Sideshow Collectibles

As a rallying cry, you would be hard-pressed to do better than "Avengers Assemble!" It's nearly perfect, and even when you know it's coming in a comic story, those two words still manage to make you sit up straight. Using the signature call as an inspiration point for its latest statue series, Sideshow Collectibles is bringing together a quartet of the original Avengers. Things kicked off with Iron Man, but now Captain America too has joined the fight.

I've never had a particular affinity for Carnage as a character. However, I have always enjoyed his design. The way he seemed like a much more raw version of Venom, and that stark red and black color scheme made him that much more of demented take on Spider-Man. The gaping maw and tendrils exploding in every direction always caught my eye, and truly presented a terrifying presence. Sideshow's captured all of that grotesque design and more with its Carnage Premium Format Figure, making it a shocking tribute to Spider-Man's most unpredictable foe.

As expected, K-2SO was indeed announced as the next figure in the Hot Toys Star Wars: Rogue One collection. The former Imperial droid now joins several types of Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers, Jyn Erso and Chirrut Imwe, in the rapidly expanding line, which will only continue to grow in the coming weeks and months. We already know there are several other human characters planned, as well as some more Empire forces, but we're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now the focus should be on K-2SO, who will hope to join the short list of memorable droids in Star Wars movies.

Finally, after numerous Stormtroopers and Deathtroopers, we have our new Star Wars protagonist getting her own Hot Toys figure. Now obviously it's easy for Hot Toys to churn out some Imperial soldiers given that they use the same basic model from the original trilogy that they're using in the upcoming anthology prequel, and it takes a little bit more time to work out the nuances of an actual human being. The wait was very much worth it though, as the Jyn Erso figure is pretty damn remarkable.

For the most part, Iron Man collectibles released in the time since the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked the doors open on Iron Man fandom have been focused on the armored Avenger's silver screen persona. Comic and animated versions of the character have popped up, but by far the Hall of Armor from the films has hogged the spotlight. That's why it's genuinely exciting to see a whole new interpretation brought into the fold among the litany of repetitive Stark designs.

Will there ever be enough Deadpool collectibles in the world to satisfy the legions of fans that endlessly follow the Merc with a Mouth? It's one of the great questions of the modern era. It's stumped philosophers around the globe. International think tanks continue to crunch the numbers to find an answer. We may never know at what point peak Deadpool saturation is attained, but until that moment arrives Sideshow Collectibles will be there bearing the banner as it bursts through the fourth wall.

Ahead of Brazil's Comic Con Experience event in Sao Paulo, Iron Studios and the convention have revealed one of the official posters for the event. The poster, by Rafael Albuquerque, features Spider-Man and Spider-Gwen going up against two of the biggest Spider-foes, Venom and Carnage, on the Brooklyn Bridge. Ordinarily this would be a cool print in and of itself, but it's also providing the inspiration for Iron Studios' next statue series.

Since arriving on the scene, Prime 1 Studio has been delivering the goods. The company's high-end statues have been impeccable, though pricey, creations that have not only captured their subjects with incredible detail, but with personality as well. It's hard to find any flaws in Prime 1's catalog already, but this new Wonder Woman 1:2 scale statue might have set a new bar for what to expect from the company.

After years of holding a number of licenses for various pop culture icons, it seems almost unbelievable that until 2015, Hot Toys didn't have a deal for Star Wars toys. It took the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens for the Hong Kong company to finally step into the crowded licensing world of Lucasfilm's flagship franchise. In a way, it's a good thing it took such a long time. The license arrived right in that sweet spot of Hot Toys' expertise finally reaching its apex, rather than a decade earlier when the products weren't quite as impressive. No product better serves that idea than the newly released Star Wars: The Force Awakens Rey and BB-8 set. As thrilling as it has been to see a number of iconic characters like Leia Organa, Han Solo and the numerous Stormtroopers captured with Hot Toys' impeccable eye for detail, the Rey figure is just a marvelous achievement in an action figure from head to toe. Would that all Hot Toys figures could be so great.

Y'all, Sideshow Collectibles has been on an absolute tear with its Premium Format Figure line. Whether it's Star Wars, horror characters, Marvel or DC (or their respective cinematic universes), the massive mixed-media statues have been straight fire from the California company. While all the pieces can stand on their own magnificence, a number of them come together under a common theme. That's the case with the latest Marvel piece --- the Black Cat --- which fits nicely in the running Spider-Man series Sideshow's been assembling.