An Exclusive Look at Comic-Con 2010 Exclusives

As any good geek knows, Comic-Con 2010 is right around the corner, from July 22 to the 25 at the San Diego Convention Center. Unfortunately, while I may be a good geek, I'm also a very poor and very busy geek so I won't be going. However, if I had oodles of money to burn, not only would I be at the con but I would also be snatching up quite a few of the exclusives that will be available at this event. Read on after the jump for my top picks, in alphabetical order by franchise.

Macross: Zentraedi (Regault) Tactical Battlepod Vinyl Figure. This limited version of the Zentraedi Battlepod features the color scheme used in the Macross movie. According to the description on the Comic-Con site, Toynami designed this collectible to be in scale with their 1/100 super-posable Valkyrie action figures. If I had my way, the perfect Macross/Robotech collectible set would include a fully-transformable Valkyrie with a removable human pilot and a Battlepod with a removable full-size Zentraedi pilot, and each would be in scale with each other so you can see just how large each character and vehicle is in relation to each other. (Given what is said in the TV series, a Battlepod should tower over a Valkyrie in robot mode, but that never seems to happen when watching the battle scenes.) Neverthess, this exclusive Battlepod is a must-have.

Predator: Predators "Cloaked Berserker" Predator 7" Figure (NECA) and Guardian Predator Collectible Figure (Hot Toys). In honor of the recent release of Predators (which I haven't seen yet and probably won't be able to for another few weeks), Comic-Con will have two Predator limited-edition collectibles available for die-hard Preda-fans. The NECA figure appears to be like other "cloaked" Predator figures previously released by McFarlane Toys and NECA—namely, Predator figure sculpts rendered in a semi-transparent plastic. Nevertheless, the NECA Predators Berserker figure is a cheaper buy than the Predator 2 Guardian figure which, like most things from Hot Toys, is super-posable, super-detailed, and super-expensive.

Star Wars: Stormtrooper 12” Jumbo Vintage Kenner Figure. While this collectible isn't as expensive or as over-the-top as the recent Shogun Warrior version of the Stormtrooper, it's still pretty big. According to the description provided by Gentle Giant, this figure has been "digitally scanned from mint 3 3/4" Kenner originals and reproduced to a substantial 12" tall", and it is "fully articulated" (their emphasis). From what I can recall, the original Kenner Stormtrooper action figure only had moving joints in the shoulders and hips, so I'm wondering just how "fully articulated" this figure will actually be. (In fact, the 12" inch figure of the Stormtrooper that Kenner released back in the 70s had about the same range of movement at the 3 3/4 figure, even if the scuplt wasn't the same as its smaller counterpart.) This figure will be "packaged on a 1980, Empire Strikes Back inspired blister card with a plastic outer clam shell", which means that not only will you get a super-sized Kenner Star Wars action figure, you will also be getting super-sized Kenner Star Wars action figure packaging to boot!

Terminator: Terminator 2 "Liquid Metal" T-1000 7" Action Figure. Here's another exclusive from NECA, with their T-1000 action figure mold and accessories completely painted in a silver liquid metal finish. What I loved about the release of high-detailed Terminator figures (first by McFarlane Toys and then by NECA) was the availability of the Terminator endoskeletons, such as the T-800 and the T-X models, for the non-resin model kit making, non-Hot Toys/Sideshow Collectibles purchasing fans like me. However, because the T-1000 never had an endoskeleton, the 7" figures available for it only had the stiletto appendages, silver bullet holes, and maybe a malformed head or torso. This exclusive is the closest thing to a completely liquid metal T-1000 figure that I've ever seen, which is better than nothing.

Voltron: Metallic-Edition Vehicle Voltron Vinyl Figure. In the giant robot popularity contest during the 80s, the 15-vehicle Voltron always came in a distant second to the 5-mechanical lion Voltron. Thus, it was much, much harder to find toys of the vehicle Voltron than those for the lion Voltron. (There were also toys for the 3-robot Voltron released by Matchbox, but the anime cartoon which featured this version of Voltron never made it to the US.) To compensate for this gap of the Voltrons (sort of), Toynami is providing this exclusive figure for Comic-Con. There will also be a gold and black "designer" version of this figure. Judging from the details provided, these are just figures of the vehicle Voltron, not deluxe sets that can be disassembled into 15 different vehicles. I guess you could call these items economy-sized Voltron figures; Matchbox also released small non-disassembling figures for both the vehicle and lion Voltrons way back when.