Marvel Collector Corps: Guardians of the Galaxy

It seems like every other Marvel Collector Corps box that comes out is a little lighter than the one before. By “lighter” I, of course, do not mean weight. Sure, there’s probably a weight difference between the boxes, but what I mean by “lighter” is the contents inside the box. Since the first box came out there seems to be less and less inside each box. Maybe that’s not true, maybe there’s the same amount of things inside. Perhaps, the first box set the bar too high. Maybe, but let’s see.

In this month’s Guardian of the Galaxy box (Just in time for the new Guardians of the Galaxy cartoon), we have a scarf, a mug, 2 pops, and a comic book. Yes, I’m not including the button or the patch. As nice as they are, sometimes, it’s not what draws us to the box. Both could be left out of the box and no one would really notice.

The scarf gets points for the design. On one side, as you can see from the picture, has a Groot stitched the length of the scarf. The other side has the Guardians of the Galaxy stitched in black on both ends, with Star Lord’s eyes stitched in red. It fits the ugly sweater mold that has been very popular the past couple of Christmases.

However, points are deducted because of the material and how the scarf was put together. The material, most likely a synthetic, is not very comfortable. It was very scratchy against my neck. I can see it becoming very bothersome if I had to wear it for any length of time.

The scarf isn’t woven together like a traditional scarf. It’s basically two pieces of material stitched together to make the scarf. From a production standpoint, the construction makes sense. If the scarf was made in the traditional manner, like the warm scarves your grandmother made, it would be too expensive to put in the box. As it is, I couldn’t guess how many times I could wear it before it started to come totally apart. Luckily, I live in the South where winter has been all but nonexistent.

Besides the Pops, the Minis, the Dorbz, the Reaction figures, and ..oh, you get the point, Funko also does mugs. Some of these mugs, the Hulk mug being a great example, looks exactly like the Pop it was based on. Except it’s ceramic and you can drink out of its head.

The Star Lord mug is a good example of a bad Funko mug. It’s solid and doesn’t seem like it would break easily unless you dropped it. Making these mugs ceramic adds a lot to the value of the mug.

However, the paint job brings down the value. The paint looks like it was slapped on by someone who was in a hurry to get to the next project. One could argue that the paint looks like that because each one is individual painted. That’s hogwash. Mass production technology has gotten to the point where each mug could be painted with precision. Also, the Star Lord mug doesn’t look like its Pop equivalent. Every other mug in the line looks like the Pop it was based on. It’s part of the Funko mug charm.
The final piece in the box is the Pops we have come to expect and love in these boxes. I got to admit it, on a 1-10 cute scale these two guys go to 11. Groot and Rocket Raccoon, with bows for some holiday vibes, aren’t full-size Pops, but they’re not Minis either. Medium Pops? Either way, these Pops are a nice addition to anyone’s collection.

However, these medium sized guys are not typical Pops. Groot and Rocket are Christmas tree ornaments. If  you don’t have a tree (Sorry, Marvel, not everyone who will get the box has a Christmas tree. A good friend of mine is Jewish and has never had a Christmas tree. Why would he?) your Pops may have a little less pop to them.

The Groot will stand up on its own because of the flat base. The Rocket ornament, however, is almost impossible to stand up on its own. No matter what I tried Rocket kept falling over. I’m sure if you put your mind to it you could find a way to display the Pop without a tree. I only wonder who’s idea it was to make these bobble head Pops. The bobble in the head is non-existent. You have to try real hard to get these guys to bobble when they’re hanging from a branch. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to take a chance of knocking off my other ornaments just to see Groot bobble.

It may seem I’m being hard on the Guardian box and maybe the Marvel Collector Corps boxes in general. We’re still getting a “$50 of value in exclusive, high-quality Marvel & Funko collectible products. No fluff, no filler.” right? Looking at these three items, and past boxes, I don’t think that’s true anymore. Maybe the upcoming Deadpool box (Just in time for the movie, kids!) will change my mind.

(I haven’t forgotten the comic book. The comic book is your basic, typical comic book. There’s not too much to say about it.)