Toy Aisle Trolls > Bottle Cap-tain America

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com.

Submitted by: Grim4321

The Problem: Here’s one for the ages. The shields of both Cap and U.S. Agent have been replaced with painted bottle caps. PAINTED BOTTLE CAPS. We’re through the looking-glass here, people. Cap’s parachute is also handmade.

I don’t even know how to assess this one. Why would this sad, sad person want to steal just two shields and a cheap parachute? Did they swap them in the store or buy them and return them?

This one seems less like an act of theft and more like a cry for attention. It’s the first TAT that really makes me wonder if I’m actually encouraging this sort of behavior. Perhaps it’s time to retire the feature…?

Update: Poester Braystreet points out: “The Fortress Assault figure is in the Parachute Package and the Paratrooper figure is actually supposed to be a plain Captain America.”

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12 Comments

  1. I'm going to pass the buck and let the readers decide. Just vote in the poll in the sidebar.

  2. Giantdrunkenrobot

    I disagree, I love Toy Aisle Trolls and would miss it if it were gone.
    Let's face it, this isn't a new phenomenon. If it seems like we're seeing more of it, it's simply because we have somewhere communal to share the experience these days.
    I can recall this being a much greater problem in the late 90's/early 00's toy boom, there just wasn't the prevalence of cell phone cameras to document it and the online toy network necessary to showcase it. I can remember seeing troll activity nearly every time I visited my local stores throughout that time period (oh the lengths people would go to for a McFarlane accessory…) and now I catch maybe two or three examples a year.
    Granted, this one is particularly heinous, and as is the nature of the troll, I wouldn't be surprised if a small percentage of these were staged, but I still think that overall this is an experience worth sharing.

  3. Not to be a party pooper, but I agree with DMW. Although it's interesting to see the lengths people go through to steal $5 toys (and this one is a new low) I also think that this feature promotes the behavior. Even though we blast the people responsible, the feature still showcases the vandalism, almost daring the trolls to go to new lows.

    But I admit it's an interesting feature in a "watching a train wreck" sort of way, so I won't be too disappointed if it continues. šŸ˜‰

  4. Dead Man Walking

    Definitely think it's time to retire the feature. I have thought for some time that it, and possibly similar features on other sites (if they exist) would contribute to this sort of vandalism-by-way-of-theft behavior.

    Also, I just don't see the fun in seeing people get away with criminal behavior scott-free. It's like, "hey, watch this guy kick this puppy and get away with it." Obviously, it's not that severe, but still not fun IMO.

  5. Newton Gimmick

    That custom parachute looks like it's made of several materials. Like someone knitted it or something. As usual, something funny about all this, but hell if I know what. I've never seen anything this wacky in stores. I barely see regular swaps or steals, but heck, points for creativity here.

  6. nerdbot

    This looks familiar; have we seen bottle cap ("Cap" – hah!) shields before? Maybe on the Fwoosh?

    Yeah, this is odd. One of the reasons I bought the Fortress Assault set was to get the red and black shield to give to my U.S. Agent. But this troll must have had a spare U.S. Agent – since he returned that figure in the set, and apparently kept the (in my opinion inferior) Fortress Assault one. And it looks like it's the Comic Series Ultimate Cap that's in the parachute pack. Even if he got the red armor off the torso, those boots and belt look to be brown, and the Fortress Assault Cap has black boots and belt.

  7. barbecue17

    The weapon on the parachute Captain America looks to have been swapped with a Star Wars clone trooper blaster.

  8. Nik

    There are no words.

  9. Piratestan

    “Why would this sad, sad person want to steal just two shields and a cheap parachute?”

    I can’t speak for the parachute, but several of the Cap figures did not come with a regular shield but a gimmicky “action feature” shield.

  10. Braystreet

    The figures are also wrong. The Fortress Assault figure is in the Parachute Package and the Paratrooper figure is actually supposed to be a plain Captain America.

  11. 3B

    Wow… Just, wow.

  12. Dark Angel

    I don't really think this is your fault, Poe…but yeah, its a weird one. Almost more like some kind of performance art than simple theft. People are strange.

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