Welcome to Flashback Friday where I discuss pops from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anything pop related to the MCU is up for discussion including films and television series. Let’s jump right in with this week’s discussion which was chosen by me. Captain America makes his return to the series with a San Diego Comic Con exclusive.
Discussion: Avengers: Age of Ultron had a lot of hype to live up to following the first Avengers film. I felt that Captain America was a bit overshadowed but Age of Ultron put him right into the center of conflict with Tony teasing what was to come in Civil War. He definitely emerged as more of a leader which was exciting to see. He even put a new team together which I really enjoyed. For the readers that haven’t been following along since the beginning you wouldn’t know that I’m a huge Captain America fan. I’ve been a Cap fan before the films debuted but seeing Captain America: The First Avenger in theaters solidified my admiration for the character. This specific Captain America pop is my absolute favorite version because it looks great and there’s a good story behind how I got my hands on one.
I’ve been going to San Diego Comic Con for over a decade now and I can tell you from experience that the Funko line and distribution of wristbands/tickets is one of the most frustrating aspects of the entire convention. I pretty much gave up on trying to get in line each year because it was such a huge hassle. However, in 2015 when I checked the SDCC Funko releases I saw this amazing Captain America pop that I knew I had to add to my collection. So a few friends and myself decided to hit the Funko booth first thing every morning until one of us made it into the line. After three failed attempts thanks to security closing the line when we were clearly in line and kicking us out two of my friends finally made it. They were able to pick up Cap for me and needless to say that made the entire event for me. Later that year I was able to get a second one with a “Summer Convention Exclusive” sticker while the original one had a “San Diego Comic Con Exclusive” sticker. Both are now sitting on my desk at home in hard cover cases.
I paid $15.00 for Captain America at the con which is the normal retail for these exclusives at this particular venue. During the event people were reselling Cap on eBay for around $80.00. Eventually, when I got my second one I ended up trading for it on our Facebook group page for a $30.00 value. Nowadays, you should be able to find it between $20.00 – $30.00 on Amazon and eBay. And, if you’re interested in trading for it like I did you should definitely check out our page for all of your collection needs.
Trivia: Welcome to our weekly trivia where you have a chance of choosing the pop for the next column. Be the first to comment with the correct answers to both questions and win. If you become the weekly champion you must choose a pop within the MCU that has not been featured in the Flashback Friday series. This week’s questions will come from Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Q1: Which two characters did Joss Whedon want to appear in the final sequence but were unable to do so because of timing issues?
Q2: The scene where Ultron commands his drones to fly down and latch themselves onto the truck in Seoul took how many days to complete?
I hope you enjoyed this week’s column. Please check back next week for a brand new Flashback Friday. Excelsior!!
Matt Norris