I found clearances yesterday.  They sold through their 12" basic figures a while ago but they have two paratroopers for $21, 3.75" figures were $7-something and the Skystriker was $25.

Usually Target stores are more in synch, but they're all going to get to this clearance eventually.  I'd buy another Skystriker at 50% off but at $25 it's still more than I paid for my first one so I have a hard time paying it.  I'll be keeping an eye on the store though.

In other news, my Amazon Renegades 4-pack came.  I love the Duke figure in the set and even though it's a little bit different, don't know why I passed on the single carded version.  He's so basic he makes a great base to do any number of things with.  I just wish he had holsters for all the pistols he comes with.

I'm not as happy with the other three figures.  They all look good but they feel very rubbery and I don't like that.  It's hard to get them to stand in some poses and I know that without a stand (maybe even with one) they won't be upright for very long.  Plus the peg holes in the feet of the two ninjas is so shallow neither actually seems to work with the included stands.  I also don't like the new ankle joint.  The hip joint is actually pretty good for the most part, except on Snake Eyes, one is frozen and I haven't been able to get it loose yet.

Over all, for the price, I'm not sure it was worth it.

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I know that Sam Jackson signed for 9 films but I don't remember if that was before or after IM (so I don't know if IM is included in the 9).  So they're definitely looking at him for the long haul but that doesn't mean we'll get a Nick Fury movie just like I don't know if we'll get more Hulk films.  But that would be cool to see, a Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. origin film could be fun.

I'm hoping we get a Hawkeye origins film.  Not to give too much away, but it seemed like there's some backstory with him and Widow and a film exploring that would be excellent.

I'm all for seeing other characters on the Avengers but if they do add people, I hope they subtract somewhere also.  We've seen it before where too many villains in a movie (Spider-Man 3) really hurt things and the same can happen with too many heroes as well.  What really helped the Avengers is that we had 4 origins stories prior to the film and the fact that Joss Whedon is a good writer and director.  If we find ourselves with a new writing/directing team and they're not quite as good, things could go south fast.

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Great. So now not only are there convoluted comic backstories, now we have to have them in the movies also?  So is this a straight Ultimates origin or did they tweak that and come up with something new there also? 

For example, in the original Spidey origin didn't he date Gwen during high school and Mary Jane came later which they swapped in the Raimi trilogy.  In Ultimate universe did he still date Gwen first or are they screwing with that part of it in the movie again?

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When I first saw the photo I was thinking that it was Blue Snaggletooth but now I feel like maybe it's Luke Jedi.  In the picture below, what appears to be the belt buckle on a Blue Snag could be the beak from Logray's headpiece and the "boot" is actually his pouch.  If you look at the angle he's facing, those two pieces line up with what was orignally thought to be silver on Snags.

If you look at the head (blue circle) it looks more like a Luke Jedi hairline rather than Snags, who has black hair.  The hand (red arrow) looks a little more like Blue Snags, but the angle of the photo and the position of Logray in front of the Jumbo figure could be putting the size/orientation out of whack making this a bent arm from Luke as much as a straight arm from Snags.

The only thing I'm not positive of is if you look at the yellow arrow, which can explain the top part of what was thought of as the boot, doesn't necessarily explain what also appears to be silver boots seen from underneath the shelf. that could be a trick of the lighting, though.

At this point, looking at the photo again and reading what GG tweeted yesterday, I'm leaning towards Luke Jedi at this point.  However, I do still believe that there's a Blue Snag in the works based on the Insider photo from 2010 that shows early Jumbo figures and some vintage Kenner 3.75 figures.  That photo showed the Gam Guard and Yoda long before we got wind of the Jumbo versions.  Blue Snag, Bossk and AT-AT Driver are also in that photo and it could be an early roadmap to their releases.  No Luke Jedi, but we've also gotten Jumbo R5-D4 and the DSD since that photo was posted and their vintage 3.75" counterparts weren't shown.


 

Finally got my April newsletter, on May 1st, and it included the email that came out about the problems with the store.

I wonder if the May newsletter is on schedule and will start showing up next week or so.  I don't think I've seen any word about it one way or another, but I haven't followed their Facebook page very closely.

No Footloose yet...

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I still don't like the graphics but at least this line pops on the shelf.  Nice, bright colors compared to the dull greens, greys and blacks of the RoC line.  At this point, the figures could come in bags with header cards for all I care, just as long as they sell okay, they're easy to find, make it past the first 2 waves and don't linger 3 years later at discount stores.

Oh, and I can find the GI Joe Trooper.  I love that figure.

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$20 is a good price on those 3-packs but $24.99 on the AWE Striker, which is the Bravo line, should be about $10 cheaper than that...or more like $16.99 maybe.  The figures, I think, are supposed to be around $7.99.

You did good on that 3-pack though.  I actually may buy both of those even though I don't really have much use for another SE or SS.  I kind of dig the zip line accessories, the Cobra Ninja is a good looking figure and the other set is pretty much all win.

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Picked up my ticket for next Thursday's midnight showing.

Watched IM and Incredible Hulk this week, tomorrow night IM2 and then Thor and CA on Sunday to get ready for next week.

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