Latest Hasbro Product Means Good Things For TVC

We all got a nice surprise yesterday with the Fan Celebration joint-site reveal of The Bad Batch Figure 4-pack. It seems to have been met with a strongly positive response from collectors, and part of that excitement is simply the fact that Hasbro managed to drop this reveal without much in the way of any hints or leaks ahead of time (at least not that I was aware of). It's always extra fun when we're able to be pleasantly surprised by a new product, especially one that appeals to so many collectors. But perhaps most importantly, this new product tells us a few things about TVC.

Hasbro is laying down the plan for expanded support for The Bad Batch and allowing us to world build. We get a small army builder in the Elite Trooper (there were four in the show so far...now three since Crosshair executed one of them). This figure makes no sense in a vacuum, so you'd have to hope Crosshair is coming. How soon is a matter of question. Keep in mind we're still in the process of completing the Rogue One Crew five years later (and we have a way to go). We're also getting Captain Grey. This is an interesting choice because his one scene in the show depicted him taking down Depa Billaba, and also attempting to do the same to a young Caleb Dune. Could that possibly mean that these two characters are on the table for some point in the future as well? If so, you would be able to completely re-create the opening scene of the series, with Grey and his white clones, Billaba (who really needs an update, for the Jedi Council, anyway), Dume (which could increase the chances of a realistically-styled Ghost Crew some day), The Bad Batch squad (hopefully someday), and the camo colored battle droids (which we have from 2006) and AAT's (which we've had since 1999). World-building!

This also proves that Hasbro listens to the fan community. The re-release of the 2014 Captain Rex in TVC was met with almost universal derision. They obviously set to work almost immediately on a new Rex, and it's based on the figure that was once revealed years prior, using the VC45 Clone Trooper mold. Of course, some collectors are complaining about the sculpt, being that it's 10 years old. It's grown on me a bit, but that VC45 Clone sculpt has never been my favorite. Nevertheless, re-using this mold gives us a good shot at many other supporting characters that will likely appear in the show. But most importantly, it’s an all new Rex! This is something that fans wanted desperately, and Hasbro managed to supply enough newness (P2 helmet and "disguise" shawl) to rebrand him for The Bad Batch and release him on a new TVC card.

And finally, Hasbro has evolved their own format which only had one predecessor, the 2019 Skiff Guards 3 pack. That particular set is special because we got the first OT figure debut in 5 years and who was able to drive the new skiff. Since then, collectors have asked for more of that type of pack, and usually in our narrow imagination, limit such asks to another set of 3 Jabba figures, or some other set of 3. Well Hasbro, said, "we hear you, and will do even better!" So they took that format and gave us 33% more figures! Now, for the first time since the days of the wildly popular battle packs format, we are getting a 4-pack of related figures that are more-or-less new. So Hasbro is not averse to expanding their existing formats to give us MORE.

In summary, this product reveal showed us that Hasbro understands world building (supporting characters), gave us a much asked for figure update (Captain Rex), and unveiled the return of a popular multi-pack format (with a tweak to add more figures!)

What's not to like?

Editor's Note:

---

comments powered by Disqus