One of the best things about being a modern-day geek is that our loved ones condone us buying toys. Sure, we say they’re collectors items and that they’re a special release from MattyCollector.com and there’s only 3,000 made and blah, blah, blah. But at the end of the day, we’re buying toys.
If you’re a toy lover, then you wait for February to see what the new year has in store, and how hard you have to apologize to your wallet. This year, the 2010 Toy Fair arrived with some excellent treats. I’ve decided to recap what I thought was the best:
5. Madballs Mallows (Shocker Toys) –
This was truly one of the surprises of the show for me. I hadn’t really followed Shocker Toys before — though I dig their Indie Comic line. When I clicked over to see which Indie Heroes would be making the roster this year, I was stunned to find a brand new Screaming Mimi staring back at me. Madballs was one of those short-lived ’80s fads that morphed your basic bouncing ball into some grotesque creation. It really hasn’t felt the same fan love as other ’80s relics, but there is a determined base out there for them. Overall, I love the design of the Mallows line, and the inclusion of this forgotten property was an excellent decision.
4. DC Universe Firestorm (Mattel) -
I love Firestorm simply because of the design. I mean, he’s an interesting character, but he’ll always be part of the cleaning crew (those who read Infinite Crisis will get the reference). I also love the Bruce Timm-designed era of the animated DC Universe, especially the Justice League streamlined stuff. The combination of both guarantees an order from this guy.
3. The Freddy Glove (NECA) -
Some fans were bummed when NECA wrestled back the rights to the New Line Horror line. Mezco had done a fine job with the property via its Cinema of Fear line, giving us takes on Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface that had never been realized in figure form. And that was quite a feat considering both McFarland Toys and NECA had been releasing variations for almost a decade before. For their maiden release of the new license, NECA unveiled figures to tie in with the revamped Freddy coming this April. While the figures themselves are up to NECA’s standards, the glove is what really impressed. The Freddy glove stands as one of the most iconic creations in recent movie history. To be able to own a replica is awesome — and this thing is even made with real metal!
2. Galactus (Hasbro) -
The Marvel Universe line has been a nice throwback to the days of smaller toys. Yet, they somehow have kept their design and articulation standards high. This year saw the release of a relatively-giant Galactus figure to torment them. And one of the best parts? He comes with a Marvel Universe-size Silver Surfer to send out to find planets that he can eat. I love Silver Surfer to a point that I’m willing to suffer through the second Fantastic Four movie because I can’t believe he made it into a movie at all. This set was made for fans like me.
1. Mo-Larr (Mattel) -
Another unexpected release, this time with Mattel’s Masters of the Universe releases through MattyCollector. I mean, I really don’t think anyone saw this coming. Mo-Larr started out as a joke on the ridiculous Robot Chicken, so it’s pretty ass-kicking awesome that he joins those he satirized. It just demonstrates how in-tune Mattel is with the collector market and reading the tea leaves. I can’t even imagine what these guys have in store for San Diego.
So there we go, five unexpected gems from this year’s run. But those are just my picks. Sound off below and let the world know what you thought was cool (or not) from this year’s show.
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