Toys News International is showing off some of the first wave of Marvel Legends under the direction of Hasbro. While a few fans have expressed distaste for the future of this line, I’m going on record as saying Planet Hulk looks cool.

See the gallery of Emma Frost, Ultimate Iron Man, Banshee, Planet Hulk and Hercules here: Hasbro Marvel Legends Series 1

One thing I think all can agree on, the new bubble packaging looks really nice. Its a big departure from the rather rectangular boxes Legends has has for years now, but its a lot more vivid and eye catching. Now it appears we’re losing the pack-in comic book, but we’re gaining a much better logo.

Ultimately we’re going to have to get these in hand before we can really tell whether Hasbro has improved or doomed this line. Either way, distribution is about to get a lot better and we’ll have to chase a lot less variants.

Thanks Josh!

A while ago I posted a note saying that Toy Biz was cancelling distribution overseas of the rest of their product lines for the year. It seems this is not as true as it first appeared. Jesse Falcon of Toy Biz addressed the question in a Q&A thread on Fwooshnet.com, the same site that I first got the news from.

Key quote from the thread:

I understand that Toy Biz has decided not to ship out the newer ML series’ to overseas, and that this is due to the licensing agreement, and that Hasbro’s “time” begins from the start of January next year. However, you’ve also mentioned before that there’s a “grace period” of sorts (ie those toys don’t have to be taken off the shelves immediately after the end of december 06). So, by that reasoning why isn’t the newer ML series’ going to reach us overseas collectors and consumers? A shame, too- seeing that Christmas is coming up and all that.
– not true they will be released but in smaller numbers.

Good news to Marvel fans around the world!

Regardless of what you may think, Spider-Man 2099 was kind of cool.

Being a newcomer to comic stores in the early 90s, I was all-in with the 2099 univese. Doom, Ravage, Punisher… I found a new Marvel Universe was starting up right there in 1992 and I could get in on the ground floor. I’ve got this problem with not wanting to get into a book in the middle of a story that goes on to this day (still having trouble with DC after Crisis, and Civil War scares me), but with new characters, I could know everything about them as it happened.

Spiderman 2099 was the first book to come out, and lasted the longest, well in 1996 with 46 issues. Read all about him on his Wikipedia entry. He was without a doubt the coolest of 2099, because his powers were more spider-like, and even as a lad his origins of being screwed over by corporate America resonated with me. He was truly the champion of the working man! Since getting to know Miguel O’Hara, I’ve become a lot more comfortable with generational roles in comics and other tales, and rather like the idea that there will be a Spider-Man 2099 or a Batman Beyond long after today’s heroes are gone. It further humanizes Peter Parker today to know that he won’t always be there and someday someone will take his place.

I bring all this up because ToyBiz/Marvel are about to release a new toy of him in the Spiderman Origins line. This appears to be a long awaited proper release, as ToyBiz previously made a toy of Spidey 2099, but it was a K*B Toys exclusive recolor of the “black suit” Spiderman Figure at the time. This was around December 2000, if I recall correctly, and predated a lot of the Marvel Legends we so love today. The new toy is shy on molded details, but has a lot of the movement we’ve grown accustomed to and a great paint deco.

I of course, am holding out hope for an all 2099 Marvel Legends series, but thats another one for the Marvel Legends Wishlist.

The title says it all. According to Fwooshnet.com, an excellent source for all your Marvel Legends needs, Toy Biz has cancelled all remaining products for 2006 in Canada and International outlets. This is no small announcement. The Fwoosh lists the following products that this affects:

• X-Men 3 – Series 3
• Marvel Legends boxed set – House of M
• Marvel Legends – Series 14
• Marvel Legends – Series 15
• Marvel Face Off – Series 2
• Marvel Masterworks – Series 2
• Marvel Showdown – Series 4
• Marvel Icons Series 2
• Marvel Icons Series 3
• Spider-man Rotocast figures
• Spider-Man Series 18

If you have any of these pre-ordered somewhere, you should check to make sure that it is still valid.

If I can dig up any more information on this, I will make sure to share it.

TNI has a quick note up saying that a poster found the below image on the Woolworth.co.uk site. The image appears to be an unreleased variant of the Giant-Man series Havok figure. For more information on the costume itself, you can check out his costume gallery Tags: Marvel, Marvel Legends

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