It’s Valentine’s Day week, and I find myself at the Times Center in NYC, so it must be Toy Fair Time again. As, always Toy Fair begins with Hasbro. This year, Hasbro has a truly stacked plate, including the G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers movies. Here is the rundown of everything that was shown at Hasbro.

Marvel: Marvel is set for an amazing Summer, and Hasbro plans to be right there alongside them supporting two of the biggest movies of the year: The Amazing Spider-Man and The Avengers. In addition, Hasbro has new entries in the ongoing Marvel Universe and returning Marvel Legends lines. Here’s the rundown for Marvel.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Marvel’s new movie premieres on July 3rd, but you can get your hands on the toy version of him on May 28th. And, like the toy lines for Captain America, Thor and Iron Man, the primary line will be 3.75 “, with waves split between the comic and movie character looks. Wave 1 will be comic style. Wave 2 will be movie style. There will also be a 8in” larger figures, with 5 points of articulation. Figures will include Spider-Man and the Lizard (which looks really awesome, by the way). In addition to the main figure line, there will be an R/C Spider-Man that uses vacuum technology to climb the walls, a 10in figure with sound and a 13in figure that has motorized web shooting action.You can also expect role play masks and dress-up sets, as well as other assorted tie-in toys.  Finally, they have a Spider-Man reinvention of the old Transformers Jumpstarters line. Here are the photos from the Spider-Man line.

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The Avengers: Marvel’s biggest movie to date opens on May 4th, but you can begin assembling your toy Avengers on March 1st. As with their other previous movie lines, the primary Avenger’s line is 3.75″. Wave 1 will bring you Captain America, Thor and Iron Man. Wave 2 will bring you Loki, and the Hulk. Wave 3 will bring in Hawkeye and Black Widow and Wave 4 will bring you an announced, but not shown, Nick Fury. There will also be 10″ figures of Thor, Cap, Iron Man and Hulk, with detailed weapons and sound. Also, there will be a 6″ line, with kid-friendly action features called Mighty Battlers and an 8″ line, similar to one decribed above for Spider-Man. In addition, all the role play accessories that you know and love will return, including the Hulk Fists, with updated versions. Being added to all of the existing weapons and masks is the Hawkeye bow, which shoots Nerf arrows. Hasbro is also reviving Mini Muggs with two series for the Avengers. Here are the Avengers images.

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Marvel Universe: Hasbro’s quest to make everyone in the Marvel Universe in 3.75″ scale continues. New figures this year include Ultimate Spider-Man, Angel, 80’s Hercules, Puck and Professor X. New team packs include The Inhumans, and the Uncanny X-Men, featuring Rogue. There will also be new comic packs, including an iconic Hulk vs. Wolverine pack. Here are the Marvel Universe images.

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Marvel Legends: Yes, 6″ Marvel figures are back! There are two series that have been fully unveiled so far, and Toy Fair offered us a sneak peak at series 3. Each series has a build-a-figure, which you construct from pieces included with the other figures in the assortment. For series one, it is Terrax. Series Two (Bucky Cap, Dark Wolverine, Drax, Big Time Spider-Man, Thunderball, Madame Masque and Phantomex) will create the build-a-figure Arnim Zola. The sneak peak of Wave 3 included first looks at U.S. Agent, Blade and Mystique. Here are the images for Marvel Legends.

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Bonkazonks: This is, by far, the most unusual thing I saw at Marvel. Bonkazonks are reminiscent of mighty beans, they are stackable, capsule shaped representations of Marvel characters. Each one comes with a stunt card and they are blind packaged. They are very cute and there are going to be a ton of them available. There will also be collector cases that hold multiple bonkazonks. Here are the images.

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G.I. Joe: It should come as no surprise to anyone that this year’s G.I. Joe line is all about the new movie: G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The main line will consist of over 50 3.75″ figures, currently broken into 5 waves, shipping one wave per month beginning in June. All of the characters from the film, including Roadblock, Cobra Commander, Duke, Zartan and yes, Bruce Willis’ Joe Colton will be represented alongside “army builders” such as G.I. Joe and Cobra Troopers, Alley Vipers and Red Ninjas. Also present will be several versions of the iconic ninjas Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. There will also be 3.75 ” figure multi-packs. As expected, these figures will also have vehicles to ride around in, including a new re-imagining of the iconic H.I.S.S. Tank. There will also be 10″ figures of Roadblock and Storm Shadow.

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Star Wars: Hasbro’s journey to a galaxy far. far away continues, and with the recent re-release of Episode I in theaters, the focus has returned to the movies. This year will see a line of Movie Heroes figures with, for the first time ever, LIGHT-UP LIGHTSABERS! The popular Vintage and Clone Wars lines will also continue. Vehicles will also continue to role out, with the addition to the line of the MTT (Multi-Troop Transport) from Episode I, which will allow you to deploy 20 Battle Droids at once and will come with those same 20 droids plus an Obi-Wan figure. Lastly, Hasbro introduces two new ranges to the Star Wars line: Amp’d, which consists of famous and familiar vehices that include extra pieces for customization and Fighter Pods, which are micro figures that come with clear “pods” that kids can roll and bash into each other. There are over 100 collectible micro-figures that come with the pods in blind bag packaging. In addition, multi-packs and larger packs with vehicles will be available. Here are the Star Wars images.

AMP’D

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Fighter Pods

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Galaxy

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Role play

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Vintage

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Transformers: The buzzword for Transformers this year is Prime, as in the award-winning animated series airing on the Hub network. This year, Transformers Prime takes center stage in all segments of the line. All main Transformers figures, with the exception of a small range of movie and videogame inspired figures, will be based on the animated series. Figures will be available in Deluxe and Voyager classes. Prime will also take over the Cyberverse range, with figures coming in Legion and Commander classes. Cyberverse fans should also be on the lookout for the massive Optimus Maximus. Also new in Cyberverse this year are several new vehicle playsets. The Generations range will also see some additions this year, in the form of Deluxe figures based on the upcoming Activision video game here are two waves announced so far, with the second wave being comprised of the Combaticons, who, when collected, will form the massive Bruticus. Also, to finally fill that void in your movie toy collection, Hasbro is releasing a Voyager Class Movie Optimus with a trailer. Finally, Transformers introduces a new range this year. Called Bot Shots, these are little Transformers figures, which you transform and then crash into each other, using a simplistic “Rock, Paper, Scissors” style of gameplay to determine the winner.  Here are the Transformers images.

Bot Shots

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Cyberverse

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Generations

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Movie Optimus

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Prime

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R/C

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Kre-o: Hasbro’s building line continues this year, with new sets in the Transformers range, including an Optimus vs. Megatron battle pack and an amazing Devastator set. Also planned are a range of sets to support the upcoming Battleship movie. Here are the Kre-o images.

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Nerf: The most popular foam projectile line in the world continues innovating this year. The big hook this year is glow-in-the dark disc and dart blasters. Hasbro has also added the Super Soakers line to the Nerf brand, with the innovation this year being the addition of battery operated firing.

Finally, from the Nerf brand, after a few false starts, LAZER TAG IS BACK! Here, straight from Hasbro, are the full details.

LAZER TAG 2012 PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS

From the makers of the popular NERF blasters comes the revolutionary LAZER TAG system, combining the power, precision and excitement of live-action blaster battles with the high-action, strategic, augmented reality gameplay of traditional video games. To experience the LAZER TAG game, players download the free LAZER TAG app to their iPhone or iPod Touch device, connect their device to their LAZER TAG blaster, and find themselves immersed in a world where video games and real life connect. Using either single or multi-player mode, players can engage in a LAZER TAG match featuring either real life worlds or virtual opponents. Each LAZER TAG blaster equipped with a device has a virtual firing range of over 250 feet and contains a ‘Heads Up Display’, or HUD, which allows players to keep track of their gear and remaining power, while also providing a view of the augmented reality targets and enemies in the area.  A virtual leaderboard keeps track of each player’s profile and, with every successful mission, players will gain in-game access to upgradeable attacks, missions and gear. With LAZER TAG blasters, the stakes are high, the game is real. Don’t just play it, live it.

Here are the Nerf images.

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Board Games: Our final stop on the Hasbro tour is the board game showroom. The first big bit of news from this area is that all of Hasbro’s word-based games will be re-branded under the SCRABBLE name. Which means that Catch Phrase and Boggle will be brought into the brand, which will be united under a sleek new red and black packaging, which will be rolled out throughout the entire Scrabble range. New this year to the Scrabble brand is  Scrabble Race. Scrabble Race is Scrabble without the board. Also new this year, from the MONOPOLY range, is Monopoly Millionaire. The object if the game is to be the first to earn $1,000,000. You play the game not with single paper bills, but with stacks of cash. The tokens are also upgradeable throughout the game. For example, you start as a paper airplane, but can upgrade to a Cessna and all the way up to a jumbo jet. The Clue range will also get an update this year. The main game will be redone graphically to reflect the look of the Hub mini-series, which sets the Clue property in modern day and makes the characters younger. The mansion has also been redesigned to resemble a modern-day mansion. Also new to the Clue range this year is Clue Elimination, which is a party game is which each player gets a Mission Card and a Nerf dart gun. The idea is to catch the person whose name is on your card unawares in the room listed on the card, then shoot them with your dart gun. Also new this year from Hasbro is Bop It Smash. In this tube shaped version of Bop It, there is a strip of lights that runs across the middle of the game. The object is to hit the end to stop the light as close to the center as possible. It is fast paced and quite fun. I think the “Try Me” packaging will be a big hit on these. Twister will also get an update this year, with the addition of two new moves to the classic game and a new game called Twister dance, which involves four pads you place on the floor. The game will come with five licensed songs, including one by Britney Spears, who is partnering with Hasbro for the marketing. Finally from the board games segment, are the “Zapped” games. These are traditional board games that take advantage of an Apple or Android app component to handle key gameplay functions. There are two titles currently announced for the range. The Game of Life, which is currently in stores, retailing for $29.99, uses an Ipod app to represent the famous wheel and to deliver videos in a partnership with America’s Funniest Home Videos representing the different stages of life. Monopoly, which is coming in the Fall, will use an Apple or Android app, plus Electronic debit cards, to control the banking and rent administration, while adding entertaining mini-games to the mix. Monopoly will also retail for $29.99. Here are the Board Games images.

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And that does it for Hasbro, with one notable exception. As many people know, as of last year, Hasbro added the Sesame Street license to it’s Playskool range. The first major product from the new range was last year’s hugely successful Rock N Roll Elmo. So naturally, the curiosity this year turned towards the inevitable follow-up to that product. However, this year, Hasbro chose to be fairly cryptic about Elmo, and so all there was to see was this.

What does it mean? I have no idea, no further information was forthcoming. I guess we’ll all find out together when Hasbro is ready to tell us. Looks like another amazing year for Hasbro. My thanks to Joe Moscone and Meagan McCutcheon at Hunter Public Relations for their assistance.

And, that REALLY does it for Hasbro