Hot Toys - X-Men Days of Future Past?

[crazygmpoker]

I doubt maleficent will sell well at all. It's a cool take on the character but I doubt there will be parents and children in such awe that they want to buy a $200+ figure.

Agreed. I'm also curious as to how they market it towards parents/children, who most likely are going to be doing their shopping at the Disney Store and probably never heard of Hot Toys. For me personally, I would have never heard of Hot Toys if it weren't just for a random search of GI Joe figures and eventually seeing the Iron Man figures.

 

[Gipetto0812]

I don't think HT had to have its arm twisted to do another Johnny Depp figure.

I think so seeing how they're Ichabod Crane was teased and nearly finished well before Tonto was even teased yet Tonto gets revealed and released before Ichabod Crane. I'd say that's Disney pushing their character forward

I doubt maleficent will sell well at all. It's a cool take on the character but I doubt there will be parents and children in such awe that they want to buy a $200+ figure.

you'd be surprised at how many ppl will pay good money for certain disney characters. I have a few friends who are crazy about Disney female characters and have bought statues and maquettes of them. are they crazy about HT? no. but if they/when they see the Maleficent figure I know at least one of them in particular will buy it

 

[karamazov80]

Maybe so, but Ichabod did get a prototype. And we've had 5 Depp figures now with Tonto. That's even more than Heath Ledger. HT loves them some Johnny Depp.

 

[Brainiac]

Maybe so, but Ichabod did get a prototype. And we've had 5 Depp figures now with Tonto. That's even more than Heath Ledger. HT loves them some Johnny Depp.

yeah thats insane, I still have to pick up a Jack Sparrow

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

I don't buy any argument that someone at Marvel is actively denying toy companies the rights to make figures from these movies, or would provide hurdles toward that end. If there was money to be made, it would be. Diamond was able to get the rights to do a Mystique Select figure and a wave of Minimates, so the rights were available for companies interested in pursuing them. But Diamond only investing in one Select figure tells you something. And it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Marvel proper to try and restrict merchandising from this, yet fully embrace merchandising from Spider-Man would it? Add to this the fact that HT was able to get figures from the Wolverine, X3, and Wolverine: Origins.

It's not just merchandise though. Notice the lack of X-Men cartoons and video games. Avengers have been pushed as the flagship marvel team, a place that X-Men occupied since the seventies since Disney took over. What better way to beef up one to champion status that to reduce the awareness of the current champ. They've basically phased out X-Men in all areas except comics and expanded Avengers in every area. Five years ago there were hardly any Avengers cartoons, games or merch, now they're everywhere.

Strategically it makes sense to expand the Avengers brand and all power to them, but they're burying X-Men in the process which vexes me as I'm an X-Men fan who wants merchandise and cartoons and video games but am being cockblocked by Disney. Hell they're even trying to make the Inhumans the new persecuted mutant brand for the company in place of X-Men just because they control the Inhuman movie arm.

The last three big deaths in comics since Disney took over? Spider-Man, Charles Xavier and now Wolverine, the AVX event attempted to turn X-Men into villains but the fans didn't buy it.

Rumour has it Marvel are cancelling Fantastic Four comics for the first time, the year before the movie comes out. They own 83% of fantastic Four and X-Men but since they don't control the movies they're burying them in favour of building up properties they own 100% of to replace them.

 

[crazygmpoker]

Can't agree more with what you're saying, X-Men was what got me into comics/super heroes in the first place. I still remember getting the brown/yellow Toy Biz Wolverine figure with the removable mask, that was one of my favorite figures of all time. Wish they'd show some more love to X-Men. I think there's a lot of collectors who would love to have a full array of characters represented in their collection.

 

[karamazov80]

Just seems to me that the Avengers was something the non-comic guys were too inept to put together in a marketable way prior to 5 or 6 years ago. There were some horrible cartoons in the '90s, for example, and two pretty bad Avengers arcade games that I know of, while X-Men had an awesome Genesis franchise and a Street Fighter crossover arcade, plus a fairly popular '90s cartoon and films from the early 2000s on. Now that Iron Man, Hulk, Cap, and Thor are all pretty major non-comic draws, individually and as a team, it only makes sense to capitalize on that. Because the X-Men are Wolverine and. . .some other guys. And if we're being honest, that's always how they have been perceived by most. X-Men were the top team in large measure because Marvel's television/film/video game arm was clueless as to how the Avengers could be used appropriately IMO.

Also, the Avengers comics of the '80s and '90s were pretty ****** for the most part while the X-Men had some great stuff during that time.

 

[karamazov80]

the brown/yellow Toy Biz Wolverine figure with the removable mask

I also had and liked that figure, along with most of the others from that line. But my favorite Wolvie toy as a kid was, by far, Secret Wars Wolvie! Holds up much better than the Toy Biz stuff IMO.

 

[Uncanny Web-Slinger]

Can't agree more with what you're saying, X-Men was what got me into comics/super heroes in the first place. I still remember getting the brown/yellow Toy Biz Wolverine figure with the removable mask, that was one of my favorite figures of all time. Wish they'd show some more love to X-Men. I think there's a lot of collectors who would love to have a full array of characters represented in their collection.

 

[ronri]

Honestly I'm torn on Marvel's current position. On one hand I'm absolutely stoked for Ultron and the potential boom of marketing he'll get since he's my most favorite Marvel baddie, on the other hand I still want me some Magneto as he's my second favorite Marvel antagonist.

I just love how Fassbender really knocked it out of the park with his portrayal of Erik. I just want my Fassneto damn it!

 

[karamazov80]

Yeah, he's the man, no doubt. Possibly my second favorite current Marvel character in movies, after Garfield Spider-Man.

 

[Brainiac]

Yeah, he's the man, no doubt. Possibly my second favorite current Marvel character in movies, after Garfield Spider-Man.

Really, Garfield Spider-man doesnt even rank in my Top 100

 

[crazygmpoker]

Really, Garfield Spider-man doesnt even rank in my Top 100

I don't know, I didn't mind this one...

 

[guy66657]

All I can say about Spidey in the Spidey films so far is that Tobey was a better written Peter while Andrew was a better written Spidey. Absolutely can't stand Garfield's Peter.

 

[karamazov80]

Really, Garfield Spider-man doesnt even rank in my Top 100

ASM 2 was an average comic movie overall, but his portrayal of Spidey (not Parker) was pretty damn perfect IMO. And this is from a guy who has been a Spidey fan since I was about 2 years old. That is what Spider-Man is supposed to be.

 

[Henry Morgan*]

Yeah so I saw this movie yesterday, its was awesome.

I need a 1/6 Mystique, Charles, Magneto and a Future Sentinel ... I love Wolverine but I need other mutants

 

[ronri]

All I can say about Spidey in the Spidey films so far is that Tobey was a better written Peter while Andrew was a better written Spidey. Absolutely can't stand Garfield's Peter.

Yup this is how I feel as well so far. Garfield really nailed Spidey's personality and it's one of the good things to come out of the film. I still prefer Tobey's Peter though...

And yeah as Henry said, Wolverine is cool and all, but we seriously need other mutants.

 

[Henry Morgan*]

All I can say about Spidey in the Spidey films so far is that Tobey was a better written Peter while Andrew was a better written Spidey. Absolutely can't stand Garfield's Peter.

I can't stand Garfield

 

[LTM438]

I'm more of a Marvel Studios kind of guy, and I haven't seen DOFP yet, but given the description i've heard of the ending, with the original cast returning, I'd love for Fox to make another X-Men film, set in the present day with a team consisting of: James Marsden as Cyclops, Famke Jensen as Jean Grey, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Ellen Page as Shadowcat, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus, Shawn Asmore as Iceman and Patrick Stewart as Prof. Xavier.

Make Cyclops the leader, suit them up in something a little more comic booky and you've got my price of admission, plus I'd probably buy any Hot Toys figures they'd produce from that group.

 

[Henry Morgan*]

I was so happy to see Cyclops back! I'd buy a figure of each one of them, even Kitty