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This might be one of the biggest years for McFarlane Toys ever. Check out new toys from huge properties like Doom, Warhammer, Fortnite, and more.
Renaissance
So, let me paint a little picture for you. It’s the 90s. Image Comics is huge. Spawn is huge. Todd Toys is huge.
Artist Todd McFarlane had done more than boost Spider-Man through the roof for Marvel Comics and create Image, an indie comics juggernaut. He had also formed a toy company to make action figures out of his new Spawn characters (and more).
The company was pretty great right off the jump, cranking out awesome toys with solid articulation and cool sculpts. It seen saw a name change or two, but branched out to encompass figures based on sports, movies, and entertainment properties as well. And then… well honestly I don’t know what happened.
McFarlane Toys just kind of faded into the background for a while. That’s not to say that people weren’t talking about the company, or that they didn’t make anything, but they didn’t seem relevant anymore. That is to say, they didn’t seem relevant for a while.
A few years back they got the Walking Dead license, and went to town with it. From there, they started producing stuff like the Color Tops line, which incorporated several big IPs, including McFarlane’s own Spawn (sort of). And now, as of 2020’s Toy Fair, they look to be back with a vengeance.
Here’s why…
Warhammer 40K
Now this was a nice little surprise. Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K license has been a busy one over the last few years, with tons of games and a few figures popping up here and there.
And while McFarlane only had two figures out to see at Toy Fair, they’re pretty great. Fully articulated and with some terrific sculpts, these Space Marines are looking sharp. Yes, marines, plural. While you might think that’s an unpainted prototype below, it’s not. It’s actually a customizable figure that McFarlane will be releasing, so fans can make their own marine.
As for what else might be coming up in the line, there’s no talk just yet. I assume that’ll be based on just how well this first entry sells.
My Hero Academia
I’m not a fan of My Hero Academia, but I know very well that I’m in the minority on that. The Manga has absolutely exploded in recent years, spawning sequels and spin-offs galore.
McFarlane has a nice looking lineup of figures available for it too. If you’re a fan, then you’ll probably want to have a peek.
Cyberpunk 2077
While video game fans wait patiently (or not so patiently) for CD Projekt Red’s massive action RPG to finally arrive on consoles and the PC this fall, McFarlane is getting its own offerings slate prepped.
The line so far includes a trio of items, with actor Keanu Reeves’ Johnny Silverhand, a male version of main character V, and a statue of Silverhand jamming on his guitar.
Like with Warhammer, there’s no word on how much this lineup might expand, though it certainly seems like it will. There are plenty more wild designs to play off of when it comes to this new cyberpunk universe.
Fortnite
The beast just keeps on going. While you might be familiar with another company’s Fortnite offerings, McFarlane also has the license, and is making some awesome looking figures.
Much like with that other brand, McFarlane’s figure slate includes just about every angle you can imagine, so there’s bound to be a few designs that will catch anyone’s eye, even if they’re not fans of the game in particular. Personally, I’ll be picking up that “army man”. That’s just too cool.
One very cool thing too, are the vehicles that McFarlane is pumping out, including that quad, and glider.
DC Comics
If you haven’t noticed (somehow), McFarlane Toys is now producing DC Comics action figure on the regular. Under the DC Multiverse banner, they have a pretty wide-ranging collection forming too.
Their first series of action figures included multiple variants on the classic DCU. There were comics-based figures sure, but also classic DC animated figures. That scope will be carrying forward too, and in some unexpected ways.
The biggest surprise was that McFarlane will be making figures based on artist/writer Sean Gordon Murphy’s Batman White Knight universe. But there were other reveals as well, like Batman: Arkham figures, Wonder Woman movie figures, and some neat variants like classic blue and gray Batman figures.
Mortal Kombat
If you’re sleeping on McFarlane’s Mortal Kombat 11 action figures… well, stop. They’re fantastic. With tons of detailing, awesome accessories, and nice articulation, these figures are a phenomenal compliment to the Warner Bros and NetherRealm fighting game series.
And judging by the new figures shown off at the convention, they’re just getting started. McFarlane had the already existing figures out for perusal, but was also showcasing the new Spawn figure, a part of the line thanks to MK11’s newest DLC season.
On top of Al, there was also a newly revealed Baraka, who comes complete with a helmeted head that you can pop on, as well as a brain that you can actually impale on his forearm spike. Shades of his gruesome fatality there.
Then there’s Kitana too, who’s absolutely stunning. The pics might not do the figure a ton of justice honestly, as the paint application is excellent here. Also notable is that she’s the first female figure in the line, somehow beating out Sonja Blade.
Doom
Like with some of the other lines here, Bethesda and iD Software’s Doom is kind of just getting started at McFarlane. It’s still notable for a few reasons though, not the least of which being that it’s the first Doom action figure line ever. As bizarre as that is, it’s true.
It’s a pretty cool series too, with the Doom Slayer seeing release in both his classic green and ‘Phobos’ armor. Also on display was the upcoming Marauder demon, which a company rep introduced as “their first demon”. Yes, first. This line looks like it’s just getting rolling.
Call of Duty
Activision’s monstrously popular military FPS series made a roaring comeback this past year with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. It’s set to keep on hitting toy shelves too, with McFarlane’s lineup of series stars.
As you can see here, those are not limited to one CoD sub-series, or game, but branch out across a few different titles. Zombies hero Richtofen, Frank Woods from the Black Ops games, and Modern Warfare stars Ghost and Captain Price were all in attendance.
Cuphead
One of the sole representatives of McFarlane’s building block series’ in the booth (the other was Hello Neighbor), Cuphead looks to be sticking around.
The company showed off a few sets, as well as a blind box figure series. So if you’re a fan of the super tough side-scroller, you have some merch to hunt down.
Spawn
Yes, Spawn is back! Kinda… sorta. Not yet. His return though, is all but assured, as McFarlane will be taking to crowd-funding platform Kickstarter to lead into a new lineup of Spawn-specific action figures. I can’t, in any way, imagine that’ll fail.
Plans are a little mysterious as of right now since the official announcements haven’t been made just yet, but it looks like McFarlane might be aiming for a full toy line with this one, as series 1 of the original Spawn toy line was shown under a prototype of the man himself.
