Hasbro Unleashes an Onslaught of Marvel Legends at NYCC 2015
Where Hasbro's pre-San Diego Comic-Con event treated us a new Spider-Man line, including Spider-Gwen and more, this week's pre-NYCC show was much more of a mixed bag. Though some of the figures shown actually made a brief appearance in San Diego (Captain America, Mockingbird and Taskmaster), the new additions were a stunning surprise. Of course, as great as it was to see such variation shown in the 6" Marvel Legends line, the news that the 3.75" line would be ditching its former monikers to fold into the Legend banner was just as huge.
No longer its own separate brand, the former Universe/Infinite line of figures will now also be known as Marvel Legends moving forward. Though it might cause some confusion among less savvy consumers, Hasbro has been using a similar tactic with the Star Wars Black Series to keep its highly-articulated figures, which are geared towards the adult collector, portioned off from the less articulate series. By bringing the 3.75" figures under the Legends marquee, Hasbro's just making a smart business decision to put its highest quality figures all in the same room. But enough about branding, let's talk about that 1990s Rogue.
We've all been waiting for a Rogue Legends figure. X-Men Legacy Rogue was supposed to be part of one of Hasbro's earlier Legends lines as a White Queen variant, but the green catsuit never saw the light of day beyond prototype form. As nice as that figure would have been, it's not anywhere near as cool as bomber jacket and bandanna Rogue. Debuting in X-Men #1, the look also lived on in the Fox animated cartoon, which is probably why it's such a fan-favorite with the current target audience. Somehow Hasbro ditched a figure fans had been clamoring for and delivered one they didn't even know they wanted. While Rogue was on display, she's not actually part of the Onslaught build-a-figure wave. She was merely the first tease for a new 2016 X-Men wave. Keep your fingers crossed that Phoenix Cyclops sneaks in there somehow.
For those concerned that the Onslaught was going to be based on his recent Axis incarnation, he will indeed come with both a traditional Magneto head and a more modern Red Skull portrait. Hasbro's recent BAFs have been incredibly ambitious in their design, and Onslaught looks to continue that trend quite nicely. The series will also feature the first Scourge and Copperhead figures, which make nice additions to the deep cuts portion of the Legends roster. Sharon Carter, in her Agent 13 get-up, is also another nice touch as she's a character that's been just on the fringe seemingly forever. She and Mockingbird will be included as Agents of SHIELD within the Onslaught set.
The Onslaught wave is planned to arrive in early 2016, with the new 3.75" Legends following suit. There will also be two-packs of the new 3.75" figures, but none of them were on display at this event. Perhaps we'll see more from Hasbro on the show floor at NYCC this weekend.