Welcome new and old readers alike, to an all new Toy News Tuesday! We’re the one weekly column right here on ScienceFiction.com where we seek out all of the awesome news you need to know about any announcements and cool happenings in the toy industry and put them all in one easy to find place for you! This week brings us some exciting new information for a few San Diego Comic Con exclusives we can anticipate from some of our favorite companies like Mattel, Mezco, and Hasbro! It also gives us a look at several retailer exclusive figures and one or two other surprises along the way! There’s no time like the present, so read onward to the Toy News for the week of June 7th, 2016!
Mattel Brings Katana To SDCC
San Diego Comic-Con is just a few weeks away and the convention exclusives are flowing like water! The latest announcement from the team at Mattel is one people are sure to be excited for, and brings another fan favorite character to the Super Hero Girls line in the form of Katana! This new Super Hero Girls Katana figure is set to take San Diego Comic-Con in celebration of her inclusion in this summer’s upcoming live action ‘Suicide Squad’ adaptation! Here’s the release from Matty Collector’s social media:
Step out on the cutting edge with DC Super Hero Girls Katana doll! This DC Super Hero Girls doll is inspired by the sword master of Super Hero High and ready for powerful fun.
Mezco Reveals Full SDCC Lineup
The team at Mezco is rolling headfirst into San Diego Comic Con this year and they’re bringing their A-game! Last week they posted a teaser image to show people some hints of what to expect, but this week they’ve gone all out and shown off the entire line! We’re getting some awesome new products from their One:12 Collective, Living Dead Dolls, Mez-Itz and Thundercats lines that are sure to be highly sought after! Check out the full lineup below:
One:12 Collective BvS Armored Batman
Kicking off this summer’s blockbusters was Dawn Of Justice and we were treated to the fan-craved show down between Gotham’s dark knight and Metropolis’ modern day savior. The battle between these two titans was nothing short of epic.
This figure includes light up eyes. Components of his armor are cast in real metal, not die-cast metal, REAL metal. Oh, and speaking of metal, he comes with his anti-Superman weapon of choice — a REAL metal kryptonite spear. Batman is geared in his cloth outfit underneath his armor just as seen in the film. He includes 3 sets of hands and his heavy-duty grapple gun (different from his standard release version).
Mega Scale ThunderCats Phasing Tygra
Heeding the call of the Sword Of Omens, Tygra’s eyes flare as he sees the ThunderCats signal projected in the sky. He’s off, across the battlefield, bolas in hand. The Mutants think they have him. They out number him twenty-to-one and they all have weapons of stone and metal, all he has is his whip — and his wits. He jumps, seems to flicker in mid air, and then he’s gone from sight. Before they know what’s happening, an invisible assailant is dismantling their forces from within their midst. Moments later, the mutants are in a heap, with no clue what hit them. Tygra phases to visibility again and smirks.
ThunderCats Snarf Plush
The Snarf plush stands a snarfing eight inches tall and comes with an informative hang tag. Huggable and soft, he is ready to snuggle and watch TV or stand sentry over a ThunderCats collection — while snarfing, of course.
One:12 Collective Classic Captain America
Cap features a completely new head sculpt of his retro winged helmet and comes with an alternate unmasked head. He of course comes with his trusty shield (which some would argue defies the laws of physics), a boot knife which sheaths nicely in his, well…boot, a shield harness, and a bunch of different hands for posing, fighting, and throwing his star spangled disc.
Aside from all of that, this version comes with even more. There are strong micro magnets embedded in his upper gloves and harness that connect with a magnet in the underside of his shield. Most importantly, he comes in a deluxe round tin package with his shield insignia printed on the top. Open the tin case and you will find the super soldier transformation chamber where through the magic of lenticular animation you can see Steve Rogers change from scrawny weakling to heroically large proportions right before your eyes.
Mez-itz DC Comics Mad Love Set
Celebrating the fan favorite “Mad Love” story line from both the comics and the animated series, our Convention Exclusive Mad Love Mez-itz bring a little of that much adored story right to your own mad little world. Featuring Harley Quinn and of course, her homicidal honey, the Joker, you are free to pose them or act out any of your favorite scenes from this infamous love story. They won’t mind; they’ll be too busy plotting while your back is turned.
Living Dead Dolls Rain
From the funeral sky she descends, from the darkness she arrives. A fan favorite and grail doll to legions, this summer sees the Resurrection of Rain.
Continuing in our single Doll Resurrection series, Rain was an easy choice for us when it came time to develop another beloved character for this deluxe edition. Rain is such a personal doll that we wanted to stay true to the characters original concept, while still giving her an updated look. She comes cloaked in a simple gown with feathery wings of ghostly white. Upon her head sits a crown of thorns leaving marks of the pain she endured streaming down her forehead and crimson tears that leak from her glass-like eyes.
These exclusives will be available for pre-order here starting June 8, 2016 as well as for sale at Mezco’s booth at San Diego Comic Con.
“Lookout… It’s STEVE!”
While we already saw their amazing new SDCC Exclusives, the team at Mezco has one more surprise for us this week in the form of a Previews Exclusive Commander Steve Rogers One:12 Collective figure! This new 6″ scale Super Soldier figure will be available exclusively from Diamond Distributor’s Previews catalog, which means it will be found mostly in comic book and specialty stores! He’s set to hit stores in late September with a price of $80.
A PREVIEWS Exclusive! Vowing to serve his country any way he could, young Steve Rogers took the super soldier serum to become America’s one-man army. Fighting for the red, white, and blue for over 60 years, Captain America is the living, breathing symbol of freedom and liberty. Meticulously developed to capture Steve Rogers’ SHIELD agent look, this One:12 Collective figure features over 32 points of articulation, intricate sculptural work, incredible costume detailing, and tons of accessories for a final product creates an iconic vision with a “real world” look.
NECA Goes Big Time
The crew over at NECA has been known for pretty regularly knocking our socks off with amazing new products, and this week is no exception! They’ve got some pretty big new announcements, we well as a few normal sized ones!
First up, we’ve got two new 18″ quarter scale figures coming our way from two of our favorite licensed brands! We’re getting all new 1:4 scale figures of Marvel’s Deadpool and DC’s Catwoman! While Deadpool is based on his comic book appearance, Catwoman is based on her appearance in 1992’s ‘Batman Returns’ where she was portrayed by actress Michelle Pfeiffer!
Both figures sport a highly detailed sculpt and a whopping 30 points of articulation for action poses! Deadpool includes a veritable mountain of accessories like katanas, machine guns, sais, knives, and pistols all with functioning holsters and sheaths! Catwoman includes two interchangeable heads several alternative sets of hands, a taser, and her iconic whip! These two are both due out in Fall 2016.
Next up from NECA is a closer look at their upcoming 7″ scale ‘Ultimate’ Tech Noir Terminator T-800! This figure is due in stores soon and features the likeness of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the outfit the T-800 wore for the first portion of the original ‘Terminator’ film! The ‘Ultimate’ Tech Noir Terminator includes three interchangeable heads, an alternative hand, interchangeable right forearm, surgical tools, and a ton of weaponry to take on anyone who gets in his way! Check out the full release from NECA below-
It feels no pity. No pain. No fear. You kinda feel sorry for the punks who “donated” their clothing to Arnold’s T-800 after he arrived from the future to carry out his mission. Check out new photos below of the machine in action, and look for the figure to start shipping to retailers next week!
Nothing will stop this machine of destruction from the future – not even a lack of clothing. In the 1984 Terminator movie, the T-800 commandeers timeline appropriate clothing from some very unfortunate punks before attempting to assassinate Sarah Connor at the Tech Noir nightclub.
The Ultimate Tech Noir T-800 features that punk outfit with metal jacket chain film and bears the likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The deluxe 7” scale figure has over 25 points of articulation, plus 3 interchangeable heads, interchangeable right forearm, alternate hand, a small arsenal of weaponry, and two surgical tools for post-battle repairs.
Finally, NECA has teamed up with the team at Shout Factory to help in the release of The “Bill & Ted’s Most Excellent Collection” Blur Ray box set! This super fancy deluxe edition box set includes both ‘Bill & Ted’ live action films, as well as a bonus disc full of never before seen content and footage! It also includes vinyl stickers, a ‘Wyld Stallyns’ guitar pick, an exclusive lithograph, and an exclusive NECA retro MEGO-styled Rufus figure (as played by the late George Carlin) with a cardboard Phonebooth Time Machine! We are expecting a pair of retro MEGO-styled figures of Bill and Ted this summer, so you’ll be able to complete your set of figures when this box set hits stores in September!
Is This Our Marvel SDCC Exclusive?
While the news isn’t official just yet, Marvelous News is reporting that we may have found this year’s Hasbro Marvel Legends 3.75″ San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive figure set thanks to an eBay listing! A listing (which has since ended) was found featuring a bunch of loose never before seen 3.75″ marvel figures like The Collector, Howard The Duck, Cosmo The Spacedog Lockjaw, and Moonboy, as well as several items from The Collector’s collection! Hopefully, we will see some more information on this potential SDCC box set from Hasbro soon!
It’s Hammer Time!
It’s about to get even easier to cosplay Harley Quinn thanks to our friends at Factory Entertainment and their SWAT roleplay line! This summer they’ll be releasing SWAT (Soft Weapons And Tactics) versions of Harley Quinn’s Good Night Bat and Mallet based on their appearance in the upcoming ‘Suicide Squad’ live-action adaptation! The SWAT line brings stylized fantasy weapons to life in a soft, safe way so that kids and even adults can stay safe while getting in on the action! Previously Factory Entertainment has released SWAT weaponry based on Warner Brothers ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice’, so these should fit right in when they release later this summer!
The Funko Forecast
Get ready for the Funko Forecast! This is where we’re going to be showcasing all of the cool new announcements and reveals from Funko! With all of the awesome that consistently seems to be flowing out of those guys, it shouldn’t be hard to keep this section alive each and every week!
Suicide Squad & Batman Exclusives Revealed
Funko has revealed a whole series of store exclusive ‘Suicide Squad’ POP! Vinyls and Mystery Minis! These are starting to hit stores now, so here’s the rundown-
- Walmart: Dr. Harleen Quinzel and The Joker (Suit) POP! Vinyls
- Target: The Joker (Boxer) POP! Vinyl
- Gamestop: Harley Quinn (Inmate) POP! Vinyl and Joker (Suit/Boxer) and Harley Quinn (Inmate) Mystery Minis
- Hot Topic: Harley Quinn (Gown) and The Joker (Tuxedo) POP! Vinyls and Joker (Tuxedo/Shirtless) and Enchantress (Dark) Mystery Minis
Also from Funko, but not from ‘Suicide Squad’, is the Target Exclusive Batman of Zur En Arrh POP! Vinyl, which is hitting stores now!
‘Preacher’ Exclusives Coming Our Way!
As if we weren’t getting enough awesome DC Comics exclusives this month, we can also look forward to a few new exclusives from the live action ‘Preacher’ television series! Be sure to keep an eye out for the Previews Exclusive Tulip, Target Exclusive Jesse Custer, and Hot Topic Exclusive ‘Bloody’ Cassidy POP! Vinyls!
Go Go Power Rangers!
It only took them a few years, but Funko is finally releasing the rest of the main original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team in POP! Vinyl form! We saw the release of Red, Pink, and White Rangers back in 2012, but now we are finally seeing the release of the Green, Black, Blue, and Yellow Rangers this fall! There is yet to be any word regarding a re-release of the original three Rangers (although it’d be surprising if Funko didn’t re-release them, considering the set would be very hard to complete since those three are all fetching triple-digit prices on the secondary market), but only time will tell.
And with that, we bring this week’s Toy News Tuesday to a close! What do you think about the new items announced this week? Do you plan on picking up anything we mentioned in this week’s column? Are there any lines or brands you’d like to see more coverage of? Let us know in the comments section below! Until next week, happy toy hunting!
Jordan is a Toy Columnist & Staff Writer here at ScienceFiction! Journalist, Musician, Toy Collector, and Overall Awesome Guy! For more on Jordan’s thoughts, toys, and wacky adventures, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
