Toys / Toy Collecting

2010 Summer Movies Equals New Action Figures

By Randy Herkowitz
May 2, 2010 - 18:12

With the warm weather upon us, most people daydream of barbecues, going to the beach or whatever outdoor activity allows them to soak in the sun.  Sure, I like some of those things but for me, I am most interested in what new action figures I have to look forward to based on the new summer blockbuster movies.   

It’s easy for me to bash on the disappointing toys that were at retail last summer, mostly due to the underwhelming movies that the action figures accompanied such as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and G.I. Joe.  Even movies I enjoyed like Terminator: Salvation and Star Trek had awful action figures that quickly went to clearance yet many are still warming the shelves at most toy retailers.  However, this is a new year and there will be a whole new slew of movies with action figures to go with them.

Iron-Man 2 officially kicks off the summer movie season and many of the action figures are already on the shelves. Hasbro has done a pretty good job with them.  The majority of the action figures for the 3 ¾” scaled series are of Iron-Man himself in a variety of the different armors he wears but there is also the incredible War Machine armor worn by James Rhodes himself.  If the 3 ¾” scale is not your thing, Hasbro is releasing a 6” scale similar to Marvel Legends that should be hitting toy shelves now.  For me, it’s the Whiplash figure (played by actor Mickey Rourke) that I am anticipating most.

McFarlane Toys is revving things up with action figures based on Disney’s Prince of Persia (based on the hit video game).  McFarlane Toys is offering a series of 4” articulated action figures along with their trademark “statue” figures in the 6” scale.  I am perplexed on why McFarlane Toys is even bothering to even make 6” “statue” figures for this film as I have a hard time believing that there will be a demand by collector’s to display a buffed Jake Gyllenhaal statue on their shelf.   Nevertheless, the movie and toys do not really excite me from the photos I have seen thus far.  They look well done but none of the characters look dynamic enough to draw me in.  These have just hit Target stores in the US and should be at most other retailers within weeks.

In June, DC Comics, Jonah Hex will be released in theaters and Neca Entertainment will be releasing three nice looking action figures based on some of the main characters including one of mega hottie Megan Fox.  Neca Entertainment looks to be sticking to a similar style that they tend to produce all their action figures in; well sculpted but lacking in the articulation category.   These action figures are expected to hit online retailers and specialty stores in May.

Jazwares Toys will produce action figures of the movie based on of the hit TV show, the A-Team.  I actually have a lot of faith in Spin Masters.  They are a fairly new toy company and seem to improve with every new toy line they make.  I can’t say I am incredibly excited about owning A-Team action figures but the movie trailer looks like the film could be a lot of fun.  There has been no information or pictures yet released other than an expected release date in the 2nd quarter of 2010.

Perhaps the movie toys and movie I am looking most forward to this summer is The Last Airbender by M. Night Shymalan.  The movie is based on the Nickelodeon cartoon, Avatar: The Last Airbender.  I have never seen the original cartoon but the movie trailer looks like this could be a real winner.  Spin Master Toys is producing a series of 3 ¾” action figures that were shown off at this year’s Toy Fair.  They looked fairly standard yet accurate to what will be in the movie.   I have not heard any concrete release date on these but expect them to start showing up at retail in June.

There are some other action figures being produced based on this summers movies such as: Kick-Ass, the Nightmare on Elm Street remake and of course Toy Story 3 that should already be in stores now but otherwise, this pretty much sums up what has been announced.  Overall, it is a pretty thin summer for big blockbusters and action figures to go along with them.  Perhaps, the failure of such toy lines like Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation scared off some of the major toy companies from investing in these “should be hits”.  Maybe it’s not a bad idea to scale back a little bit.  Nevertheless, none of these action figures or movies has me as excited as Tron: Legacy (to be released this winter) but much more on that another time.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12