2022's Toy News Is Kicking Off With Some Staring Into the Void (2024)

Welcome back to Toy Aisle, io9's regular round up of the latest toy news. We’re kicking off 2022 with a veritable eyeful of new toys to gawk over. Simpsons eyes! Playmobil eyes! Heavily eyeshadowed eyes! Mr. Potato Head eyes! Check it out! With your eyes!!

Super7 The Simpsons Ultimates! Wave 1 Figures

Just a few months after revealing the initial collection, Super7 has shared the next lineup for its The Simpsons Ultimates! figures, and once again it fails to deliver regular versions of the Simpson family itself. Instead, the closest we get is a masked Bartman figure who’s joined by Duffman, Krusty the Clown, and Homer’s former employer, Hank Scorpio. Each $55 figure includes a mountain of accessories highlighting jokes from the animated series and two swappable alternate facial expressions. If you can’t decide which to get, you can once again pre-order all four in a multi-pack and save yourself zero dollars in the process.

Lego BrickHeadz Stranger Things Demogorgon & Eleven

While still nowhere near close to the staggering number of pop culture-inspired Funko figures you can collect, Lego has been slowly but steadily expanding its line of BrickHeadz buildable caricatures, with the latest additions featuring two of Netflix’s biggest stars: Eleven and the Demogorgon from Stranger Things. You won’t be able to grab them until February 1, but the 192-piece set includes display stand plates, and what appears to be the first Lego Eggo waffle piece.

McFarlane DC Universe The Batman Drifter Bruce Wayne and Motorcycle

Look, these days a movie tie-in action figure line is going to find a way to spotlight the main character as often as possible. So with McFarlane having sorted its The Batman Batman figure, of course it’s going to make another that’s Bruce out of his suit. Hence, we’re getting this, a 7" scaled action figure that is frankly more hoodie than man, depicting a “drifter” Bruce that seemingly decided to fight crime looking like he was on the way to a My Chemical Romance gig before he decided that bats were scarier. The Drifter Bruce will be available in two variants, one “masked” (at least, the lower half of his face, presumably not for covid reasons) and an “unmasked” variant exclusive to Target.

However, you’re probably going to want the bike to go with this version of Bruce. Alas, it’s a separate purchase, one that only comes with the bike itself, a stand, and a helmet for Bruce to hold but seemingly not actually fit over his head. All three figures are due out February, with the Drifter Bruce (either variant) costing $20, and the bike $30. [Toyark]

Playmobil Knight Rider K.I.T.T.

Playmobil continues to dig deep into the retro ‘70s and ‘80s toy bin and while previously it delivered playsets featuring the A-Team with their van, Doc and Marty and a time-traveling DeLorean, and even the original cast of Star Trek aboard the USS Enterprise, this summer fans of the Hoff will finally be able to add a Playmobil version of Michael Knight—aka David Hasselhoff—to their collections. The new set also comes with Devon Miles and Bonnie Barstow figures, but most will be hunting it down for its excellent version of K.I.T.T., which includes a working LED scanner, pop-up headlights, and quotes from the popular ‘80s show. You can pre-order it now from Entertainment Earth for $90, with shipping expected sometime in August.

Hasbro Star Wars: The Mandalorian Potato Head The Yamdalorian and the Tot

This is arriving a little late now that Grogu’s off to Jedi school with Luke, and Boba Fett has stolen the Disney+ spotlight from Mando, but we’re not one to turn our noses up at another adorable Potato Head character. We can’t confirm or deny if this helmeted spud works as a bounty hunter, but we do know this set comes with 14 pieces including accessories like a Mandalorian helmet, a Grogu—err, the Tot—in a sling, and other facial adornments for those lucky enough to see the Yamdalorian without his helmet on. It’s available for pre-order from Entertainment Earth for $16, with shipping expected next month.

Lego BrickHeadz Looney Tunes Road Runner & Wile E. Coyote

Lego has long avoided vehicles of war in its playsets—you won’t find buildable tanks or fighter jets for sale—but one of the latest additions to its BrickHeadz collectibles line is a pair of the most notorious offenders of cartoon violence ever to hit the small screen. The 205-piece set includes buildable versions of the scheming Wile E. Coyote and his constant target, the always one-step-ahead Road Runner. Available starting February 1 for $20, the set disappointingly doesn’t include a single Acme accessory, not even a bomb or paintable tunnel.

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