San Diego Comic Con has ended for 2025 and there were a lot of great memories made, and really just makes you look forward to 2026!

Every year there is more to do than one person could possible achieve in the four days of the convention, but with the right planning you can do more than you ever thought was possible.  Rest up in advance, because being a bit sleep deprived can easily take its toll.  Make sure you have comfortable shoes, because between walking the convention floor and between off-site experiences in the downtown gas lamp you’ll easily meet your daily step goals!

As an action figure collector there was a lot to unpack, literally form all the exclusives that were for sale and all the reveals of upcoming releases.  All the major brands were there from Hasbro, Mattel, Bandai, NECA, Mezco, McFarlane and more!  It was a must to check out all the smaller brands to see what they had available and the likes of Icon Heroes and Fresh Monkey Fiction did not disappoint.

As a leader in the action figure market, Hasbro had a both with products displayed including Transformers, Ghostbusters, GIJOE, Star Wars, Marvel and more!  They had a shop with plenty of exclusives available to purchase including the Star Wars Black Series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker Mustafar set, the GIJOE Cold Slither band set, Marvel Legends SNAP set that included Sauron, Shanna and Rogue in the Savage Land theme.  They had a few surprise items that are upcoming releases and gave away a set of Marvel inspired Magik cards with purchase.

Mattel had exclusives as well including a Back to the Future and Jaws Hot Wheels sets.  They revealed plenty of Wresting, Monster High and Barbie figures.  Walking through their booth was always a treat as they rotated giving out pins and even a foam Master of the Universe Sword!

Icon Heroes had their own exclusives fighting cat! Pounce, part of the ZooJitsu line of action figures was available in limited quantities as well as the themed comics and pins.  They revealed that wave two of the line would include the bigger characters, and the much-anticipated fighting shark!

To my surprise, Factory Entertainment revealed some Battlestar Galactica figures and a Colonial Viper prototype.  They had on display both 12-inch figures and 3 ¾ inch figures.  The 12-inch figures were stunning in quality and could easily rival Hot Toys!  The 3 ¾ inch action figures looked fully poseable and showed off the main characters Apollo, Starbuck, Boomer and a pair of Cylons.  Also, on display was a very detailed and realistic to the show Viper scaled for these figures.  A representative at the booth indicated that the figures should retail for about $25 and be carded action figures.  The Viper would probably end up closer to $250.  Although, most of the figures were based on the original series, there was a 12-inch Adama figure based on the reboot, and the rep indicated that they were working on figures for both the original and reboot.

Taking in a few panels can be fun and challenging, as you have to be prepared to get in line for the panel room early.  Depending on the panel room, it can be a few hours to an overnight stay for Hall H.  Even watching the panels for the action figures reveals takes a bit of dedication.

This year Hasbro revealed the HasLab crowdfund for the Star Wars Gunship.  As part of the Vintage Collection.  They later brought the prototype down to the convention floor and it was on display through the weekend, the cost of the HasLab has created bit of division in the TVC collector community, as this ship has been previously released in a slightly smaller out of scale version.  Last year, the GIJOE classified HasLab funded before the end of the convention, and this one is still only about a quarter of the way there as of this writing.  

The Marvel legends team revealed some X-Men 97 figures and a WW2 Wolverine.  They said that they would be looking at the Howling Commandos, which would be awesome.  Also, revealed was a set of Magik and Marvel crossover figures priced at around $40 a piece.  The one I found most interesting was the battle-damaged Spiderman!

Then the Marvel team revealed a timed release.  Mephisto with throne set.  The Mephisto was very similar to the look of the figure that was tier three in the failed engine of Vengeance HasLab a few years ago.  At that time the team said if the EoV didn’t fund we wouldn’t see these versions of the characters.  They said that they re-tooled the body with more articulation and added a second head sculpt.  Seeing this reveal make a collector wonder just how much truth there is in the marketing of a crowdfund.  Still it was nice to see the reveal and the figure is a welcome addition for any Marvel Legends collection.

Off-Sites also command long lines, as you don’t need a comic con ticket to participate in those.  There was some pre-registration a week or so ahead, but getting those required being fast fingered and on the internet at a moment’s notice.  

One of the best off-sites is the paramount Lodge.  The experience is about an hour long and allows you to relax in style.  This year there was a bar with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, sliders and fries.  The bar was themed for the Paramount show Landman.  There was also a Star Trek experience which included taking to the captain chair on the bridge of a starship, a walkthrough featuring the show Dexter and a mission impossible photo op!

After the weekend, I looked back and was satisfied in all that I was able to accomplish and see.  I didn’t get to everything that even I had planned or wanted, but the days were full and I always know there’s next year!  I clock in multiple days of over 15k steps, so that was a bonus accomplishment in my book!

Looking forward to SDCC26!