It’s October and I’m in New York, which can only mean one thing: It’s New York Comic-Con time again! Yes, in just a few short hours, over 150,000 pop culture fans of all ages, races, colors and creeds will flock to the Javitts Center to experience the largest such exhibition on the East Coast. And, as has been the tradition for the last few years, Hasbro held their ‘Twas the Night Before Party, showing off the latest releases from Transformers, Marvel, and, of course, Star Wars. Here is a short report and some photos of the cool stuff I saw.

Playmation

Playmation, a joint venture between Hasbro and Disney,  is a new Interactive game platform, similar to “Laser Tag”. There is a base that a figure sits on, in the case of the demo I participated in, it was Iron Skull. The base has a sensor in front, which receives IR signal. To play, you wear an IR transmitter, in this case, it was shaped like Iron Man’s Repulsor gauntlet. There are several different actions, based on different motions. There is a button on the gauntlet that will fire missiles at the base. The base will also attack periodically, with force feedback in the gauntlet registering damage. To prevent damage, you raise the gauntlet up to “block” the hit. By far, the coolest bit is the Replusor attack. You have a targeting laser which shows you where you are shooting. To perform the Repulsor attack, you raise your hand and fire from the palm, just like Iron Man. It is very difficult to accurately describe just how awesome it is to do this. When you deal enough damage to your opponent, he is ejected from the base, which is incredibly satisfying. The first set, out now, is based in the Avengers’ world. Future sets are on the way, based on Star Wars and Frozen.

STAR WARS

One of the biggest bits of buzz around this event was the reveal of new figures in the Black Series line, tying into the biggest movie of the year: Star Wars: The Force Awakens. 6 new figures were shown: General Hux, Resistance Trooper, Snowtrooper, First Order TIE Pilot, X-Wing Pilot Asty and, one of the most anticpated figures in the entire line, HAN SOLO! All of these figures feature the remarkable detail and screen accurate sculpting that we have come to expect from this line. However, special attention must be paid to Han Solo. Featuring a newly scanned head, this figure is the most realistic Harrison Ford likeness I have ever seen from Hasbro. The crinkles in the leather jacket along with his weathered face, perfectly capture the well seasoned pilot and smuggler that returns to screen in The Force Awakens. This is a MUST HAVE for Star Wars fans and collectors.

Also shown were new entries in the Titanium Series of die-cast vehicles, and new entries in the MicroMachines line.

MARVEL

Hasbro’s Marvel lines roll on, with a surprising twist. Hasbro is now doing 3.75″ figures under the Marvel Legends banner. The wave shown includes: Captain Marvel, Classic Iron Man, Spider-Man Noir, Triton, Ulik and Yondu. Also shown was a new wave of 6″ Marvel Legends. As is customary, each of them comes with a piece of a Build-a-Figure character. This time that character is Red Skull Onlslaught. The figures in the wave are: Mockingbird, Sharon Carter, Whirlwind, Cottonmouth, Scourge, Taskmaster and Rogue. The Rogue figure is a real standout in this line, perfectly capturing her look from the days of Jim Lee’s time on X-Men. She also comes with the original Onslaught head, which is swappable with the Red Skull one.

TRANSFORMERS

Transformers is again split into two distinct segments: Generations, which is still working with the Combiner Wars storyline, which is about to enter it’s second chapter, and Robots in Disguise, which ties into the currently airing animated series.

Generations

As the story that began in Combiner Wars continues, the stage is set for the next installment: Titans Return. Titans are the newest incarnation of a popular Transformers’ line from the G1 series called Headmasters. Each Headmaster had a smaller figure that transformed into the head of the larger robot or the engine of the vehicle form. In fact, to this day Headmaster Optimus Prime is one of the most beloved and sought-after G1 toys. In this line, The
Transformers battle explodes into uncharted territory when the Titans Return! To control an ancient race of giant,
city-­‐sized warriors-­‐-­‐Titans-­‐-­‐the Transformers must harness the power of Titan Masters, smaller bots that give
bigger bots enhanced abilities in battle. Every Titan Master figure can become the head for any Deluxe Class, Voyager Class, or Leader Class Titans Return figure. Choose from Autobot and Decepticon Titan Master characters,
unite them with other figures, and imagine they’re powering up for battle! Each Titans Return Deluxe Class figure
comes with a Titan Master figure. The Titan Master figure becomes the head of the Deluxe Class figure. When the
Deluxe Class figure is in vehicle mode, the Titan Master figure fits inside. Also includes individual accessories and
collectible character card. Additional figures are each sold separately. Subject to availability.
The Titans Return line retains the four familiar scale classes for Transformers: Legends, Deluxe, Voyager and Leader. This line also heralds the return of two of the most popular G1 Transformers, in a new look reminiscent of their G1 styling. They are the Autobot Blaster,who is again a sort of boombox device, with his support robots turning into media players instead of cassettes and the Decepticon Leader Galvatron, who looks just like he appeared in the cartoon and comics. Both of these figures are much welcomed walks down memory lane, and they have both been a long time in coming. I also saw an awesome combiner robot where the middle bot was fan favorite Sky Lynx.

Robots in Disguise

The line based on the animated series will also continue, with new figures in the Warrior and Legion classes, such as Arctic Optimus Prime and Megatronus.

I also saw an expansion for the super cool Magic: The Gathering Board Game and got to play with the awesome Star Wars Ultimate Force FX Lightsaber. And, at the end of the night, I won a copy of the Transformers: Devastation Video Game in the end of the night raffle.

I had a great time at the party. Thanks to Justin Aclin and Brandon Rohwer from Hunter PR.

Here is our gallery from the party

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