Hot Toys

Do you like Iron Man\? I like Iron Man. He's a cool guy and doesn't seem afraid of anything. Especially in the movies. That must be why Hot Toys has committed so much of its bandwidth to continually pumping out new Iron Man figures with such regularity. That and the fact that all of the Iron Man Hot Toys figures sell like pancakes at an all you can eat pancake festival. While some have merely been repaints of identical builds, the upcoming MK XV armor from Iron Man 3 looks unlike anything we've seen from the company before.

Oh, you didn't think Hot Toys was going to let the Merc with a Mouth get his own movie and not get a highly-articulated sixth-scale figure to go along with it, did you? I mean, it's not like anyone actually likes Deadpool and is anticipating this movie with any kind of fervor at all. Then again, Ant-Man got a number of figures from Hot Toys, and Deadpool is easily as mildly popular as that guy who shrinks his size. Plus, Deadpool's movie won't be held back by The Man, and will get the R-rating all those kids who love the squiggly wingdings Marvel's letterers use to signify Wade Wilson's propensity for profanity have dreamed about since they read their first Deadpool stories. You know, only without the squiggly wingdings.

Say what you will about Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but you can't deny the awesome power of all the incredible new characters. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, and it was largely due to how much excitement the new blood brought to the screen. While Hot Toys has been slowly rolling out figures both new and old for the Star Wars license, its latest announcement brings about a figure I thought we'd never get. Sure, Finn was an obvious choice to get a sixth-scale toy, as he's all over the marketing and the world has fallen head over heels for John Boyega (and his maybe lover, Poe, played by Oscar Issac. I know I ship it.). But even Finn isn't the film's most perfect character. That privilege lies solely in the arms, baton and shield of the Riot Control Stormtrooper, TR-80RZ. I know that's not his real First Order designation, but a if a guy can dream about what Finn and Poe are doing after hours, he can sure dream about the name of a fictional soldier being all too apt.

This past weekend Hot Toys displayed a number of new products at the annual Toy Soul convention. While new Star Wars figures are nice and all, the real meat and potatoes was in the unveiling of the first Captain America: Civil War figures. These are the first new collectibles for the upcoming sequel that anyone has shown to this point, though only returning characters have been given the public spotlight so far. At least as far as the sixth-scale line is concerned. There were a few vinyl figures for some of the newcomers, but it would appear anyone holding out hope for the sixth-scale Black Panther or Agent 13 will have to wait until 2016 for a glimpse. Still, that we've been given a look into the future of Hot Toys' Marvel Cinematic Universe plans this early is exciting. Typically these sorts of tie-in figures are kept under wraps until the last possible moment. That nine have been revealed already certainly doesn't bode well for anyone hoping to grab a complete set, especially considering the characters that aren't included so far, and that Iron Man likely changes armor at least seven times in this film. So that's another dozen figures right there. Probably.

After a week of tiny teases, Hot Toys has finally revealed its new figures for Warner Brothers' upcoming action flick, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. As expected, there's a Batman and a Superman, but anyone holding out hope for a glimpse at Wonder Woman will be sorely disappointed. Then again, if you've been waiting for a new Superman or Batman figure from Hot Toys, you might be disappointed by these anyway. Unless you're looking for really expensive figures that don't really look all the great. Last I check, Henry Cavill was starring as Superman. Apparently Hot Toys didn't get the message. This new Man of Steel figure looks markedly worse than the previously released version from Zack Snyder's last film. Obviously it's early and the prototype may change before release, but this thing is shockingly off target. The company's made some strides in capturing likenesses as of late, but it's a major bummer that Superman looks more like a police sketch artist's version of Henry Cavill than it does the actual human being.

Finally. It seems like we've been waiting an eternity to get our first official look at Hot Toys' non-First Order/Stormtrooper figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and now just a short 10 days before the movie premieres, the Hong Kong manufacturer has graced us with a proper glimpse at its upcoming Rey and BB-8 figures. Not that it wasn't cool seeing characters like Kylo Ren and Captain Phasma get the signature hyper-detailed treatment from Hot Toys, but the endless reveals of new, slightly-tweaked Stormtroopers has gone on long enough. We get it. They're an army. They're cool, but it's about damn time some of the actual faces of the upcoming sequel get their moment in the spotlight.

You mean to tell me there was still an Iron Man armor Hot Toys hadn't released? I'm shocked. Shocked, I say. At this point, the only thing surprising about this release is how late in the game it was announced. There were a bajillion armors in Iron Man 3, and Hot Toys had been putting them out with some regularity up until all the Star Wars reveals. That's when the Stormtroopers became the new Iron Men, with all the slight variations on almost identical sculpts. For all the completionists out there though, the arrival of one of the few remaining armors from Shane Black's masterpiece (yeah, I said it) should be good news. I know I like to give Hot Toys a lot of guff over the number of Iron Man armors, but reusing molds like they have with the Iron Man MK XXVI (a repaint of the MK XXV) is smart business. Molds are expensive, and anytime companies can reuse them for similar figures just makes it that much easier on them to give us long-running lines and more variation in other departments. It's a tactic every toy company uses, though when it's for $15-20 figures it's not that big a deal. When a figure costs nearly $300 and it's just a reskin of one that came out before (with a much nicer paint job, in my opinion) it's a little harder to swallow. Especially in the wallet.

Few characters from the Star Wars saga truly transcend the franchise. Most everyone knows Darth Vader, and the recent media barrage means they probably know a few other characters, too, but Han Solo is a rare character indeed. Not only is he one of the most memorable rogues in cinematic history, but since his appearance in Star Wars in 1977, dozens of films and stories have tried to capture that very same essence of character Harrison Ford portrayed. Even nearly 40 years later, Han Solo has endured, which is more than you can say for a lot of fictional heroes throughout history. That's why adding this Hot Toys Han Solo figure to my collection was a no-brainer, even if it's not quite up to the company's usual standard of likeness excellence. It's actually hard to believe Hot Toys never dabbled in the Star Wars universe before, but until this year, the company didn't have a hand in arguably the biggest license in the collectible market. However, that all changed this year with the arrival of The Force Awakens. Since the deal was announced, Hot Toys has not held back in the least when it comes to announcing new figures for the line. There's been a solid mix of classic trilogy characters mixed with some of the new blood, but to this point, there haven't been many unmasked characters released. There have been Stormtroopers a plenty, but when it comes to the faces of the franchise, Hot Toys' selection has been a little light in that department.

The hype levels surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens may have reached critical mass, but that hasn't stopped fans from clamoring for more. Fortunately, to sate some of those appetites, there have been trading cards and comics and books and toys to hold the hunger for the actual film at bay. I'm as guilty as anyone for jumping head first off the moving bandwagon onto the hype train, and a large part of that is due to the new bad guys we've seen in promotional materials. Apparently I'm not the only one, as trying to find any merchandise with Kylo Ren and the Stormtroopers has been a challenge. Even they can't hold a candle to the desire seemingly everyone invested in Star Wars has for Captain Phasma. Captain Phasma has appeared in footage and images, but hasn't uttered a single word. The only thing we know about her is that she's played by Gwendoline Christie and has the bossest set of armor. The fan fervor surrounding this character has already pegged her as the successor to Boba Fett. Now that's not from an actual coolness standpoint, obviously. We have no idea how cool she'll be in the movies. That's strictly from the point that any bit of merchandise that she's on becomes more coveted than the Ark of the Covenant. It's been especially true for all the figures Hasbro's made thus far, and it will likely be true for the upcoming Hot Toys version, too.

After the long string of successes Hot Toys has had with its various Marvel-themed figures, it actually not all that surprising to learn there will soon be a Stan Lee figure coming from the Hong Kong-based company. This actually isn't the first time the Marvel legend has been captured in figure form, as NECA, Funko, ToyBiz and more have all tried their hand at bringing the living embodiment of comic book history to life before. However, very few have been as true-to-life as Hot Toys' latest piece, which brings Stan to life in all his grandfatherly glory right down to the Members Only jacket. It's a curious thing that most toy companies have captured Stan well beyond his glory days in the Marvel Bullpen, and instead have focused on his semi-retired persona as the cameo du jour in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This current version is the more recognizable though, I suppose, but it would have been an interesting take to showcase Stan "The Man" in a younger guise back when he was still influencing the biggest guns in the business on a daily basis. It's also a tiny bit sad that Hot Toys' penchant for realism and accuracy depicts the Marvel mainstay in such a fragile form.