When it comes to toy reveals, for me personally it’s going to be tough to match the high of what we saw this year. I cannot remember the last time I was as surprised an happy to hear a figure announced as I was when Jesse dropped the ROM reveal on us, but there was a ton of other cool stuff. I’m going to narrow it down to ten, which is really hard because there were at least ten NECA figures or G.I. Joe Classified toys that could be on here too.
#10. The Rattler
This thing is gorgeous, the weaponry, the light up blast effects and battle damage, and all the attention to detail on this massive puppy is kind of mind-blowing. Wild Weasel and the Pilot Baroness are fantastic looking figures and I love that we get a look at his face. The Baroness with a loose bun looks so dang cool, way cooler than I would think. The only thing that keeps it lower on this list for me is my uncertainty about where I’ll display it and the first tier of unlocks being patches. Don’t get me wrong, they are nice patches, but I don’t even know what I’d do with them. I originally said that this is like the skull and cardboard backdrop tier on the Rancor HasLab, but at least I would have used those in a display and photograpy. Patches will go in a bin somewhere never to be seen again. I almost would have preferred nothing. Lower the price by a couple bucks.
#9. Wong
During my comics heyday of the early ’80s a lot of super hero books also focused story time on supporting characters like Robbie Robertson, Ned Leeds, Flash Thompson, Jarvis, Rick Jones, Valerie Cooper, Dai Thomas, Alistaire Stewart, and Aunt May so I have a lot of love for the more normal humans in the hero world. Wong is one of those characters for me and builds out Dr. Strange’s universe in Legends form wonderfully. I also just love how much Kung Fu and Magical accessories he’s got. Admittedly, I don’t need another Strange, but I’ll take it.
#8. Raptor
I love the wackier side to G.I. Joe, so I was excited to hear Raptor when he was announced as a G.I. Joe. As a kid I was always into bird-themed characters like Condor-Man, Hawk from Buck Rogers, and of course Hawkman, so I gravitated toward the vintage figure and in my mind he could totally fly using that feather-themed blanket. The Classified figure takes all those elements that were a little clunky in the vintage and gives them a bit of a cool makeover. The headdress is sleeker, the wings seem more functional and have that slightly futuristic feel of a lot of Joe tech. I even like the pinstripe tattoos. I do wish he had a bird in flight mode, but other than that, I’m super excited for this wackadoo in a bird costume.
#7 Van Helsing
I love Universal Monsters and Hammer Horror films and the NECA figures are fantastic. My one gripe is they have nobody to fight! I get that the regular humans are not as toyetic as the monsters and probably would sell horribly, but I desperately want figures of Dr. Frankenstein, Renfield, Van Helsing, and Julie Adams as Kay Lawrence in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. The Christopher Lee Dracula we saw from NECA is so stunning that I was ecstatic that they will make the Peter Cushing Van Helsing too. The likeness on this thing is insane and I especially like that they included a tousled hair look as if he’s just fought with Dracula.
#6 Crystal and Lockjaw
I’m a mark for classic Kirby stuff, and the Inhumans are some of the more under-represented Kirby creations in Legends. Lockjaw is a longtime want, so getting to cross him off the list is super satisfying. I do with his front legs had some swivel/hinge, but I do like that he comes with a good boy face.
#5 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I started with TMNT back in the Mirage days and have an appreciation of a lot of different iterations of these characters, but 2012 holds a special place in my heart because this is the show I watched with my kids. It was also a great synthesis of all the comics, movies and shows that had come before. My kids had a ton of the toys too and enjoyed them thoroughly, but as a collector they never quite hit the mark for me. I fantasized about a collector line of these characters that was super-articulated and in scale with eachother. Well, about a decade later, looks like I’ll get my wish and I cannot wait. All we saw was this slide with a sculpt of Mikey, but it’s very promising in terms of showing of articulation and the amount of accessories and options. These are going to be fun.
#4 Road Pig
The Dreadnoks are my favorite faction in G.I. Joe, so I’m always super excited for a new one. They went all out on Road Pig, paying homage to the classic figure, but also adding a lot of weird and fun stuff like the tattoos, masks, spikes, and skulls that fits in perfectly with the Dreadnoks’ Mad Max meets Glam Rock aesthetic. The pit bull Rawkus is a pretty clever re-use of Junkyard and they packed a ton of personality into his portraits. He’s so over the top in a perfect way for the Dreadnoks.
#3 Jada Street Fighter Complete Super Street Fighter II Lineup
I collected the SOTA Street Fighter line and it always stuck in my craw that I never got the complete Super Street Fighter II line up. That was my game! I pretty much sucked, but I loved trying. Seeing the final few warriors added to the line up was super gratifying, but I also was able to play with Dee Jay, Cammy and Guile for a bit and they are fantastic figure. The ball jointed waist and torso has some of the best range of motion for that POA than any figure I’ve ever played with and they balance so beautifully. Now we just need to wait, which is the hardest part. Cammy, Guile, Dee Jay wave should start hitting before the end of the year and then the rest are broken down into three more waves. They haven’t announced how Akuma is coming, but it seems to me like we could be done within a couple of years with this complete line up.
#2 Scooby Doo
I’ve been watching and loving Scooby-Doo for as long as I can remember, but I’ve never quite bitten on the multitude of lines that have been released due to scale or character choice preference. Of course I love the Scooby Gang, but a big part of the appeal to me has always been the ghosts, so I’m glad Jada has settled on a release pattern of two ghosts and a main character wave design. My experience with Jada figures so far has been exceptional, so I’m looking forward to seeing this beloved show get it’s action figure due.
#1 Do I have to say it?
ROM! ROM! ROM! ROM! All we saw was a digital render, but the mere fact that this guy is getting a Legends release at all was enough to make this the reveal of the show for me. Long mired in legal licensing rights weirdness, ROM is one of those characters we never thought we could get in Legends. ROM was one of those characters that guest starred in a lot of the books I read as a kid, and I loved the Sal Buscema art on his book. He also has one of the more epic Marvel Handbook entries with one of those diagrams that shows how he functions and there’s also a Spaceknights entry that shows them all off as well and gives a nice summary of the book. There are two Omnibus books of his adventures out right now that I highly recommend if you want to learn about the character. The sculpt output we saw at the panel looks fantastic and Dwight mentioned they are doing something special for ROM’s distinctive bright eyes. I wish I could have got a chance to grill him for more details, but missed him.
So that’s my top 10 reveals from SDCC 2024, what are yours? Let me know in the comments or the forums!
