If you have followed my coverage in the past you’ll know that Hasbro is one of my favorite brands and one that I routinely cover. Within the action figure and toy community there are only a few companies with the breadth of properties that Hasbro can display. The company has many properties including Transformers, Star Wars, Marvel, Ghostbusters, G. I. Joe, Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and NERF. They offer everything from toys and games to action figures and roleplay items across almost every brand they own offering products for their youngest fan to their most fervent collector. At Toy Fair and most San Diego Comic Cons Hasbro will typically have a strong brand presence including hosting multiple events, panels, and feature a huge booth with multiple convention exclusives.
However New York Comic Con has been a bit of a different story as while they do typically host a few panels and have on occasion held some events they have been missing from the show floor since 2011 and so my coverage of them is usually on the tamer side. However that all changed this year when Hasbro announced they would be back on the show floor and have a much larger presence throughout the convention. Along with the aforementioned booth, panel, and convention exclusives Hasbro also gave Wizards of the Coast their own booth to promote the Magic: The Gathering brand, promoted Dungeons & Dragons play in Hall 1E, and hosted the return of Cold Slither with a concert at The Gramercy Theater.
The booth while a bit more on the moderate size still acts as their linchpin area with display cases are filled with recently released products as well as reveals from the show for almost all their popular brands. The booth space also acts as spot where fans can interact with the product team members. At NYCC the booth was split into two portions with products across all their licenses on display on one side while the other half was dedicated to selling the convention exclusives which included a Transformers Generations Armada Nemesis Prime & Air Defense Mini-Con Team, G.I. Joe Classified Series #172 Cobra-La Pythona, Star Wars: The Black Series Mace Windu & Darth Sidious Figures, Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Jedi Spirits 3-Pack, and Marvel Legends Series Fantastic Four Villain Super-Skrull..
Hasbro and partners also hosted a myriad of panels throughout NYCC including a dedicated Star Wars and Marvel Panel, a Toys Panel covering Transformers, G.I. Joe Classified Series, and Ghostbusters franchises, a Nickelodeon x Magic: The Gathering with the reveal of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magic set, a partner panel with Robert Kirkman, Joshua Williamson, Dan Mora, Tom Reilly, Jorge Corona, Conor Hughes, and Skybound Executive Editor Ben Abernathy for an update on the Energon Universe storyline featuring the worlds of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Void Rivals.
Finally, Hasbro hosted a few partner signing including an Energon Universe signing with Skybound talent at Midtown Comics Times Square and a Tara Strong and Andy Price My Little Pony meet and greets and signings at the Kayou booth.
Transformers
The Transformers brand revealed a number of figures including Timelines Optimus Prime and Starscream, Thundercracker, and Windcharger. The brand was also well represented both in the Toys Panel and in the Energon Universe storyline panel. Check out our running Transformers thread here.
Speaking of the Transformers brand while I was at NYCC I was able to interview Design Team Member Evan Brooks where we discussed all things Transformers.
ML: I’m with Evan Brooks on the Transformers design team at New York Comic Con 2025. So as a lifelong Transformers fan, I really love what you’ve been doing with the Studio Series ‘86 line, it’s been one of the lines that has re-energized me into collecting Transformers and as soon as you just launched it, I’ve been full into it. So I’d like to get your take on how you’ve taken to the line.
EB: Of course, absolutely. That’s a pretty broad question but I am lucky enough that when I was moved over to the Transformers team they handed me the Studio Series ‘86 line, and I was so ecstatic because essentially they were started off with, oh, we have to do another movie in the studio series line, let’s do the 86 stuff, and I just couldn’t believe it. I was so happy. We have a new hot rod; he turned out fantastic and we’ve just been trying to really capture and embody those designs that were in the movie that we all grew up and loved and I hope that that’s kind of translated to the figures that we’ve been popping out.
ML; And how deep would you like to go into that line?
EB: So I often joke that if a body appeared in the movie, we will try to make a figure of them no matter how obscure, even if it’s in a single frame, We asked the community if it would be okay to expand the reach to characters that actually showed up in Season 1 and 2 but never showed up in the movie because they should have been there but they weren’t and it seems like a lot of the community was OK with it so we’re hoping to continue to build out that line keep going.
ML: And how about when you had to retool figures like Megatron. What was your main focus when really trying to pin that figure down?
EB: Just a little bit of retooling. The main focus was the robot mode for sure. We wanted to make sure that we got one that looked pretty dang good and close to the G1 animation. Megatron is a very iconic silhouette so we wanted to make sure that we got that. We couldn’t turn him into a blaster due to toy gun safety laws and things of that nature but Megatron has been a tank since the 90s, so we hope that everybody understands, and we thought he was turned out pretty awesome. We worked with Takara-Tomy, they do fantastic work, and I think that figure turned out great.
ML: Thinking a bit larger years ago you had a huge Haslab Unicron.
EB: Yes, we did! Yes!
ML: What would the movie be without a Unicron? Are there any thoughts about a reissue or retool that would allow people who missed it but now collect the ‘86 line to get one?
EB: So yeah. We have certainly have talked about that since now Titan Scale exists in Studio Series we have talked about revisiting Unicron as a Titan and that’s certainly on the table. It may be far out there in the future but it could possibly happen
ML: I’ve also noticed recently scale has been a very important factor when you’re designing new lines. Going back to the ‘86 line all the figures have a much more proportionate scale.
EB: Well, we’re trying!
ML: How difficult does that become when you’re trying to keep faithful to the source material but there’s a lot of mass shifting.
EB: There’s a lot of inconsistencies but we try to do the best of our ability on how people perceive the characters. Optimus Prime and Megatron are usually like the biggest Transformers if you’re not counting Jetfire, but we’re trying to establish a baseline of them and doing the best that we can and we hope that people appreciate it and enjoy what we’re putting out there
ML: Moving a little bit out of the Studio Series ‘86 line what other lines are coming that you’re that you personally excited about?
EB: Another segment. I work on is called Timelines. It’s our Pulse Exclusive line that pretty much reimagines the Transformers characters waking up in different eras that aren’t the 1980s. So previously, we had content about that from our comic book the Hearts of Steel that came out about 20 years ago, it’s about the Transformers characters waking up in the Industrial Revolution and they all turn into steam engines, steam trains. We already did four figures from it and it had a very good reception. Now we’re moving on into different themes and the first theme we’re exploring is Feudal Japan and reimagining what the characters could look like, if they woke up in Feudal Japan, and that’s been really fun to work with Takara-Tomy and I hope everybody else enjoys it. We have revealed Optimus Prime and Starscream here at the convention and we’ll be showing off Megatron and Bumblebee in a few weeks at MCM London.
ML: I’ve noticed there a lot more crossovers lately; not just within Hasbro brands but outside as well. You’ve had NFL, Hot Wheels, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and even Ghostbusters. Anything else that you’re cooking up?
EB: So Transformers has reached a really interesting point in time now where these brands and IPs are actually coming to us and asking us if we would like to partner and make a Transformers figure for them. In the past it was us reaching out to them. I think a lot of this started with our Star Wars collaboration back in the day but now it’s a completely open waters. It could be anything and everything and we’re really excited about that. Now we have the NFL helmets, The Hot Wheels toys like you mentioned before and there’s definitely more coming. So it’s really exciting.
ML: Shifting focus. I know you have the new Superion, which is a completely different retool of how a combiner would be. Essentially you have a figure than the other figures break apart and snap into.
EB: Yep, so we call that our frame system and that is to make it so that you can actually play with the combiner. That’s the one thing about combiners is like it’s such a fun gimmick but after you have actually merged them together they can be they can be very difficult to pose and have fun with. So using this frame system allows us to build a lot of the ratchets into their joints and also make sure that the characters themselves are still size accurate to what people expect them to be. But we just hope that people can have fun with them like this.
ML: Finally, we’re at New York Comic Con and I see a huge Studio Series Optimus Prime riding a Grimlock…
EB: Yep so we revealed this at San Diego Comic Con. Titan Class has now come to Studio Series and we wanted to start off with the Age of Extinction Grimlock, who anybody who has seen that movie, the 4 Dinobots that show up are titanic. They are huge! So we couldn’t launch Titan Class in Studio Series without going into the Dinobots, and I think we’ve already confirmed we’re going to do all 4. We’re going to make sure to get him out there and we wanted to make sure that our Leader Class Optimus Prime could ride him, because that’s one of the most iconic moments in the film. He’s not in color right now but we will be revealing the color version very shortly.
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering was another property that enjoyed lots of time in the spotlight. Along with a whole separate booth on the show floor, there were multiple panels, and other promotions for the brand. The Wizards of the Coast themed booth amalgamated the company’s presence at other conventions throughout the year with one portion of the booth decked out like a street bodega and promoting the Marvel Spider-Man Magic The Gathering crossover set. In this area of the booth fans could get a Spider-man themed starter deck and promo card and learn to play. Another portion of the book was set up with the Nickelodeon Avatar: The Last Airbender crossover set and featured a photo-op with a cabbage cart. The big reveal came from the further collaboration with Nickelodeon and a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover set. A panel during the convention revealed the set and some of the cards and offered fans a promo card as well while another portion of the booth space was decked out like a minicomic book shop showing off some of the products that will be released as part of the set. All-in-all Magic: The Gathering has had quite a year and with PAX Unplugged coming up in a few weeks I don’t think it is quite over yet.
Tron
A major announcement from Hasbro at NYCC was that they obtained the license and are planning on a line of Tron figures. On display were figures based on the newer movies along with a Haslab TRON: Heroes of the Grid 3.75-Inch Collectors Set which is currently funding here.
Star Wars
Star Wars panels and display showcased a range of Vintage and Black Series figures with reveals including Purge Trooper & Patrol Trooper, Darth Vader (Duel’s End), and Boba Fett figures. You can check out individual product images here and head to Hasbro Pulse to purchase!
Marvel
Marvel had a display or Legends figures along with panel reveals which included Apocalypse, Phantom Rider, Warbow, Dark Avengers Spider-Man, Enchantress, Werewolf By Night, Wolverine (WWII Logan), and Spider-man 2099 figures among others! Check out our running Hasbro Marvel thread here.
G.I. Joe
G.I Joe was again focused on their Cold Slither set and the G.I. Joe Classified Series. NYCC reveals included Ghost Viper & D.I.R.E., Edwin “Lifeline” Steen, and Night-Viper figures. Check out our running G.I. Joe releases thread here.
Cold Slither Live Concert
Cold Slither were back by popular demand with a return to stage during New York Comic Con. Presented by Hasbro and Reigning Phoenix Music the concert offered fans a blend of original metal songs and covers. Based on their depiction in the 1985 animated series G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero, the concert was held at The Gramercy Theater. Fans were able to get limited-edition show-only gear, including exclusive t-shirts, a poster, LPs, CDs, a collectible pin and more. Check them out here!
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters was a again a bit quiet with mostly items that had already been shown off including The Real Ghostbusters Kenner Classics Ecto-Glow Ecto-1, and Plasma series Proton pack.
Dungeon & Dragons
Dungeon & Dragons had a small display were also showcasing branded products including minis from WizKids and other odds and ends including plush, vinyl, drinkware, and more.
Throughout the weekend fans could also head to Hall 1E to also learn to play D&D. Led by The Dungeon Alliance Inc. and supported by Wizards of the Coast fans were introduced to D&D with demos of the Borderlands starter set, previews of the new Stranger Things: Welcome to The Hellfire Club box set, and the upcoming Forgotten Realms setting book. Additionally, The Dungeon Alliance ran a series of fundraising tables and ended up raising $6,300 for The Trevor Project, a non-profit suicide prevention organization providing crisis support services for LGBTQ+ youth. Finally for the release of R.A. Salvatore’s newest novel The Finest Edge of Twilight. Penguin Random House hosted signing sessions with Bob throughout the weekend to coincide with the release of the newest Dungeons & Dragons novel.
