in recent Marvel history (AXIS was a miss). Uncanny X-force was one of the best books from recent time, we got not one but two heartbreaking character arcs. Uncanny Avengers was going very well too until Secret Wars forced it to end. Just because Rogue absorbed Wonder Man and had a new roommate in her head, along with restored flight and super strength, doesn't mean she somehow reverted on her character development. Her standings with Scarlet Witch made a compelling evolution. There is one odd part of the Rogue and Scarlet Witch dynamic: in the end of the Children's Crusade Rogue is one of the few X-men who is happy to see Wanda back, in the beginning of Uncanny Avengers Rogue hates Wanda. Did Professor X's death really get to her that much?

The whole Eddie Brock turning into Toxin thing was also a dumb mess.

Sunday morning appreciation:

http://i.imgur.com/HGGlMRS.jpg

"You wannabe the War Machine?!!? -Take your shot!"

I think everyone knows me as the misogyny police by now. The conversation is completely valid.

I feel like Rogue got the swap for a few reasons to be honest:
- She deserved a more muscular sculpt
- She deserved an update from that terrible toy biz version
- And they probably wanted her in a more identifying costume as she hasn't kept the same one for 2 years, and the Jim Lee was the only one she has.

I don't think the boob window had anything to do with it aside from it looking stupid. Did it also drive anyone else insane that the X on her boobs wouldn't have lined up properly if it was done up?

I think Hasbro has done a fantastic job picking the right characters since the box packaging/Infinite era, any females have gotten fantastic looking sculpts and character/costume choices. Black Cat actually was great, what actually offended me about the sculpt was the heels. There is no reason for a cat burglar to wear heels. Her cleavage was what the character would wear, she's sexy and the characters like DA Gamora or Satana use her sexuality, hence them being more revealing. That said Gamora has changed since then, and I'm pro classic or the most up to date costumes, so I would have wanted fishnet or armour Gamora to this day. I could see Psylocke, Typhoid Mary or Elektra getting mass produced on the more recent bucks.

the X would have lined up if it was real fabric and you zipped it up, it just looked like it wouldn't because of the curve perspective. New Rogue is way better but I'd still like that unreleased one to get out there somehow. Love that costume too.

Rogue in green and white > Rogue in green and yellow.

Oh don't get me wrong, I LOVED his Uncanny X-Force and Venom, absolutely loved them. However, Uncanny Avengers had some serious issues (and I'm not just talking about the "I hate the M-word" debacle), chief among which was Rogue's characterisation. She went from a sophisticated, thoughtful and mature team leader who had complete control of her powers in Mike Carey's sublime X-Men Legacy to an raging teenager who despised Wanda even though, as you pointed out, she was one of the only ones to accept her return.

To be honest Rogue's arc in UA reeked of Remender trying to revert her back to classic Rogue as much as possible. From the costume, to the attitude, to the super strength/flight, and then he retconned her to no longer being able to touch anyone. Didn't appreciate that at all, as her evolution had opened so many doors!

Like I said, apparently we're supposed to believe Xavier's death was that damaging to Rogue, which to a degree it should be but not what was shown. At least by the end of UA Rogue and Wanda were friends again. Uncanny X-force was the better read but UA really hooked me with the fact that the villains were actually winning for so long. Most books only let them hold the upper hand for like an issue or two but the Apocalypse twins actually blew up the planet and their plan was going off without a hitch for a while.

Rage of Ultron was the better Avengers story Remender wrote. Just in time for the movie giving Ultron a popularity boost we got this graphic novel that terrifically gave us a new angle on the Hank/Ultron dynamic. The focus on Hank's failures and the shift from a father-son relationship to a mirror one made a ton of sense. The other Avengers were more background noise, except for Vision who actually had a role, but they still got their nice moments to show off.