Finally, we'll start seeing more than just Batman and Superman-related figures in the DCSH line! And if they actually follow through with having a DCSH branded section in retail stores, hopefully the distribution will improve and the the line will be easier to actually find.
This is great news and will no doubt let the DCSH series give the Marvel Legends series a run for their money. It will be great to see more than Batman and Superman characters in DCSH and other toy lines.
I wonder how the DC section would be in the stores. Even Marvel does not have a dedicated section and when a new film like Fantastic Four or Spider-man comes out THOSE figures dominate the pegs while the regular ones seem to disappear. Right now DCSH figures are hard to find and The Batman figures are gone in some stores. However, the figures for this summers movies are certainly all over the action figure aisles. I’m not sure a store wants permanent dedicated space to a property that does not have a major draw like a TV show or film attached to it.
But money talks and if Mattel pays the stores enough then it will get done.
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 30-06-2007 11:38
Just for fun I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate and say the Mattel won’t change. The reason is simple, they are not DC Direct, these are just another toy to them and they will only look at bottom line numbers and not the Big Picture. They don’t look at these figures the way we collectors do and they don’t seem to care as much for them the way we do.
So what does that mean? We get more figures, but not all the ones we want. Collectors love to have an Alfred Pennyworth, but what kid wants a butler action figure? We might get a Commissioner Gordon, but Harvey Bullock and Rene Montoya will never hang on a peg and I doubt Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen will either.
The guys at Mattel say “Boys don’t want girl figures”, but we’ll still get the main ones like Batgirl and Supergirl (two figures each so far) and we’ll get Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and maybe Huntress. But we won’t get Oracle, Talia, Donna Troy and a few other female characters.
Then there are those repaints. Yes, the variants will continue and we will see more of a Superman with the black “S” and far less of the blue Supergirl. Mattel’s reason is that Batman and Superman sell and the others don’t. That’s why they cram at least one of them in the multipacks of JLU and The Batman that they sell rather than have a whole set of new figures.
I wish Mattel all the best, I really do. However, if a Wonder Woman, Green Lantern or The Flash wave of DCSH figures don’t sell, they will switch back to Batman and Superman reissues and repaints. Like they say, you can’t teach an old dog a new trick. Mattel needs to change the way they think otherwise getting all the characters is a moot point.
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 30-06-2007 22:30
I'm torn, since I've been talking with Mattel, I knew they wanted to make a Grren Lantern Line, Flash and so on.. They were limited on what they could do. So now, with the right to make any and every character into a figure, are we going to see a Blue Beetle, Captain Marvel and all of the other JLU characrters? What about a Batman Beyond line?
As for women, I really think they need to look at Hasbro. Star Wars haws so many figures, secondary figures that might have seen two minutes of movie time, or for that matter, weren't even in a movie. Plus, the women.
What I would love to see.. do away with the JLU line. Do a line called "DC Superheroes: Animated" They could do the full BTAS, STAS, JL, and Beyond line.
Then, keep with the DC Superheroes concept... DC Superheroes: Movies. So far there are only Batman & Superman, but I want a Zod figure, a Christopher Reeve Superman and the rest of em.
Last "DC Superheroes: Comic" the line that most of us collect. The question is, will they do a Flash Series, Green Lantern, series, ect. Or will thay do a JLA series, maybe Batman, Superman, Flash and a couple of baddies?
I woul dlove a full Green Latern Line, there are enough heroes there, a Flash line would be great too, even Green Arrow, maybe an Aquaman, and a Wonder Woman line would do great, but, it would be full of women. WW, Wondergirl, Cheetah, I think we'll see a Donna Troy.
But if they do the lines that way, then it will take forever to get the figures. we're getting about 4 waves a year. So I say do it the JLA route, maybe even a Teen Titans line that way we'll get more figures sooner.
Now as far as how easy it is to get them. I think it might get better, but then again, mabe it won't. I would hope, that with more figures to sell, they will do their best to push the retailers to take more. The main problem is, what will be a peg warmer?
I can go to Wal-Mart right now and get 2 Kal-Els, 1 Parasite, 3 Darkseids, and about 8 Superman. yes, I wrote this down. I wrote it down a week ago, went there last night, and the same figures where there. The ame three packs of JLU was there as well. So that is a big turn off for retailers, no matter how much of a variety you have, if they set on the pegs to long, the line will die.
Only time will tell.
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 01-07-2007 15:45
Uhh... I'm not too excited about this... I just spent a year waiting for them to be done with Superman figures so I can get my bloody Two-face (Which I have't attempted to get yet)... I hate the idea of waiting four years for the Batman series to come back.
And someone already said it's the heroes that sell... The only reason we've gotten the amount of villains we have is bacause they don't have enough of the heavy hitters. With Flash, Lantern, and Wonder Woman entering in the fray... We're probable to see less "B-list" characters.
Never start with the head; the victim gets all fuzzy!
R.I.P. Heath
Edited by Razhwurz on 01-07-2007 16:01
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 05-07-2007 08:27
I'm excited because the license has almost endless possibilities. However, I'm still worried, espeically sicne I live in Canada. I'm sure the 1st wave or 2 of this newly DC Superheroes line will be easy to find next year, but if disiburtion doesn't change and if retaillers don't want to pick it up due to past experience, by around June 2008, we'll either see a bunch of peg warmers, or no new toys in Canada as well, espeically since most retail stores feel that a movie line(Like The Dark Knight) or animated series(Like JLU, The Batman, and the upcoming LOSH. However, should note that it's to a certian degree) is a sure thing than a line based on the comics.
I'm mean, while most retail stores are will to accept both a movie line and The Batman from Mattel(Wal-mart, Toys R Us, The Bay, Zellers, and Sears), Toys R Us is the only 1 to support both the DC Superheroes line and the JLU line. The last time I saw a few new DC Superheroes toys was maybe 2-3 months ago, and when I go now, it's just peg warmers of Superman or Bizzaro(1st verison in new style packaging). As for JLU, while they have brought in some newer singles(Like Huntress, Shade, etc) and the smaller diecast figurines, the 3 packs that I only seen are from last year, and they are usually the 1st Green Lautern 3 pack(John Stweard plus 2 more GL's) and the Legion Of Doom 3 pack(Lex, Copperhead, and Mirror Master), none of the newer ones in purple packaging. While I'm still hoping for the JLU 3 pack with Batman, Joker, and Black Carney(Which should be out by the Fall), I'm worry that this may not happen. Add in the fact no Canadian retail stories have any of Wave 2 of Hasbro's Marvel Legends line due to the fact that they still have a good amount of wave 1, and some stores may feel that the DCSH line may not be worth it.
Don't get me wrong. I'm trying not to be negative. I'm just pointing out somethings is all, espeically in Canada. Mattel is a good toy company but they need to improve their disiburition, and marketing stragities in order to do really well. Of course, they may need to improve on some other things too that I may not be aware of(Like maybe some of the decisions they make or something), but I can't think of anything in particular.
Now, as a dream that I would really want as reality, it would be cool if they could make some figures based on the 1960's TV Batman show, even if they can just do Adam West Batman, Burt Ward Robin, and Yvvone Craig Batgirl. If they can just do those 3, I'd defently be a very happy camper(Espeically for the Batgirl figure). If they can do villians from the show, that would be cool as well, but something tells me that it would be much more harder to do the villians form the show than the 3 heroes. Also, if they can do Linda Carter as Wonder Woman would be cool as well. Yeah, I know it's probably never going to happen. But I can dream, right?
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 05-07-2007 10:13
Mattel is the #1 company, but whgen Bratz outsell Babie, then maybe they need to look at it and wonder why. (note - I have a girl, so yes, I do know all of these "Barbies" I mean, look at the shelf, it's mostly barbie, shot, Skipper is hardley never around.. though she might be in rehab..LOL. Stacy is also very scarce. It's all about Barbie, and Kelly. Throw in a few friends, and thats it.
Look at Bratz, there are a TON of them, and boy bratz as well.
The same goes for the DC line, look at the new Spiderman toys. There is alot of Spideys, but you can still find Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. Plus, they made alot of other Spidey villains. Thats seriously what Mattel needs to do. Though I think they tried woth the MOS line. They need a Batman line with movie figures, and mix that in with other charcters that might, or might not be in the next movie.
Give us the secondary charcters like Gordon. Truthfully, I think they are trying to change. Thats why they are doing these Q&A's qwith toy and fan sites. Toyguru will do his best to answer the questions we submit.
Anyway.. I have hoipes, not high ones.. but I do have hopes for the future.
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 05-07-2007 16:12
Chris wrote:
Mattel is the #1 company, but whgen Bratz outsell Babie, then maybe they need to look at it and wonder why. (note - I have a girl, so yes, I do know all of these "Barbies" I mean, look at the shelf, it's mostly barbie, shot, Skipper is hardley never around.. though she might be in rehab..LOL. Stacy is also very scarce. It's all about Barbie, and Kelly. Throw in a few friends, and thats it.
Look at Bratz, there are a TON of them, and boy bratz as well.
The same goes for the DC line, look at the new Spiderman toys. There is alot of Spideys, but you can still find Goblin, Sandman, and Venom. Plus, they made alot of other Spidey villains. Thats seriously what Mattel needs to do. Though I think they tried woth the MOS line. They need a Batman line with movie figures, and mix that in with other charcters that might, or might not be in the next movie.
Give us the secondary charcters like Gordon. Truthfully, I think they are trying to change. Thats why they are doing these Q&A's qwith toy and fan sites. Toyguru will do his best to answer the questions we submit.
Anyway.. I have hoipes, not high ones.. but I do have hopes for the future.
Well put
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 07-07-2007 11:49
Wizard has an interview with Mattel.. there is also a shadowy figure that is going to be one of the new figures. Looks to me like one of the three.. Red Tornado, Martian Manhunter..read it here:
TOYFARE: What new products will you be doing as a result of the deal?
MICHAEL WALKER: For this new partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, we will explore product executions across our entire range of expertise and Brands. Big entertainment events, like film, will get the broadest reach across product categories, including action figures, role play, electronics, games, and more. The core comic properties will see a broader range of action figures segments over time as well. We'll also be adding depth to our core 6-inch collector line as well as exploring new ways to collect and connect with action figures in the universe. It's going to be a very exciting time for the DC collector and fans.
This is why I hate Q&A... You ask a simple question; and then you get an answer that basically says nothing
"What new products are you going to be doing?"
Mattel: "We're going to make new products"
"But what products will you make?"
Mattel: "New ones."
Never start with the head; the victim gets all fuzzy!
R.I.P. Heath
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 07-07-2007 14:23
Look at it this way.. While they have not said this duirectly.. I beleive the only ones they can't make is Blue Beetle and The Question. It's due to the rights of the characters.
So, in time we should get a broad range. Hopefully We'll know more soon...
RE: Mattel acquires the full DC Master license. Finally! -
Posted on 14-07-2007 22:56
DC Comics website has posted a article from Newsrama's interview with DC Direct, and what the deal means for them. However, the 2 DC Direct people they interview do mostly focus on the Mattel stuff. Here's the link:
BATMAN: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond, all of it's sub-sites, or hosted sites are in no way associated, or affiliated with DC Comics, Time Warner or any of it's divisions.
Items cataloged in merchandise sections are not for sale. The downloading of video game ROMs is for backup and testing purposes only. If you do not own the actual game, the ROM is to be deleted from your hard drive within 24 hours.
Any money that may be made from Amazon Associates, advertisements, or affiliate programs will be contributed to the maintaining of this website, to provide the fans with the best that we can offer.
Home
I mean, look at the shelf, it's mostly barbie, shot, Skipper is hardley never around.. though she might be in rehab..LOL. Stacy is also very scarce. It's all about Barbie, and Kelly. Throw in a few friends, and thats it.
