MARVEL UNIVERSE
Action Figures
For Sale
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One of Hasbro’s
extremely popular action figure line debuted in 2009.
After a couple of years of continuing the 6 inch
Marvel Legends action
figure line that Toy Biz had started a few years earlier,
Hasbro decided to scale down the size of the Marvel
figures to a more traditional size that they were more accustomed to
producing.
Hasbro is famous for producing GI Joe action figures since 1982
and the re-launched versions of the Star Wars action figures in
1995 and both of those product lines are primarily made in the 3-3/4 inch scale so it was natural for
Hasbro to do
the same for the Marvel Universe figures.
With a stable of characters that runs extremely deep, Hasbro
could tap into the Marvel Comics Universe and bring forth
characters that have never been made into action figures. The
reduced size was cost effective in order to accomplish this
feat.
The Marvel
Universe figures have similar points of movement as found in
the Marvel Legends line. Each figure for the most part can
be adjusted at the head, middle chest, waist, arms-with some
having a couple of points, elbows, wrists, legs-some a
couple of points, knees and ankle movements.
The posing
opportunities are great for collectors and fans allowing
them to setup their figures in a variety of ways.
The accessories that come with each figure is appropriate
to that figure such as Spider-Man who comes with a web shooting accessory
that can be attached to his arm/hand. There is
typically a
display base that comes with some figures and a dossier file on the figure as it
relates to some of the current Marvel Comics storylines.
This would later change as the line continued.
The
first few series contained a Nick Fury SHIELD operations'
team special letter assessment on the hero or villain
written in a way as if it were written directly to the collector/fan. A nice touch.
The paint jobs have been done extremely well from figure to
figure. There are some great paint applications on
just about every figure.
The sculpting has been fantastic giving each figure great
detail and definition. You won’t confuse a figure with
someone else.
You can compare them directly with their
comic book counterparts and be very happy with the likeness.
The packaging is very uniform throughout the line. Each
figure comes in its own clear plastic bubble attached to a
card back which has a summary on the figure and photos of
some of the figures in that series.
When you display unopened package figures next to one
another they look very uniform and can freely stand them without
tilting the package backward or forward.
There have been a number of multi-pack figures that have
been spin-offs of this line. One is the Marvel Secret
Wars 2 packs where each of the 12 issues from the 1980s
Marvel Secret Wars comic book maxi-series was reproduced and
inserted into 12 different 2 figure packages.
You might see Thor and
Enchantress, Hulk and Cyclops, Black Costumed Spider-Man and
Magneto, Captain America and Klaw,
Human Torch and Wolverine and other key heroes and villains
from that comic series.
There
have been a number of comic book 2 packs that
have been created from some of Marvel’s famous issues and
covers. One of them is Marvel’s Greatest Battles
featuring Cyclops and Dark Phoenix from the legendary Dark
Phoenix storyline from the 1980s.
There have been some
impressive larger, over-sized figures that have added a
tremendous value to many collections with the highly
detailed
18 inch Galactus figure and the 18 inch Sentinel
figure. Each had its own electronics and with a
press of a button can produce voices and sounds and lights.
There
have been a number of special figures and multi-pack figures
that have been produced which were store, internet and comic
book show exclusives.
One simulated the Invaders containing Captain America,
Sub-Mariner, Human Torch and the Red Skull which sold
initially at the
San Diego Comic Con.
There are
others including a Hydra Soldier, Hand Ninja and SHIELD
agent in a 3 pack, Spider-Man, Iceman, Firestar comprising
Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends 3 pack.
There's been a 35th Anniversary set celebrating Giant Size
X-Men #1 from 1975 introducing the New X-Men with figures of
Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler and
Thunderbird.
There's been a classic Avengers gift set including the
original Avengers team from 1963-Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, with
Ant-Man and the Wasp as they first appeared in Avengers #1.
There's been a Gigantic Battles series which included a
regular Universe figure in his 3-3/4 inch size with a larger
size character in the 12 inch range of Goliath, Skrull Giant
Man, Frost Giant.
This is just the scratch of the surface with so many other
specialty figures and specialty multi-figure packages.
There's an even bigger way to expand on this product line as
they are so comparable to other 3-3/4 inch figures like GI
Joe, Star Wars, DC Infinite Heroes and many others.
They blend in so well with these other product lines adding
to the possibilities for anyone's collection.
This truly is an amazing line of figures that all action
figure collectors and comic book fans have gravitated to.
Hasbro announced in mid-2013 that they
would change the line and introduce
future characters with a tie-in to movie and other
properties.
Marvel Universe Infinite Series was
released with a couple of waves of figures like Sandman,
Black Cat, Beast, Ant-Man. Those would become stuck on
shelves and ultimately liquidated by retailers a few months
after their release. The
3.75 inch Marvel figures essentially ended shortly after this line
made its way through the discount piles.
We would
see Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor movie
related figure 2 packs in this scale in an attempt to keep
the line alive with some random figures tied
to video games.
In 2018/2019 there were 2
packs of 3.75 inch Marvel figures along with a Capcom video
game character in the same size, but those too would find its way at a
discount by year end.
There was
no firm direction on the future of the 3.75 inch Marvel figures.
Although Hasbro did temporarily stop making the 6
inch Marvel Legends figures, they would re-launch that line
and it has become a mainstay on toy aisles so it's possible
the Marvel Universe line returns some day with a new name.
My
suggestion is if you want to start collecting these figures
that you will have to buy them online or at a comic
convention or toy show.
You used to
be able to find retail stores like
Target, Walmart, Toys R
Us and K-Mart that carried these figures, but
some of these stores have closed down in subsequent years.
At local comic book shows and toy shows, a lot of collectors and sellers/dealers
sold these figures. There's still a steady market for these figures
and I found quite a few sellers that deal with action figures in addition
to comic books at these shows. You should try
attending these shows to find that elusive figure.
Several
online establishments like Big Bad Toy Store, Entertainment Earth,
Amoktime are great sources for the Marvel Universe
type figures. You can find them easily by searching
for these online sites.
Ebay is a source for figures. On Ebay there’s a lot
of collectors/sellers/dealers always looking to move in and
out of product and Marvel Universe is a product line that
they know will sell for them since so many collectors want
them. There are a number of sellers who sell large
lots of these figures in addition to individual items.
Be careful to check out the auctions and Buy it Now
listings carefully. Some sellers’ terms are not right for
everyone and sometimes the items are not what you expect.
If condition of the package is important to you, then be
sure to ask a lot of questions. If you don’t get the right
kinds of answers you’re looking for, then move on and try
another listing.
Always check out the seller’s profile to see how their past
selling has been. If they’re new to selling and have only
been buying to build up their ratings, ask questions of
them.
You always want to be comfortable with the person you’re
potentially going to be buying from and you really need to
know what it is you’re getting.
Happy Collecting!!!
Johnson's Collectibles
