Hi--first time poster. I own both the Buffy and Willow statues from the current line and have ordered Faith. I have no interest in Spike (not a fan) or Angel (I'm a guy and I don't need to spend $250 for a statue of David Boreanaz), but I of course have my own favorites as far as characters that should be attempted after Angel. I also have my own ideas about which characters might be most economically feasible for Sideshow.
Firstly, I would politely dispute BuffyGirl's initial post--I think Xander is an immediate line-killer and I don't think Anya has anywhere near enough of a following to be likely. And we need to not only think of the relative popularity of characters but also the style of this statue line. While I think they overdid the sexiness with Willow, I think it's obvious Sideshow is going for "edgy" here--not just because of Buffy and Willow's outfits but also the posing and facial expressions (Buffy on her throne looking at you like a cat eyeing a mouse; Willow nearly striking a cheerleader pose; Faith looking simultaneously smoking hot and like someone you definitely wouldn't want to meet ina dark alley; Angel looking arrogantly confident.) Compared to the lifeless PF Buffy line I think these statues, warts and all (the Buffy likeness isn't quite there and her hair color is a mess) are a step up. But again, we have to consider the edgy aesthetic Sideshow has been going for.
I don't think Xander fits that aesthetic. I also don't think very many men would pick him up, which leaves mostly the female audience base, and how many of them are huge fans of Xander? (I write Buffy fanfic and 95% of my audience is female and let me tell you, I get a lot of e-mail thanking me for killing Xander off.) If we need an original Scooby Gang member, Giles should be next. As for branching out beyond them, I think Tara needs to be taken more seriously as a candidate. Her popularity is far greater with the fans than Anya's and her character was far more important to the show. No one is clambering for Anya to be resurrected but a vocal group of people have wanted Tara back for years. Also Tara would look neat standing beside Willow on a shelf. Another thing--after two straight releases of male characters, I'm betting Sidesow wants a female next. Assuming we don't get an Illyria until Sideshow launches an Angel line, who are our contenders?
Well, the list goes like this, but not all of them are viable candidates:
Joyce
Dawn
Cordy
Harmony
Jenny
Tara
Anya
Dru
Darla
Glory
Joyce is a no-go; no one is buying that statue. I'd personally love a Dawn statue but she divided the fanbase and also Sideshow might be leery of including a younger character in this line, judging by the sexiness on display so far. Cordy works, but she's risky because she's second tier and not often discussed and I'd prefer her in an Angel line. Harmony makes no sense unless the line is so wildly successful that Sideshow puts out 25 statues. Jenny makes no sense for the same reason, unless Sideshow was to give us a Giles/Jenny diorama in the same scale. I would argue that Tara is the most popular "good guy" female outside of the core four, and also that she's more popular than Xander. Dru is a nice choice because she's such a striking visual, she fits this line's aesthetic perfectly, she'd go well with Angel and Spike, and I think this line needs an outright villain. Darla is a notch less interesting than Dru. Glory is two notches less interesting than Darla.
So my picks for likely female figures: Tara and Drusilla, with Dru getting a slight edge because she's an official bad guy and the line needs one of those. I also think a brand new Buffy or Willow is just as likely, but unless they're extremely interesing (The Wish Buffy? Vamp Willow?) they could exhaust collectors' patience with the line.
As for likely male candidates? Giles is really the only non-bad guy I can think of, unless we want to trot out Wesley, but I don't know if he's part of the Angel license and besides, Giles has a better shot of selling out since we already have Buffy and Willow to join him. Wesley will work better when we get an Illyria. The Mayor would be wonderful to go with Faith, especially since we've never gotten anything for him--no action figures, no statues, nothing. But how popular is he really? Would 700 people out there be willing to shell out the bucks for him? I certainly would, but that's just me.
Sideshow has a problem with this license--it's hard for them to know which characters are popular enough to support a statue after Buffy/Willow/Faith/Spike/Angel. In fact it's a real roll of the dice. So maybe Sideshow will get creative, assuming this line is their last hurrah with the Buffy license, and give us a character that would look great as a statue and has enough of a following among fans to (maybe) sell if executed properly. Maybe they roll the dice and instead of giving us the "core five" followed by a series of repaints, they branch out and go with a character they honestly would have fun sculpting, someone we haven't seen a lot of, someone with lots of eye appeal; in that case I think both Tara and Dru get another nod.
One last point (I see you all nodding off, wake up!): I think we also need to consider character combinations. I have no desire at all for a Wesley, but if Sidehsow gives us an Illyria I'd consider buying a Wesley. Dru might not have worked early in the line but with Spike and Angel on the way she suddenly looks a lot better on the shelf. And Tara would be wonderful with Willow, and if Sideshow really did Tara justice I bet ebay sales of the Willow statue would really pick up. Collectors like to buy thing in sets, they like things to look good next to each other on the shelf. Think of the DC Comics fan who hates Aquaman but picks up a statue of him anyway just to complete his Justice League line. Tara, in a way, "completes" Willow, just as Drusilla "completes" Spike and the Mayor "completes" Faith.
So, after all that preamble, my picks, in no particular order:
most likely: Tara, Giles, Buffy re-do
most wanted by me: Drusilla, Tara, the Mayor
Anyway, that's my long-winded opinion. Thanks for listening!
--Mark
