[Boy Blunder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hasbroherofan

I didn't say they're bad characters, I said they're characters who probably wouldn't move a lot of units and who I can't see Walgreens being interested in. Severe pegwarmers are probably fine when it's part of an overall wave (I can still find Beetle III, Eel, Cottonmouth, Machine Man and Morbius at stores near me), but it's not something I think Walgreens would be all that jazzed about ordering.

With someone like the core Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer and Doctor Doom, those are an easy sell to a retailer because of their popularity and name recognition. And even characters like Super-Skrull, Medusa and Ant-Man had the benefit of movie or TV love on their side.

This. Fantastic Four have some iconic villains and side characters in their stable, but Walgreens isn't a toy-heavy store, so they need to go with characters that are more likely to sell to a wider demographic.

While someone may not immediately recognize Agent Venom, 1st Appearance Daredevil, or Eric O'Grady, the names Venom, Daredevil, and Ant-Man are recognizable enough to draw potential customers in. Namor, Punisher, and Silver Surfer are known standalone characters with strong ties to higher-profile titles and properties. Medusa gets a boost due to the Inhumans having had a push in both the comics and TV shows, along with her ties to the Fantastic Four. Even the Super Skrull has some recognition outside of his ties to the FF and the use of Skrulls in the upcoming Captain Marvel film, as Super Skrull received exposure thanks to Marvel vs. Capcom 3 making him a playable character (who had mid-tier rankings in the competitive fighting game community, making him a not-uncommon sight on that circuit).

A character like Diablo (not El Diablo, he's DC ) might be able to hit the mark, due to having a striking and very toy-friendly character design, but even a lorehound like myself would be hard-pressed to pick up "muscled shirtless pharaoh dude" or "creepy bald guy in a clay-stained smock" without specifically wanting Rama-Tut or Puppet Master. Even Diablo would likely have to be called out differently on the package as a retail release. Don't want the Concerned Mothers of America railing against Hasbro for releasing a 'Devil' figure.

There's still a wealth of characters that could be done and would likely do well on the shelves. The Wizard, Psycho Man, and Kang the Conqueror are all high profile and/or toyetic villains, and even characters like Paste Pot Pete/Trapster or Mole Man could gain some footing, having appeared in numerous adaptations (and in the case of Pete, filling out the Frightful Four founding members with Wizard). She-Hulk, Crystal, Sharon Ventura, Nova (Frankie Raye), and Namorita share those same attributes, with She-Hulk and Crystal having plenty of face recognition outside of the FF for them to be good candidates. And that's not even scratching the surface.

I think it would be great if Hasbro went deep into the mines for their figures more, but when it comes to Walgreens exclusives, they're likely to play it safer. Hell, you can still find Ant-Man, Daredevil, and Namor at many stores, so even playing it safe, they still run the risk of making a low-seller.