San Diego Comic-Con is a must-attend event for toy collectors.  This year, one of the hottest toys will be Super7′s Alien “ReAction Figures”.  As we previously, the 1979 Alien action figures were canceled, and these 3 3/4″ figures are based on the prototypes.  Now, under supervision from 20th Century Fox, Super7 will sell these limited edition figures at SDCC.  Per the press release, “Each is stylized exactly as items from the ‘golden age’ of action figures with approximately five points of articulation, accessories, and period-authentic blister card packaging.”

There will be four different exclusives related to this line at San Diego Comic Con.  Hit the jump for details and images.  The 2013 San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 18 – 21st.

This weekend, we’ve been showing you toys from Toy Fair 2013 including action figures for Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, and more. It’s all about the merchandising, and if you’re going to get reasonably-priced action figures, you can’t do much better than NECA.  The toymaker has released images for some of their big 2013 toys with a look at their figures for The Lone Ranger and Kick-Ass 2.  The figures look good, but they also provide our first look at Kick-Ass 2‘s villain, “The Motherfucker” (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), formerly Red Mist.  It’s a wild costume, I’m curious to see what it looks like in real life.

Hit the jump to check out the toys.  The Lone Ranger opens July 3rd.  Kick-Ass 2 opens June 28th.

We currently live in a time when fans wary of spoilers not only have to look out for stories about a particular movie, but they also have to avoid any and all toys related to said movie.  Just last night some LEGO sets spoiled a couple of action set pieces from Iron Man 3, and today we ironically get our first look at the villainous Faora from Man of Steel by way of an action figure.  I wouldn’t categorize this Superman toy as a spoiler, but this is the first time we’ve gotten to see what director Zack Snyder’s iteration of the character (played by Antje Traue) looks like.

Hit the jump to take a look at the figure, and click here to get a look at the action figures for Superman, Jor-El, and General Zod.  Man of Steel opens in 3D on June 14th.

It’s the first day of the New Year (and I hope you have a good one!), but it might be time to start getting your Christmas list ready.  ThreeA is planning to release Portal 2 action figures for Atlas and P-Body this upcoming holiday season.  As you can see, there’s a great level of detail.  They even come with their own little portal guns!  So cute!

Hit the jump to check out the figures.  No word yet on pricing or if they’ll be sold separately.

Toymaker NECA has revealed the first images of their upcoming Aliens action figures as well as a 1:1 replica of the gravity gun from the videogame Half-Life.  The Aliens figures include Hicks (Michael Biehn), Hudson (Bill Paxton), and an alien warrior.  The Hicks and Hudson figures are nearly 7″ tall and feature over 30 points of articulation.  Hicks and Hudson also come with multiple heads, but why you would want to use anything other than the “Game over, man!  Game over!”-head is beyond me.  As for the alien warrior, it’s 9″ tall and has over 30 points of articulation including a bendable tail, hinged jaw, and sliding inner mouth.  It’s perfect for destroying tiny Lance Henriksen.

As for the gravity-gun replica, it’s currently in development, and the image NECA has released is a model, not the final version.  However, it should still do a good job of taking out head-crabs.  Hit the jump to check out images of the toys.  The figures and the replica are due out in the spring.

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, in one of the most needless attempt at being coy, director Zack Snyder wouldn’t confirm if Zod was the villain Man of Steel.  An audience member during the Q&A assumed Michael Shannon was playing Zod, and Snyder danced around whether or not Zod was Shannon’s character.  Today, rough cut toy commercials apparently confirm that Zod is the villain.  The commercials also possibly reveal new details about the film.  Not that Superman has Stretch Armstrong powers and will fling himself at his enemies in order to defeat them (although that would be pretty terrific), but as is usually the case, the toys probably reveal some plot element that the studio wanted to keep under wraps.

Hit the jump to check out the commercials, but be warned that they might contain spoilers.  Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013.

LAIKA’s stop-motion animated feature ParaNorman is now playing nationwide, and the film is (unsurprisingly) getting an enthusiastically positive response.  Our own Matt Goldberg called it a “sharp, witty comedy with a ton of heart that puts a thoughtful twist on the zombie genre.”  In celebration of the release, Huckleberry has unveiled a line of ParaNorman figures that includes Norman, his friends, and of course zombies.  Images of the eight figure 3.5”-4” line have now been released, and you can take a gander after the jump.

Hot Toys is known for their high-quality action figures that are well-designed to the point of being disturbingly like life (e.g. their Joker figure for The Dark Knight).  Today, they’ve released images of their Batman action figure for The Dark Knight Rises.  It has the remarkable level of detail we’ve come to expect from Hot Toys.  You could almost play a real-or-fake game with images of the figures.

Hit the jump to check out images of the action figure along with a recap of our recent The Dark Knight Rises coverage.  The figure retails for $259.99 and Sideshow Collectibles is now taking pre-order.  The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th.

As we’ve previously reported, Hasbro’s LEGO-style toy line KRE-O has the license for Star Trek.  The company will be premiering their upcoming playsets at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, but today Hasbro has released an image of the KRE-O version of the U.S.S. Enterprise.  I’m not sure how many pieces it has, but it’s hopefully one of those sets that takes an entire afternoon to build (if not longer).  Hasbro has also released a teaser trailer that’s almost a shot-for-shot remake of the original movie’s teaser trailer, but with KRE-O blocks.  There will also be a KRE-O Star Trek digital short produced by Bad Robot at Comic-Con.

Hit the jump to check out the image, teaser trailer, and press release.  The 2012 San Diego Comic-Con runs from July 12 – 15th.  The KRE-O toys will hit shelves in spring 2013 to coincide with the release of Star Trek 2, which opens May 17, 2013.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward retired from football after being released from the team for basically being old.  While Ward earned the MVP Award for Super Bowl XL, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has two Super Bowl rings, and a Dancing with the Stars championship, perhaps his greatest achievement will be his tenure for the Gotham Rogues in The Dark Knight Rises, and his ability to outrun Bane’s sinkhole machine.  Now fans can remember Ward’s fictional touchdown run by pre-ordering the Hines Ward Gotham Rogues action figure.  Designed by McFarlane Toys (who do good work), the toy will be available this October.

Hit the jump to check out the action figure.  The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th.

Batman doesn’t get Memorial Day off, and neither do we, so this morning we have a load of The Dark Knight Rises promotional material headed your way.  After the jump, you can check out a new TV spot, two banners, images scanned from the latest issue from Empire Magazine, a look at the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive action figure, and some promo posters.

Also, in case you didn’t check them out last night, click on the corresponding links for our visit to the set of the movie, and our interviews with Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, and producer Emma Thomas.  The Dark Knight Rises opens July 20th.

In February, we reported that Hasbro had picked up the toy license for Star Trek beginning in 2013.  Specifically, Hasbro would be bringing Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise gang into the toy company’s “Kre-O” line of LEGO-style playsets.  The image with the press release was more of a slapdash, “Hey, these will exist” work, but a new image shows a better representation of what we can expect next year.  As you can see, these figurines will really nail down the chiseled jaws and Kirk’s patented smirk.  While these figures are all well and good, I’m interested in seeing how Kre-O will handle the Enterprise.

Hit the jump to check out the full image.  Star Trek 2 opens May 17, 2013.  Click here for all our coverage on the sequel.

Diamond Select Toys’ revealed their Avengers toy lines at the Chicaco Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) this past weekend.  One of the toys was an action figure for a foot soldier in Loki’s army.  It was previously rumored that these troops were the Skrulls from the comics, but as you can see, they bear no resemblance to the shape-shifting aliens.

Hit the jump to check out the action figure in both 7-inch Marvel Select and 2-inch Minimates form, click here for new images from The Avengers, and click here for the clips and featurettes round-up we posted yesterday.  The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, and Clark Gregg.  The Avengers opens in 3D on May 4th.

Studios try so hard to keep a tight lid on their movies (until a month before the flick opens and the TV spots and trailers spoil everything anyway), but those pesky toy-makers always let snapshots of their products leak out.  LEGO-rip-off Mega Blocks are making toys for The Amazing Spider-Man, and box art of those toys have gone online.  If you’re curious where some set pieces are probably going to happen, you can find out after the jump.  Sony has also been trying to keep The Lizard hidden (probably because the special effects aren’t ready for public consumption), but some plastic remote doohickey has a nice image of Spidey’s new foe.  Another toy has Spider-Man driving a Spidey-mobile, and  I know it won’t be in the movie, but someone needs to explain to me why Spider-Man needs a car.

Hit the jump to check out the images, but beware of possible spoilers.  The film stars Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field.  The Amazing Spider-Man opens in 3D on July 3, 2012.

Merchandising makes up a huge revenue stream for blockbuster movies and making all that merch doesn’t happen overnight.  The rights are sold off far in advance to manfucaturers and even though The Avengers isn’t due out until May 4, 2012, mock-ups have already leaked out.  Collider reader Max (who also sent over the promo poster for Despicable Me 2) has sent us some mock-ups of a backpack, sweatshirt, and packaging for an Iron Man action figure for The Avengers.  These designs may not be final, but they look official and Max has been a reliable gent in the past.

If you want a sneak peek at the merchandise that will likely dominate your local Target come May 2012, hit the jump.  Directed by Joss Whedon, The Avengers stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Cobie Smulders, and Samuel L. Jackson.  I’m hoping we’ll get Avengers-branded Nick Fury eye-patches.