Does it change knowing the future?
 

Ok guys, when I first started collecting MU, I'd walk into Target, Wally's TRU, whatever and stumble upon some new figure and be like "oh dang this Black Panther is dope!" or what have you. And it was like that for me all the way up intil the end of the HAMMER series. Then I started looking out for them.

Now? Shoot after the NYCC Panel, we basically know what's going to hit a year from now.

Anyone else feel almost like the element of surprise is gone, and it takes away a lot of the fun? Like Compound Hulk. That figure is dumb as sh*t IMO. BUT, it was unannounced, last minute, I had to have it, because the SURPRISE WAS INTACT.

Discuss.

I feel like hunting has been slightly less fun since I started looking at upcoming waves and checklists... also made it more disappointing, because I'd find out about something and never see it in stores. So yeah, it changed the game for me.

I think it's a double edge sword. I agree that hunting is less exciting and now it kind of feels like a race going from place to place (poet and didn't know it). However, I kind of enjoy not having the frustration of NOT knowing what is out there. Maybe it is slight OCD but I loved it when the GI Joe line in the 80's had all the figures on the back so you knew what was out. Having all this information listed for us kind of eases your mind so you know what you have left to get.

yeah the internet in general has made the "hunt" less of a hunt.

Honestly Ive never considered what it would be like not knowing. I couldnt do it I have to know whats coming out and when. I am very impatient and feed on info.

but imagine all the awesomeness that you feel finding out about a certain figure and picture it being blind surprise in the toy isle without knowledge of it being made.

I know, but imagine finding an awesome figure spending your toy fund only to find out a even better toy is out too but you spent toy fund already.

It is a game of risk vs reward. Surprise is nice, but I think I like being prepared and in the know more.....at least a little bit. The Targets, Walmarts, and Toys R Us are for being prepared. I like going to local toy shows to get the surprises.

Yeah thats what I was thinking too.

I don't think the element of surprise is gone, it just shows up a lot sooner.

I think it goes both ways. While a bit of the surprise is gone, I'm a little bit better rested just because I know how much is left.

I was pretty surprised when I saw Prof. X's chair at comic con.

The surprise comes when I see the pics online. And it's awesome. Then, when I finally find what I'm looking for in a store, I'm surprised again. And it's even more awesome. The internet ruins nothing for me. It does nothing but help and add to the excitement.

I've been collecting since the early 80's, and I don't ever remember a time when I DIDN'T know exactly what was coming. There were always the Kenner and Mattel booklets that showcased the upcoming stuff, and even if you didn't have those you had the toy catalogues. Things aren't much different now then they were back then. We just have more exact dates, a little more forewarning, and the benefit of hearing when our boardmates are finding them in another part of the country.

I know exactly what you mean, and it's definitely not as fun for me knowing ahead of time. It's still fun when I'm looking for a figure, or new wave, and then all of the sudden it's there, but it's a different thrill.

I forgot about those Kenner booklets! That reminds me of the old Entertainment This Month and American Entertainment catalogs I would get for comics back in the day. Those had all the cool stuff that a kid in a small town could never get. And it had listings for posters of Traci Lords and Samantha Fox I could oogle over!

Anyone remember looking at the back of the card back and trying to determine which figures to get?

I love knowing what's new and coming out. I just hate the idea of buying the figure online. I have to get my archangel and hulkbuster iron man from amazon or ebay though. I've been wanting them for over a year now. It's just the newer figures I can't find that i may have to as well. Dr strange, skaar, scarlet spider. I can't find those but I know stores carry the wave. Like I bought my dr doom from toys r us. But they didn't have anyone else from the wave. Frustrating.

Also, I dont like the idea of such high shipping prices. Amazon has free shipping sometimes though, so no biggie.

Not as much on MU, but when I was a kid; I would see sometimes xmen or star wars that I thought were so cool but never saw. Like the first deadpool figure. He was $50 at atomic comics. I found him years later at a kay bee toys 3 for $10

When I was a kid, looking at the card back was the only way of knowing what figs were coming out.

I'd much rather know and look forward to a particular wave- otherwise I'd miss figs I want and I'd be completely baffled at the character selection!

hahahhaa classic!!!

sigh. i remember when MU first started, it was fun hunting them and collecting them. but when HAMMER series hit, it was a chore.
good thing that kinda change when i finally got a Steve Rogers. and he was just there, on the peg, waiting for me. no need to hunt him down.
:D

I miss the surprise but now I can actually complete my collection

I check out toy info everyday. Personally I like knowing, I stop for hunting less which saves me gas & I can budget myself (single dad) Of course we are always a month behind or more here in Oklahoma, so when I do find something I still get a "WOO HOO!" feeling.

It's been like that for the entire life of this line. It's been like that since the early 2000's at the very least. You're about 10 years too late to be bemoaning knowing the exact figures in every wave of ANY toy line.

That said, I remember as a kid I'd check Kay Bee Toys every week for new Toybiz X-men figures. And I remember the joy of finding a new wave to get. I even remember first learning about the Marvel figures, walking into the store, and finding the second wave of Toy Biz figures. (Who's Banshee? What's his power, yelling really loud? Oh wow, that is his power...) But as an adult, I very much prefer knowing ahead of time what I'm going to buy. I'm still excited. I still get a thrill when the figures start showing up. But personally, I prefer knowing ahead of time what's coming out.