Mattel DC Figures

RicksNerdLife said:
Jeremy Padawer. Good God, Jeremy Padawer.


Okay, look--I like Dave. I have never had a problem with Dave personally, and he has been decent to me.

But that said, there is a reason that Dave is only doing Kickstarter projects and stuff now. Is he talented? Sure. Crazy talented. But he's also stubborn and stuck in the ways of the past.

He was also at Nacelle--shortly. There's a reason for that. There is a reason he isn't at Mattel any longer. There's a reason he isn't at Hasbro. Or Valiant Comics (who tried to get a line started). Or really any other major company out there. There are reasons--and not all of them are the fault of who he's working for.
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I get it. Creative people don’t like to be constrained. I just threw in Vonner as an afterthought. My main point is be careful what you wish for.
 
Justice said:
While I was collecting when he was on MOTU, I was doing it ignorantly and blissfully and wasn't involved in any online communities or anything so I pretty much just know him by name.
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You really owe it to yourself to read his LinkedIn and Instagram.

Aside from the fact that his main concern is secondary market, and he views collectibles as an aftermarket commodity (hence the dipshit's propensity towards chase figures in an already slow moving toyline in AEW)...

...he REALLY loves the smell of his own farts and just says the most insufferable shit on those platforms. What he thinks are these deep,inspiring messages, but literally always circle back to how successful he is and how much money he's got.

He attributes the success of the WWE Classic Superstars to himself, when in all actuality, he had very little to do with the actual start and execution of the line, other than being the salesman on it. He is such a little weasel.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
I'm curious about this as well. Does Kyle's appointment point toward 1/10 or 1/12?
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It doesn't point anywhere since he could do either. He would have been hired for overall talent rather than being known for working in a specific scale. But I'm hearing 'heroic 1:12.' So probably think ML/DCUC.

Chooch555 said:
I've never understood the level of outright hate for that guy. Did he run over everyone's dog or something? He's been out of the game for years at this point.
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He hasn't really been out, though, because he was still putting out YT videos where he continued to lie and self-aggrandize. Besides Scott (and maybe Jeremy) I've never seen anyone that actually worked in the industry who at the same time barely seemed to know anything about it or understand it. The guy is a fucking fool, but he's a fool that refuses to just shut his mouth and disappear - which is probably one of the more infuriating things about him.

But I think it's relevant when asking 'why the hate' to point out that he oversaw two of the most popular collector lines of the decade during the time he was at Mattel, and he managed to put his shit-smeared handprints on both in the worst possible ways, while acting like an idiot, lying constantly, throwing other creatives under the bus, and just generally being an awful dude. He definitely deserves the hate. I honestly, sincerely, hope he never works another job ever again, anywhere, in which he's given even a mote of power. If he made my burger at McDonalds I'd unwrap it in the store before going home to make sure he got it right.
 
Atomic Knight said:
Remember, hating Todd doesn’t make Mattel magical. They lost the license for valid reasons. Have those reasons even been addressed?
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In recent years, I would say so. My largest problems with Mattel's DC offerings back then would be the engineering/articulation and sculpts feeling 20 years outdated, QC being very messy, and character assortments being very poorly thought out.

I feel both the WWE & MOTU lines have drastically improved upon the articulation and engineering. They were stuck at the same spot DC was when DC died, but they've finally caught up with (if not exceeded) Marvel Legends at this point. I'd say they're worse than Classified and the gold standard Jada SF figures, but they're still good toys, better than current DC Multiverse, and better than any previous DC figures were. I'm no hardcore fan of either IP, but their rosters have been pretty good as well from what I know. Most of what Mattel made in DCM were things that either tanked or weren't suited for action figures. I can't imagine they won't learn from that.

I can't speak for current QC, I only ever bought a handful of current Mattel figures. But they were fine.

If Mattel continues directly where they last left off, it will be terrible. If they bring back any old molds, it will be terrible. If they make a really off-putting non-evergreen roster as their first character selection with hyperspecific body molds that can never be reused outside repaints of that character like Todd did, it will be terrible. But if they try to make a solid foundation with a couple evergreen characters, a few multi-purpose body molds with modern engineering, and maybe some unexpected characters, it will be a great start. And realistically, I don't think they will do anything but the final option.
 
Mattel has a while to work it out. I’m sure they’ve received feedback DC. I’m sure they’ve done an autopsy of what happened in 2019.

All that and I still come to the conclusion that if Mattel were a restaurant, we’ll get a meal of Wonder Bread, skim milk, and if we’re lucky, Vanilla Wafers for dessert.
 
If we're speaking restaurants... if I were to pick between a mediocre McDonalds, and an inept home cook with expensive ingredients who doesn't even know why every baker puts yeast in bread, I'd probably pick the McDonalds.
 
If McFarlane were a restaurant, they would serve you the same Wonder Bread and then serve it to you in the form of a steak, baked potato, green beans, hamburger, french fries and it would still be Wonder Bread. The vanilla wafers would be the red platinum dessert you would have to find at another location.
 
tenzilkem said:
If McFarlane were a restaurant, they would serve you the same Wonder Bread and then serve it to you in the form of a steak, baked potato, green beans, hamburger, french fries and it would still be Wonder Bread. The vanilla wafers would be the red platinum dessert you would have to find at another location.
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...and they'd all have shitty ratchet joints.

And you'd be like "Who in the fuck bakes ratchet joints into Wonder Bread?!?".
 
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I mean... I don't think there's any use in being overly negative about what Mattel will or might or might not bring to the table in 2027. The only people that know aren't talking. What I will say is just temper expectations; Mattel brass is still Mattel brass, and they make a LOT of shitty, and in particular - greedy, decisions.

I imagine if anything tanks Mattel DC it isn't going to be character selection or design, it's going to be decisions coming from above those people regarding distribution, pricing, and generally how to treat customers. Something Mattel is absolute trash at and has been since before MOTUC.
 
Well here we have it.

I'm highly critical of Todd and I'm guessing that's not going to change in the next year. But when the license goes away and we're taking stock of how things went overall, one of the things that was a big BIG deal for me personally is getting these figure sets: Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin movie figures. You aren't going to get these figures from any other company any time soon. I love these and I am glad to have them. Seeing these makes me think about calling it good on DC Multiverse. This is pretty much my personal DC peak.

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