Marvel Universe – Page 2 – Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation

Toy Aisle Trolls > Bottle Cap-tain America

On January 8, 2012

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.”

Toy Aisle Trolls > …and introducing Guile as Captain Britain

By Poe

On September 8, 2011

In Toy Aisle Trolls

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: VS

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This

XXX writes: “This “Captain Britain” figure caught my eye at Walmart the other day. Some jerk swapped the captain with a cheap-looking army guy.”

Pic of the Day > Marvel Universe Archangel by (Talyn)

By Poe

On July 25, 2011

In Photos

Pic of the Day > The Merciless Patriot by Ross Acevedo

By Poe

On July 15, 2011

In Photos

Toy Aisle Trolls > Giant-Size Trollery

By Poe

On July 14, 2011

In Toy Aisle Trolls

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: Phillip Reed of Battlegrip.com

The Problem: Phillip writes: “Spotted this at a ToysRUs in Austin yesterday. It looks like someone replaced every single figure in this new X-Men 6-pack.” [I think Nightcrawler and Colossus are supposed to be there. –PG]

What It’s Supposed to Look Like: This

Poe’s Note: I’m going to stop writing the karmic paybacks, folks. Not because I don’t think these bastards deserve it, but because it’s kind of exhausting trying to come up with a clever new one each time. However, feel free to come up with your own suitable punishment for them, and describe it at length in the comments.

Pic of the Day > Leading the Charge by RBM 3000

By Poe

On July 4, 2011

In Photos

Review > US Agent (Captain America: The First Avenger, Hasbro)

By Poe

On June 9, 2011

In Reviews

Today’s review is a bit unusual for me, as I haven’t reviewed a Marvel Comics toy in ages. I spent about a year loving Marvel when I was 13-14, then my second Transformers era took hold and I didn’t get interested in Marvel again until the era of Marvel Legends.

However, I did always have a certain fondness for the subject of today’s review, US Agent. I’m not sure why–maybe it was because I found the real Captain America a bit dorky. US Agent, to the young teenage Poe, was the “cool” version of Cap; plus he had a more interesting costume. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really know who US Agent was–I just liked the character concept, and the look. In retrospect, of course, the character was kind of Azrael to Captain American’s Batman–a more brutal, less idealistic, and generally darker replacement (though I should note that the Cap-replacement storyline took place in the late ’80s, years before Knightfall).

Anyway, it was that mild nostalgia that led me to make my first Marvel Universe purchase since my last and heretofore only one, brown costume Wolverine. We never got a Marvel Legends US Agent, so when I saw this one I just couldn’t resist.

Pic of the Day > The First Avenger by resistence827

By Poe

On June 3, 2011

In Photos

Toy Aisle Trolls > KaraLoki

By Poe

On March 23, 2011

In Toy Aisle Trolls

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.

Poester Barbecue17 conjures up this mystery.

My wife and I were out at our local Walmart in Shelby, NC when we noticed this Loki figure from the new Thor line. (Actually, we noticed the absence of the figure.) My first thought was that this was just the work of some juvenile delinquent, but upon closer inspection I noticed that the figure seems to be simply missing from the packaging. The packaging was perfectly fine and still neatly sealed, along with every other figure nearby appearing to be case-fresh. This led me to a horrifying realization of Lovecraftian proportions: Either Toy Aisle Trolls have infiltrated Hasbro themselves, or they have started developing the terrifying power to simply remove action figures from sealed blister cards using the powers of their minds!! Perhaps no blister card will be safe from their ungodly powers!

Karmic Payback: Unclear, as this may or may not have been the act of a human. But Loki is the trickster god, so this is rather fitting…

Toy Fair 2011 Report, Day 1: Hasbro Collector’s Day

By Poe

On February 12, 2011

In News

At this moment I’m sitting in one of the tiniest hotel rooms in Manhattan, my laptop balanced precariously on a window ledge as I sit on a bed. The other side of the room–really a glorified closet–is about eighteen inches to my right.

I’ve just finished uploading about ninety pics from Hasbro’s Collector’s Event today, available on my special Toy Fair Flickr page. Hopefully you were also following my tweets. They’ll be the swiftest form of coverage over the next two days (hence the addition of the Twitter feed to the site–thanks to OB1 for putting that and the Flickr gallery together so swiftly).

And so–as for what happened today. I took the Bolt bus down from Boston; thanks to wifi, it was a relatively swift four hours to Manhattan. After dropping my stuff off at the hotel, I headed to the Times Center in Times Square, where none other than Optimus Prime himself sat parked outside. I spent about four years of my young life looking at cars and trucks and wondering if they’d transform; sadly, even though this was the likeliest moment for such a thing in my entire life, it was not to be–Optimus remained in vehicle mode, caring not how many people grinned as their friends took pics with him.

Tag: Marvel Universe Page 2 of 6