Friday, April 28, 2017

Modern Marvel

Wonderworld Comics Action Figure 3-Pack Exclusives

Vintage Kenner Star Wars 3-packs are extremely rare.  Each 3-pack contains three Star Wars action figures and are themed based on the figure assortment.  There are a total of seven Star Wars and nine Empire Strikes Back 3-packs.  While very few of these vintage sets existing, Hasbro has released sets with the newer action figures in vintage style packaging using the same themed assortments as Target store exclusives.  Hasbro has utilized the vintage toy packaging many times over the years to appeal to collectors.

The action figure variant covers for Marvel's Star Wars line have the same nostalgic appeal.  John Tyler Christopher is the only artist to have worked on these covers.  For the covers that show only one character, he has produced new "photo" images of the character while the drawing of the action figure looks much like the original action figure, where appropriate.  Those action figure images are borrowed for the Wonderworld Comics action figure 3-pack exclusive covers.  These covers are designed to look like a mail-away box with the three action figures in a plastic tray.  Despite the vintage 3-packs to draw on for inspiration, these 3-pack covers borrow more from the mail-away boxes that were used for the original early bird sets, although those contained four action figures, not three, and were not themed.

The first Wonderworld Comics 3-pack exclusive cover was for Vader Down #1.  The three characters are Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo, reminiscent of the original heroes 3-pack sets.

Star Wars: Vader Down #1aj - Marvel Comics, U.S. (November 2015)
Wonderworld Comics exclusive
The C-3PO one-shot has a Wonderworld Comics exclusive that shows three droids: C-3PO, R2-D2, and the Death Star Droid.

Star Wars Special: C-3PO #1j - Marvel Comics, U.S. (April 2016)
Wonderworld Comics exclusive
Darth Maul #1 had a total of seven exclusive covers, one of which is a Wonderworld Comics exclusive.  This cover has a dark side theme with images of Darth Maul, Darth Vader, and Kylo Ren.

Star Wars: Darth Maul #1l - Marvel Comics, U.S. (February 2017)
Wonderworld Comics exclusive
The final Wonderworld Comics exclusive cover is one of only two exclusives release for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story #1, both of which are action figure variants.  The three characters on the cover are: Jyn Erso, a Stormtrooper, and a Star Destroyer Commander.  There really isn't a theme like the previous covers, unless three characters that appeared in Rogue One can be considered a theme.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story #1h - Marvel Comics, U.S. (April 2017)
Wonderworld Comics exclusive
To date, only Wonderworld Comics has released these action figure 3-pack covers.

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