Hasbro's connection to Marvel Comics and Star Wars predates Disney's involvement with either company. In the early 90's Hasbro bought Kenner toys, the original Star Wars action figure licensee. And in the 1980's Marvel was instrumental in helping to sell the G.I. Joe story. Marvel made their own toys in-house in the 80's and 90's, a tradition that lasted until 2007 when Marvel made the decision to end their own toy business and licensed the characters to Hasbro. This post will cover both franchises new and upcoming Hasbro products which were featured at this year's Toy Fair.

Marvel

Walking into Hasbro's Marvel display made me feel like a super hero suiting up to join my teammates for an epic battle, the likes of which have never been seen before. Almost every Marvel character I can think of was represented in some way, plus many obscure ones that will delight adult comic fans. First up was their toy line based on Disney XD's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6 animated series, starting with pretend play mask and web slinger. This Spidey Sense Mask is different from ones that came before it with light-up eyes and over 40 phrases that are activated by a chin strap inside. Pretend play isn't limited to just red Spider-Man either, with masks and gloves themed to Iron Spider and Ultimate Spider-Man.

But the most exciting part of Hasbro's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6 toy line is definitely the 6-inch action figure line. It appears that no character was left behind, with all 6 villains and enough friends of Spidey to take them down. And the Daily Bugle play set allows for some fun, web slinging action with these figures.

Moving to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, toys from Captain America: Civil War are starting to appear on store shelves with a diverse line of 6-inch action figures and play sets. Similar to Avengers: Age of Ultron, it looks like some of these action figures will come with pieces that can be assembled to form battle towers. In the display shown, I was especially excited to see Black Widow and Scarlet Witch receiving the action figure treatment as female characters are usually passed over in these toy lines. And if this toy display is any indication of the quality of the film, Civil War is going to be epic!

Hasbro's Titan Heroes Series is a 12-inch action figure line that has proven very popular in recent years. Characters from Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6 and Captain America: Civil War are coming soon to the collection. Kids and collectors that prefer a larger action figure experience will have plenty of options when these become available.

Hasbro is also continuing its premium line of collectible figures aimed at adult collectors with Marvel Legends 3.5 and 6-inch articulated action figures. And new in 2016 is a line of 12" figures. Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man will make up the initial wave. With this larger size, there's potential for greater detail and even more points of articulation. With interchangeable heads and hands, these adult collectibles were designed to be removed from the box and displayed.

The primary focus with the Marvel Legends line continues to be the 6-inch figures. A new line will be themed to Captain America: Civil War. What sets some of these new figures apart from past versions is action elements that Hasbro has never done before. Captain America's shield can be held in his hands or stored on his back and Iron Man has removable repulsor blasts emitting from his hands. This wave also features Black Panther, Nick Fury, Red Guardian and Nuke.

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For Captain America Wave 3, Secret War Captain America features a shield mid-throw. And the movie version of Scarlet Witch from Avengers: Age of Ultron comes with pink magic that can be attached to her hands.

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Spider-Man Wave 2 features Ultimate Peter Parker, Ultimate Miles Morales, Hobgoblin and Silk.

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This summer will see a new X-Men wave featuring Deadpool, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, Phoenix, Havok, Cable and Rogue.

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And as we get closer to fall, Hasbro will release more information about the Doctor Strange series. But at Toy Fair, they unveiled three characters that will be part of this wave: Dormammu, Iron Fist and Nico Minoru.

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Hasbro also has an impressive number of 3.5-inch figures coming in 2016. Three comic books will be paired with two action figures. The collection also adds characters from Spider-Man, Avengers, X-Men and Guardians of the Galaxy.

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Hasbro is also entering the realm of Cosplay later this year with a Captain America shield and Iron Man helmet for adults. Both items are currently available for preorder.

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Lastly, it wouldn't be Hasbro without some classic games receiving a new layover. Trouble, Connect Four and Monopoly will all receive Marvel versions in 2016 and they also have a Marvel chess set on the horizon.

To visit a galaxy far, far away, go to page 2.

Star Wars

If there's one toy in Hasbro's line of upcoming Star Wars products that I have to have, it's the Takodana play set. It comes with Rey, Finn, BB-8 and one of my favorite characters from The Force Awakens, Maz Kanata. Yes, this will be mine.

The adult collectible Black Series line continues with some new figures. From the prequels, Jango Fett makes his debut with interchangeable heads. Rey also makes her Black Series debut along with Revan from Knights of the Old Republic and a Snowtrooper.

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Sabine from Star Wars: Rebels will be the first character from the Disney XD series to be featured in the Black Series. C-3PO also joins with his red arm from The Force Awakens. And Princess Leia returns, this time in her dress from A New Hope.

In the 12-inch line of Star Wars toys, more Force Awakens characters are beginning to appear in stores. Rey, Finn, BB-8 and R2-D2 will be available soon.

A pretty awesome Tie-Fighter is also coming soon, along with a collectible Kylo Ren helmet aimed at adults.

And if you prefer your boardgames to be a little more galactic than usual, you'll love Star Wars versions of Clue, Monopoly and Operation.

If the lineup of Star Wars products seems slight, just remember that Hasbro was not allowed to reveal any toys for Rogue One, which is where their attention is most likely focused right now. Based on the success of last year's Force Friday, I wouldn't be surprised if a similar event is repeated next Fall with plenty of surprise releases by Hasbro.