Hasbro has launched a new video game related toy series, but while trying to avoid working with video game companies as much as possible.
As they revealed in yesterday’s Marvel Legends Fanstream, they have a new line called Marvel Legends Series Gamerverse. These action figures are clearly inspired by the appearances of these Marvel characters in the Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting game series. BUT, in a strange twist, Hasbro did not mention these games, nor did they bring up Capcom.
We’re not entirely sure what the situation is here, but we did some checking. The current licensees for Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise are Jada Toys and Storm Collectibles. It may be a case of there being issues with licensing to Hasbro alongside these smaller companies. On the other hand, Hasbro may not have even bothered to ask Capcom.
In any case, Hasbro shared they would be selling six SKUs overall, four of which are two-pack figures, and two of which are deluxe sized figures. These are the figures coming with the line:
- Wolverine vs. Silver Samurai
- Psylocke vs. Thanos
- Captain America vs. Venom
- War Machine vs. Omega Red
- Gargantos (Deluxe Figure)
- Juggernaut (Deluxe Figure)
There seems to be some confusion among fans regarding Gargantos, so we’ll explain it here. While they are both one eyed octopus like creatures, Gargantos is a completely different character than Shuma-Gorath. The thing is, Marvel repurposed Shuma-Gorath from the Robert E. Howard Conan novels, because they held onto the license for a long time.
In fact, Marvel reacquired the Conan license in 2018 and held onto them until 2022, when Titan Comics/Heroic Signatures picked up the license from Howard’s estate.
While it’s plain to see Hasbro’s Gargantos figure is based on Shuma-Gorath’s appearance in the Marvel Vs. Capcom fighting games, because of new licensing terms, Hasbro can’t use the original name without working with Heroic Signatures. To put it simply, they just reused the name of a different octopoid monster, and passed this off as a new character.
In any case, these are really high quality figures. Hasbro’s presenters made it a point to reveal that they gave the Wolverine figure the most ankle articulation he’s ever had, to be able to copy the contortions Logan does in the video games. They also get special clear plastic particle effects, to simulate the moves they use in the games, as well as all the new articulations and accoutrements expected of newly designed toys.
We do wonder if Hasbro will work with Marvel’s other video game franchises sometime in the future. They could definitely make some fans happy with some Marvel toys based on Insomniac’s Spider-Man, Midnight Suns, Marvel Rivals, and the upcoming Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. At least for now, Marvel Legend Gamerverse seems to be a simple conduit for more Marvel toys, albeit some of the best versions of these Marvel characters Hasbro has ever made.
You can watch the Marvel Legends Fanstream where they made this announcement below.
