When did the idea of a “mystery” become so corrupted?
Ironically, mild spoilers will follow.
Let’s better set the stage. Many people who surf to PopVinyls.com have at one point or another signed up for a Funko subscription box – Smuggler’s Bounty (Star Wars related), Collector Corps (Marvel related), or Legion of Collectors (DC related). In enlisting in these programs, you’re essentially agreeing to pay X amount for a box of unknown items. Funko guarantees you certain items, like an exclusive Pop, but you could never be exactly sure what awaited you inside the four cardboard walls. And that’s what made it so exciting. You could theorize, based on the theme, what you might find, but that’s all it was – a guess.
Lately, and in this humble writer’s opinion, we’re getting too much information. The mystery part of the mystery box is missing. For instance, the only thing Smuggler’s Bounty subscribers had to do to find out what exclusive Pops were in their Rogue One box was look at the back of any box from the Rogue One line. What’s that about? The upcoming Smuggler’s Bounty box has been boasting its Han with Tauntaun figure for months now. Where’s the excitement of surprise in that? Or how about those holiday Mystery Boxes sold by GameStop, Wal-Mart, or Barnes and Noble where they tell you that you have the chance to get one of four mystery Pops. Oh, and hit the link to find out what the mystery Pops are.
While my report cards may say differently, I’m not completely unintelligent. I get that Funko needs to hook people in with the promise of one awesome figure or another, but does that need to happen at the expense of the mystery? Are people really that uncomfortable with not knowing ahead of time what they’re getting? Isn’t announcing the theme enough?
Christmas is no fun if you already know what is inside the packages you’re opening. Am I the only one who thinks there’s too little mystery in our mystery boxes?
What do YOU think?
Matt Norris