The pop culture world has built to its annual crescendo as San Diego Comic Con is in full swing this weekend. Over the next few days we’ll be treated to trailers for new movies and television shows. We’ll get reveals from all the major toy manufacturers. And if there’s any time left over, they may actually talk about some comic books. With so much news dropping this weekend, I wanted to make sure that we prioritized the toy exclusives so you don’t miss out on any timed releases. This is a Figure Friday column after all! Let’s take a virtual tour round the show floor to see what catches my interest.
Hasbro
We start our tour at the Hasbro booth as Marvel Legends and G.I. Joe Classified are two of the most popular lines out there. The last couple years Hasbro has made their San Diego exclusives available to the masses at Hasbro Pulse. This year, you’ll need to be on site at the Con to claim a redemption code to place your order. If there’s any leftovers (and that’s a big IF) they’ll go up for preorder on Pulse after the convention.
On the Marvel Legends side of things there’s a Deadpool and Bob, Agent of Hydra 2-pack. The frenemies come with a bevy of accessories including additional hands, an alternate head for Deadpool and a full arsenal of weapons to torment each other with. Of note are a couple of laser swords that are definitely not supposed to be lightsabers. I expect to see a lot of “Deadpool, I am your father” figure photography memes once these ship.
The G.I. Joe team has put together a really nice offering for Chuckles. The undercover specialist comes in his trademark Hawaiian shirt with removable lei, an alternate head that looks like he’s been through a rough interrogation, and a ton of accessories to fit your covert ops needs including a tape recorder that eagle eyed Transformers fans may recognize. Most convention exclusives find a wider release in the main line, so I would expect to see a wide release for Chuckles at some point down the road, but if you want all of the accessories, you’ll need to be at the con.
Mattel
Our friends over at Mattel have a couple of excellent exclusives that will be available on Mattel Creations website. The Jurassic Park team has a Steven Spielberg figure as part of their 3.75 inch Hammond Collection. Little Steven comes adorned in jeans and tee shirt and baseball cap along with removable sunglasses. If having one of the greatest film directors in figure form wasn’t enough for you, Mattel has also packed in a personalized director’s chair, a camera and an “animatronic” dilophosaurus so you can build your own mini film set. Wrap it all up in clapper board packaging and it’s a really nice way to celebrate the cinematic visionary.
The WWE Elite Squad has one of The Greatest exclusives ever this year as they bring not one, but two Ultimate Edition Muhammad Ali’s to the WWE line. Ali is no stranger to WWE as he famously refereed the Mr. T and Hulk Hogan vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff match at the first WrestleMania. The referee version of Ali included in this set captures him from that appearance and comes with all the hands a referee could possibly need. The other figure is a traditional boxing Ali in his signature trunks and robe. Ali also comes with multiple heads that can be used on either figure providing plenty of display and figure photography options. The packaging hearkens back to magazine covers highlighting each version of Ali. Opening the packaging like a book reveals the figures posed behind painted windows that capture boxer Ali standing over an unlicensed Antonio Inoki while the referee Ali is raising a victorious Hulk Hogan’s hand. It’s a next level offering which will be extremely difficult to get your hands on. If you want your own set of The Greatest, you’ll want to be online Friday July 21, 2023 at 12pm EST.
Jada Toys
Speaking of Next Level, Jada has been putting out quality action figures for a couple years now and this year, they’re bringing some exclusives to San Diego. I’ve reviewed their Street Fighter II Ryu in a previous Figure Friday column and that figure gets a repaint for San Diego in the form of Evil Ryu. The white gi has been replaced with a dark grey/black version and the Hadouken effects now come in red and purple replacing the original blue. You also get 3 headsculpts, 2 sets of hands and some stage diorama pieces. This has been a great line so far and Evil Ryu looks to continue that trend. Evil Ryu can be ordered at Jada Next Level starting July 20, 2023 at 9am PST.
If you’re more of a (cereal) lover than a fighter, Jada has you covered with their General Mills Cereal Monsters Boo Berry figure. This guy has been one of my most anticipated releases as his brothers in breakfast arms Franken Berry and Count Chocula have been waiting for him to join their ranks for over a year. Jada is going glow in the dark for Boo Berry and while that wasn’t something I necessarily needed from a Boo Berry figure, I’m not about to complain about it. Boo Berry can be ordered through both Jada Next Level as well as Entertainment Earth. He comes packaged in a windowed cereal box and has his own mini box of Boo Berry as part of a balanced breakfast.
Entertainment Earth
If you thought you had every possible variation of your favorite character in Funko Pop form, think again. For those keeping track at home we’ve had gold chrome, red chrome, blacklight, faceted, die cast and flocked Pops and that’s not even bringing up the different size variations (by no means is this a comprehensive list, I doubt even Funko could name every Pop variant they’ve ever made). The latest trend seems to be placing Pops in front of magazine or comic covers or adding some little bit of flare to create a “new” offering. In some cases, it looks like a cash grab. In others it creates something special. Case in point, the Mary Jane Watson first appearance Pop that Entertainment Earth is offering first at SDCC. There’s probably been a billion comic book panels, but very few are memorable. Mary Jane’s first appearance is burned into the back of many a Spidey Fan’s brains. This Pop captures that appearance perfectly from the sweater draped over her sleeveless arms to the iconic word bubble “Face it, Tiger… You just hit the jackpot!”. If you’re going to have one Mary Jane Funko Pop in your collection, this is the one you’re going to want to get. You can preorder now on Entertainment Earth’s website and if there’s any left over after the convention, they’ll ship at that time.
Mondo
Mondo keeps putting out some amazing 1/6 scale figures. I’ve sang the praises of their Batman: The Animated Series Harley Quinn recently. In celebration of SDCC, they have a couple noteworthy exclusives in both their Batman and Masters of the Universe lines. For Bat Fans, they’re offering a Man-Bat with a massive 34 inch wingspan. They’re also including five different head portraits covering a wide array of emotions and mid transformation aesthetics. Every one of the Batman: The Animated Series figures have been impressive and if money were no object, this would probably be my go-to Batman line. If anyone from Mondo is reading this, please look into 1/12 scale figures! Everything you’re doing in this line is amazing and I’d love to be a part of it in a slightly smaller scale.
For fans of Eternia, your Prince has arrived! Prince Adam is joining Mondo’s Masters of the Universe line. The thing I’ve enjoyed most about Mondo’s figures are the inclusion of fan service accessories that make each release feel special. With Prince Adam’s arrival we get a meme-worthy laughing head sculpt and an “I have The Power!” version of the Power Sword with lightning effects. Those heaters are in addition to two more head portraits, three sets of hands, a standard Power Sword, a translucent pink Power Sword, a flame thrower wrist gauntlet, a freeze ray blaster and two Masks of Power. There’s also a pretty great figure at the heart of it all. Prince Adam with the previously released Cringer/Battle Cat is all I’ve ever needed from MOTU and Mondo has delivered, or at least they will once these ship early next year.
As you can see, this year’s San Diego Comic Con is full of great toys. This column didn’t even touch on NECA’s exclusives. Fortunately for you, I covered those standouts in a previous column. While preorders have sold out long ago, there’s still a chance to score some of those products if you’re on-site at the convention. Enjoy the Con everyone! Budget accordingly!
