Seriously where have they gone? I have a nice little collection of Marvel Universe figures but the line and my collection is lacking in villains. Currently my collections stands at a count of 14 figures (17 if I include the X-Men: Origins - Wolverine figures) and I only have 2 villains (3 if I count Deadpool). And of course I'm sure you're thinking as you read this "Why don't you just buy more villains?” And my reply is this, " I would if I could, but I can't so I won't" Actually that's not 100% accurate. I could buy more villains, just not from the MU line. Even with the 1/2 dozen figure I'm still waiting for in the mail from eBay (Hate them! Not! <3) But wait, there's more! Even with the army builder 3-pack, Secret Wars (SW) 2-pack and XMO: W line you only get 3 to 5 villains (yet again it depends on how you cast some of the figures). Quite honestly I have no idea what is going on and for that matter, who to point a finger at. I mean is it Hasbro's fault or Marvel's? I don't know, but quite possibly it could be both of their fault. Maybe it's Marvel's fault because either they don't give any input towards the line, therefore letting Hasbro doing what they want OR perhaps Marvel is telling Hasbro what to do and they're just like, "Okay...” My logic in the latter is that Hasbro has many, many, many years of experience in selling toys. After all I AM LOYAL to the company as a toy manufacturer. Most of my favorite lines to collect were or are made by them. But I digress; I don't think this the case, as Marvel does not have as much experience in this matter. I think it's Hasbro calling the shots a far as who goes in the line and who doesn't. A perfect example of this is Iron Man and Spider-Man. I love those guys but if I bought every Spider-Man that came out from the line I'd have like 5 of them. Seriously. There is one from wave 01, black costume, wave 5 black and red outfit, one from Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends 3-pack (God, I loved that show!), and ANOTHER black costume from the Secret Wars 2-pack. Ugh For the record I only have 1 1/2. I just got the 3-pack Spidey, black costume should be on its way in the mail and I'll be getting another black costume one w/ Magneto in the SW 2-pack. And don't get me started on Iron Man. Granted, he has an excuse, he upgrades often and I plan on getting them all. I'm gonna build a Hall of Armors (yay! :D) Back to the point, Hasbro is out to make money. Don't misunderstand when I say this, because I'm not trying to say they're greedy bums or anything but they are a COMPANY. It's kinda of the point with them, besides putting out quality toys for children (or the child within :D) to enjoy. Spider-Man and Iron Man are big money makers. They may have Marvel and whatever other movie companies make tons of moolah, so why shouldn't Hasbro. I think don't blame them. But here's my point to this whole rant, if you have HEROES you MUST have VILLAINS. The situation as it stands is more like a gang rape when it comes to the amount of villains. Because you can argue that Marvel's villains are such that you DO need a group of heroes to defeat ONE villain and his machinations but I honestly don't think that children play patterns are like that. If they have one villain they only need one hero to defeat that villain. I think Hasbro shot itself in the foot. And I say only in the foot because fortunately the line is selling well. But Hasbro if you are reading this a little piece of advice from me, which I'm quoting myself because I said this on a message board @ marvelousnews.com:
"Just a crazy idea but wouldn't it be nice if they made some Skrulls or more Skrull heroes/villains? For instance a Skrull Spider-Woman or who else was a Skrull during Secret Invasion. That way we could have some more villains in the line. I mean I just got a SHS Venom to supplement my villains’ gallery, which brings my count up to 3 villains, 4 if you want to count the gray Hulk, versus 8 or 9 heroes. Good thing I found my 84' Secret Wars Dr. Doom."
Of course this is in reference to the upcoming Gigantic Battles subset that has a Giant-Man Skrull. But like I said, it's a good thing I found my 84' SW Dr. Doom.
Hey Hasbro here's a thought: Doombots to supplement the good old doc that's soon to be released in Secret Wars.