The first of the “heavy hitters” at Toy Fair, Hasbro’s Invitation Only Media Night is always one of the hottest tickets of the show. This year was no different with Hasbro heading into what promises to be a huge year for several of its tentpole properties.
This year will see the release of the latest Star Wars film, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which will continue the story of Din Djarin and his young ward Grogu. In addition, Transformers fans will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Transformers: The Movie. Finally, Marvel continues to release comic and entertainment based assortments as the build begins to Avengers: Doomsday. Hasbro also plans new additions to the GI Joe line. Here’s a breakdown of what Hasbro was showing off.
MARVEL
First off, let’s get it out of the way right now. There were no products on display for Avengers: Doomsday. In fact, the only information I could get from Dan Yun about an Avengers: Doomsday line was that there would be one. However, Hasbro still had plenty of Marvel product on display. Including a pair of ENORMOUS Hulk Fists that put the previous releases to shame. These things are HUGE. Also on display were several new waves of Marvel Legends figures, including a new Secret Wars assortment (complete with “Magic Motion” shield inserts) and the latest wave based
on Deadpool vs. Wolverine, in addition the new Maximum Thor figure, which comes with extra heads and hands as well as Throg (the frog version of Thor.) You check out everything on display for Marvel in the gallery below
TRANSFORMERS
Next up, we head to the Transformers section of the showroom. The focus here is on the 40th (Yes, i said 40th!) Anniversary of Transformers: The Movie, which, for better or worse has gone down in history for inflicting trauma on generation after generation due to the death of Optimus Prime. Hasbro has finally acknowledged and embraced their role in this trauma, embarking on what they are calling an “Apology Tour.” There will be special product lines and activations, such as screenings, throughout the year. Special apparel and other merchandise are also expected. Speaking of merchandise, the Studio Series 86 line, which has already delivered some of the biggest stars of the film, including Optimus Prime (one of my personal favorite figures), Megatron (very well done considering the design limitations) and Soundwave (with 3 cassettes). This trend continues with the latest series that includes Shoclkwav and Astrotrain (who is the subject of much discussion online.) Kranix, Wheeljack, and Sunstreaker are also included in this assortment. Also shown was a subset of the Studio Series 86 line called the More than Meets the Eye (MTMTE) assortment. Figures in this assortment include a “battle damaged” Optimus Prime and Megatron (which happens to come with the “gun that killed Optimus”, which was left out of the original Studio Series 86 Megatron), Scourge,Hound and Hot Rod. The centerpiece of the Studio Series 86 line, however, is the first Transformers Role Play item, the Matrix of Leadership. It’s large, it lights up and it plays “The Touch” when you open it. it will retail for $125. Here is a video of the Matrix in action.
In addition to the movie product, other Studio Series figures, including an extraordinary and very large Grimlock figure were shown, as well as new entries in the CyberWorld line for younger fans and the Age of the Primes line, which showcased Onslaught, the Combaticon that forms the largest part of the latest Combiner, Bruticus. Finally, several of Hasbro’s crossover products were shown, including NFL bots that turn into helmets, as well an America 250 Eagle Transformers and a Strangers Things licensed collab. Here’s a look at all of the cool bots on display, plus some images of that beautiful Matrix.
GI JOE
Hasbro’s legendary action brand keeps on going, with new entries in the Classified line and the 3.75” line, as well as new vehicles. Here are some pics from the display.
STAR WARS
Our final stop on the tour is Star Wars, where the focus was obviously on the upcoming The Madalorian and Grogu film. There were both Black Series and Vintage figures based on the film, as well as new plush and animatronic versions of Grogu, in many different scales. As well as those items, there were other new entries in both the Black Series and Vintage lines. Here is my gallery from the Star Wars displays.
That does it for Hasbro’s Toy Fair Showroom. This year looks amazing, but next year is going to be crazy. It will be the first year of Hasbro’s new Harry Potter license, but the big headline next year will be the 50th Anniversary of Star Wars. I can only imagine what Hasbro will have in store. Till then though, this year looks pretty cool too. Of course, this year we still the lines for Spider Man: Brand New Day and, of course, Avengers: Doomsday to look forward to.
