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{{trope}}
{{Examples Need Sorting}}
▲{{quote box|[[File:environment-specific-action-figure2_5633.jpg|link=Spider Man (Comic Book)|right]]}}
The tendency for toylines of [[Merchandise
* A snow version, with skis and a white winter outfit. Often called "Arctic Action Whatever."
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* [[Thememobile|Vehicles]] for every superhero popular enough to have their own toyline, even - no, ''especially'' ones that have no need for one. [[Running Gag|Fires missiles.]]
Additionally, these extra designs will almost always go way off color scheme or character concept: it's not unusual to see Batman sporting bright [[Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja|blue]], [[Highly
It's almost [[Did Not Do the Research]], only they ''did'' do the research... ''[[Subverted Trope|market research]]''. (And, ''sometimes'', environmental research.)
Some [[Merchandise
{{examples|Examples:}}▼
* The ''[[Street Fighter]]'' GI Joe line all had a standard assortment of GI. Joe weaponry such as rifles, handguns, knives, etc. The [[Street Fighter (
* ''[[G.I. Joe]]'' does this all the time for their regular characters. Average soldiers get jungle uniforms, space uniforms, toxic waste uniforms...despite the large number of characters who are specifically trained to deal with these environments. In many ways this is
* [[Batman]] toys have so many technicolor backpacks that shoot missiles that it's surprising to find a toy ''without'' one. Not to mention the fact that he has a costume for every single biome on this planet and a few others. [[Crazy Prepared|Perhaps the only justified example of this trope on record]]--[[Memetic Badass|according to the internet, anyway]]. [[Batman Can Breathe in Space|For some reason]].
** Annoyingly, this makes it ''very'' hard to find a Batman that ''actually looks like Batman.'' Removing the snap-on armor and missile backpacks and such usually just left you with a white Batman or Batman with yellow stripes or metal waffle armor. Yes, metal waffle armor. Additionally, many of the accessories replace the cape, so you're missing that too if you remove them.
** ''[[Lego Batman]]: The Video Game'' even acknowledged this when the game forced you to at least once per level change your suit to one of Glassbreaking-Batman or Thermosuit-Batman and Magneticfeet-Robin. The LEGO toyline the game was based off only had Batman in his standard grey/black, grey/blue and all black costumes.
** To give you an idea of how bad this is: "Combat Belt Batman" is the ONLY regularly-colored Batman from [[Batman:
* You can buy toys of ''[[The Flash]]'' on ''[http://speedforce.org/2010/02/batman-brave-and-the-bold-flash-action-figure/ a motorcycle]''. [[Sanity Slippage|Buh.]] Let's not get started on Superman's ''flying car,'' ([[Sanity Slippage|Muh?]]) which has grabbing arms extending from the sides that clearly have about a billionth of his strength. Like the Spider-Car mentioned below, this ''originates in the comics'' in defiance of all logic.
** Superman's Supermobile only appeared marginally earlier in the comics at best and was obviously put there for merchandising purposes. The comics tried to explain it away as best as possible; basically, he could use the car to shield himself from dangerous things and it didn't actually have an engine; he just powered it himself, including the flying and the fists.
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* The ''[[Iron Man]]'' toylines (1990s, Movie and the recent Animated one) do this, with the caveat that some of the armors actually do appear in the comics, especially the Hydro, Space and Stealth models. In fact, a great many of the comic and cartoon armors do ''not'' have toys yet. Some of them would be nightmares even to adventurous toymakers.
** Also a bit justifiable, in that it's somewhat in-character for Tony Stark to make ARC reactor-powered, gold-titanium alloy racecars and jetskis for himself.
* ''[[
** Fun fact: [[All There in the Manual|According to the art book,]] the show's [[Take That]] at [[Scary Impractical Armor]] was in part a shot at toymakers' requests for armored variants.
* Semi-averted with ''[[
** While, again, it's true to the universe, ''[[
* ''[[
* While ''[[
** The series took it a step further for ''[[
** In 1993, ''[[
*** Then again, both [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707185339/http://www.rangercentral.com/toy-mmpr1.htm the 1993 toyline] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110627144215/http://www.rangercentral.com/toy-mmpr2010-1.htm the 2010 toyline] have roughly the same stuff - basic figures, play weapons, zords, and mini figurines. Yeah, the 2010 line has more vehicles and figures that transform into [[Dinosaurs Are Dragons|dragons(?)]] and stuff, but it's hard to get that worked up when the 1990s version had [https://web.archive.org/web/20110616231945/http://www.rangercentral.com/toy-mmpr4.htm a girl's fashion assortment].
** For ''[[
* There were toys of ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' in desert camo (''over his regular oufit''), and scuba gear (''with built in water gun'') and a Spider-Car for...when he's not in the city? Ceremonial occasions?
*** How about [http://www.thesneeze.com/2004/spiderman-3-the-quest-for-dignity.php a baseball player? (''Yes, over his friggin' costume!'')] (Worse, it's not ''quite'' the stupidest outfit on that page.)
* Speaking of which, Marvel put out an ''entire toyline'' that consisted of nothing but The Underwater Version of their characters, which were also designed to be played with in water. Included a green-veined Venom toy with webbed parts and fins that actually was really cool.
* Similar to the billion stormtrooper/clonetrooper variants mentioned above, sort-of a reversal in ''[[Transformers]]'': characters that are completely different from one other can be the same toy with a different colour scheme/minor gimmick/face sculpt.
** Played straight with the ''[[Transformers (
** ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' turned an (originally) smallish couple of toylines into [[Loads and Loads of Characters]] through repaints, sticking new heads on otherwise identical figures, and occasionally putting the same parts in a slightly different configuration. Later lines follow suit, even if the character the new paintjob represents isn't actually in the show or comic. (For example, ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' had a white Optimus Prime called Ultra Magnus. ''[[Transformers Armada]]'' doesn't, but one of ''Armada'' Optimus Prime's toys got rereleased in white with the name Ultra Magnus anyway.) Therefore, where there's a Starscream, you can bet a Skywarp (black repaint) and Thundercracker (blue repaint) won't be far behind, on the shelves if not in the show. Lately, the radioactive berserker Sunstorm from [[Dreamwave Comics]] has been added.
** Similarly, any construction vehicle will be painted green and purple and called a Constructicon.
** It extends to different toylines than the one the original design was created for, leading to some interesting questions, like "What is the significance of a [[Transformers Armada|Mini-con]] in the [[Transformers Film Series|Movieverse]]?"
** A more literal example of this would be Movieverse Brawl; both the Deluxe figure and the Leader sized one got a Desert Cameo style repaint.
* ''[[
* Though this trope happens in most ''[[Spider-Man (Comic Book)|Spider-Man]]'' lines (as noted above), it was somewhat averted for the first two [[Spider-Man (
* Mocked thoroughly in ''[[Watchmen (
* ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'' had this when their toyline was big. The first season gave them their standard uniforms; later iterations featured different costumes and "fearful" expressions, different equipment (often bordering on the implausible), color-change paint, and glow in the dark features.
* ''[[Gundam SEED Astray]]'' is an amusing example of this trope occurring within canon. The Astray series Gundams of the title have, between the 6 or so of them, literally dozens of [[Mid
** Heck, ''[[Gundam]]'' in general has this in spades, especially in the Universal Century. They even have a term for it: "Mobile Suit Variation" is a model line specifically for environment- or mission-specific variants and [[Super Prototype
* The figure line for ''[[Jonny Quest:
* The ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' toy line has an "invisible" (transparent purple) Espio, a [[Sonic Colors
* Though not action figures, ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'' has become infamous for a merchandising empire built, largely, on figures of Rei and Asuka doing... well, ''anything''. Yes, [[Rule
** For those who prefer outies, there's Shinji and Kaoru. If your interest is less prurient, there are even [[Moe]] versions of the angels. Yes, even [http://www.e-life.youthinks.com/picture/eva/lel02.jpg Leliel]{{Dead link}}.
* ''[[Superhuman Samurai Syber
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Toy Tropes]]
▲[[Category:Trope]]
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