Bungees

Bungees are a collectible toy made by Magic Box International and distributed in the US by Jazwares.  Prior to their US release, they were distributed in the UK (and perhaps elsewhere) as blind-bagged impulse toys.  Inexplicably, Jazwares turned what would have been a rather simple and straightforward collectible toyline into a convoluted (and quite expensive) competitive game.

The Bungees themselves are 1.25-inch figures made of a bouncy (but not squishy) rubber.  They have bold and relatively simple paint applications, and magnets embedded into their undersides.   These magnets allow them to stick to either character cards that have embedded metal (exactly like Bakugan cards by Spin Master) or metal discs (exactly like Marvel Slingers by Upper Deck). The Bungees in the UK come with only the cards, whereas the US versions come with both the cards and the discs.

The UK Bungees collection (which I do not have) consists of 48 uniquely sculpted figures with two versions each.  That's 96 figures.  All available in single blind-bags.

The US Bungees collection is a bit more confusing.  It seems to consist of 42 figures.  Some figures are available only in single blind-bags, some only in visible single packs, some only in visible double packs, some in both the blind-bags and the visible single packs, and some in one of two playsets.

To get the 42 figures, you have to buy all these things.

The inconsistencies and unexplained elements do not stop there.  All of the cardbacks for the visible packs show the ten "crews" of four figures each.  Plus there is a image indicating the existence of two additional "mystery figures" which are not shown.  However, when you look at the checklist included inside of every pack, you learn the names of the two "mystery figures" (Samos and Peltast), plus you see both images and names for another two characters that were not on the cardbacks (Naxos and Pheaton).  Nothing is explained indicating the significance of these two characters or how to find their figures.  Until I learn otherwise, I am going to consider the inclusion of these two characters on the checklist an error -- a huge, sloppy oversight -- and not include them as part of the set.

We know that the US set is 42 figures (with the very slight possibility that it is actually 44).  Now, look on each of the character cards and you see them numbered 1/96, 2/96, etc.  So here is some confusing information seeming to suggest that there is (or was) some intention to make a total of 96 characters (like the UK set). We can only guess. It also doesn't help that these cards aren't numbered in any logical way as pertaining to the crews. For example, the four Bungees that make up the Omega crew have cards numbered 3, 11, 19, and 27.

As I have mentioned, in order to collect the figures, you are also -- by default -- collecting the character cards and the metal character discs.  Each figure comes with one card.  The blind-bagged figures come with one disc. The visible 1-packs and 2-packs come with two discs per figure.  It makes no sense. It's never explained why you sometimes get two discs instead of one.

Now get this.  I assume that part of their high price (around $5 per figure) has to do with their over-sized packaging and, of course, the inclusion of the cards and the discs.  Fine.  At least this means that once you've collected all the figures, you will also have a complete collection of cards and a complete collection of discs.  Not the case at all.  One of the two playsets -- that you have to buy in order to get all the figures -- does not even come with cards or disks. A truly frustrating degree of inconsistency.  Collecting all the figures -- buying all their ridiculous package types and playsets -- does not even get you a full set of card and a full set of discs. You're left with 42 figures, 38 cards, and 38 discs -- some with duplicate discs!

The gameplay itself is too absurd to even get into.  Basically, you flick the figures at cards. You flick the figures at discs.  You flick the figures at a game board.  You flick the figure at a "Flick Master Arena."  You add up some numbers on the back of the card, the back of the disc, the side of the disc, and the bottom of the figure.  And you go crazy.

At the end of the day, you just have to consider the 42 figures on their own.  Which, I bet, is exactly what Magic Box International intended before Jazwares got ahold of their toyline and completely screwed with it. Forget all these silly games, cards, and discs. All that's left are the figures.  Do they look cool and do they fit together nicely as a collection?

So -- without further ado -- here are the 42 Bungees photographed in their respective crews:

1. Helios Crew

available only in 2-packs

Electron, Flux, Hyperion, and Hesiod

2. Polaris Crew

available only in 2-packs

Nova, Lunar, Comet, and Blitzar

3. Volcanus Crew

available only in 1-packs

Limu, Phreatic, Pelean, and Plinian

4. Teguminis Crew

available in blind-bags and 1-packs

Lorica, Cuirras, Bevor, and Laminar

5. Gamma Crew

available only in blind-bags

Cyclone, Bric, Maquette, and Copses

6. Omega Crew

available only in blind-bags

Corfu, Psili, Chios, and Hydra

7. Sigma Crew

available only in 2-packs

Vector, Locus, Xor, and Fulcram

8. Omicron Crew

available only in 2-packs

Trident, Xystan, Sabot, and Kontos

9. Ronin Crew

two available in one playset, two available in the other

Spore, Soot, Maar, and Magmatic

10. Mercs Crew

two available in one playset, two available in the other

Sol, Trema, Orbit, and Gladius

"Mystery Figures"

available in 1-packs and blind-bags

Samos and Peltast

The inconsistencies continue.  Not only are both the Ronin Crew and the Mercs Crew illogically split among the two playsets, they also disrupt the color-consistency created by all the other crews.  If they had divided them up differently there would have been a full silver crew and a full gold crew -- with one single color -- just like every other crew.  Instead we have these two weird mixed crews.

The checklist also designates half of the crews as "North Crews" and half of them as "South Crews." Absolutely no explanation is given as to what this distinction means.  Are the North Crews in conflict with the South Crews?  Is there some map of some kind of Bungeeland that we should know about?

That brings me to another weird thing.  On the checklist there is a very unusual backstory.  I kid you not, this is verbatim:

"Millions of years ago, an asteroid hit the earth in the area of the Yucatan Peninsula, in Mexico.  This event sparked the extinction of the dinosaurs, an ice age, and changed the course of world history.  From the moment the asteroid, laden with organisms from another universe, struck the earth, shockwaves shook the planet's core.  This momentous impact caused a parallel evolution beneath the earth's crust ...and the Bungees were born."

What does this have to do with cards and metal discs?  

Every aspect of this toyline seems to be ridiculous.  Even their name needs improvement.  You have to make the name of your toyline stand out, especially in internet searches.  A search for "bungees" returns every possible type of bungee cord -- and nothing to do with this toyline.  "Bungeez" would have solved that problem easily.  

So will we see Series 2?  

The initial UK series featured more than twice as many figures as the US series, and the UK is now on an entirely new blind-bagged second series.  So, enough sculpts already exist to fuel at least three more US-sized series. 

Despite this fact, I'd say there is probably a 99% chance that we will never see a Series 2 in the US. At least not as long as Jazwares is in charge. 

Because of their convoluted packaging, confusing checklist, ridiculous gameplay, and high price-tag, they just aren't moving off the shelves. People may want to collect the figures -- but they do not want to jump through so may hoops to do so.  You have to determine what package types are required to buy each figure.  Then you have to deal with the inflated costs brought on by the excessive packaging and the associated nonsense of the cards, the discs, and the playsets.

If Magic Box International had stuck with straightforward blind-bag collections (like they had with their enormously successful Gogo's Crazy Bones), I think we may have had something worthwhile with the Bungees.  But, as is, I'm led to conclude that this toyline is pretty much a failure.