A massive "Meh" for the latest Disnet set

[TheXFactor]

As much as I like 60s era Spider-Man villains, there were other far more obvious choices considering the upcoming Avengers movie. Not to mention the fact that the inclusion of the Secret Wars Symbiote costume completely cuts against the grain of the other three characters. That outfit didn't exist in the 60s OR the 70s, so why bundle it with characters from the 60s with a reproduction of a toy line that came out in the 70s?

I honestly wish there'd be an admission of the (painfully obvious) fact that they've abandoned the idea of reproducing/re releasing all the vintage 70s 8 Inch WGSH. Unless I'm forgetting someone, we're missing two Marvel characters (The Falcon, Conan) and nine from DC (the Super Gals, the Teen Titans, and Mr. Mxyzptlk). Yes I know that Conan would require a new license, but I'm certain that the sales would more than justify the cost. Also, the 50th Anniversaries for both the Star Trek and POTA lines has come and gone without so much as a mention.

It's also frustrating that the Fantastic Four set was never added back to the Disney store website like the first Spider-Man set was, plus I only recently discovered damage to the storage box for my Avengers set and have no way to replace it since it's also missing from the Disney Store website. Plus the chest piece on Iron Man has this weird bleed-through (presumably from the outfit). I'm also certain that those of you where were awaiting Wave 19 (since it's 2024 announcement) aren't exactly happy over two years later.

The proverbial ball here hasn't been dropped. It's been Wilsoned.

[PuckRobin]

It is not a great look that the Falcon is the only one of the Marvel (aside from Conan) characters not reproduced. I had the Falcon as a child and have a fondnes for it. I can’t say the newest set grabs me either.

I suspect the Spider-Man set was the best selling one, so I can see why Disney/Mego would want to do another. But I’d be more interested in Falcon, Doom and a couple new 70s era Avengers. Maybe Vision and Scarlet Witch or Black Widow and Hawkeye.

[BudgetMego]

I've read on another thread that the sets are going to continue into next year, so I'm sure that Falc will come eventually. Meanwhile have to keep Disney happy. Spiderman is the most lucrative franchise. I do think Vulture would have been a better character for the set. I probably won't get the whole set at once. I'll be patient and wait for them individually on Ebay. I got lone Thor and Lizard at a reasonable price from the other sets. Those were the only ones I needed.

[basilfan]

Woo! More for me! Though I admit I'll probably sell the Spidey. The red-and-blue costume is enough for me.

[MRP]

Marvel/Disney no longer have the rights to Conan, so it's not likely you will ever see a new Conan from Mego. Whatever the plan was for DC, they no longer have a rights deal with DC, so there won't be any more new DC figures, recreating old lines or creating new ones.

It sucks that Falcon hasn't been done yet, but there's more sets coming and I'm not sure what demand for 70s costume Falcon would be outside of diehard Mego collectors. Since the Marvel is a Disney funded venture at the whim of Disney who controls the licenses for the characters, Mego may not have complete autonomy in deciding which characters get put into production and have to follow Disney's lead on approvals for prototypes before full production is set inmotion, so someone it may be beyond their control. There is likely a difference between what they want to do, and what they can do. I'm sure Falcon will get done if the sets being prepped make it in to full production (with a volatile toy market & economy nothing is ever guaranteed), but rate of production/releases are limited by the size of Mego and their resources, and the decisions of Disney as to what they wish to fund.

While Mego has the desire to serve the diehard Mego fan base, Disney's priority is its bottom line, and more Spider-Man serves that better than a Falcon figure at this moment. So that's what they got because their wallet does the loudest talking.

-M

[PNGwynne]

There's (almost?) no way Diz is not doing Falcon, there'll likely be another Avengers set.

[CrimsonGhost]

..., Mego may not have complete autonomy in deciding which characters get put into production and have to follow Disney's lead on approvals for prototypes before full production is set inmotion, so someone it may be beyond their control. There is likely a difference between what they want to do, and what they can do. I'm sure Falcon will get done if the sets being prepped make it in to full production (with a volatile toy market & economy nothing is ever guaranteed), but rate of production/releases are limited by the size of Mego and their resources, and the decisions of Disney as to what they wish to fund.
-M

Mego has nearly no control over what characters are picked. Paul has put together multiple mock ups and prototypes to show Disney what Mego could do, but often Disney says "That looks good, but we want to do this..." So Mego does "this". They're doing all the legwork, Mego is essentially an employee.

[shaunaconda]

As long as a Falcon comes I’ll be happy! Would love a Conan or more DC, but understand.
Love the new set! I just hope more are coming as planned, there will never be enough. I hate speculating or guessing on releases, I’m sure whatever figures they do will be great! And I’ll be on board!

[wise guy]

Who is Disney marketing to because most kids and parents are'nt going buy these ?Collectors buy these and might not buy them if they skip the only
Black super hero in the Mego line up. Black Panther was also skipped while Disney has him in lots of other toys and sets .Falcon was star of Capt. America brave new world and Falcon and Winter Soldier

[wise guy]

Mego has nearly no control over what characters are picked. Paul has put together multiple mock ups and prototypes to show Disney what Mego could do, but often Disney says "That looks good, but we want to do this..." So Mego does "this". They're doing all the legwork, Mego is essentially an employee.

Hopefull Disney knows what will sell out because this set might only appeal to scalpers and some members here

[CrimsonGhost]

Who is Disney marketing to because most kids and parents are'nt going buy these ?Collectors buy these and might not buy them if they skip the only
Black super hero in the Mego line up. Black Panther was also skipped while Disney has him in lots of other toys and sets .Falcon was star of Capt. America brave new world and Falcon and Winter Soldier

And now, Falcon is Captain America and no one is the Falcon.

[Frenchy99]

Someone's Meh is somebody else's gold !

[Dan2Dan]

I'm definitely among those who would like a new 1970s-style Mego Falcon. And since it sounds like there are other waves coming, then there's hope.

That said, I don't blame Mego or Disney for that not happening yet. I blame 'commercial reality.'

Why?

Asking myself why Disney is commissioning these modern Mego figures for its Disney stores, I come up with two reasons, neither of which is to make money selling modern reproductions of old Mego figures to aging collectors today (like me). I've concluded (from a distance) that they do it because: (1) it's a very low-cost way to generate some buzz and attention online among the nerd/geek/collector community for their upcoming Disney movies, their theme parks and their Disney stores, even if they anticipate that almost none of those people reached by the hype are Mego collectors/buyers in 2026, and (2) because I've heard repeatedly for years that, historically, there have been two primary customers for toys at mass market retail, kids and (the bigger one) 'adult gift givers,' I personally assume that Disney likes these exlcuisve Mego sets in their Disney stores because some grandpa taking his grandchildren to Disney may see these Mego sets on store shevles, get swept away by a wave of nostalgia for his own 1970s childhood, and, on a whim, fork over $80 for one of these sets and give it to his grandchildren, hoping that they might like what he liked as a kid and, from Disney's perspective, thereby introducing young kids to some Marvel characters they might not be aware of (but for which Disney/Marvel has 'plans', or at least sees future commercial potential).

I can't know how accurate my above assumption is. But assuming it's more-than-a-little valid, 1970s Falcon has very little juice toward those goals. Grandpa and his grandchildren will want Spider-Man first and foremost.

To me, this explains the gap between what I, a current Mego buyer with money, want to buy and what Disney has produced in these sets. (In each one, including this new one, I've really wanted one figure of four, maybe two.) I'm not the intended market or 'the point,' from Disney's perspective, I don't think. And as someone wrote above already, it sounds like Mego is taking direction from Disney on character selection.

By the way, I personally feel like a similar thing happened with the Atlas figures. Was there any preexisting demand in the 'market' for a modern Mego figure of a reimagined Devilina from a project not yet made? Any at all? No. The point, I thought, was to produce the figures so as to promote the concept production at NY Comic Con (or was it NY Toy Fair).

[PNGwynne]

And now, Falcon is Captain America and no one is the Falcon.

Marvel's "new" Falcon is Joaquin Torres, a mutate wearing an orange-and-green riff on Wilson's original costume.

[Mcgorski]

Sorry, love, love, love the classic Spidey villains & hope they do Vulture and Kraven. Could have done without the Black outfit Spidey - can you imagine if it was a Classic Doctor Doom instead? Dooms first appearance outside of the FF was Spidey #5, so it would have been a good ‘classic villains’ theme…..