We've Got TOYS, their MULTIPLYING...Wallets Losing Control. Cause this Nostalgia Your Supplying...it's ELECTRIFYING!
Let's just note this right out the gate here, WE KNOW there are wayyyyy more than 6 toylines that are very much needed, so to be fair let's just call this part 1 of many, shall we? That said, we'd love for all you casual toy fans and uber-fans alike to weigh in on who would make their top 6 in the comments below. After all, you never know, some of YOUR choices may end up making one of our UPCOMING lists as well.
While you're here, also be sure to subscribe to the SpeekyGeeky youtube channel so you don’t miss out on any of our new videos that we know you'll likely appreciate as well.
Also, a quick disclaimer, this is purely for entertainment, we don't have any sort of magic 8-ball or inside tip that ANY of these are indeed coming for 2022, we're just enormous fans ourselves and have a fairly good track record of being on the pulse of what other fans want...and sometimes we get lucky is all...well, lot's of sometimes, but to be fair we do cast a fairly large net! But a silly thing like not having it confirmed yet isn't going to stop us from dreaming or from gathering up various breadcrumbs to organically piece a picture together, Sherlock-Holmes-style.
No Siree, that perpetual sense of imagining what COULD be coming around the corner IS very much a part of the excitement, and we're loving this flurry of new unexpected announcements from all our favorite creators, so we say let's keep the surprises coming!
Alright, with that tiny but necessary disclaimer out of the way, let's dive headfirst into which lines make the cut.
Essentially we decided to operate from the best-case scenario of, gloves off, EVERYTHING is on the table, who would top our ideal collections for who we'd like to see on our shelf?
In what should come as NO surprise to fans of our channel, that list became astronomically long. Some of these MAY be pipe dreams, but who knows? If there are enough of us out there voicing enough demand, the prospect of an assured financial return can often speak volumes.
In no particular order and without further ado, let's jump into the Top 6 Toylines we hope to see as collector lines for 2022:
TOYLINES We Hope To See (Pt.1)
#6 CAPTAIN PLANET
We're the Planeteers fans, you can be one too, 'cause imagining to save our planet is the thing to do.
So, aside from being our hero, and taking pollution down to zero... there also happens to be a metric TON of incredibly cool characters from this line that we have never had in heavily articulated plastic form (RECYCLED plastic though of course).
Mind you, we're hoping for all the staples like Captain Planet himself, the Planeteers and Gaia from the onset (and YES, even and ESPECIALLY Ma-Ti and his monkey Suchi...after all, Captain Planet isn't Captain Planet at ALL without HEART).
But when it comes to the villains, these were some next-level awesome looking characters, so yeah, we're definitely going to need EACH AND EVERY ONE of the primaries like DOCTOR BLIGHT, DUKE NUKEM, HOGGISH GREEDLY, VERMINOUS SKUMM, SLY SLUDGE, CAPTAIN POLLUTION, LOOTEN PLUNDER (obnoxious ponytail and all), and even some deep cut polluting offenders like MAL, DUPLISTUS SKUMM, LEADSUIT, and ZARM.
Though Captain Planet and Defenders of the Earth were two very different properties and their rights owned by two completely different companies (TBS and Marvel/King Features Entertainment, respectively), their animation style seemed quite similar, and with what NECA is currently doing with their "Defenders of the Earth" Toyline, we could easily see "Captain Planet" as a natural complement to the look and tone of what is already being created in a very similar feeling model.
This isn't to say there aren't plenty of other toy companies who couldn't do this line justice, but it feels like this is the kind of series that is just primed for re-use of a lot of already existing tooling, and NECA has a knack for finding creative ways to do exactly that. Ha, and will you look at that, in true Captain Planet form, we knew we could bring this conversation back to the idea of recycling!
We'll conclude this option with a very simple message... if we want to see a Captain Planet figure line...the Power...is YOURS!!!
#5 DICK TRACY
Before Batman or Spider-man had their infamous and deviously recognizable Rogues Galleries, Dick Tracy had the biggest lineup of identifiable Mugshot mugs that only a mother and an action figure enthusiast could love.
OF COURSE, we'd want to have Dick Tracy and Sam Catchem, but with how many uniquely interesting looking baddies we saw Tracy go up against throughout the years in Newspapers, in comics, in movies, cartoons, and TV, we'd have a roster of options that could go on for quite some time.
While it's true that some characters from the series haven't aged particularly well (which by the way is true of many characters from a variety of series that have been around for as long as Dick Tracy has, including some of the big names like Disney, Marvel, and, heck, even DC (Each has a number of characters from their dollar bins they might be 100% fine with us just completely forgetting ever existed), there are still PLENTY that have stood the test of time, and led the way for the quintessential outlandishly cartoony noir archetypes, which absolutely deserve the plastic treatment.
We're talking characters like The BROW, FLATTOP JONES, PRUNEFACE, HAF-AND-HAF, LITTLE FACE, RED BLUFF, THE BLANK, ART DEKKO, and even newer additions like ABNER KADAVER, GHOST PEPPER, and YETI.
Beside being some of the most over the top characters, they also had by far some of the most pun-y names, like a fake psychic named "Astral Turf," a criminal named "Apples Malone" because... well his head and hairline made him look a bit like an Apple and, yup, you guessed it, he was ALWAYS eating Apples, "Shirl Locke Holmes" a faux detective who infiltrated the police department at the urging of her collaborator "Baskerville" who had a couple of very distinctive set of hounds who were used to aid and abet his crimes.
So, as we noted, this is a fairly deep well of incredibly over-the-top characters that would be a blast to have in a police lineup on our shelves.
#4 THE TICK
Now here CHUM, is a line that would have us bounding buildings screaming "TOOOOOYS!" at the top of our lungs. This is by far, a series with some of the most interesting characters on Earth...which EVERYONE knows is important because that's where we keep all our STUFF!
When the original toy line came out all the way back in the 90s, getting your hands on any of those characters was no easy task. Though it was a delightfully smart, layered, and entertaining show, it could never reach those TMNT numbers, which could have had something to do with much of The Tick's humor, though despite being incredibly witty, was also perhaps a bit too nuanced and for it's intended audience.
But those who adhered to the series, well, boy howdy were they in for a treat with deliciously absurd characters like CHAIRFACE CHIPPENDALE (who, like his name implied, had a chair for a head) and Dinosaur Neil, who was basically Fin Fang Foom or Godzilla if the Kaiju was instead mutated from a dinosaur theme park paleontologist mascot...aptly named...you guessed it...Neil.
There are plenty of companies we could see doing justice to this line, Super7, NECA, BOSS FIGHT, or Lone Coconut really lead the pack here in terms of who we think could make our antennae stand on end with excitement if we heard they were attached to the property.
Though Hasbro and Mattel certainly know their way around 80s and 90s characters and we're sure would do a fairly bang-up job with this franchise as well, the key to this line's success is its deep dive delivering of easter eggs and franchise variety to the die-hard fans, and in THAT arena Super7 and NECA would absolutely DOMINATE. Imagine for a moment a highly articulated Tick with multiple faceplate options to capture his myriad of perplexed or eccentric expressions, a Spoon, a Mustache (from "that mustache feeling"), and a wall with his outline for which to display him busting right through. Something akin to what was being accomplished with the Indy Spotlight series, but with additional accessories and a greatly expanded character variety.
We would love to see all of the Tick iterations (animated, comic, video game, and live-action) in a cohesive Ultimate or Classic look and feel, and we would be over the "Cha"-inscribed moon if it included some lesser-known but equally amazing characters that might not otherwise see the light of day.
So yes, of course, we want series staples like Tick, Arthur and Dot, Die Flater Mous, Sewer Urchin, and American Maid,
But we're also keeping our fingers crossed for the other brown-suited Tick, Big Shot, Midnight the Talking Dog, Little Wooden Boy, the Civic-Minded Five, Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight, Proto-Clown, Uncle Creamy, Multiple Santa, and just, y'know....soooo many more that we'll have our work cut out for us if we were to make this an ongoing video series. What's that? We ARE going to make this an ongoing video series? Well GULP!
If it's SpeekyGeeky in the driver's seat tasked with building a Wave One WE would want to see (and since this is make-believe time, let's just go ahead and say this is of six figures in each wave, yeah?), our minds go to something that would consist of TWO core characters, TWO primary Villains, ONE obscure character or army builder, and ONE that existed exclusively in either the comic or video game. So keeping this criteria in mind, a solid first wave might include:
The Tick (seen here with mustache confidence)
American Maid
Chairface Chippendale
El Seed
The Angry Red Herring
and...
The Red Scare
Keen!
We'd say that's a job well done, eh CHUM?
#3 VENTURE BROS
Yes, we know, we possibly just reminded you that Venture Bros is no longer on the air (well...kinda...sorta), so let's just take a second to get some of those lingering screams out now. It's ok, take all the time you need, we absolutely understand, but if it's all the same to you, we'll dive into this a little further.
Yeah, not gonna lie, when we found out this series would no longer grace us with its handful of episodes every few years, it stung worse than anything the Monarch could have thrown at us. Even though it felt like ages in-between seasons, we knew we'd be in for an animation smorgasbord of delights once it returned, which left us ample time to re-watch the previous episodes consistently enough where if it were a VHS, would have very much degraded from overuse. But seriously, the series was technically on for fifteen years, but it only had seven seasons. Seven GLORIOUS seasons and we know you can't rush art....but it's hard when you can't get enough of that art.
A quick note before we get to our next point. Even though the series was technically canceled, since that initial announcement of its cancellation, there was an enormously beautiful fan outcry and Adult Swim has at least slightly reversed course and worked it out so Venture Bros will now have a direct to video film scheduled to air on HBO MAX to give a proper finale to close out the series. WHEN we'll see it is anyone's guess, but the important thing is that it WILL have closure. So, if you hear us fans who cried out, we at SpeekyGeeky appreciate YOU. Yeah, YOU...nope, no not that dude in front of you, the person behind the keyboard, yup there you are...thank you!
For those who are unfamiliar with the series, firstly, if you are reading this, it means there is ZERO CHANCE that this series IS NOT specifically made for YOU! So y'know...get on that IMMEDIATELY! Secondly, we should probably also tell you what it's about, huh? In a nutshell, it's a tongue and cheek exploration of the emotional toll that would have naturally befallen Johnny Quest and his family...but like in a way that doesn't make you sad.
The series is rooted in archetypes and tropes from comics/movies/tv/cartoons so we're not talking "actual" Johnny Quest because technically THAT character shows up in the series himself as an adult alcoholic thrill-seeking junkie. We're not about to dive too far into the weeds on describing this one honestly, it's probably just better if you watch it on your own and then come back to us and say "Holy Shnikes, Geek-E, yes, yes, a million times YES!"
Cool? So with that very half-assed overview of the series, we'll just go and dive right into who would make our ideal first wave of... let's say 18 initial figures plus two oversized. We'd love to see this one put out by either Super 7, NECA, or Boss Fight Studios. We want these dudes looking iconic, animation-accurate stylized, and sturdy, packaged to the gills with Easter eggs and little nods to the series.
So who are we getting in this first wave if we had OUR way you say? Deep Dive time for who would make our first year top 18 (18? Ok Geek-E, let's carpal tunnel this...)
Dr. Venture and Sgt. Hatred
From the onset, we are going to cheat here and count this as a 2 pack, but it's really a 3 pack. We'd See Dr. Venture himself, Rusty Venture, Sgt Hatred AND H.E.L.P.er Robot. Rusty would come with multiple faces, but even though they would all be different they would still exude all anxiety ALL the time. Former villain turned trusty sidekick to Dr. Venture and his family, Sgt Hatred essentially became a replacement bodyguard during Brock's move to join OSI and immediately became an essential character to the series.
#3 & 4
Billy Quizboy and Pete White
Billy would come with a swappable robotic hand, a ray gun, a beanie with a question mark at the top, and naturally two heads one pre-eye patch and one post. Pete White would come with a parasol, sunglasses, and extra David Bowie Starman head.
Hank & Dean Venture (and Scamp the third)
We see this one coming with a whole host of little superhero-themed easter eggs. As well as decomposing clone mishaps extra heads. While this set from year one would see them in their classic outfits, an easy variant for year two could be a Hank and Dean in their superhero Pajama outfits or as zombie-like decomposing clones...y'know...also perhaps in their superhero pajamas.
Brock Samson & Molotov
Brock would be a bit taller and denser of a figure than a typical figure, and let's be honest all he really needs is a serrated hunting knife and an additional head with war paint from blood and that pretty much captures Brock in a nutshell. Molotov would come with a variety of guns, knives, including an extra head with a hunting knife in between her teeth.
The Monarch & Dr. Mrs The Monarch (AKA Sheila) (plus Tim-Tom and Kevin)
If we had our druthers we would also eventually have vehicles and playsets in this series which would absolutely include both the Monarch-Mobile and Cocoon, but for this two-pack, which is really a four-pack, it would include a grappling hook, poison dart gun, gas gun, fully extended wings, and collapsible wings, flight stand, a framed picture of the Blue Morpho, a board full of pinned butterflies. For Dr. Mrs. The Monarch she would come with a separate head with Jackie Kennedy hat, a "Guild of calamitous intent" pin, and a pack of cigarettes. Tim-Tom and Kevin would don their Pupae twins' outfits and have long knives.
Henchman 21 and Henchman 24
We see these coming with additional heads for expanding army-building possibilities to build up your fluttering horde. That's right, you'd be able to display them as is with the quintessential Statler and Waldorf or Lenny & Carl-esque odd couple of the Venture Bros world we've come to know and love, but they would also come packed to the gills with a variety of swappables toward making an army of the Monarch's goons if you wanted to load up and buy a fleet of them.
Accessories would include laser guns, a "Get Well" card signed by The Monarch, Henchman 21 would come with an additional gloved hand that has a blade extended out of it, both would come with additional hands that reflect a "Wait! Wait! Stop! don't shoot we give up!" type vibe to recreate a variety of classic scenes where they are overpowered, as well as gripping hands, removable wings, and 24's flaming severed head.
The Phantom Limb & Radical Left
Phantom Limb would actually come with full limbs that would be translucent from the biceps and thighs down, he would also have a pair of swappable translucent arms and legs that would have hints of red and green in them to reflect when he is using his powers. Radical left would come with a two-tone couch.
Col. Hunter Gathers & Shore Leave
Some of the best characters from the series are their supporting cast, and two that make quite a few appearances are Col. Hunter Gathers (who is a parody of Hunter S Thompson) and Shore leave who was a member of O.S.I. (kind of like 007's MI6) before joining S.P.H.I.N.X. (Venture Bros version of GI Joe). Shore Leave was a bit of a mix between GI Joe's Shipwreck and Queen's lead singer Freddy Mercury. Shoreleave would come with twin pistols, and framed picture of the Alchemist, Col. Hunter Gathers would come with two heads, each with the long cigarette piece that would be in his mouth. The first would be his OSI head, and the second would be his bald head and double pistols.
Action Johnny & Dr. Z
You can't have Venture Bros action figures without including some of the wide arrays of homage characters, and there aren't any homages more on the nose than Action Johnny Quest and Dr. Z. Considering so much of the show lends itself off the jumping point of a "What If" Johnny Quest future, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to have this duo included in the initial offering roster. Action Johnny would come with an Anubis head, and old Johnny Quest comics, a lesser articulated Ro-Boy, and Dr. Z would come with an Evil Help.E.R. robot with spraypainted "Z".
Oversized #1
Baron Werner Underbheit
Basically the Dr. Doom of the Venture Bros World, Baron Werner Underbheit was the ex-roommate of Pete White and a young Rusty Venture and was involved in an explosion during college that resulted in his lower jaw getting blown off. The monarch was the cause of the explosion but he blamed Venture. What does this have to do with why we want this character? Because he has an awesome and familiar backstory, that's why. Baron Werner Underbheit is what you get if Victor Von Doom was an amalgamation with Jaws from James Bond. Underbheit would come with a Phantom Limb figure w/flight stand
Oversized #2
Hulk General Treister & Dr. Jonas Venture Jr
General Treister would come with an additional American flag that can be draped over his mid-section, Dr Jonas Venture Jr would come with flight stand to appear as if his jetpack is levitating him off ground, as well as his original robot body which his head can be swapped onto.
#2 ARCHIE COMIC TMNT ADVENTURES
(2/18/22 UPDATE WE STARTED DRAFTING THIS IN EARLY JANUARY BUT TOY FAIR REVEALED THIS LINE IS ACTUALLY COMING!!!!)
Yup, we are totally aware that there is already an absolutely rockin' Fred Wolf Animated TMNT Line, a Mirage Line, a video Game Line, a Movie line, a Universal Monsters line, a new upcoming creator stylized line from NECA AAAAAANNND a killer Ultimates and re-eaction line from Super7, we also realize our pocketbooks are also going to be mighty dry after all the new options 2022 is sure to bring from the aforementioned lines, buuuuuuuut, that's not going to stop us from calling out one of the major omissions of TMNT incarnation that is sorely wanted from fans. That's right, we're talking ARCHIE. There we said it!
But we're not JUST talking Archie proper here, even though there is a virtual fleet of incredible options with the primary comic alone, characters we have covered a bit in other videos and articles, but we're also hoping this would include Ryan Brown's the Mutanimals, The Selected, Conservation Corps, and CowBOYS of Moo Mesa. If we're going to dream on this one, might as well go all out, right?
A first-year primo line in our mind might look a little like this: four characters from TMNT proper, Two from Mutanimals/TheSelected, Two that are wild card figures, Two variants, Two from Conservation Corps, Two army builders, Two from CowBOYS, One Loot Crate, and one oversized four-pack as a convention exclusive.
Now, this breakdown is for if NECA moved forward with an Archie line (psst, somebody tell my past self they did, will ya?), considering they are doing relatively affordable and expansive stylized iterations already, this to us makes them the most likely candidate, that said...we would 100% be on board for a Super7 line of this as well (and they very likely just might), especially if done in the classic toy cohesive style (but perhaps with an extra comic accurate pack in head that could keep the original Archie look and feel for those that wanted to still display in that manner). But for the sake of this rundown, we'll be gearing this one as if it were NECA moving forward with the line first. Also, we realize core characters are going to be staples here, so keeping that in mind, let's just assume we'll got the 4 turtles, April and Splinter, as well as the core villains in Shredder, Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady, but what we suggest from now on is who we would want in ADDITION to those.
Geez this Mr. Geek-E guy likes to talk and talk doesn't he? To be fair, it is RIGHT there in the SpeekyGeeky name...So...are we going to actually say who we're thinking or what, right? Well, let's just take it from the top:
Archie Series Proper 2 Villains & 2 Heroes:
In the Villain pack we'd see BellyBomb and Krang-Saki (the mashup where Krang over the course of a handful of issues, briefly fuses with Shredder, with Krang plopped over Oroku Saki's head). The logic here is that Bellybomb will be quite a bit of new tooling, but both Krang and Shredder have already been sculpted, so much of that original tooling could be reused here to balance out the tooling costs. We are noting our cost-saving reasoning here, but ultimately, going forward, our selects are largely chosen due to high desirability and that they are long-overdue and sorely needed characters.
The Heroes would consist of Ninjara and Codename: Chameleon. Ninjara (also known as Umeko) is a quite obvious choice, and really after April and Splinter, the most logical choice, as she was present for so many of the later issues and had a presence that really resonated for years to come. While we realize she is a character created by Stephen Murphy and Dean Clairrane, we are also getting Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, so are fairly certain our favorite Archie red fox may still very much be in the running.
Codename: Chameleon is a Mutant Chameleon who can blend into his surroundings and shapeshift...and wears a trenchcoat. There is just soooo much there to like, not going to back down from this choice, sorry not sorry. We realize there are a TON of additional great Hero characters from this series, and believe us, we want them ALL. But first things first, gotta get the Chameleon in a trenchcoat. Mondo needs a lizard buddy on our shelf.
The Two Mutanimals are probably the easiest choice for us, with it completing the over 30-year-old wait of rounding out the original Mutanimals roster, our choices here would be Jagwar and Dreadmon, the only classic Mutanimals yet to be represented in any TMNT line (update: we are getting both, and not JUST both, but also Man Ray & Bubbla the Glublub, as well as Slash...so a WHOLE lot more Most wanted mutanimals characters immediately right out the gate and we are THRILLED).
With who would make our two choices for the Wild card selections, we honestly had quite a few who were vying for those top slots, and we are almost certain at least a couple would have been ..ahem...at the tippy top branch for many others list as well (yes, this was meant to be a not so subtle hint to Sling and Stump), but ultimately we came to Scumbug & Wyrm.
They are a quintessential duo that are easily recognizable and within the Archie-verse, have a VERY different and fun appearance than what we had seen of them in later incarnations. As what can only be described as a love child between the 80s movies Chud and Alien, Wyrm, in particular, was a character that both gave us many a sleepless night, while able to excite our waking hours as well. Wyrm was also one of those characters that potentially may have been a loophole character for being in the Fred Wolf Style anyways, in that he quasi already exists in the Fred Wolf cartoon style in a playmates toy commercial breakaway animation.
Trying to tackle the variants options is ROUGH! Not because there aren't ENOUGH options, but because the Archie series was utterly littered to the brim with them! We widdled it down to a handful, and the ones we chose were of two very familiar characters, both shown in ways we HAVE NEVER seen them before outside the Archie comic.
We would pack April O'Neil in her brief mutation as the white bandana'ed 5th Turtle, as well as pre-mutation Leatherhead, AKA Jess Harley. This isn't to say we don't have additional variants of both of these characters who we ABSOLUTELY want to see as well...cough...Intergalactic wrestling Leatherhead...cough, but as we said, picking these two options was NOT easy. Splinter in particular has quite a few absolutely brilliant variants to choose from in the Archie-verse, but we're getting ahead of ourselves, calm yourself Geek-E.
Ok so now onto Conservation Corps options. But Wait... didn't we say this was for a TMNT line? Why are we including a thing called "The Conservation Corps" one might also say. They might say that, but by saying such a thing it would also make it painfully clear those folks only read the series proper and stopped short of the specials, annuals and crossovers. For folks just now the learning of the awesomeness that was The Conservation Corps, similar to the Mighty Mutanimals, it was another offshoot of the series Archie Series.
Also, like the Mutanimals, the Corps had a focus on eco-friendly stories and villains that put the earth in peril. To sum up the series, it was basically what you'd get if you combined Captain Planet, Green Lantern, and a group of Mutants. In other words, it was PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME, but sadly this series wasn't given nearly enough time to get its mutant sea-legs as it were before it was canceled.
We at SpeekyGeeky are clearly on team Conservation Corps, and we have to imagine we aren't the only ones with fond memories of these characters and short-lived stories.
Alright, the soapbox exposition rant is over, now on to which two corps members we would want to start off their long-awaited inclusion. Our choices? The Rhinoceros mutant Green Horn and Stone HedgeHog.
If we could swing it, we'd d also try to sneak in a lesser articulated, smaller-scale Firefly, but if we had our druthers we'd eventually get the whole team, so it might behoove us to just wait a bit longer on this hypothetical character and hypothetical line for a firefly that is in his equally hypothetical full-sized glory...y'know...hypothetically... of course.
Everyone knows you can't capture the true breadth and depth of a Turtles line if you don't have a few army builders to swell the roster, and boy howdy does the Archie series have some A-listers to choose from in that department.
True, the comic ALSO had the Crooked Turtle Gang, AND foot soldiers, but when it came down to pure volume, ya just gotta have the Malignoids!
Basically, Malignoids are the unending spawn army of Maligna, one of the big bads of the series. Malignoids were this series remedy to the Fred Wolf series Stone Soldiers. These tough bugs were plentiful and plenty strong. And all made it into quite a few issues as well, so this makes them a bit of a series staple.
Yeah, that's right, we put the Wildwest CowBOYS of Moo Mesa in with this line too, and we regret NOTHING! Yet another Ryan Brown creation (see Mutanimals and The Selected also within our choices here), the mutant Cows who go MOO Mesa not only have had multiple crossovers with the Turtles in comic form, but also carried over many of the original voice talent to the original cartoon series as well like Pat Fraley and Jim Cummings, and, in fact Peter Laird himself helped plot every Tales of the TMNT crossover issues with the Moo Mesa universe (granted, this is now crossing over a bit into Mirage territory here, but for the sake of this list, and the fact that Mirage is also swelling their ranks which makes this all the more likely one way or the other, we're gonna allow it).
We've seen other crossover characters within the ranks of Turtles, Usagi Yojimbo, Panda Kahn, Savage Dragon, and Fugitoid to name just a few, so why not an array of awesome-looking Mutant bovines desperately in need of a little..ahem... TIPPING onto our shelves. The cast is pretty stellar here, and honestly we could have just made our picks randomly and come up with our winners, but a logical start in any estimation would be with Moo Mesa core cast of Marshall Moo Montana & The Dakota Dude.
Yes, we are fully aware that Loot Crate is currently (at the time of this writing) in a bit of hot water with fans in that we have yet to receive quite a few of this past year's offerings, but until we hear otherwise we are going to keep on assuming there may be more coming from that direction and will leave them on here as an additional option.
The Loot Crate option would need to be someone from the series that is both desired and likely would be well received but not someone sooooo essential that folks would feel frustrated if they couldn't get it on their shelves, and to us that screams Trap.
No, we aren't just doing our best Admiral Akbar impression there, Trap is a character who is both in quite a few issues of the series and yet, most casual fans might not realize the cigar-chomping Trap is both a REAL character and actually a pretty awesome one at that. He does straddle the line however as a character that may not be the first person most folks think of when stump asteroid and intergalactic wrestling Turtles are brought up, nor is he the first person folks think of when Mutanimals are brought up, even though he was in both series and again, is a truly fun and unique looking character that many long time fans would jump at the chance of getting for the very first time.
So yeah, this seems to check all the boxes associated with what get's the Loot Crate seal of approval. Let's go with Trap for Loot Crate, final answer...survey says...?
Speaking of Intergalactic Wrestling, we lastly come to the SDCC exclusive option, and this one is a doozy. We're thinking the four Turtles in their classic wrestling outfits, a box that folds out into Stump Stadium, and the kicker, a carrying case inside that is Cudley the Cowlick with an un-hingable jaw and extended tongue, perhaps even a container of slime so that they can emerge from Cudley's mouth in full saliva glory.
#1 SESAME STREET
Can you tell me why we don't...why we don't have this Toyline yet?
Seriously though...HOW? We came THIIIIS close from Palisades toys a handful of years back and even got our first magical glimpse of what this COULD look like with both the Super Grover San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive, the first wave, prototypes of the second, and a list of who the options would have been all the way through wave 5 with con exclusives. Wave 1 was shown, it was BEAUTIFUL and STILL needs to happen.
The first wave, which we got a sneak peek of at comic con years ago was going to consist of Ernie (with Rubber Duckie), Oscar The Grouch (also with an Orange variant and Slimey), Guy Smiley, Two-Headed Monster, and an exclusive "Bedtime" Bert.
Wave 2 would have been Bert (with Bernice the Pigeon), Elmo, Grover, Count Von Count, Roosevelt Franklin, YipYip Martians, an 11 inch Big Bird (with Little Bird), with each figure coming with a piece that would build a playset that would be a replica of Sesame Street, wave 2 exclusive was to be "Bedtime" Ernie.
Wave 3 would have been Cookie Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, and The Amazing Mumford, with waiter Grover as the exclusive.
Wave 4 would have been Telly Monster, Zoe, Prairie Dawn (with Betty Lou as the variant), Fat Blue, Mr. Snuffleupagus, and the exclusive was to be "Bathtime" Ernie.
Wave 5 would have been Rosita, Herry Monster, Alice Snuffleupagus, and an exclusive "Bathtime" Bert.
Comic-Con Exclusives were to be: An Anything Muppet Play Pack, Gladys The Cow, "Steppin' Out" Ernie and Bert, a Honker/Dinger 2 pack, Grungetta.
Palisades dissolved as a company but the demand for these figures has only grown louder with time.
We at SpeekyGeeky first off still want EVERYTHING that Palisades was set to put out, but would go even further with what our vision for a Sesame Street Line might look like. We would do one of two things. Either A) We would make this a Henson Universe line similar to what World of Nintendo was before it became the Mario Bros line that would see each wave consist of not just Sesame characters, but also Fraggle Rock, Storyteller, and Sam and Friends, or B) We would go the route of expanding it well past JUST Sesame Street, but rather one that would include characters from EVERY iteration of the franchise from every corner of the world, like Sesame Tree, Furchester Hotel, Sesemstraat, Rechov Sumsum, Barrio Sesame just to name a few.
If we went with this second option, here is how we might organize it. First off, we're talking fully collector-style figures here, highly articulated and coming with a barrage of fun deep dive extras. For the sake of simplicity, we created concept images of what it might look like if it were something akin to World of Nintendo, but make no mistake, we would Ultimately like to see these as something along the lines of a Super 7's Ultimates line, with perhaps an exclusive only available if pre-ordered by a certain date to act as an incentive for those who committed to the line early in order to show that there was a healthy demand and to build confidence in the metrics so the company creating the line could start moving at a faster pace to get these out to us once illustrated that the demand is indeed very much there.
This is a line near and dear to our heart, and one we are so incredibly hopeful for, we drafted up conceptual images of what this line COULD look like. But, our list of possibilities is so long, we'll just go ahead a call this part 1 of many, and plan to see more characters as the year rolls out as part of our "Which Figures Do We Want" Series. We would also expect that this series would grow in scope as it continued.
With that in mind, our picks for a wave 1 breakdown are fairly modest and would consist of: 8 Figures altogether. One Retired Figure, Two Classic Staple Figure, One Modern Favorite Figure, Two International Figures, One Variant, and One Exclusive Figure that would be an oversized.
With so many fantastic options and such a long history, we would attempt to appeal to the modern fans as well as the classic ones, making it as comprehensive as possible. So we're not JUST talking classic characters here, we're also thinking how we can bring in concept characters and sneak in first appearance representation wherever possible in logical ways as well. Retired Characters? ABSOLUTELY! Bringing in an appreciation for characters who are no longer a part of the show, but probably SHOULD be, yup, that is 100% factored into this.
So again, just to reiterate. We have put A TON of research into this, we have conducted polls over Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Twitter, and gathered thousands of YOUR responses, all of which have helped to shape who made our decisions for this series.
We cannot stress enough, IF YOU WANT A SESAME STREET CLASSICS SERIES MADE, please share the heck out of this article and video series so that the right folks see what an enormous and dedicated fan base there is for something like this, it certainly wouldn't hurt if you like, subscribe, and comment as well to better the chances of more folks being suggested this video.
Yeah, we get that we're being slightly shameless here, but we at SpeekyGeeky already know this series is one that would be incredibly well-received, because WE ARE THOSE FANS WHO WOULD BE BUYING THE HECK OUT OF THESE TOO, and we want nothing more than to finally see some of our favorite characters on our shelf in a way that we have ALWAYS wanted them. With that said, this will act as PART ONE of our "Which SESAME STREET Figures Do We Want" Series. A line we like to call, "THE SUNNY DAYS COLLECTION."
#1 MODERN FAVORITE:
ELMO
Yes, we are fully aware that for many, Elmo is the benchmark of a different era of Sesame Street. Many look to the introduction of that character as the physical chapter marker between classic era Sesame Street and modern, so for this first wave, it is only fitting that this easily identifiable and modern favorite be included as the very first modern-facing choice.
Though we certainly see other iterations of this character appearing in later waves in some of his other very distinct iterations, we envision this Elmo looking like he just jumped right out of his “Elmo’s World segment, and with an included Elmo’s world backdrop, he can do just that. We also see Elmo coming with his fish Dorothy, his blanky, and his stuffed animal Baby David. It would be a blast to eventually get to see a Mr. Noodle Figure down the road too in any one of his various classic costumes.
#2 RETIRED CHARACTER:
THE AMAZING MUMFORD
We’ve been hoping for decades now that if we just repeated the words “A la Peanut Butter Sandwich” enough times this classic favorite character would magically appear before us, and all these years later, we’re just saying the phrase a little louder but our hope is still going strong.
We see our favorite occasionally effective magician coming with a Rabbit, a removable top hat that can be affixed with a magnet in his head, a magic wand, two sets of hands (one for gripping and one as if saying “ta-da!”), and naturally, a half-eaten peanut butter sandwich. The Amazing Mumford would also come with a background that would give him the appearance of being on stage.
#3 CLASSIC STAPLE:
TELLY MONSTER
Our favorite triangle-loving neurotic monster, that exuded such a nervous nature that when he was able to be calmed, it managed to put all of us at ease as well. Here’s a funny side note about Telly, he originally got the name Telly which is a nickname from his initial vision of being a Television Monster, with swirling eyes and metal antenna coming out from his ears like a walking TV, though this depiction was quickly dropped when it became clear that this wasn’t an example they wanted to be setting for children.
That said, we haven’t forgotten and would absolutely include that additional swirly-eyed alternate head. We would also have him packed in with a monster on the spot microphone, tie, and hat to display as his jittery reporter persona, a giant triangle, a Pogo stick, his doll Freddy, and hamster Chucky Sue. And yes, before anyone asks, we 100% would plan to include a “Grouchketeer” Telly variant, as well as one for his hilariously different depiction in the very first illustrated appearance of the character in “circus of opposites”, both of which would be released as the series would expand.
#4 CLASSIC STAPLE:
OSCAR THE GROUCH
Who better to pair in the same wave as Telly, the trembling water to Oscar’s Piss and Vinegar. Oscar, Sesame Street’s resident Grouch has been there from the start, even if he may have looked a little less green around the edges in his early days. Though we have seen Oscar in many iterations over the years, very seldomly (if ever) have we been able to have a version of him that sees him outside his trash can.
Much like the Palisades version, this figure would have the ability to have his arms easily removed, and would have an easily removable lower torso much like NECA’s recent Dirtbag figure from the Fred Wolf TMNT line, in order to place Oscar easily onto a peg set to a lever on the back of his trash can, so he can be lowered into the can as far as we want to display him.
The figure would have two heads, one with a trash lid affixed and one without, as well as a detached trash lid so folks could allow for it to burst off if they want him to rise out of the can quickly. Oscar would also come with Slimey, his dog Preposterous, an attachable “Scram” sign, a muppet version of the letter “O”, and a couple of attachable Oscar expression faceplates to show his varying degrees of grouchiness.
#5 VARIANT:
FIRST APPEARANCE OSCAR THE GROUCH
As many long-time Sesame fans probably realize, Oscar hasn’t ALWAYS looked the way we’ve come to know and love him over the years. In fact, in the first season of the show, Oscar was a completely different color. It’s true.
Oscar originally started out as an Orange Grouch, and a few iterations of the series around the world, like Moishe Offnick in Israel’s Rachov Sum Sum, actually kept their primary grouch character Orange long term. If we want to get even more technical, his original concept was even more colorful, envisioning him as purple with a much longer neck that almost had him resembling an angry-looking bird.
Though that concept version is firmly on our radar as well, for simplicity's sake, the version we would cast as this wave’s variant would be a simple orange first season Oscar. Essentially all would be the same other than perhaps swapping out Perposterous for an also Orange Oscar The Crab from When Abby Cadabby briefly transformed him in episode 4632.
#6 INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER
GOOGLY (From Gali Gali SimSim)
Nope, not the search engine, in fact, if you type Googly into that aforementioned browser, you’ll be hard-pressed to even find this lovable unibrow book reading muppet from India’s Gali Gali SimSim pop up.
Why Googly you ask? Well, besides the fact that he’s adorable and would make a fun first venture into the international characters represented in this line? How about the fact that this character just got an additional series based on his likeness for a 2d cartoon called Chamki Ki Duniya, which is one more amazing reason fans of Sesame Street en large might want to know him a little better. We see Googly coming with his good friend Denchoo the Donkey, a book, and a backdrop for Gali Gali SimSim.
#7 INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER
FUNNELLA FURCHESTER (From Furchester Hotel)
The sister of Elmo’s father Louie, Funella is the incredibly friendly co-owner of the Furchester Hotel. Basically, if you remember the Furry Arms Hotel from Sesame Street, Funella is the UK version of Sherry Netherland. Aside from having the direct tie to Elmo toward helping to world-build, Funella is such a fun personality and presence that she fits to represent that iteration of Sesame Street incredibly well until we are able to bring in some of that series cast as the series continues. Funnella would come with a Furchester Hotel backdrop, the front desk bell muppet named Isabel that could have the ability to make noise if tapped, and a small scale Gonger who is the hotel’s chef and also a recurring character now in Sesame Street proper.
#8 EARLY "ALL IN" EXCLUSIVE CHARACTER
HUMAN JIM HENSON
We know him, we love him, and without him, there would be no Sesame Street as we know it. What better draw to bring in as an early exclusive than the artist who helped to make this conversation even possible. The humans in this line, by the very nature of their being well…human, will have to stand taller than the muppet characters, so though Jim wouldn’t be as tall as the eventual Big Bird (who we’d expect to stick with that 11 inch size), he would certainly be closer to the 7 or 8 inch mark in order to give some noticeable size differentiation when displayed with his sesame street character counterparts.
We see this as being very early days Jim Henson, with a makeshift puppet theater, and an extra arm that would have a 1st appearance partial body Ernie over it so we could pose Henson on the floor with arm up in the stand to recreate our favorite scenes. Jim would also come with a banjo and a muppet letter “J”.
We imagine you’ll have some favorite Toy Lines that top your list too, so make sure to make your voice heard in the comments below.
And if you haven’t already, don’t forget that “S” is for SUBBING, that’s good enough for me. “L” is for LIKING, which you all can do for free, “S” is for SHARING, share for everyone to see, OH SUB and LIKE to SPEEKYGEEKY.
We realize you could have gone anywhere and you chose to nerd out with us... and we appreciate that, so…
As always, I am Mr. Geek-E and Until Next We Top Toy Line Speeky, Keep it Geeky Folks!
We have no doubt you have some characters that top off your list as well, so make sure to make your hopes known and join the discussion in the comments below.
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