Randy here! Hope you're all doing well in the new year... and a hopefully MUCH better one than the last! While events and gatherings are either still cancelled or in limbo right now, February always reminds me of Toy Fair. And even though it's not happening in NYC righ tnow, I still think of what to come in toys. What I wish to be revealed... 2020 brought the return of my Randy's Wish List, aka "Randy's List of Toys that MUST Be Made!" It you want to read the two articles, you can find "Randy's List of Toys that MUST Be Made in 2020!" Part 1 and Part 2 And I think I did pretty well on it! Of my wishes, i got some that were Pretty Damn Close...
LUKE SKYWALKER-REBEL FATIGUE (The Empire Strikes Back)
AHSOKA TANO ("Rebels" tv series)
SABINE WREN ("Rebels" tv series)
*I thought these would be in an Archives line, rather than a regular release. And what an upgrade to the "Rebels" line and the never-before-released Zeb! The return of Clone Troooper in a new body... and featuring unpainted Temeura Morrison heads? More than I could have hoped. Now to FIND MORE OF THEM!
GI Joe-Declassified (Hasbro)
*I went a different direction, more a nostalgia/movie route, but Hasbro went with a reinvention, following a more sci-fi feel. And YES, the amount of insanity made in locating these figure, whether standard retail or Target's exclusive COBRA Island line, was a real stumbling point for the roll out. BUT... I called 9 characters, with another 2 coming soon AND we have 6 in GI Joe figures in the world so I'll take that as a Win! ...and some that were On The Money!
SNOW SPEEDER w/GUNNER DAK (The Empire Strikes Back)
*I may have wished it, but I REALLY didn't think they'd do it! And honestly, at a pretty reasonable price (esp. if you held out til the holidays). Love that it came with a Dak figure too! Sometimes my prognosticating actually works!
SPEEDER BIKE w/BIKER SCOUT ("The Mandalorian")
*Simply put - I CALLED IT! It even came with everything I said, right down to the satchel with The Child (aka Grogu) in it! And I was happy to get my preorder near a month early - having it show up before the end of 2020!
Movie Cable (DEADPOOL 2)
Movie Domino (DEADPOOL 2)
Movie Deadpool (DEADPOOL 2)
J. Jonah Jameson (Comic)
*Again, I may have wished it, but I don't think ANYONE expected to see Fox X-Men from Hasbro, let alone how MANY they made! Very impressive on Hasbro's part. I'm SURE that there are still a few more Fox figures to make (and I *may* have some wishes...) And, like I said last year, a comic J. Jonah Jameson was TOO EASY not to do! The Spidey classics line was the perfect place to drop it.
So without further flourishes, I bring you.. "Randy's List of Toys that MUST Be Made in 2021"!
Star Wars Black (Hasbro)
The Star Wars Black series continues to be, pretty much, the primary focus of collection for me. 2020 saw a lot more characters available, across the retailers... with more than a few problematic exclusives to track down. Hasbro shows no signs of slowing down, especially with the late 2020 reveals of more Disney+ SW series, from multiple eras, as well as more movies to come. I've no doubt I'll be there for them as well... and want figures from them!
The Mandalorian 2021 Line
”Old Man” BOBA FETT (Tatooine)
FROG LADY (w/Egg Container)
BO-KATAN KRYZE (with removable helmet)
KOSKA REEVES (with removable helmet)
AXE WOLVES (with removable helmet)
AHSOKA TANO (w/cloak, lightsabers. and Beskar Spear)
”Beast Mode” BOBA FETT (Tython)
Pretty much, every week of Season 2 of "The Mandalorian" I started grading each episode by "how many figures from THIS week's episode will they make?" And BOY there are a lot of figures that could be made from those episodes! I mean between Timothy Olyphant and the first reappearance of Boba's armor, EVERYONE knows we need him. If not for more creature figures, Frog Lady also give us a egg container for Grogu to... snack from. When I started this list, it was before some of the Hasbro streaming info, so I'm keeping the Bo-Katan and Koska Reeves on my list! Plus, we gotta round'em out with Axe Wolves for the full Death Watch! With that intro to the live-action, Ahsoka Tano came to life thanks to Rosario Dawson, and that makes two reasons this figure will happen! Plus, if you give her the Beskar Spear, that'll go nicely into Mando's hands We all know how popular Boba Fett is... so let's make 3 of him! I mean, the "Old Man" Boba would be a nice setup, to get to the "Beast Mode" Boba (DAMN those Stormtroopers did NOT know what hit them!). Then, you gotta finish it up with the cleaned up for the first time in DECADES armor Boba. Going with all those would be Vennec Shand, because I dig her character, I'm SO glad she isn't dead, she's a BAD-ASS, and we need more Ming-Na Wen figures! Plus, we need her to go with "Cleaned Up Armor" Boba to sit on his new throne! Do I have to explain WHY we need Darktroopers? Mando has to have someone to fight... and maybe a use for those Jedi Lukes already released?
Vehicles
You know any chance Hasbro has to reuse parts/figures, so Mandalorian with his sweet (RIP) speeder bike, seems like a good idea. Sadly, no E-Web Cannon with Snowtrooper... SO let's try a different tact! After the epic throwdown in The Mandalorian episode "The Tragedy", we NEED a Black series E-Web Blaster! With Boba Fett Back, there's only one thing missing: SLAVE 1! Yeah, it'll be expensive, but you KNOW you want it!
ROGUE ONE 5th Anniversary
JYN ERSO (Screen accurate & New head sculpt)
CASSIAN ANDOR (Screen accurate from 3 pack & New head sculpt)
K-2S0
CHIRRUT ÎMWE (New head sculpt)
BAZE MALBUS (New head sculpt)
BOHDI ROOK (New figure)
JYN ERSO-Imperial Disguise (New figure)
CASSIAN ANDOR-Imperial Disguise (New Figure)
GRAND MOFF TARKIN (Re-release)
DIRECTOR KRENNIC (New head sculpt)
SAW GERRERA (New Figure)
REBEL SOLDIER-Scarif (New figure)
I know... I KNOW! 5th Anniversary is a bit... odd. But since the initial lineup wasn't finished, face printing tech hadn't been implemented yet, and were between other SW movie anniversaries, WHY NOT?! Using the prior Anniversary breakdowns, I'm going with a 12 figure lineup, with 2 assortments of 6. The first assortment give us the whole team, with new face-printed heads, as well as updated versions of Jyn and Cassian. Most importantly, it gives us the missing Bodhi Rook figure to complete them all.
Second Assortment get us some new figures, some re-released, and new but using old and new parts? Variations on Jyn and Cassian in Imperial outfits. I had originally had Scarif Troopers, but those are coming from Archives, so to go with Grand Moff Tarkin, how about Director Krennic with a new head-sculpt! Important to not only ROGUE ONE, but the animated "The Clone Wars" and "Rebels", a Saw Gerrera figure is long overdue, And you ALWAYS need army builders, so I'd love some Rebel Soldiers from the Battle of Scarif!
Ralph McQuarrie Series
STORMTROOPER w/Lightsaber and Shield (w/alternate helmets)
I know I'm not the only one, but artist Ralph McQuarrie's art for the Star Wars saga inspired, especially with so much time between films. Over the years, Hasbro has done some great work reproducing them in the 3 3/4 inch scale. But now I want them In the 6" Black series! I think this series would be a little smaller, similar to Archives or maybe a spread exclusive like the Imperial Credit series. I know we need ALL of the characters, but these are the ones I'd want to have most.
But really, I've been waiting TOO DAMN LONG for 6" version of the McQuarrie Stormtroopers and my patience has ENDED!
Marvel Legends (Hasbro)
Marvel Legends continue forward with no slowdown in sight. With plenty of held-back MCU movies and comic series still out there, I expect this will be another strong year. The recent introductions of the Classic line of ML figures on retro cards are another strong set of lines. I expect we'll see another couple of Classic lines show up.
Marvel Legends (General) *SHARD *TYPHOID MARY (80's Version) *HELMUT ZEMO (MCU) *DEATHLOK-Ugraded ("Weapon X-Tomorrow Never Dies")
Just a few of my favorite characters I'd like to see again or for the first time in figure. With the Bishop out in the recent past, I'd really dig seeing his sister Shard in Marvel Legends form. Especially since we haven't had a figure of her since 1997, I thing a ML Shard is long overdue. Could also do it as part of a two pack with Bishop (which I didn't get the first time out!) When first getting into comics in the 80's, Daredevil was a big deal, and Typhoid Mary was one of my favorite villains. We DID get a Modern version, but I want my cheesy 80's version! While there are hints that we'll be seeing Disney+ MCU characters in 2021, I'm gonna say that, even only in previews, I want a Helmut Zemo-both for CIVIL WAR and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier versions! Yeah, YEAH! I know that we had a Deathlok already, but I really dig the "upgraded" version from the "Tomorrow Never Dies" storyline. I mean, it's got energy "claws" and a repulsor hand-who DOESN'T want that?! I'm trying to make my own, but figure (HA!), why not let Hasbro do it for me!
X-FORCE Classics
CABLE(Reissue)
CABLE(Blue & Yellow X-uniform)
DOMINO (Early 90's version)
DOMINO (w/Beret - CHASE VERSION)
FERAL
G.W. BRIDGE(Six-Pack)
G.W. BRIDGE (SHIELD Uniform-CHASE VERSION)
HOPE (Resissue)
STRYFE (Reissue w/ Alternate Headsculpt)
Build-A-Figure GRIZZLY
Between the love of the Classic retro carded figures and the release of multiple X-Force figures already, this seems like a NATURAL to get made... ESPECIALLY since it's there 30th Anniversary in April 2021 (The New Mutants #100). Being that Cable and X-Force got me into the mutant side of Marvel, I'm invested in it. Putting these on X-Force retro cards would also be a great way to bring back previously released characters like Cable, Hope, and Styrfe... with an extra unmasked headsculpt. I know Chase figures aren't popular with many but I think a G.W. in SHIELD uniform would be an easy one to make. As far Domino in the Beret - well that's ALL ME BABY!
X-Men: Days of Future Past
FUTURE WOLVERINE
FUTURE STORM
FUTURE ICEMAN
BLINK
WARPATH
BISHOP
Build-A-Figure - FUTURE SENTINEL
A year ago, I wouldn't have even DREAMED of doing this as a whole series! But the surprise release of so many Fox Marvel movie characters in 2020, has allowed me to dream bigger! I'm sure everyone has their favorite (and hated) Fox X-MEN films. X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST is one of my favorites, as well as full of great characters to make into figures. Plus, doing this as it's own assortment would mean adding a Build-A-Figure as well, with the Future Sentinel being an ideal candidate. Maybe a Future Xavier & Magneto could be done to? Popular enough, maybe Hasbro can add in some 70's versions as well!
Marvel Zombies
ZOMBIE CAPTAIN AMERICA
ZOMBIE DEADPOOL
ZOMBIE SPIDER-MAN
ZOMBIE MAGNETO
ZOMBIE WOLVERINE
ZOMBIE WASP
Build-A-Figure - ZOMBIE HULK
I know, I know - isn't the zombie "trend" over.. jumped the undead shark? Apparently not, so why not embrace it! Using the original 2005 series "Marvel Zombies" was written by Robert Kirkman and art by Sean Phillips, would be the jumping off point for the line. And like the series, we fully embrace making zombie versions of all our most popular Marvel Legends figures. Doing it as a series of disgusting undead Heroes and Villains also gets a Build-A-figure... of a Zombie Hulk! YES, I do realize that this would very much be a major reuse of previous bodies with new headscupts and/or paint-ops.. SO?! Hasbro saves some money and we get fodder bodies! I can already see a Series 2 having the BAF be a zombie Juggernaut!
Like last year, this project went much longer than I expected, so I'll cut it short here. BUT this will be continued in a Part 2 coming VERY soon, involving NECA, GI Joe, and some surprises!