As 2024 draws to a close, it's time for our annual look back at our favourite action figure releases of the year as a whole. In total I've posted 170 action figure reviews this year with supporting showcase videos on our growing YouTube channel. These have been a mix of new releases and also a good slice of older releases as I continue to catch up from my 'blip' year in 2022.
This is not a top 10 as such and only covers the action figure lines that I personally collect. It is also driven by the figures released in 2024 that I have purchased and received.
Everyone will have differnt thoughts on their favourites of 2024 so please share yours in the comments section or over on our social channels which now includes Bluesky
Lord of the Rings (Diamond Select)
We start with an easy category, that of Diamond Select's Lord of the Rings figures which saw just four mainline releases in 2024 and an SDCC exclusive that was sadly not available for overseas collectors. There has also been an issue in the UK with stocks of Merry and Pippin (Series 7) delayed at most retailers, and this narrowed down our choice considerably. But, even if Merry and Pippin had been in hand there was only going to be one choice for LOTR figure of the year, everyone's favourite gardener Samwise Gamgee.
As a release, Samwise shows off the range of the DST line with a great sculpt, good decor, and a raft of accessories and parts that perhaps had been missing in the earlier releases allowing for plenty of options for displaying Sam from a number of scenes across the LOTR Trilogy
Marvel Legends (Cinematic)
Moving on to one of my larger collections and Hasbro's Marvel Legends series. In this space, I should clarify that I do only collect figures from the Cinematic Universe and associated Disney+ and Sony properties. 2024 has been a pretty slow year for Cinematic releases, particularly with only one Marvel movie to choose from - and no support immediately obvious for the Sony releases outside of the animated Spider-Verse.
There was a pool of just 12 releases to choose from for 2024 and four of these were repacked figures in either the new Marvel Studios packaging (Spider-Man & Iron Man) or the Deadpool Legacy collection (Deadpool & Logan). The only wave to be released (such as it was) was from Deadpool & WOlverine and sadly due to spotty distribution and delays, we do not have these figures as yet. Despite this, I am making the call based on what I have seen that the Wolverine figure would definitely have been an inclusion in our favourite releases with its iconic costume finally brought to life as well as what looks to be an amazing head sculpt.
What remained of the 2024 releases were all deluxe releases of sorts, and it was a difficult decision picking just a couple of these for our end-of-year listing. In the end, we selected Man-Thing over Venom, Colossus and Carnage. While he is a re-work of an existing comic figure, the execution of this conversion is impressive. It also brings us a very obscure cinematic character into our collections, which bodes well for the future and Hasbro's mindset to these releases.
Our other choice was the Deluxe Army Building 2-Pack of the Outriders from Avengers: Endgame. These will be reviewed in full in early 2025 as we only received them very recently - but in hand, they are impressive figures with some well-engineered articulation. They also represent (finally) a desire to release army-building figures for the MCU which may finally open the door to the Chitauri and more.
Nb. The Captain America Brave New World figures arrived as of the 29th December so were too late for this article and will be considered as 2025 releases.
Doctor Who
The Character Options Doctor Who line will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025 and continues to bring us new releases each year. thanks in the main to a partnership with B&M in the UK. This year also saw a return to mainstream retail with the release of new figures from the Ncuti Gatwa 15th Doctor era.
Our first pick for 2024 is from these new 15th Doctor releases. While the retailer releases of the 15th Doctor and Ruby Sunday are impressive, the variant two-pack releases as a Character Options exclusive gave us a marginally better offering across both the Doctor and Ruby with costumes based on their first adventure together and a wider breadth of accessories
For Classic Who I've picked another Character Options Exclusive and the Ruins of Skaro 3-Pack that brought the Movellans into the line as well as re-releasing the highly sought after Bomb Dalek back into circulation. While these releases from Character are restricted and usually just one set per year they continue to allow collectors the opportunity to expand the range
Warhammer 40k (McFarlane)
The only McFarlane property I currently collect is their Warhammer 40k series which reached its 4th year in 2024 with a big overhaul on its packaging and some changes in the format of the figures released. The year saw four full waves released although one of them was a very limited US-only Target exclusive making the Blood Angel Reiver, Ymarl Genestealer, and Iron Warrior almost impossible to find particularly here in the UK.
Of the figures we did get in 2024 my first pick is the Ultramarine Terminator releases, a figure that finally expanded the Space Marines into their Tactical Dreadnaught Armour. While the figure is not perfect and suffers from articulation issues as well as being quite lightweight vs the Marines themselves it does present a new avenue for McFarlane to explore and the possibility in the future for further Chapter Terminators including some of the more reknowned Terminator units such as Deathwing or the Grey Knights.
My other pick for WH40k is the most recent release of Lieutenant Titus from the Space Marine II videogame. Titus represents another step forward for the McFarlane series coming with an alternative head for the first time as well as improved decor and detailing with weathering and Purity Seals. Our review of Titus will follow in early 2025.
Star Wars Black Series
There were 98 figures released in the Star Wars Black Series in 2024 including those who were part of multi-packs. That made the Black Series picks some of the hardest to make. In the end I have selected six figures that represent the franchise as a whole.
We start with the Original Trilogy which had limited representation across the year, but did give us the Deluxe Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead) expanding our Cantina patrons and of course ticking off another box against the original Kenner figures that have released in the Black Series.
The Prequel and Clone Wars era was well served in 2024 with Black Series releases with a particular focus on The Phantom Menance as it celebrated its 25th Anniversary. Our pick from the prequels is the SDCC 2024 release of Darth Maul and his Sith Speeder. The set gave us a brand new Maul figure - who would go on to be released twice more in the year - and his Speeder adding another vehicle into the collection.
The Black Series is also continuing to explore the old Expanded Universe (now Legends) and through the Publishing Series brought us a new 4-pack in 2024 based on Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, particulary The Last Command. While the set featured what were essentially repacks of Luke Skywlaker and Mara Jade, it also gave us a cleverly kitbashed Luuke Clone figure and the highlight - a brilliant Joruus C'Baoth.
My final three picks are all taken from the Disney+ properties, starting with Andor as we look forward to Season 2 in the Spring of 2025. It was this second series that promoted a trio of Andor releases in late 2024 and alongide Cassian and K-2SO, the standout for me personally was Dedra Meero. The figure itself is beatufifully crafted with a fantastic likeness, and expands the Imperial Officer ranks perfectly.
The Mandalorian has of course been a mainstay of Black Series releases since 2019 and as it celebrated its own 5th Anniversary we were given perhaps the best version of Mando to date - albeit under the Book of Boba Fett banner. The Glavis Ringworld Mandalorian reworked Din Djarin in full with better proportioned armour and a soft goods cloak that works with his jetpack. It was also the first Mando to feature a Darksaber. While the Mines of Mandalore release under The Mandalorian collection was based on the same figure it lacked the soft goods and the jetpack.
Our final pick was is from the latest Disney+ Star Wars offering. Skeleton Crew hit out screens in December and at the same time the Black Series put a six figure wave straight into stocks to coincide with the release. Within the wave there was one standout character for fans of the Original Trilogy in particular with Captain Brutus bringing the Shistavanen race, first seen in the Cantina scenes, into the Black Series. Brutus features a glorious sculpt but also a significant selection of five different blasters - all with working holsters. Our review of Brutus and the other Skeleton Crew figures will be up in early 2025.
Your Choices
So those were our picks, but what did you - our readers - think of the figures we reviewed in 2024. We've looked at our blog post visitor numbers for reviews and our YouTube showcase video views to identify two Top 10's from each.
Within these, you can see some common favourites including the Ultramarines Terminator from McFarlane Warhammer 40k, The Last Command Set from Star Wars Black Series, and Glavis Ringworld Mandalorian. There are also some interesting picks based on visitor numbers and views including the Fugitive Doctor and TARDIS, Khorne Berserker and Saruman.
Happy New Year and Welcome to 2025
And so we now set our sights on 2025 and what that may bring. I am hoping for the same mix of Star Wars Black Series releases from across the various eras and am particularly looking forward to the Shadows of the Empire releases.
Marvel Legends will of course see an uptick in release volume in 2025 with three movies incoming as well as the new Daredevil Disney+ series and I the new Captain America, Falcon and Red Hulk are of course already on the way.
It will be interesting to see where the Warhammer series goes in 2025 and I cannot predict what we may or may not see - although the recent Amazon Secret Level episode may provide some inspiration. Meanwhile it seems our Lord of the Rings offerings for 2025 are already laid out and I can't wait to add the Witch King to the collection.
And where will Doctor Who go in 2025? Will the B&M support, which has been steadily reducing year on year, continue and has the new generel retail releases been successful enough to warrant more new series figures?
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About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...
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