Not bashing Hasbro because I love the 25th stuff, but I can't help but to think they really dropped the ball on the follow up stuff:

1) Vehicles
2) Two packs
3) Next sets of 5 packs

I've read enough of the Joe Con panel stuff and it kind of bothers me a little we're being told buy this first round of stuff and then you'll get the better stuff after that (vehicles and two packs).

1) Vehicles - I can understand the need to save money on the first drop by using previous vehicles, but the choices here seem to have been offered so many times before. My suggestions with different price points:

a) Cobra Stinger - $20 Seems an obvious choice.
b) Cobra Trouble Bubble - $15 A huge fan favorite
c) Joe Desert Fox (in Camo) - $20 to me, fits in with cutting ede DTC vehicles. They could enen give it the same color scheme as the ROCC or RHINO
d) Sky Hawk (in Camo) - $15 Same as above

2. Comic two packs. Just give us two packs, stop giving us crazy colored versions of figures we already own. I feel this doesn't work for SW and it won't work well for Joe. With the exception of Hawk, almost any other figure choices would have been better.

3. New 5 packs - I finally got to see a good clean shot of the new Cobra soldier five packs for TRU...I will absolutely being passing. The color schemes could not be any less appealling. Just give us the basic figures in the 5 pack for army building, or it you need something special for TRU, then paint them all black or atleast give them a complete camo scheme. I think these will not sell very well.

What does everyone else think??

The sum of two steps forward and one step back is still positive progress. In lieu of recent years, I'll take that! :D

I have to disagree on the vehicles.

the HISS will sell itself, but for me the draw of the Joe vehicles are the two drivers. Crankcase and Grand Slam are two great choices to pack with vehicles, and the vehicles themselves I'm looking forward to getting.

the comic packs and army builder 5 packs are less than stellar, and I will be passing on all of them other than the Hawk comic pack. but at the same time, people moaned about the Cobra Legions set and cried they wouldn' buy them, and yet people are having trouble finding it, so no matter how ugly the Night Watch set is, when collectors see them in stores they will buy them up in droves, because army builders are driven by a compulsion and fear to not pass on any army builder they find, especially standard Cobra troops. but I think the Red Ninja set won't be as hot.

as far as the other two comic packs, if these figures are going to catch on with children (and parents), Snake Eyes/SS and Duke/CC 2 packs could help. I think you can ignore Hasbro's plea to buy them to ensure future waves because wave 2 is already in production, so as long as that wave sells well it should continue the product. sometimes collectors think every product has to be made for them, and if they don't want it it is an affront on them or a bad decision. but a simple change in mindset and simply look at these sets as 2 packs that could have an audience in children and parents who are interested in getting two popular characters in one set, these 2 comic packs aren't awful products and may actually sell -- just to a different segment of consumers than us collectors.

a simple change in mindset and simply look at these sets as 2 packs that could have an audience in children and parents who are interested in getting two popular characters in one set, these 2 comic packs aren't awful products and may actually sell -- just to a different segment of consumers than us collectors.

I think the Doc figure offer alone is insurance enough for Hasbro to feel these will sell no matter what. It's the reason I'm buying them when they hit. Granted, days later they will have layers of paint on them, and be renamed.

Well, Hasbro says the same thing when it comes to Star Wars, their main target audience is kids. So, it's no surprise that's who Hasbro is targeting with the repaint comic packs. The collector support isn't strong enough for it to be Hasbro's only focus, so they gotta get kid friendly product out there. Someone said at the Con Q&A, Hasbro said they need to release a Snake Eyes in every wave, which is a popular character for their target audience.