Closeup of the Thor prototype reveals a few hits and a few misses. Hopefully, the errors will be addressed before going to production. (Photo: Newton Gimmick)
At yesterday’s C2E2 show in Chicago, Round 2’s Captain Action and Dr. Evil figures and their new Loki and Thor prototype uniform sets were revealed. The highlight of the group appears to be Thor, although it’s too early to say whether it’ll be a “hit” or a “miss.” Admittedly, these are all still in prototype stage and final production pieces do vary, but I noticed a few things right away that should be addressed.
First, Thor’s helmet wings should be white. They’re painted a solid silver on the prototype. His belt isn’t correct yet either. There’s no “T” in the middle or even a buckle indicated. On the plus side, Thor’s cape is fully POSEABLE. That’s really unique. It has a wire sewn in along the hem so you can fluff it up just like Jack Kirby used to draw it.That’s ingenious on the part of Round 2. Good job, guys!
Speaking of Jack Kirby, the artwork on Thor’s box is no longer by Kirby. What happened there? It’s not even vintage 1960s or 70s anymore. It appears to be a modern-day artist’s rendition of ol’ Goldilocks. That’s really sad if true. Nobody drew Thor better than Jack Kirby. Let’s hope Round 2 corrects this error as well. We need a Jack Kirby Thor box to go with our Jack Kirby Captain America box.
As for the Thor masks, they seem fine, but the uniform itself looks a tad on the thin and cheap side. Again, this early version could be misleading. Let’s hope for a better final job. We’ve seen the Loki prototype before, so no real news there. Dr. Evil appears cross-eyed. Let’s hope they catch that in the painting phase and correct it so he looks straight at you. Additional information came from Newton Gimmick over on InfiniteHollywood…
Thor, Loki and a slightly cross-eyed Dr. Evil prototype were all shown at Friday's C2E2 show in Chicago. (Photo: Newton Gimmick)
“I spoke at length with a guy from Round 2 about the new Captain Action figures. He said they were working to try and make sure the masks were a bit better fit and they were very tempted to do swappable heads (which I questioned why they didn’t) but that they felt the fact that Captain Action ‘pulling the mask on’ was a core element of the character. The protos looked fantastic. Unfortunately, I was informed that the costume sets were outselling the Captain Action figure himself by a 2 to 1 (or maybe 4 to 1) margin. That basically meant that it was unlikely we’d see more Captain Action sets. I know I’m not alone in hoping for more wacky old school sci-fi Captain Action stuff.“
Thanks for all the information, Newton. It’s nice to have “boots on the ground” reporting from an event like this. We’ll be keeping an eye out for additional intel on upcoming CA sets as it becomes available. So far, Round 2 seems to be hitting (mostly) all home runs. Let’s hope all the little prototype inaccuracies are addressed before these sets go to full production.
The Joe Report 
Joe Ahearn from CA Enterprises here… Just to clarify on the above report…
Thor’s belt is not the finalized belt. Thor, Loki and Dr. Evil are just prototypes with final production parts still being tweaked! If Thor’s wings are truly part of the helmet then they are metal as well hence this is why they are currently painted silver as well. As far as the Thor box goes we are using Jack Kirby art as the main image on the ToysRUs packaging, however we are using Walt Simonson’s Thor on the Deluxe.
Wow! So great to hear from you, Joe! You’re doing a superb job with the new CA line. As to Thor’s helmet, I stopped reading Thor comics after the Silver Age of the 60s and 70s. Simonson’s Thor is after that period so I’m not really aware of his work.
Kirby’s helmet wings were always inked very “feathery,” and so it appears they were intended to be non-metallic. Later artists did make their own interpretations, so I’m sure a good argument can be made either way (for metal or real feathers).
A little online research provided an eye-opening website revealing all the variations Thor has gone through over the decades. I didn’t know Marvel had rewritten the character so many times. Whew! Here’s the page:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=32204
Anyway, thanks again for writing and keep up your great work at Round 2!
And thanks to you guys hear at the Joe Report for all the support for what we are doing! You ain’t seen nothin yet!!!
Best,
Joe
Hey Joe! Congrats on a successful start to the third incarnation of the Captain. Being a life long fan, I have to say this is the very best in the series. Currently I have purchased two basic Captain Action figures, two basic Spider-man costume sets, one basic Cap America set AND the super deal at Amok Time which gives me THREE deluxe Captain Action figures and one each of the Spider-man and Captain America Deluxe costume sets. Whew… So let’s do a count. That’s currently FIVE Captain Action figures, plus all of those costumes. I guess you would have to say I am a big fan of this line and am doing my part to show you guys the kind of support I think this effort so richly deserves. I am disappointed to hear more folks are not picking up the figures. I think they are vastly superior to the original and PM versions. For those on the fence about this, my advice is get the figures. They are well made and have superior articulation to previous incarnations. It’s worth the money and actually a good deal for the kind of body and articulation your getting. Compare with the industry standard in the 1/6th scale and you will find that statement to be very accurate. Keep up the great work guys. The next set looks fantastic!
Thanks so much for your support! It really means a lot! M great Action to come!!
Best,
Joe Ahearn
Joe. I wish you the best with this. I bought mine at the my comic shop and I was very happy. I hope that it continues. I cannot understand how the costumes are out selling the doll. They go hand in hand. If you don’t get the doll people are losing out on what it’s all about. A toy that has unlimited possibilites. I hope that it catches on. I am looking foward too Dr Evil and the Thor, Loki costume’s as Ironman and the Red Skull. And beyond.
Well,I’m no too worried… there are a lot more costumes coming and people are going to need more figures to put them on! 🙂
Thanks for the support Jack!
Best,
Joe
Hey Joe. I noticed on the back of the CA box, it showed a classic Iron Man illustration by Gene Colan. One of my all time favorite artists for this character! Will the costume be designed to reflect Gene’s work like you did with Kirby/Cap and Romita/Spiderman? And if I may ask, is there a tentative release date for Iron Man? FYI…The early buzz coming from the premiere of the Avengers suggests it is incredible. So I have to believe Captain Action will benefit greatly from this film. Keep up the great work!!! I’m lovin’ it.
Yes! The costume will be designed to reflect the silver/bronze age Iron Man! Of course we’ll have some nice Gene Colan images on there and also possibly some Bob Layton as well!
Iron Man , Red Skull and another CA figure will be released hopefully at the end of this year. If yo are buying the Deluxe versions, you’l also have the complete Hawkeye set once these are released!
Glad you are enjoying the line!!!
Best,
Joe
Joe,
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: THANK YOU!!
Its great to have Cap to look forward to again. Hopefully many more years are to come! I have one new Cap so far [waiting on delivery of my preorder] and unfortunately he already has a hole forming in his uniform. All I did was remove him from the box and there it was. 😦
Also, as i mentioned on one of the other forums, the upper arm cuts are detracting from the figure akin to what DC Direct did with their 13″ behemoth hero figures. Is there any chance that can/will be addressed in future releases?
As to the comic, and I understand its not ready yet, but is there any further info on storyline?
Will it be a continuation of previous stories or will there be a new “send in your story idea” contest or will it be just left to Dynamite?
Again, Thanks so much for getting these back in our hands.
I look forward to all you do and catching up with you again.
BTW, does the new comic announcement mean the Cap/Flint/Honey Moonstone book won’t be coming?
I have to ask. Will there be a Green Goblin costume down the line? Out of all the villian’s for Dr Evil, and there are great ones at that, he would be the one I would most want too see. You have done such an amazing job with this, I can only imagine how terrific the Goblin would be. Johnny Romita Enough said.
Well, Lady Action would be cool as the Black Widow (if she had the figure, of course) and, perhaps, Janet Pym’s Wasp. In fact, maybe a mini-WASP figure could be included with the Black Widow costume… much like this “assemble your own Hawk-eye” promotion.
As far as Captain Action having a “mystery character” in development… here’s a real challenge — How about the HULK? Now, that would be an awesome costume conversion… and the “HULK-HANDS” would fit right on this Deluxe CA, right?
HULK SMASH!
Great fun. Thanks.
I asked about Hulk at C2E2. The guy from Round 2 told me it was unlikely, because they felt it would need a new body. He said not to rule anything out for down the line, but it’s probably not something that would happen anytime soon. He said he actually wanted Thor to be bigger, but it’s just not plausible without a new body.
Hello …i just got my CA deluxe adition ….. i don’t see any comic book … there have been coments about a comic book beening in the box with CA all i got was a pice of rolled up paper with a drawing showing CAs comunicator .. …NO COMIC… and NO INSTRUCTIONS on how to put his hands on..?? i also bought the deluxe additions of the Cap America and spider man costumes ..but still no instructions on anything… the masks don’t fit the CA figure very well …makes the face mask buldg out like he has the mumps …and my CA uniform came with black spots on the blue section of his uniform on his right (back) shoulder blade i can’t send it back cause it would cost me more money than the figures cost… i bought mine at COTSWOLD COLLECTIBLES ….CAPTAIN AMERICA ….. THE STRANGEST part was the box dose not say where these extra parts are for the HAWKEYE costume …. i took the box apart …and i read the whole box .. no clue to the parts … till i opened the other box (spiderman box ) it has the bow and arrows and quiver …so i have that …but no boots in CAPs box… other than that ..i like these CA sets and i doo plan on getting more CA figures
What would be nice is a standarded CA figure in his box just with A basic CA T-SHIRT and shorts on a CA figure ..to be used for the Costumes …….
Joe Ahearn from Captain Action Enterprises here. Just so you know, the Basic Captain Action figure being sold through ToysRUs has the comic book with it.. The Deluxe does not. As far as putting the hands on goes its pretty self explanatory . You just put the knobbed end on the wrist into the hole at the bottom of the glove.. .Sorry you got short changed on the boots. Email me at JoeAhearn @captainaction.com and I’ll see what I can do.
Best,
Joe
It would be nice to see Captain Action sold in Canadian ,Toys are Us. Any chance of that happing real soon?
Wow! Just got an email from Amok Time announcing the pre-order for Captain Action Rocketeer!!! Too cool! Guys, there is NO LINE I am more jazzed about this year than the Captain. You guys are firing on all cylinders. To say I’m impressed is the understatement of the year! I now have ANOTHER CA character to dream about this Christmas. Thanks Joe!
Joe and team, thanks so much for bringing Captain Action back AND the wonderful Marvel costumes as well! One of the things I like the best on the Marvel costumes is the box art! Since these are “classic” characters/costumes I hope you continue to use “classic” artist renditions of the characters. As a HUGE Thor fan I wish you would keep the Kirby art on the deluxe version and paint Thor’s helmet wings white (though it would be an easy fix!). Ted.
I made the exact same comment and it boiled down to the fact that Thor’s costume had evolved over time and it depended on which era and artist’s redition you were most familiar with. I too, am all about Kirby being the best artist EVER for Thor. And Kirby drew the wings as white, real feathers. But as you say, it’s an easy enough fix.
After seeing the Avengers movie, I can’t WAIT for the Thor & Loki costumes! If only there were a practical way to make a Hulk outfit. I honestly can’t think of one that would be cost effective and match the quality of the current line up. But, if there were, Round 2 will find it. I’m now up to six Captain Actions, so I’m set for the costumes scheduled to come out.
Hi, guys just wanted to chime in here, I like the look of the CA figure but I haven’t pulled the trigger on buying one yet due to me not really collecting this scale of figure and having no nostalgia factor with the character. That said, I will definitely pick one up now that I’ve seen the Rocketeer set pre-order. That is a great costume set to get the rights to and I think you’ll probably have a few more people buy in just due to that.
As for the comment about the costumes selling better than the figures, that doesn’t surprise me at all. The costumes are cheaper than the figure and if you have one figure already, you can change the costume multiple times. Sure you can’t have all the different “characters” standing around each other this way, but the main point way back in the day (from a marketing standpoint) was to be able to sell multiple costumes to the consumer who might not be able to justify buying multiple figures. The same stands true today
Hey Joe. I noticed Round 2 is coming to Wonderfest this weekend. Will you be part of the team?
Round 2 gave a great presentation today at Wonderfest. I helped wire them so they could record the event from our mixing board. It was a good time.
Hi!
Joe Ahearn form CAE LLC here.
Do you have that recording from C2E2?
Joe
I meant from Wonderfest!!
Hi Joe. It’s my understanding the people who came from Round 2 were the ones who actually filmed this. We just allowed them to run sound through the mixing board in our PA system for the presentation. One point worth noting here. I noticed alot of people asking to purchase product in the dealer room, but Round 2 was only advertising. Based on ticket receipts, that dealer room had over 8,000 people walk through it. I know you guys get alot of exposure without question. But I think you overlook the purchasing power of those shows. Those people show up with cash in hand to buy right then and there. I hope you guys consider loading some product for next year because what you advertise is popular and will sell at this show. Just a personal perspective from working this convention for the past 15 years. Lots of income potential to be made there.
Oh believre you me we are well aware of the power of these shows. CAE LLC has their own stock which we lan on selling at some up coming shows! I’ll speak to my Round2 cohorts about the filming!
Best,
Joe
When do Thor and Loki come out? And is Iron Man still on the list for next year? I talk to alot of CA fans and Iron Man is high on the expectation chart!