During the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) last July, toy companies released several exclusive items male fans can get their hands on at the show.
Thousands of boys and men lined the halls of San Diego’s convention center to try their luck at scoring their favorite toys exclusively made for them. From choking hazard Ant-Mans to talking George RR Martins (we hope he just recites the names of the characters who die in the books), to a plethora of Funko Pop! figures, there’s something for every male species in the planet.
Jim Lee Batman Black and White Figure (DC Collectibles)
Batman has come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and palettes, including monochrome and 8-bit purple, but this is the first figure seen in public that looks like a straight-up sketch. It’s a great-looking take on Batman that turns a 2D drawing into a 3D figure that still looks like a 2D drawing.
Flash Gordon and Ming Hawk City figures (Big Bang Pow!)
Gordon’s Alive?! is the most memorable line from Flash Gordon, and while Brian Blessed’s Prince Vultan isn’t part of this convention-exclusive set, everyone can still get Flash and Ming the Merciless, with a fold-out diorama.
Talking George RR Martin plush (Factory Entertainment)
Just in time for him to spend a few more years working on book six of "A Song of Ice and Fire", George RR Martin is coming to SDCC in talking plush form! He’s in Westeros armor, holding a battleaxe made of Valyrian felt, and says lines like, "Manuscript’s almost done!" and "I’ll totally finish this series before I die."
Jumbo R2-D2 (Gentle Giant)
This one is a reach, but the art style makes it work. R2-D2 wasn't just in the "Star Wars" movies. He also had his own cartoon in the '80s, called Droids. I’m not making that up. They also had an Ewoks cartoon. This R2-D2 figure is based on how he looked animated, which is still far less silly than his dumb rocket feet in “Attack of the Clones”.
Transformers Devastator (Hasbro)
Hasbro has been pushing Combiner Wars for its most recent waves of non-movie Transformers, and the king of combiners is, as always, Devastator. The big green-and-purple gestalt robot will be coming to toy stores everywhere, but the SDCC-exclusive version is even more ready for Valhalla than the retail version, since the purple bits are all shiny and chrome.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stormtrooper (Hasbro)
If you want your first taste of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" merchandise, SDCC and Hasbro have you covered. This six-inch Black Series figure is of the new, improved, slightly-less-skull-looking Stormtroopers of the post-Emperor Empire.
Ant-Man figure pack (Hasbro)
Dr. Henry Pym has had many superhero names ever since he donned a costume to fight crime using his size-changing Pym particles. This action figure pack includes at least half of them. There’s Goliath, Giant-Man, Ant-Man (in various forms), and even a mask-less Hank Pym in lab coat. No Yellowjacket, and if you know your Marvel history you know exactly why.
0.75-inch Ant-Man figure (Hasbro)
Action figures usually come in one of three sizes. There's the 12-inch Mego-style action figure, the six-inch Marvel Legends-style action figure, and the 3.75-inch G.I. Joe-style action figure. Ant-Man’s smaller than that, so Hasbro made an SDCC-exclusive 0.75-inch action figure. With a choking hazard warning on the box that’s as big as the Pym Technologies logo.
Marvel Legends Book of Vishanti Doctor Strange pack (Hasbro)
Cauliflower Bandersnatch won’t be donning the giant Dracula trophy of Stephen Strange until next year, but you can get lots of Sorceror Supreme goodness in this unwieldy tome. It’s a five-figure set including astral projection Doctor Strange, Magick, Doctor Voodoo, Hela, and Dormammu, plus a life-size, all-seeing, all-plastic Eye of Agamotto, all bound in a box that looks just like the Book of Vishanti.
Rocket and Groot plushes (UCC)
Finally, a Groot you can hug! And a Rocket Raccoon you can hug, but probably shouldn’t considering how angry he looks. Well, his expression might be angry. It could also be constipated. Groot, meanwhile, like all friendly giant plant monsters, just looks stoned.
Thousands of boys and men lined the halls of San Diego’s convention center to try their luck at scoring their favorite toys exclusively made for them. From choking hazard Ant-Mans to talking George RR Martins (we hope he just recites the names of the characters who die in the books), to a plethora of Funko Pop! figures, there’s something for every male species in the planet.
Jim Lee Batman Black and White Figure (DC Collectibles)
Batman has come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and palettes, including monochrome and 8-bit purple, but this is the first figure seen in public that looks like a straight-up sketch. It’s a great-looking take on Batman that turns a 2D drawing into a 3D figure that still looks like a 2D drawing.
Flash Gordon and Ming Hawk City figures (Big Bang Pow!)
Gordon’s Alive?! is the most memorable line from Flash Gordon, and while Brian Blessed’s Prince Vultan isn’t part of this convention-exclusive set, everyone can still get Flash and Ming the Merciless, with a fold-out diorama.
Talking George RR Martin plush (Factory Entertainment)
Just in time for him to spend a few more years working on book six of "A Song of Ice and Fire", George RR Martin is coming to SDCC in talking plush form! He’s in Westeros armor, holding a battleaxe made of Valyrian felt, and says lines like, "Manuscript’s almost done!" and "I’ll totally finish this series before I die."
Jumbo R2-D2 (Gentle Giant)
This one is a reach, but the art style makes it work. R2-D2 wasn't just in the "Star Wars" movies. He also had his own cartoon in the '80s, called Droids. I’m not making that up. They also had an Ewoks cartoon. This R2-D2 figure is based on how he looked animated, which is still far less silly than his dumb rocket feet in “Attack of the Clones”.
Transformers Devastator (Hasbro)
Hasbro has been pushing Combiner Wars for its most recent waves of non-movie Transformers, and the king of combiners is, as always, Devastator. The big green-and-purple gestalt robot will be coming to toy stores everywhere, but the SDCC-exclusive version is even more ready for Valhalla than the retail version, since the purple bits are all shiny and chrome.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Stormtrooper (Hasbro)
If you want your first taste of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" merchandise, SDCC and Hasbro have you covered. This six-inch Black Series figure is of the new, improved, slightly-less-skull-looking Stormtroopers of the post-Emperor Empire.
Ant-Man figure pack (Hasbro)
Dr. Henry Pym has had many superhero names ever since he donned a costume to fight crime using his size-changing Pym particles. This action figure pack includes at least half of them. There’s Goliath, Giant-Man, Ant-Man (in various forms), and even a mask-less Hank Pym in lab coat. No Yellowjacket, and if you know your Marvel history you know exactly why.
0.75-inch Ant-Man figure (Hasbro)
Action figures usually come in one of three sizes. There's the 12-inch Mego-style action figure, the six-inch Marvel Legends-style action figure, and the 3.75-inch G.I. Joe-style action figure. Ant-Man’s smaller than that, so Hasbro made an SDCC-exclusive 0.75-inch action figure. With a choking hazard warning on the box that’s as big as the Pym Technologies logo.
Marvel Legends Book of Vishanti Doctor Strange pack (Hasbro)
Cauliflower Bandersnatch won’t be donning the giant Dracula trophy of Stephen Strange until next year, but you can get lots of Sorceror Supreme goodness in this unwieldy tome. It’s a five-figure set including astral projection Doctor Strange, Magick, Doctor Voodoo, Hela, and Dormammu, plus a life-size, all-seeing, all-plastic Eye of Agamotto, all bound in a box that looks just like the Book of Vishanti.
Rocket and Groot plushes (UCC)
Finally, a Groot you can hug! And a Rocket Raccoon you can hug, but probably shouldn’t considering how angry he looks. Well, his expression might be angry. It could also be constipated. Groot, meanwhile, like all friendly giant plant monsters, just looks stoned.