| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1320536232065255200 |
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| 4 | [[quoteright:325:[[Franchise/SpiderMan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/environment-specific-action-figure2_5633.jpg]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:325:With great power comes a great tan.]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | The tendency for toy lines of MerchandiseDriven (and sometimes otherwise) shows to also contain variations of the characters made up out of, er, [[{{Pun}} whole cloth]]. Most variations fall under StylishProtectionGear, and virtually every action figure line has at least one of these: |
| 8 | |
| 9 | * A snow version, with skis and a white winter outfit. Often called "Arctic Action Whatever". |
| 10 | * A desert version, usually just the regular one with a desert hat and brown or desert camo clothes. |
| 11 | * The underwater version, and in some toylines will actually be made for play involving water. (See the Marvel example below.) Fires torpedoes. |
| 12 | * Some sort of big backpack/shield device that fits over the shoulders that usually fires missiles. |
| 13 | * A rocket pack or spacesuit. It may also fire missiles. |
| 14 | * A "night ops" version in which the character becomes a StealthExpert who wears either a SpyCatsuit or a darkly-colored PaletteSwap of their regular outfit. |
| 15 | * A [[BeachEpisode beach version]], where the character wears a swimsuit, {{Stripperiffic}} or not, {{Fanservice}} ensues. |
| 16 | * A [[ChristmasEpisode Christmas version]], where the character wears a Santa outfit or any other Christmas-themed outfit. May or may not overlap with SexySantaDress. |
| 17 | * A [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween version]], where the character wears a ghost or monster costume, or dresses as an ElegantGothicLolita. |
| 18 | * An existing character remade with a new {{gimmick}}, such as a glow-in-the-dark or vacuum metallized version. |
| 19 | * [[{{Thememobile}} Vehicles]] for every superhero popular enough to have their own toyline, even - no, ''especially'' - ones that have no need for one. [[RunningGag Fires missiles.]] The vehicles themselves may also have [[MechaExpansionPack additional parts sold separately]] to tailor them for various environments. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | The reason for this is essentially a mixture of retailer demand and cutting costs. Large retailers don't tend to be [[SmallReferencePools too familiar with the franchise in question]], so they're naturally going to favor toys of Batman over toys of, say, Scarecrow or Poison Ivy, even if fans disagree. Additionally, most of the cost when making a toy goes into producing the steel mold, meaning that molding one or two accessories and [[PaletteSwap changing the color of the plastic]] is a relative pittance next to creating the molds necessary to design an entirely new character. This also serves to keep "main characters" on the shelves longer; after all, if a fan gets into the line a few months later, it wouldn't do for them to find they can't buy the protagonist anymore, and it also wouldn't do to keep shipping identical figures to the toy shop for months or years on end (which would create the impression that the toys aren't selling). Paradoxically, this can create an effect where the character's "standard" outfit is much harder to find than the variants; it almost always comes very early in the line, and will usually be in the highest demand, meaning it tends to sell out quickly. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | They ''did'' do the research... ''[[SubvertedTrope market research]]''. (And, ''sometimes'', environmental research.) |
| 24 | |
| 25 | The longer a figure line continues, the more likely that it'll add some of these variants; after all, as long as the kids keep buying, the toy companies are happy to keep selling. Additionally, these extra designs will almost always go way off color scheme or character concept: it's not unusual to see Batman sporting bright blue, [[HighlyVisibleNinja green]], [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience red]], [[Franchise/MortalKombat orange]], [[OverlyLongGag yellow]] or [[RuleOfFunny pink]] armor covered in rocket launchers, or to see melee or magic-based characters with assault rifles. Also expect these figures to not make sense within the internal logic of the property, such as the stealth-based Batman in highly-visible gear, The Flash driving around in a racecar, or Spider-Man with [[ThouShaltNotKill very lethal]] and very expensive rocket launchers. Many however can be [[JustifiedTrope internally justified]] by characters who have a habit of making many bespoke costumes, such as Characters/{{Batman|TheCharacter}} or ComicBook/IronMan. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Some particularly MerchandiseDriven shows will devote whole episodes to introducing these sorts of 'gear', like the snow gear in ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'' (though in this case, the villain that justified its creation and inclusion already existed in the mythos), the new ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' episode with the backpacks, or just about any ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' episode with the new bike or SuperMode. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | See also MechaExpansionPack. |
| 30 | |
| 31 | ---- |
| 32 | !!Examples: |
| 33 | * ''ComicBook/{{Annihilators}}: Earthfall'' has an in-universe example with Mojo's Rocket Raccoon toyline. Camo-Attack Rocket Raccoon with gauss cannon and grappling hook! Sea-Ops Rocket Raccoon with laser harpoon and Aquatic Combat Vehicle! Virtual Mission Rocket Raccoon with Digital Armor and Flight Cycle! Gyro Captain Rocket Raccoon with Post-Apocalypse Hair! |
| 34 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' had this completely ridiculous line of non-canon animal armors that showed up at one of the toy conventions, but it probably never got released. They did have the missile-shooting backpack type, as well as a non-canon ice outfit for the main character, though - and for extra silliness, released most of the variants instead of releasing ''any'' [[GirlShowGhetto female action figures]], despite the female characters having equal participation in all fight scenes. Fun fact: [[AllThereInTheManual According to the art book,]] the show's TakeThat at ScaryImpracticalArmor was in part a shot at toymakers' requests for armored variants. |
| 35 | * ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' toys have so many technicolor backpacks that shoot missiles that it's surprising to find a toy ''without'' one. Not to mention the fact that he has a costume for every single biome on this planet and a few others. [[CrazyPrepared Perhaps the only justified example of this trope on record]]--[[MemeticBadass according to the Internet, anyway]]. [[BatmanCanBreatheInSpace For some reason]]. |
| 36 | ** The first example of a non-blue, non-black Batman is Tec-Shield Batman, a gold-colored PaletteSwap of the Batman figure from the ''Film/Batman1989'' toyline. In addition to the gold suit, he comes with a special giant shield. |
| 37 | ** Annoyingly, this makes it ''very'' hard to find a Batman that ''actually looks like Batman''. Removing the snap-on armor and missile backpacks and such usually just left you with a white Batman or Batman with yellow stripes or metal waffle armor. Yes, metal waffle armor. Additionally, many of the accessories replace the cape, so you're missing that too if you remove them. |
| 38 | ** ''VideoGame/LEGOBatman'' even acknowledged this when the game forced you to at least once per level change your suit to one of Glassbreaking-Batman or Thermosuit-Batman and Magneticfeet-Robin. The Franchise/{{Lego}} toyline the game was based on only has Batman in his standard grey/black, grey/blue, and all-black costumes. |
| 39 | ** To give you an idea of how bad this is: "Combat Belt Batman" is the ONLY regularly-colored Batman from [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries the 90's animated series]], released in the first of around twenty waves. A ''low'' bid for one on eBay is $80.00! |
| 40 | ** Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' where Bat-Mite gives Batman a Neon Talking Super Street Bat-Luge, along with a red and yellow outfit, and a blue and white Alpine Ice Climber Batman outfit. |
| 41 | --->'''Bat-Mite:''' Let's see how you like the Dark Knight in another one of those hideous variants Batman costumes you only find on store shelves! |
| 42 | ** Taken to an extreme with Hasbro's ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' figures. The closest thing to a regular Batman in that line is the Power Cape Batman figure. Or the commemorative 200th Batman action figure produced by Hasbro, which does look right but is permanently mounted to a base and has sole articulation arms that would raise at the push of a button. |
| 43 | * The ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' figures made for adult collectors included "radioactive" versions of the boys[[note]]technically, Beavis' figure was his Cornholio persona[[/note]] with glow-in-the-dark skin. |
| 44 | * The ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' figures had tons of variants. |
| 45 | ** During the ''Ultimate Alien'' series, Bandai released a line of figures called "Haywire", which were just the regular alien figures, but with a new coat of paint to look like another alien. |
| 46 | ** The Original Series also had Battle Versions. While the Battle Versions had brand new sculpts of Gwen, Frankenstrike, Snare-Oh, Ultra Ben, Galactic Ben and Zs'Skayr, Many of the other aliens were just recasts of the ones from the first wave, most notably Wildvine, who was now made with clear plastic, and Stinkfly, who is just his series 1 figure, but now with his mouth painted. |
| 47 | ** ''Ben 10: Omniverse'' had the Omni-Plasm series, which were the series 1 and 2 figures now made with translucent plastic. |
| 48 | ** ''Ben 10: Alien Force'' also had the Defender series, while it had brand new sculpts for Swampfire and Spidermonkey, the rest of the aliens were repaints of the figures from series 1 for the ''Ben 10: Alien Force'' toy line. |
| 49 | ** The ''Ben 10'' Reboot had the Omni-Metallic figures, which were the previous figures, but now with a metallic paint. |
| 50 | *** It also had a few lines called "Out of the Omnitrix" and "Alien Worlds", which were the previous figures, but now made with a clear plastic. |
| 51 | * ''Toys/{{BIONICLE}}'': 2007, set in the underwater Mahri Nui, featured the Barraki, warlords mutated into sea-creatures, and the Toa Mahri, altered into scuba-themed water-breathers. 2008's first half, set in the skies, featured three of the Toa Nuva with various flight systems and the bat-like Makuta, while the second half was set in the swamp, resulting in a more "hover" themed aesthetic for the other Toa Nuva, and the insectoid Makuta. In an odd case of this, [[YouDontLookLikeYou few to none of the above designs actually resembled the original figures they were based on]]. |
| 52 | * An unusual variant comes from ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' -- the trope is applied to ''stuffed animals'', with the numerous [[MyLittlePhony Rainbow Monkey]] variants that appear, typically pulled out or referenced by Numbah 3 that correlate to the plot at hand. |
| 53 | * A ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures'' [[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v149/dynamite_xi/DA%20Apr%2097/p95.jpg comic]] spoof of this concept. |
| 54 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'' has a similar semi-aversion as ''Star Wars'' below: if a variation of a given character exists in the show, Character Options has made a toy of it. This is quite logical for monsters such as the Daleks and the Cybermen who have existed for [[LongRunners over 50 years]] and thus have had many designs as time passed, but then you get such toys as [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E1NewEarth the corpse of Lady Cassandra]] (read: ''[[http://i.imgur.com/57UVVf0.jpg an empty steel frame]]'') and, [[http://i.imgur.com/GhzEG.jpg to represent the cliffhanger of]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E5TheRebelFlesh "The Rebel Flesh"]], ''dismembered Creator/MattSmith body parts lodged in a mass of sticky white goo''. |
| 55 | * ''WesternAnimation/ExoSquad'' was at first relatively restrained; all of the designs in the toyline were in fact in the show, and [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy show accurate to boot]] (since the producers preferred the designs Creator/PlaymatesToys had come up with, crazy colors and all, to their in-house concepts, which they felt looked too generic). But as the toyline went on, all sorts of oddities cropped up, including an "[[TransformingMecha exo-converting]]" E-frame for TheLeader J.T. Marsh (which turned into [[https://exo-squad.fandom.com/wiki/J.T._Marsh_with_Exo-converting_E-frame a half-assed looking motorcycle]]), the [[https://exo-squad.fandom.com/wiki/CyberView_Series "Cyberview"]] series (where giant periscope-like sights were mounted over the tops of the E-frames to help kids aim the missiles), and bizarre designs such as a [[{{Vaporware}} prototype]] "[[https://www.figurerealm.com/actionfigure?action=actionfigure&id=6780 Gridiron Command]]" E-frame that was inexplicably football-themed, and another E-frame that was [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyx7ywPvHbs shaped like a gorilla]]! There was even a line of re-released ''Anime/{{Robotech}}'' toys! |
| 56 | * You can buy toys of ''ComicBook/TheFlash'' on ''[[http://speedforce.org/2010/02/batman-brave-and-the-bold-flash-action-figure/ a motorcycle.]]'' [[SanitySlippage Buh.]] Let's not get started on Characters/{{Superman|TheCharacter}}'s ''flying car'', ([[SanitySlippage Muh?]])[[note]]Isn't ''any'' car a flying car if Superman is in it?[[/note]] which has grabbing arms extending from the sides that clearly have about a billionth of his strength. Like the Spider-Car mentioned below, this ''originates in the comics'' in defiance of all logic. |
| 57 | ** Superman's Supermobile only appeared marginally earlier in the comics at best and was obviously put there for merchandising purposes. The comics tried to explain it away as best as possible; basically, he could use the car to shield himself from dangerous things and it didn't actually have an engine; he just powered it himself, including the flying[[note]]Told you![[/note]] and the fists. |
| 58 | ** The Flash in ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' bought a van at one point. ComicBook/GreenLantern John Stewart wanted to [[LampshadeHanging know why the world's fastest man would need]] a van. [[HandsomeLech To pick up chicks, of course.]] |
| 59 | *** There's also the [[http://www.kennersuperpowers.com/spvehicandplaysets/justicjogger.html Justice Jogger...]] |
| 60 | ** Also, [[Characters/MarvelComicsBruceBanner The Incredible Hulk]] on ''ATV Trikes''. |
| 61 | * ''Franchise/GIJoe'' does this all the time for their regular characters. Average soldiers get jungle uniforms, space uniforms, toxic waste uniforms...despite the large number of characters who are specifically trained to deal with these environments. In many ways this is justifiable--when they wanted to go into space, Creator/{{Hasbro}} hadn't really produced ''any'' astronaut types. When they have too few such characters and have to go up against entire armies of Vipers encroaching on the Amazon, you gotta expect that Snake-Eyes (and Duke, and Scarlett, etc.) are going to end up fighting them right alongside specialists like Recondo or Tunnel Rat. The real justification problem comes from why Cobra, a terrorist organization, even ''goes to these remote, non-urban environments'' in the first place when they already have excellent hidden bases of operation. |
| 62 | ** The ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' line all had a standard assortment of G.I. Joe weaponry such as rifles, handguns, knives, etc., despite the video games exclusively revolving around martial arts and hand-to-hand combat. The ''Film/StreetFighter'' line had an Arctic Action Guile and a Swamp Guile. At no point does the movie ever leave a tropical climate, and a tank was briefly added to the movie as an excuse to have one as a figure. |
| 63 | * ''[[Manga/MobileSuitGundamSeedAstray Gundam SEED Astray]]'' is an amusing example of this trope occurring within canon. The Astray series Gundams of the title have, between the 6 or so of them, literally dozens of {{Midseason Upgrade}}s, {{Mecha Expansion Pack}}s & MetaMecha. This is justified by saying that Blue Frame's computer contained the blueprints for all this gear and its [[PrivateMilitaryContractors mercenary]] owner recognized how valuable they were. As for Red Frame, well, its owner is an [[{{Keet}} overly energetic and creative]] GadgeteerGenius who'll take any opportunity to build something new and cool. |
| 64 | ** Heck, ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' in general has this in spades, especially in the Universal Century. They even have a term for it: "Mobile Suit Variation" is a model line specifically for the environment- or mission-specific variants and {{Super Prototype}}s that don't appear in the series, such as "Aqua GM", "Desert Zaku", "Gelgoog High Mobility". Many of them even become {{Canon Immigrant}}s and appear in a sequel. |
| 65 | * While the original ''[[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse1983 He-Man]]'' toyline mostly didn't indulge in this too much (it compensated by reusing He-Man's body design for about 85% of the cast), [[WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002 the 2002 reboot]] positively exulted in it. We're talking Mega-Punch He-Man, Ice Armor He-Man, Shield Strike He-Man, Battle Armor He-Man, Wolf Armor He-Man, Snake Armor Skeletor, Battle Armor Skeletor, and Fire Armor Skeletor in the ''same wave''. The most infamous of these was probably Samurai He-Man, because... well, [[https://www.toyhunters.nl/5742-thickbox_default/samurai-he-man-200x.jpg look at it.]] It's widely believed to have been a reason the line didn't last, as store shelves were so crowded with He-Man and Skeletor variants that it made it impossible to find anything else, as invariably any other character ended up being shortpacked. |
| 66 | * ''Toys/HeroFactory'': Savage Planet featured a wave of animal-themed armor for the Heroes, while Breakout featured multiple themes; underwater for the fire-themed Furno, space for Surge... |
| 67 | * The ''ComicBook/IronMan'' toylines ([[WesternAnimation/IronManTheAnimatedSeries 1990s]], [[Film/IronMan Movie]] and ''WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures'') do this, with the caveat that some of the armors actually do appear in the comics, especially the Hydro, Space, and Stealth models. In fact, a great many of the comic and cartoon armors do ''not'' have toys yet. Some of them would be nightmares even to adventurous toymakers. |
| 68 | ** The toylines for the [[Film/IronMan movies]], ''[[WesternAnimation/IronManArmoredAdventures Armored Adventures]]'', and ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' stretch the credibility by giving him vehicles to operate while wearing the armor. The environment-specific armors make sense and are true to the comics. Iron Man needing to drive a car, ride a motorcycle, or pilot a personal jet when he's effectively ''wearing a jet'' already? Not so much. But it is a bit justifiable, in that it's somewhat in character for Tony Stark to make ARC reactor-powered, gold-titanium alloy racecars and jetskis for himself. |
| 69 | ** After IM's animated show in the 90s was canceled, the toyline was too.... but they'd already planned a fifth wave of figures. [[PropRecycling They took the molds]] and [[DolledUpInstallment instead turned them into new figures]] for the ''Spider-Man'' and ''X-Men'' lines instead. Spidey got himself a radiation suit (Radiation Armor IM) and had one of the Guardsmen from the superhuman prison the Vault (Lava Armor IM, albeit with the Radiation Suit's intended head) in the "Techno Wars" assortment. As for the rest, they formed most of the "Mutant Armor" X-Men subline (Magnetic Armor IM became Battle Armor Wolverine; Living Laser became Astral Armor Professor X[[note]]the Living Laser figure is interesting in itself: it was a remold of a previously cancelled US Agent figure![[/note]], and [[CanonForeigner created-for-the-show]] villain Dark Aegis became Heavy Metal Beast). |
| 70 | ** ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' merchandise made a huge deal of the giant "Hulkbuster" armor that he wore in a single scene in the movie. TheCenterpieceSpectacular, sure, but still a single scene. The same thing happened for ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', when the Hulkbuster was brought out for use during the climax. |
| 71 | ** The 2.5 inch line Hasbro made for ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' has snap-on battle armor for various characters, even those who are ''already wearing body armor'' like Iron Man or ComicBook/BlackPanther. |
| 72 | * The figure line for ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' didn't even ''have'' "regular" versions of the characters. You could get Race as a skydiver, Jonny as an astronaut or Jessie as a [[BadassCape cape-wearing]], [[SpyCatsuit catsuit-sporting]] {{ninja}}, but good luck finding them in anything they actually ''wore on the show''. The closest to being [[ShowAccuracyToyAccuracy vaguely accurate]] were the [[CyberSpace Quest World]] figures, but these featured [[WTHCostumingDepartment candy-colored paint jobs]] that were in stark contrast with the dark-colored suits on the show, and featured a toy of the motorcycle from one sequence with ''giant yellow training wheels''. |
| 73 | * The line for the 2000s ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' series was laden with these. In the show's entire run, with about eight waves and dozens of figures, only four characters were made outside of the original seven Leaguers (Darkseid, Aquaman, Lex Luthor, and the Ultra-Humanite), and all were in multipacks. ''Everything else'' was some variant of the show's main cast (usually Superman or Batman) with different colors and some rather flashy accessories. Thankfully, they lightened up on this quite a bit for ''Unlimited'', and even managed to put out a figure of pretty much every member of the Justice League's [[HeroesUnlimited extended roster]] (which is quite an accomplishment). |
| 74 | * Interestingly, the Franchise/{{LEGO}} licensed lines usually avert this, because there's usually one minifig per character (with rare exceptions), but the VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame series uses it a lot. You'll get a lot of versions of one character, ''especially'' in ''VideoGame/LEGOHarryPotter''. These in-game minifigs are often [[ToylessToylineCharacter not available in actual LEGO sets.]] |
| 75 | ** The "one minifig per character" thing has become less common since Lego started making licensed sets based off Marvel and DC productions. This means that they're now making multiple variations of the same characters to tie into the various comics, cartoons, and movies. For instance, they had lines for both the ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'' cartoon and the ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'' movie, as well as their ''Film/BatmanVSupermanDawnOfJustice'' line, which was launched in addition to their existing comic-based Batman and Superman stuff. |
| 76 | ** There are also countless superhero vehicles made specifically for the sets, one particularly wacky example being [[https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/hulk-vs-red-hulk-76078 Hulk and Red Hulk's monster trucks]]. |
| 77 | ** ''WesternAnimation/TheLEGOBatmanMovie'' both parodies this and fits it into its MerchandiseDriven nature. Batman is shown to have many suits, most of which are only shown in a single scene in the Batcave (if they were even in the film at all), and they include such absurd gimmicks as Ballerina Batman (the minifigure of which has a visibly annoyed expression), Easter Bunny Batman, two swimsuit Batmen (one of which has a rubber duck floatie with a domino mask), Caveman Batman, and more. Robin's suit in the film even started out as a Rastafarian Batsuit! Batgirl even recives a few, though they were fairly embarrassing, leading to her asking for something cooler, that being her main batsuit. |
| 78 | * This was intended to be done with the action figure tie-in with the ''WesternAnimation/MegaManRubySpears'' animated series. The second season of the show put Mega Man in an assortment of suits and vehicles with the intent of introducing them into the toy line. However, a falling out between Capcom and Bandai led to the TV series and the toy line being canceled, so this never saw the light of day. |
| 79 | * Palisade's ''Franchise/TheMuppets'' toyline had a rather oddball strategy of often releasing the variant figures ''first'': for instance, Stuntman Gonzo came out in Series 2, while "regular" Gonzo came out in Series 5. This served the purpose of making sure that they could get major characters into the line early, while still making sure that the line wouldn't run out of characters too quickly, as fans would hopefully keep an eye on the toyline's later waves in the hopes of receiving a "proper" version of that character later. |
| 80 | * The original ''Franchise/{{Naruto}}'' toy line had tons of variants of Naruto and Sasuke. Each version of them had a different action feature (like throwing kunai, "shadow clone" action, "tree climbing" action, "Rasengan attack", fireball launchers, some break apart training dummy, interchangeable heads, etc), but they all have the same regular costume (with the exception of the Curse Mark Sasuke with his Chunin Exams outfit) and some added "battle damage" marks. By contrast, the villains (Zabuza, Haku, Orochimaru, Itachi, Deidara, Kimimaro, Kidomaru, Sakon) only got one or two figures in the line, making it hard to find someone for the various heroes to fight. |
| 81 | ** During the second wave of figures, some of them, like Shikamaru, Choji, Kimimaro, Kankuro, Gaara and Kiba got brand new figures with much better articulation, while the figures of Naruto, Sasuke, Neji and Rock Lee were just the figures from the first wave, just with new head sculpts, and different accessories (Naruto came with a nine tailed chakra base, Sasuke came with his coffin from the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Neji came with a base to represent his 8 Trigrams 64 Palms move and Rock Lee came with his sake bottle). |
| 82 | ** Reportedly, the abundance of Naruto and Sasuke variants is what might have killed the line in the first place, as nobody was buying them since everybody at least had them, and people were buying the side characters and villains instead, so the Naruto and Sasuke variants sat on shelves for a long time. |
| 83 | ** The figures of Rock Lee, Neji and Gaara also had many variants (Gaara's 3rd figure may be an exception, as it is a completely new sculpt based off his Sasuke Retrieval Arc outfit, with the improved articulation found in the 2nd wave of figures) though they didn't get as many variants unlike Naruto and Sasuke. |
| 84 | * Though not action figures, ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' has become infamous for a merchandising empire built, largely, on figures of Rei and Asuka doing...well, ''anything''. Yes, [[RuleThirtyFour even that.]] |
| 85 | ** For those who prefer outies, there's Shinji and Kaoru. If your interest is less prurient, there are even {{moe}} versions of the angels. Yes, even Leliel. |
| 86 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'' has a few group suits created for the spinner and flyer sets that never appear in the show itself. Also, some minifigure packs include characters in outfits they never wore in the show, such as Lloyd DX and Tournament Zane. |
| 87 | * [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0959.html Played for laughs]] by Haley in ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', where, as part of the preparations for the party's venture beyond the Dwarven Lands in the [[GrimUpNorth frozen north]], the topic of changing from their desert outfits into more environmentally-appropriate attire comes up. Figures of her wearing outfits from previous volumes of the series are featured behind her as she discusses this trope as a possible source of income. |
| 88 | -->'''Haley:''' I was freezing my butt off in my desert outfit, and it was only going to get worse as we headed north. Plus, as the lead woman in this comic, I think I'm contractually obligated to switch costumes at least once per volume. It's rough now, but it'll be a gold mine if we ever do action figures. |
| 89 | * When Hasbro had the license to make ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' toys, the waves for Kanto consisted of little more than importing Tomy's Monster Collection figures and plushes. When Johto came around, battle action Pokémon and Deluxe Trainers with the obligatory backpacks ensued. It went even further when the reins were handed to Jakks-Pacific; as their lines for the Unova region include dozens of figures, ranging from basic Pokémon, Deluxe Pokémon, battle action Pokémon, and at least two different lines of Pokémon packaged with toy Poké Balls. Target locations also carry Ash figures packaged with several of the region's Pokémon; and similar Deluxe Trainer figures of Iris and Cilan have yet to see the light of day. |
| 90 | * While ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' has begun integrating some of the armors from the toyline into the show, some of them are bizarre (but awesome-looking) powerups and vehicles that never appear anywhere -- and thankfully don't. (''Skateboards? '''Seriously?''''') Really, if you think [[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder some of the armors that were used]] were insane, swing by the toy aisle next time you're at Toys'R'us or Target. |
| 91 | ** The series took it a step further for ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury'', creating whole new Rangers for the toyline and producing them with every armor variation that the canon Rangers get - that is, the male canon Rangers. [[GirlShowGhetto The female Rangers aren't so lucky.]] And there's even a handful of Red and Sixth ranger only powerups, too. (The new Rangers have made a handful of appearances on the show to justify the toys' existence. ''RPM'' had its own toy-exclusive Rangers, but no variants for them and no TV appearances.) |
| 92 | ** In 1993, ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' had a toyline of relatively sensible weapons, villain figures, Rangers, and vehicles from the show. Fast forward to 2010's ReCut and Bandai gives you cycles (besides the official ones), playsets, ''dragons'', and things that would give people nightmares. There are also no less than three versions of each Ranger - The basic ones, ones that came with wing packs and claw(?), and simpler ones with weird weapons from other series sold in discount stores. And that was just for the 4 inch figures. |
| 93 | *** Then again, both [[http://www.rangercentral.com/toys/toy-mmpr1.htm#axzz4HkU0KqHf the 1993 toyline]] and [[http://www.rangercentral.com/toys/toy-mmpr2010-1.htm#axzz4HkU0KqHf the 2010 toyline]] have roughly the same stuff - basic figures, play weapons, zords, and mini figurines. Yeah, the 2010 line has more vehicles and figures that transform into [[DinosaursAreDragons dragons(?)]] and stuff, but it's hard to get that worked up when the 1990s version had [[http://www.rangercentral.com/toys/toy-mmpr4.htm#axzz4HkU0KqHf a girl's fashion assortment.]] |
| 94 | ** For ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai'', the "Mega Mode" armor variant was given priority over the regular suit in the merchandising. In the show, it's special armor for ''piloting the Megazord''. Later on when the proper {{Super Mode}}s started coming out, each of ''those'' got its own Mega Mode variant as well. (''Series/PowerRangersDinoCharge'' and ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaSteel'' later got their own Megazord-only armors, but had the sense to keep them as secondary merch in the toylines.) |
| 95 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters'' had this when their toyline was big. The first series gave them their standard uniforms; later iterations featured "fearful" expressions, color-change paint, and glow-in-the-dark features. The original figures were often reissued with [[PaletteSwap new paint jobs]] and different equipment (often bordering on the implausible). |
| 96 | * Discussed in ''Literature/RowleyJeffersonsAwesomeFriendlyAdventure''. When Rowley draws a map of the world his book is set in, Greg's first comment is about how the multiple different ambients found in the map would allow marketing-wise to release action figures and playsets depicting the characters as pirates, in the jungle, in the snow and so on. |
| 97 | * ''VideoGame/ShantaeAndTheSevenSirens'': Parodied when Armor Baron promises to make Shantae and Sky custom armor. He makes them {{Chainmail Bikini}}s that they can't even move around in, and then while they're immobile he packages them as life-sized "Battle Armor" variant figures and sells them off to a gullible collector. |
| 98 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 99 | ** The toy line has an "invisible" (transparent purple) Espio, a [[VideoGame/SonicColors Sonic with Wisps]], a [[VideoGame/SonicAndTheBlackKnight Sonic with Caliburn the Talking Sword]], and a Shadow who comes with [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog his bike]]. Plus more [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Werehog]] merchandise than is really justifiable. That's not even getting into the plush line... |
| 100 | ** For ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'', there is a load of figures from all the characters from their incarnations from TheNineties, TurnOfTheMillennium, and TheNewTens, including a few designs that weren't present. Justified in that it's a MilestoneCelebration and a fair number of characters were hard to find in toy form. |
| 101 | ** ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' provide an in-universe example, strangely enough. One issue involved Sonic racing across the world with a super emerald in order to reverse a time paradox. At first Sonic goes into his usual super forms, but he starts changing based on what environment he's in, with Solar Sonic for deserts, Eco Sonic for forests, and Polar Sonic for the arctic. Sadly we don't get to see what any of them can do. |
| 102 | * For a hero who primarily swings around urban cities, [[Characters/MarvelComicsPeterParker Spider-Man]] gets an unusual amount of themed outfits that don't quite fit in with his usual antics, including desert camo (''over his regular oufit''), an entire line of [[http://www.i-mockery.com/shorts/spiderman-splashers/ water themed toys,]] and several Spider-Cars and [=ATVs=] for...when he's not in the city? Ceremonial occasions? But it doesn't stop there. His [[http://www.thesneeze.com/2004/spiderman-3-the-quest-for-dignity.php "Adventure hero"]] line puts in a strong running for most hilarious toys ever, featuring him as, among other things, a baseball player (Worse, it's not ''quite'' the stupidest outfit on that page), a lifeguard, a golfer, a boxer, [[https://super-dupertoybox.blogspot.com/2014/02/snowboard-spider-man-by-toybiz.html?m=0 a snowboarder,]] [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/andertoons-cartoons/sets/72157594198457695/detail/ a fisherman, and even an archer.]] Even crazier is the fact that someone [[http://www.collectiondx.com/toy_review/spiderman_adventure_hero made bootlegs of an already crazy toy line,]] and they're just as hilarious. |
| 103 | ** Another oddity was the "Insect Armor" line, where each figure came with a robotic bug that could transform into a suit of PoweredArmor. This was the only line that ever featured a toy of Characters/TheWasp's horrible 90's bug-lady redesign. |
| 104 | ** The short-lived Spider-Mobile from the comics was actually an attempted aversion of this trope. Creator/StanLee had wanted to pitch Marvel's characters to toy companies, so he asked Creator/GerryConway to give Spider-Man a CoolCar that could easily be replicated as a toy (despite Conway's assertion that Spidey needing a car made absolutely no sense). Ironically, while Mego did eventually produce two Spider-themed vehicles (the Spider-Car and Spider-Mobile), they were both released a few years ''after'' the Spider-Mobile had already been abandoned in the comics, and neither toy really resembled the comic version anyway. |
| 105 | ** Speaking of which, Marvel put out an ''entire toyline'' that consisted of nothing but The Underwater Version of their characters, which were also designed to be played with in water. Included a green-veined Venom toy with webbed parts and fins that actually was really cool. |
| 106 | ** Though this trope happens in most ''Franchise/SpiderMan'' lines (as noted above), it was somewhat averted for the first two ''Film/SpiderManTrilogy'' movie lines. Every Spider-Man figure had a different action feature or gimmick (yes, that includes "web shot" missiles and firing nets and all that), but they all had the same regular costume. By contrast, the villains only got one or two figures for their lines, making it hard to find someone for the various Spider-Men to fight. Somewhat played straight in the ''Film/SpiderMan3'' line, which added different variations of "black suit" and "sand damage" and such, but justified (in the same ''Star Wars''/''Doctor Who'' way) in that they were all actually in the movie. |
| 107 | ** The toylines for the 2 [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries Amazing Spider-Man movies]] took variants to the next level, with such variants like "Iron Claw Spider-Man", "Slash Gauntlet Spider-Man" and "Hydro Attack Spider-Man". |
| 108 | *** Surprisingly, the MCU Spider-Man films never had very many variants, only a blue "tech suit" Spidey, a clear blue "undercover" Spider-Man and a "glider gear" Spider-Man. |
| 109 | ** While ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan2012'' is already extremely toyetic (Iron Spider and Spider-Cycle, anyone?), the toyline for the show takes it up a notch. In addition to all the vehicles and variant costumes taken from the cartoon, there's a bunch of ridiculous stuff like a "Web-Copter" or "Turbo Racer Spider-Man". |
| 110 | * Semi-averted with ''Franchise/StarWars'', where although there are a ridiculous number of versions of each character, most actually are from one of the movies or ExpandedUniverse. But we say "most": there's a Han Solo figure with a back-mounted... ''thing''... called the [[http://rebelscum.com/POTF2dlxhan.asp Smuggler Flight Pack.]] It resembles Ripley's [[Film/{{Aliens}} Power Loader]] that is [[AwesomeButImpractical too heavy for his weight to support]] and has a hair trigger that will make its limbs deploy at the lightest touch. Also looks dumber than hell. |
| 111 | ** While, again, it's true to the universe, ''Franchise/StarWars'' produces a number of figures that use the same basic mold and look very similar to each other, but are in fact different characters and have different specialties. For instance, it's hard to tell the differences between the regular Clone Trooper and a "Coruscant Landing Platform" Clone Trooper. (The answer: unit colors, amounting to a couple of small stripes, and an antenna on the backpack.) See also ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' below. |
| 112 | * ''Series/SuperhumanSamuraiSyberSquad'' was particularly horrible with this, considering all the variants of Servo were mere {{Palette Swap}}s of one another, with no different gimmicks. They even tried to pass off some alternate paint jobs as superhero versions of the supporting cast - including a pink and purple one as the girl (despite the figure having a very male HeroicBuild). |
| 113 | * ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' has more toylines than one would consider to be strictly necessary, so they had to fill them up somehow... In particular, the toylines for [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 the first cartoon]] absolutely reveled in this sort of thing. Never mind non-canonical armors, the turtles were out there getting every conceivable job, from Green Beret to StageMagician to, yes, [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Star_Trek_Turtles_copy_1656.jpg Starfleet officer.]] (Fans would probably be concerned that Raphael is the medic.) There were movie monster Turtles, dinosaur Turtles, even ''clown'' Turtles. They're probably the TropeCodifier for this one. Interestingly, it took toymakers until about 2009 or so to actually make toys based on the 1st comic book incarnation of the Turtles...and they're all overpriced figurines marketed to the enthusiast collector market rather than kids, which makes sense if you consider [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids just how those versions were written]]. |
| 114 | * In-universe example in the ''Franchise/ToyStory'' comic "The Return of Buzz Lightyear". The duplicate Buzz sent by Andy's grandmother was desperate to avoid getting returned because he'd been overlooked for so long by kids wanting all of the variant buzz toys. There was a wide variety of them: Arctic, caveman, cowboy, ninja, undercover Buzz in drag, and the "All knowing Buzz from the future" supposedly tied in with the end of the series. That last one wanted to avoid all the adult collectors looking for rare variants because he wanted to be played with, not stuck on a shelf. He almost gets picked by a kid, but then is passed over for the second Buzz, who the kid thinks is a "battle damaged" Buzz due to the scratches he got fighting the "real" Buzz. |
| 115 | * ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'': For a franchise built upon redecos and remolds of the same toy, very rarely is this trope actually played straight. More often than not a redeco of a character is either a brand-new character or simply a new deco. |
| 116 | ** The Combaticons from ''Anime/TransformersRobotsInDisguise'' received not one, but two redecos as a desert camo group and an urban camo. |
| 117 | ** Played straight with the Film/TransformersFilmSeries and ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'' lines, in which toys that might have been presented as new characters in years past instead became "Nightwatch Optimus Prime" or "Bandit Lockdown" so as to preserve the relative uniqueness of the main characters, though they do sneak in a few new-character redecoes (for instance, both lines' Bumblebees have been turned into Cliffjumper). |
| 118 | ** A more literal example of this would be Movieverse Brawl; both the Deluxe figure and the Leader sized one got a Desert Cameo style repaint. |
| 119 | ** The weaponry of the Transformers has also seen more variation; as recent toylines have built themselves on unified accessories. Notable examples include the Mech-Tech line of ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' and the Weaponizer line of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime''. |
| 120 | * Mocked thoroughly in ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}''. Night Owl (who is a both a GadgeteerGenius and a complete and total dork with a costume fetish) is shown to have a closet full of different-themed Owl costumes and is thus [[CrazyPrepared prepared for anything]]. Like underwater work, protection from radiation or having to visit the Arctic circle, for which he has a snow owl outfit and matching snow scooters. He even has a set of PoweredArmor (which never actually worked). The big joke is that, as Dan himself notes, none of it was [[AwesomeButImpractical really necessary]] to fight street-level crimes. |
| 121 | -->"I mean, who needs all this hardware to catch purse-snatchers and hookers?" |
| 122 | * Even pro wrestling action figures weren't immune to this trope. Wrestling/{{WWE}} had the S.T.O.M.P ([[FunWithAcronyms Special Tactics Operations Military Police]]) series. It started out fairly normal, with wrestlers in their out of ring gear, but including snap on bulletproof vests and assault rifles. By the end of the series, wrestlers were sold in combat SCUBA suits with laser guns and snap on robot exoskeletons. Wrestling/{{WCW}} had [[http://www.wrestlecrap.com/sbt/someone-bought-this-wcw-ring-masters-figures-wrestlers-get-wacky-jobs/ a similar line]] where they took wrestler's gimmicks literally. This led to [[Wrestling/BretHart Bret "Hitman" Hart]] being sold with a pin striped singlet with Tommy Guns and fedora, "Lion Heart" Wrestling/ChrisJericho being sold with a house cat sized lion and whip, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} being sold as a shirtless construction worker (including a hard hat) with a jackhammer accessory, Hollywood Wrestling/HulkHogan as a full on movie director with director chair and movie camera, Wrestling/LexLuger as an executioner (with hood, axe, and torture rack), and Rick Steiner with an actual dog faced gremlin. This doesn't take into account the multiple, multiple vehicle based figures released by both major companies. |
| 123 | * [=ToyBiz=]'s ''ComicBook/XMen'' lines are somewhat notorious for this. |
| 124 | ** After the cancellation of the popular ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' cartoon in the '90s, the company began coming up with increasingly ludicrous gimmicks to try and maintain interest in the franchise. These included sub-lines like X-Men: Water Wars (figures with water guns), X-Men: Monster Armor (figures with snap-on pieces that transformed them into grotesque monsters), X-Men: Space Riders (figures with personal space vehicles), Battle Action Mega-Armor Wolverine (a Wolverine figure piloting a MiniMecha) and X-Men: Battle Blasters (figures with spring-loaded weapons). |
| 125 | ** The Battle Blasters line was only one of several instances of [=ToyBiz=] making a figure of [[Characters/MarvelComicsCyclops Cyclops]] that included a firearm or other projectile weapon. Again, this would be Cyclops, the guy who can shoot concussive blasts from his eyes. |
| 126 | ** Their X-Men Classics line featured a number of silly armors and weapons, such as Characters/{{Ma|rvelComicsMagneto}}gneto wielding a magnetic gun. |
| 127 | ** Even while the cartoon was on the air, there were some definite head-scratchers being put out, such as [[Characters/MarvelComicsLogan Wolverine]]'s clawed motorcycle. And there was Wolverine in his 80s costume, Wolverine in his 90s costume, Wolverine in his 90s costume without the mask, Wolverine in civilian clothes, Wolverine in a space suit, Wolverine in alien armor... And many of them came with accessories like laser pistols and a variety of absurd-looking bladed weapons, to boot. |
| 128 | ** The toy line for the first ''Film/XMen1'' movie was an interesting attempt at averting this trope while also embracing WolverinePublicity. Wolverine was the most well-represented character in the line (appearing six times in the 6" assortment alone!), but because the toymakers were trying to stick to the movie continuity, this meant making figures of his various outfit changes, no matter how minor. Hence, they ended up releasing a figure of Wolverine in jeans, a shirt and a jacket, and then a separate figure of him in the same outfit, but this time without the jacket. The toy line for [[Film/X2XMenUnited the sequel]] had much the same problem, though thankfully they didn't create as many figures that time. |
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