McFarlane DC Multiverse

I collect figures from that line, and you're correct.

They do lazy things like reuse Gloved Hands but leave them flesh colored. Then paint on details that shouldn't be.

The face sculpts are good, but the prints make or break it, and they don't have the best printer, because the placement is inconsistent and not as sharp as newer Hasbro or imports. Which if Hasbro is doing it, then it's the same league.

The articulation is all over. Proportions can be sloppy, reuse can be strange.

New Classified and Jada need to be normalized, but looking at Masterverse, I just don't see their desire to do that.
 
I’ve got less than zero interest in rasslin’, but I do see a lot of Mattel’s figures looking good, although admittedly I’m not looking too close. I’m more using Masterverse as a basis for getting excited.
 
I’m not much on wrestling these days either. I’m talking about the deep dive into the “wrestling universe” in terms of characters and the various looks of those characters. The playsets, the accessory packs, and the fact that Mattel essentially runs two parallel WWE lines internally. One is pretty basic, produced on blister packs. The other is deluxe with better articulation, more accessories and better packaging.

Far as I can tell, everything scales well, and is pretty homogeneous. Although that doesn’t exactly appeal to me anymore.

I’d also like to apologize. I realize that what I like and want in a figure line isn’t about mechanics or engineering, although that stuff can be very cool. I want an immersive experience in the universe itself. Entire segments of the DCU have been completely ignored by anyone who has ever held that license. Mattel/WWE is immersive. Replicate that with DC (comics), and you might get my money Mattel.

And yeah, I get it. The Rock is gonna get made a lot more. Just like Batman. But in the WWE, virtually no one is completely ignored.
 
I got rid of my McFarlane DC stuff and have pretty much sworn off McFarlane Toys altogether, but damn if that Mr. Bones doesn't look awesome (other than the cloth collar). I wish we knew what scale Mattel's DC line was going to be. I'd be mighty tempted to snag Bones if Mattel is going 1/10. Staying strong though.
 
Can anyone please confirm the timeline of the license switching over?

From what I initially remember, spi master would lose their rights as of the beginning of 26, but McFarlane kept theirs until about midway the same year.

Then I started reading that McFarlane might have them for all of 26.

I also know that there was talk about negotiations for some kind of continued McF presence, maybe the less articulated figures, that kind of thing.
 
Anyone who knows anything isn’t saying anything. Timeline is still unclear.

If I had to guess, Todd ends up with statues, busts, and props. Under the DCD umbrella.
 
@bat1975, here's the most basic details from the press release:

Mattel and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products have announced a multi-year licensing agreement that grants Mattel the global rights to develop and market DC-themed action figures, playsets, accessories, role-play products, and adult collectibles starting in the second half of 2026,

Since that came out, I thought that I remembered reading Spin Master could continue through the end of 2026 for their stuff.

I don't have a great answer, but I'd expect that Todd will push most of his remaining stuff out by the end of the first quarter of 2026. Sping/Summer movie / TV product would likely be the exception. If I were him, I'd be pushing to get most comic based stuff out before this holiday season. There will probably then be a bit of a lull and then Mattel DC product hitting in earnest before holidays of 2026. Mattel will probably do their first big DC presentation at SDCC next year. That's what I'd expect, but I could be way off base. Things like scale and very generic plans will probably begin to leak out earlier than that, but the passage above specifically talks about "marketing" DC-themed figures in the second half of 2025 so they'll likely be legally required to be relatively officially tight-lipped until that "marketing" window opens.

I know nothing. This is all just what I'd personally expect based upon my experiences as a long-term collector over the past 25ish years.
 
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spinc said:
I wanna see Mattel do a few base buck bodies, but done well. Perfect anatomy, detailed musculature, etc. Put in some excellent articulation. They have the blueprints already in Mafex. I doubt they would do import style joints but at least do the correct joints with the right range of motion. Good butterly joints, boot swivels, toe joints, double ball at the abs and ball jointed waist, etc. Actually sculpt the symbols in their chests, sculpt the gloves and boots on, etc. Give them excellent face sculpts and detailed face printing so the characters actually look good. Extra heads and hands are a must, and a few accessories as well.

It's really not hard to design a line that is good for both collectors and kids alike. With Mattel's budget, it should be easy to get the right people involved and make sure the main collector line is fantastic. If done right it will pay for itself in no time.
Click to expand...

So I guess you should probably be prepared for disappointment. You want Mafex styling but in a broader retail offering... you don't get it both ways.

The three or four good base bodies for re-use part is fine. That's likely even but then you say 'actually sculpt symbols/detail into the chest' which totally invalidates the use of standard bu k bodies. Sculpted costume detail - especially chest symbols - renders the piece unusable for reuse.

You reference Mattel's budget as if they have some vast well of money to dip into to do this work. The thing is Mattel is publically traded and has way more overhead to support than McFarlane so their per figure budget won't be vast. They need these to sell well at a reasonable price with their profit baked in.

If you are expecting alot more than what they do for Masterverse or WWE you are likely to be disappointed.
 
As far as sculpted logos go, I don’t see it as far fetched for Mattel to make, say, a Batman base body that is constructed in such a way that different sculpted logos could be applied for different releases. They are literally doing that for Kobra Khan, even having them swappable and included (which I doubt Mattel would do with Batman, because they want you to buy Yellow Oval Batman AND Big Black Bat Batman, but still).
 
I wonder if...

Its always thrown around that Classified can go a little extra because it's in house, own IP, yadda yadda

That would be MOTU. So would DC get less to work with?
 
I got in Year One Batman and Lt. Jim Gordon. I really like both of these a lot. The Batman is really kind of perfect. It covers all my Batman wants from a figure. I had planned to only get Jim, but when I went to Ebay to buy him a seller just had a good deal on both.

I'm glad that happened.

But, I still haven't seen these at retail. And Wal-Mart cancelled Jim on me online on 3 separate occasions. 1st, my initial pre order, once where it said it was In Stock to ship, and a third time when it said it was available to pick up. That one was cancelled by me after I was told they substituted the figure.

So, I have had quite the journey to get this Jim Gordon figure.
 
Had to wander through Wal Mart today and made an obligatory trip to the game aisle to peep the McF figures. They had clearly restocked since I was last there a few days ago, but because of the way they keep them stacked inside a locked glass cabinet I could only see the Red Platinum Green Suit Batman. There were 4 or 5 figures stacked behind him that I ouldn't see and no employee anywhere to unlock the cabinet for me... so no idea what other figures were hiding in there.
 
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