Hasbro Marvel Q&A – December 2010 Answers

You asked and Hasbro answered! Hit the jump to see the answers from Hasbro and Hunter PR!

  1. Movie tie-in lines, especially, are known for doing variations of a small set of characters to the point of — what some would call — ridiculousness. What kind of brainstorming process goes into coming up with ideas for gimmick-based variations, what criteria get used to narrow the list down, and which ideas do you lament being cut–or can’t believe actually got used?
  2. What criteria do you use to balance the line between how many hero figures (different characters or same character with different costumes/gimmicks) are in a toy wave vs. how many villians are in the same wave? The often heard rule is that “Villians don’t sell as well”, but a counterargument is that if you have a line with the same character with multiple costumes/gimmicks in a wave, sales of individual figures might be diluted because of the choices available. It’s a fine line, and what the fans may think would work isn’t necessarily what past sales figures would dictate. How do you make that decision?
  3. So, now that Halloween is over — who on the Marvel team had the best costumes? Who had the best Marvel-themed costume, and who had the best non-Marvel themed costume? And did you get any children to dress up as Marvel characters? (Pictures, while not necessary, would better illustrate, of course. :-) ) And it’s only fair — you show us your costumes, I’ll show you mine:

ASM Editor-in-Chief Phil as Luke Skywalker

  1. When we do an initial brainstorm, the list is long and nothing is off the table. Narrowing down is where things really get difficult. The process is primarily guided by consumer and retailer needs.
  2. It’s one part art and another part science. We work hard to strike a balance between mainstream favorites and and the characters that are on most fan/collector wish lists. Ultimately, we’re trying to do as many characters as possible, but we can’t do the Constrictors and Klaws of the Universe without Spidey and Iron Man to balance them out.
  3. Fantastic costume! Halloween is always a fun time of year for the Marvel team and it’s always hard to say who is the “best”. However, Dwight, one of our talented Marvel toy designers, is always a good bet. (see attached pic) Many of Hasbro’s children dress up as Marvel heroes – often as Spider-Man, Iron Man or Wolverine.

    Dwight's Halloween Costume

Thanks to Hasbro and Hunter PR for the answers! Got more questions? Watch for the next call for questions!