Mattel DC Figures

Atomic Knight said:
Maybe I’m dense, but can’t Mattel see what Hasbro has accomplished by engaging with the collector end of the market? It’s almost counterintuitive for them to bomb the kids end and ignore us. I don’t get it.

Besides, wasn’t there some vague inside intel that suggested Mattel had an impressive, comprehensive proposal for the DC license? Always down range of course.
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I think that more has to do with the fact that Marvel Legends is a legacy trademark and has to be curated for collectors at all times. Especially now since we’ve had to put up with about nearly ten years of crap (and this goes back to the toybiz days when the results were very mixed and fan interactions were down to zero.) DC on the other hand is not as tailored to the collector market as it is to kids and I think that’s always been the biggest schism between license holders that have worked with marvel vs those who have worked with DC.

Back in the late 90’s when toy biz’s target audience was starting to grow out of what they were producing and were moving onto McFarlane because he was taking so many chances with Spawn, Wetworks, movie maniacs, twisted souls etc..Marvel saw this opportunity to appeal to a more niche collector market that would appeal to their aging demographic. When Mattel finally inherited the DC license in 2002, they upscale the size of their figures in their first Batman line to fit in with legends. But they still had limited articulation, goofy gimmicks and accessories, and most of the figures in the wave were wacky Batman variants. (Pretty much the old hat stuff that Kenner & Hasbro were churning out in the 90’s)

When DCUC hit, Toy Biz had relinquished marvel properties and it was all handed over to Hasbro. And while Mattel had thrown a bone to collectors with DCUC, much of their money was made via their 5” lines for kids. They were producing toys for “The Batman” cartoon show, JL and JLU, Brave and the Bold and their movie figures from Batman Begins, the Dark Knight, Dark Knight Rises and Green Lantern. Meanwhile DCUC was just circling the drain with repaints of A-listers and the occasional deep cut which more often than not was shortpacked and impossible to get ahold of unless collectors purchased waves by the caseload.

It was a bad system, which only felt like it was more in need of a rebrand, which Mattel did. Over and over and over again. From like 2012-2019. But they only updated the distribution and the packaging. They still suffered from an aging system of constantly repainting the same bodies over and over again and not putting any new innovation into painting techniques, new tooling, new designs, more articulation..so by 2019 the experiment ended and Mattel limped their way to the exits in a manner that felt long overdue. I’m not looking forward to them coming out of retirement. I feel like they’re just going to circle the drain from day one and come to an end with a wet fart just like last time


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Not that I want to see the license change hands yet again, and I was never particularly optimistic about it, I’m damn near depressed about it now.
 
This is really a lot of consternation for products that have barely been leaked, let alone revealed or solicited.

And I find that to be an odd recollection of DCUC, whose last 3 proper waves were full of lesser-known characters. If anything, I'd say an excessive amount of deep cuts may have damaged that line's retail viability. Mattel's DC Multiverse was much more pragmatic about its selection; a lot of those waves featured a very Marvel Legends composition style compared to DCUC's weird, self-indulgent moments like making non-comic book characters from a Kenner toyline released 25 years before. But by that point the base had mostly disappeared.

Wave 8's weirdly interesting, containing three then-irrelevant characters now at a popularity peak thanks to James Gunn projects.

Like, yes, DCUC and the associated lines were absolutely marked by too much reuse, too many limitations, and a lack of interest in changing or updating the formula. But I also don't think something as ancient as that can be taken as a guide to what Mattel's going to do with the upcoming line(s). The new line doesn't seem like it's from the same team or following the same release strategies. I'm not even sure it's exactly the same scale. Mattel WWE seems much closer to the mark here, which is a line that has updated its articulation or introduced new formats at various points. It also tiers its price points along a kid-to-collector range while maintaining product cohesion between those offerings, while also producing specialty sublines in different formats aimed at different audiences. It is not a perfect line or a line without issues, but I think it's a much more likely guide to what we might expect with here than DCUC or the Amber Collection, which was never going to have the kind of longevity at a larger scale that superheroes or wrestling can achieve. (I mean, where do you even go with that once you've done the main cast? Arctic Assault Ellie Sattler? Tec-Shield Ian Malcolm?)
 
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secondwhiteline said:
This is really a lot of consternation for products that have barely been leaked, let alone revealed or solicited.

And I find that to be an odd recollection of DCUC, whose last 3 proper waves were full of lesser-known characters. If anything, I'd say an excessive amount of deep cuts may have damaged that line's retail viability. Mattel's DC Multiverse was much more pragmatic about its selection; a lot of those waves featured a very Marvel Legends composition style compared to DCUC's weird, self-indulgent moments like making non-comic book characters from a Kenner toyline released 25 years before. But by that point the base had mostly disappeared.

Wave 8's weirdly interesting, containing three then-irrelevant characters now at a popularity peak thanks to James Gunn projects.

Like, yes, DCUC and the associated lines were absolutely marked by too much reuse, too many limitations, and a lack of interest in changing or updating the formula. But I also don't think something as ancient as that can be taken as a guide to what Mattel's going to do with the upcoming line(s). The new line doesn't seem like it's from the same team or following the same release strategies. I'm not even sure it's exactly the same scale. Mattel WWE seems much closer to the mark here, which is a line that has updated its articulation or introduced new formats at various points. It also tiers its price points along a kid-to-collector range while maintaining product cohesion between those offerings, while also producing specialty sublines in different formats aimed at different audiences. It is not a perfect line or a line without issues, but I think it's a much more likely guide to what we might expect with here than DCUC or the Amber Collection, which was never going to have the kind of longevity at a larger scale that superheroes or wrestling can achieve. (I mean, where do you even go with that once you've done the main cast? Arctic Assault Ellie Sattler? Tec-Shield Ian Malcolm?)
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As far as the Amber Collection was concerned, they could have moved onto more characters and dinosaurs from The Lost World, JP3 and the first Jurassic World Movie. Hell Mattel could have even made figures from the Novels if they were inspired enough They had every opportunity to at least put the effort in but I digress. Those days are behind us now and I dunno… I’m still not certain that these new DC figures will live up to the hype. There is so many things that Todd brought to the table that I feel like Mattel will never even acknowledge or attempt to integrate into their toyline (I.e. comic based figures based on the likenesses from specific artists or stories, poseable fabric capes, accessories that aren’t coded for a typical kids line . (Please no more Batman figures that come with a giant grappling hook that’s like the length of his entire leg)

I just need some acknowledgment from Mattel that their collector grade figures are for adults who are 21 and over. (Heck many of us are in our late 30’s-early 50’s now) and we are done with accepting mediocrity.


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Stoopid_Sandwich said:
I just need some acknowledgment from Mattel that their collector grade figures are for adults who are 21 and over. (Heck many of us are in our late 30’s-early 50’s now) and we are done with accepting mediocrity.
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Vanilla is my biggest fear. As I’ve said, classic/iconic is for sure gonna happen. But we do not need it coupled with homogeneous/generic.
 
Agreed on waiting for official announcement. I doubt we see any of their adult focused stuff revealed before Fall 2026 (for early 2027 release).

I expect extremely negative reactions to the "basic" kid oriented line that they show first (probably sometime this spring) as many people won't fully understand that isn't the direct replacement for the McFarlane product, but rather replacement for the Spin Master product.
 
I'm curious what the house style will look like. Or if they go with artist styles for each specific look. Or both.

But specifically, the house style. Legends has evolved and keeps trying new things that, for me, sour comparability.
 
I don't think you'll have to wait much longer. Mattel is able to start selling products this summer and have known that for about a year now. I would guess Toy Fair is where the first reveals take place.
 
I loved the DCUC line. I also like SOME of Mcfarlane's Multiverse. I look forward to Mattels return and hope they can give us better re-do's of pricey figures like the C&C/BAF's of King Shark, Giganta and Plastic Man.
 
I hope the house style ends up similar to the latest New Eternia figures. Keldor and Evil-Lyn in particular have been fairly impressive to me. I'd love if DC aimed for something like that, just slimmed down for the men. The only huge worry I have is soft goods. Their capes are still as terrible as they've ever been.
 
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