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While companies look the other way and ignore early reactions to products far too often for many fans’ liking, this week we’ve seen two examples where feedback was heard and the art is a vast improvement as a result. The first example was the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, where Sonic at least looks like himself and not a monster now (even if the writing still doesn’t seem impeccable). The other—and actually relevant—instance is the latest Sideshow Collectibles statue: the J. Scott Campbell Spider-Man & Mary Jane maquette is now up for order!
When Spider-Man fans got their first look at the Sideshow “Renew Your Vows” art print by J. Scott Campbell, it was met with a warm and heartfelt “Awwwww!” reception of love. When Sideshow Collectibles I debuted the matching maquette statue that went along with the artwork and brought it along to SDCC 2019 this summer, the reaction was, well… a little bit more cold.
While I’ve always thought the statue as a whole was more or less really nice, there’s no getting around the fact that Peter Parker looked like a crazy stalker to me in the first prototype, with his creepy face and arms around MJ’s neck giving me a less than comfortable feeling.
Thankfully, Sideshow caught on to the fact that many fans were more than a little skeeved out by that prototype, and four months later the statue is finally up for order with a new and improved face that’s 100% less squirm-inducing!
While I still would have preferred Peter Parker have correctly-colored brown eyes instead of blue (regardless of what color they are on the art print), I think this statue looks pretty terrific now after the change.
My wife saw me perusing the official images of this statue and immediately commented on the special attention given to Peter Parker’s booty, complimenting his “butt dimples”. I hadn’t noticed such a thing myself, but for anyone wanting a female perspective about what’s interesting about this piece—there ya go!
Mary Jane looks joyful and sexy and fun all at once. I don’t think this MJ will garner the same negativity as the old one doing the laundry (nor should she). This is probably my favorite depiction of Mary Jane in statue form since, well… ever!
There is an Exclusive Edition for the Sideshow Collectibles website, as (almost) always—but this time, I’m unconvinced that it’s an item many collectors will be frothing at the mouth over. The EX accessory is: a tiny resin figurine of a plush tiger. Oh, don’t get me wrong—it’s pretty dang cute, and a nice play on Mary Jane’s “tiger” nickname for Peter. But as a buying incentive, it’s sort of… “Ehn!”
Which brings us to the one major downer about this piece for many folks: the price tag. Although this is only 12” tall, this two-character statue retails for $525 for the EX and $515 for the collector edition.
Many people flipped out when they saw that price, but as this is essentially two 1:5 scale statues in one plus a couch… I’m “okay-ish” with the MSRP. Sub-$500 would have likely sold many more units, but I can believe this is an acceptable price for two statues in one. Barely.
The Sideshow Collectibles Spider-Man and Mary Jane statue is now up for order, and is scheduled to be released in mid-2020. J. Scott Campbell pieces with MJ tend to be a hit, but with the price on this item and the view of the EX item being a bit of an unnecessary add-on, I imagine collectors will have quite some time to think this one over and decide if it’s for them.
What’s your perspective on this revised J. Scott Campbell Spidey and MJ statue, Marvel collectors? Is the new face for Peter Parker an improvement in your book, or did you prefer the first look? And based off this final prototype’s appearance and cost, is buying this piece under consideration by you?