Hasbro Marvel Legends Ryan Ting – London Comic Con – Interview!
Recently, Habsro visited the United Kingdom for the London Comic Con, where they announced some new Marvel Legends action figures including Beast from the X-Men.
I had the opportunity to interview Ryan Ting, who is the Global Brand Manager for Marvel, about some upcoming projects and about collecting figures in the UK.
DisKingdom – It’s great to see Hasbro coming over for the London Comic Con, are you enjoying your time in the U.K?
It’s really good to be back after coming over for last year’s Comic Con. We have some special fans here in London and it’s always great to hear their thoughts and feedback! Thanks to all the fans who came to our panel presentation – we hope to be back next year!
DisKingdom – UK collectors have struggled to find Marvel Legends in major retailers to year’s, are there any plans to improve this situation?
Definitely. We understand the thrill of being able to get your hands on Marvel Legends products and we want to make this as accessible to our fans as much as we can. We are working closely with our retailer partners in the UK to find the best solutions in order to meet the high demand for these products and improve distribution.
DisKingdom – Are there any plans to improve global release dates so collectors all get them around the same time?
We are making changes to help improve distribution in 2019 and are working closely with our retail partners to find the best solutions to try to get figures into collectors’ hands as quickly as possible, globally.
DisKingdom – Is there any plans to re-release older figures, similar to the Archive Star Wars Black Series?
Whilst we can’t give away any details about upcoming figure reveals, we can promise that we work hard to bring as many characters into the line as possible.
DisKingdom – What upcoming Marvel Legends figures are you personally excited about?
The Spring 2019 Marvel Legends 6 Inch Vehicle line is a personal favourite. The Deadpool with scooter, Dogpool and Squirrelpool is hilarious. That item also comes with a sticker sheet that allows fans to customize their scooter with fun bumper stickers. Professor X in his trademark hoverchair is inspired by the 90’s animated TV show. We know fans love the X-Men, so it’s great that we can offer the original founder of the team!
Also, Gambit is my all-time favorite X-Men character. So it’s been a dream come true to work on the first 6 Inch scale Legends Gambit figure since 2003!
DisKingdom – Are there any plans to make packaging more environmentally friendly?
Hasbro has made tremendous progress when it comes to making our packaging more sustainable. For example, we have eliminated wire ties and PVC from packaging and source over 90% of paper from recycled or sustainably managed forest, with a goal of 100% in 2018.
DisKingdom – How is Hasbro preparing for a holiday season without Toys R Us?
We have a fantastic lineup for holiday, and we are really focused on that.
DisKingdom – What Marvel Character would you like to see released as a Marvel Legends Figure?
Without tipping our hats too much regarding future releases, I’ll just say the I would like to continue going back and doing Marvel Cinematic Universe characters that haven’t been done yet. There’s still a long list of fan favourite characters patiently awaiting their first Legends treatment. And in terms of comic-inspired figures, I would love to see more X-Men villains added to the line to battle the growing team of mutant heroes.
DisKingdom – This year, Hasbro are appearing at more Comic Cons around the world to announce new products, is this going to continue next year?
This year, Hasbro had a presence at multiple fan conventions in France, Italy, U.K., Spain, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Canada and other countries, and we hope to continue this in 2019. Stay tuned for more!
DisKingdom – Are there any plans to bring out Marvel themed deluxe vehicle sets like the Star Wars Jabba’s Sail Barge?
That is a great idea – all we can say is nothing is ever out of the realm of possibility!
DisKingdom – Are there any previously released Marvel Legends figures you would like a chance to redo?
The Union Jack 2019 Avengers Legends figure we just revealed at London MCM Comic Con is a great example of this! Hasbro made a Union Jack figure all the way back in 2008. So the team was excited to make an updated version with modern articulation.
DisKingdom – Do you prefer Marvel Legends figures based on the comic books or movies?
Too hard to pick just one. Like a lot of fans, I grew up with comic books so the classic versions of characters bring a special kind of nostalgia. But as we all know, Marvel films have been such a cultural phenomenon for the past 10 years. So I need to have all the movie characters in my collection as well!
DisKingdom – Thank you so much for your time and I hope you enjoyed the London Comic Con.