My hypothetical McFarlane Multiverse continuation.

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Gardner Grayle

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I know nothing. But I’ve been pondering on how Todd keeps a piece of the DC license in the 7” collector scale since the Mattel announcement first broke. This is how I see it play out.

First off, Todd is out of the toy aisles. He’s now in the collector section at Wal Mart and Target through the DCD label. Best Buy, GameStop and the rest continue as before. BBTS and EE also keep on going, and Todd engages more with comic shop and indie toy stores.

Todd loses movies, TV, games, animation, and mainstream comics as of 1/1/27. But he’s negotiated a carve out: Elseworlds. With a very generous view of what is an Elseworld.

All of the formal Elseworlds of course are included. Old and New. And so are the informal ones like DKR, White Knight, New Frontier, Tangent, and Just Imagine, as well as stuff like Flashpoint and Death Metal.

Question is am I crazy? Or how crazy am I? Secondly, is this something you would support, or is Todd dead in the water on this? I mean without going into great detail, there’s still some really great stuff here. Starting with a deep dive into Kingdom Come.

Opinions?
 
I've been anti-McFarlane from the day they got the license but with that being said I'm not opposed to Todd being able to continue making some DC figures. The recent Connor Hawke figure is one of his very best that he's done in the line, in my opinion. I could see a situation being something like with what Diamond has had for Marvel where they're limited to a hand full of figures per year under their Marvel Select line. Honestly though the only thing that I expect that McF would be able to keep doing is something the Mattel has no interest in like statues or posed figures, maybe (probably not) the animated lines? I could totally see McF doing statues for DC like they do for Marvel right now.

Honestly I think we're going to be seeing fewer and fewer collector style figures at brick and mortar retail anyway. I think it will be mostly kid stuff going forward. The collector style figures are going to likely be primarily online. Mattel even did this before with their Matty Collector exclusive stuff and I can see that being the case with their Mattel Creations site as well. This was going to be true even without the tariff situation, but will likely be even more true now. Mattel's CEO even came out and said that there is next to no likelihood that they will ever move manufacturing to the US... and Trump turned around and threatened a 100% tariff on just Mattel exactly like he threatened John Deere with.

I was pissed when McF got the DC license, but I've still spent thousands of dollars on their figures over the past half dozen years and have at least one version of every single character that they've made. I haven't sold a single Mattel or DC Direct / DC Collectibles figure that I have during that time I have at least one version of every DC character that either of those companies made as well. I have a number of McF DC figures that I do truly love, but am still absolutely ecstatic to see the license going back to Mattel.

The more choices and competition among companies benefits us as consumers, so I'm all for spreading it out -- but that's just not how these licenses tend to work, for the most part. However, Batman and Superman both specifically are about to see their copyrights expire and enter the public domain very soon and then they won't be off limits to anyone, which will dilute the brand for both, most likely.
 
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Opinions of Todd notwithstanding, the last thing I ever wanted to see was the DC license back at Mattel. I’ve no faith in them whatsoever. If Todd lost the license I was hoping for Jazwares, Jada, or just about anyone else that’s not Hasbro.

But Todd making figures outside the mainstream DCU is a formula that IMHO, could work.
 
Gardner Grayle said:
Opinions of Todd notwithstanding, the last thing I ever wanted to see was the DC license back at Mattel. I’ve no faith in them whatsoever. If Todd lost the license I was hoping for Jazwares, Jada, or just about anyone else that’s not Hasbro.

But Todd making figures outside the mainstream DCU is a formula that IMHO, could work.
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Same here. I hope I'm wrong but I fully expect Mattel's offerings to be mediocre, just in a different way to how Todd's stuff is mediocre. Mattel's action figure output has improved since they lost DC but imo they still lag behind what I would consider the best stuff available at American mass retail. Their WWE Ultimate Editon figures look good and have better articulation than past Mattel offerings, but they cling to an archaic ankle design and have an extremely limited swivel-waist/diaphragm joint combo.

I would have liked to see Jada do a DC line somewhere down the road. Right now, their action figure division is still too small to handle the demands of the license, but once they've grown a bit more I think they could make a great DC line. However, I think that's way less likely to ever happen now that the license is back with Mattel. If McFarlane had held onto it for a few more years, I think it would have been feasible for Jada to make a bid for it next time it goes up for renewal. I can't see them being able to make a bid against Mattel. I think Mattel would have to decide they straight up don't want the license anymore for Jada to have a shot at it now.
 
Yeah. Vanilla and homogeneous will not fly with me from Mattel. Whatever your beef with Todd is, he ain’t vanilla.

But back on point, my partial list of Elseworlds, etc:

Batman:

Gotham by Gaslight +
ThrillKiller
Red Rain
Dark Knight Dynasty
Doom Came to Gotham
Holy Terror
In Darkest Knight
Robin 3000
Year 100

Superman:

Son of Superman
At Earth’s End
The Dark Side
Generations
All Star Superman

Miscellaneous:

The Nail
Justice Riders
Secret Society of Super Heroes
Liberty Files
Golden Age
Amazonia

More:

Dark Knights of Steel
DC vs Vampires
Red Son
Speeding Bullets
Kingdom Come
DKR
White Knight
Batman/Justice League Beyond
Flashpoint
Last Knight on Earth
Metal/Death Metal
DC One Million
Future’s End
Future State

Other:

Tangent
Just Imagine
Absolute Universe
Tales of the Dark Multiverse
New Frontier
Titans Tomorrow
Batman 666
New 52 Earth 2
Crime Syndicate mini
Freedom Fighters mini
DCeased

This is the select list. I’m sure I’ll think of more. Also chime in.
 
I would have no problem at all with that sort of arrangement. There are very few of those figures I would actually buy, but there are definitely some that would tempt me. It will be interesting to see if there is any way Todd keeps a grasp on some piece of the DC figure license.

I am more likely to buy into Mattel's output unless they stick with the 7 inch scale in which case I'm probably done with DC figures altogether for the most part
 
Frankly I don’t know what to think or expect. I should probably be winding down my action figure collecting days anyway . I’m pretty much not going to start over or change scales. I’ve come to embrace and even prefer 7” scale. I don’t have any DCD or DCUC figures anymore, so this is likely to be my personal Thermopylae. Even if Mattel sticks with 7” scale, these cannot be vanilla/generic/homogeneous figures. “Classic”, for lack of a better term, is also a non starter.

The toy industry is changing. The short and long term tariff effects are only starting to be felt, and who knows what will happen by the time Mattel actually takes over. What I do know is that Mattel needs to do better than DCUC upgrades. That 1982 Style Guide shit has to go along with the cult of Super Powers/Friends.

My one hope for continuing with Mattel is based on them keeping the 7” scale and enlisting Vonner as lead designer/sculptor and line manager. Then…maybe.
 
Gardner Grayle said:
Even if Mattel sticks with 7” scale, these cannot be vanilla/generic/homogeneous figures. “Classic”, for lack of a better term, is also a non starter.

That 1982 Style Guide shit has to go along with the cult of Super Powers/Friends.
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Yeah... its clear that there is almost no overlap between what you want and what I want. Classic homogenous looks are exactly what I want to collect.

So there's part of me that almost hopes you get what you want. It would save me a bunch of money
 
I just feel like I’ve done the classic/homogenous thing before. A couple of times actually. I’m not here to shame people for what they like. It just feels a little tired to me at this point. It’s why I almost want to see Todd go down the Elseworlds rabbit hole.

It’s also what all but assures that I’ll be done when Mattel returns.
 
Gardner, you remind me very much of a guy who used to post on the “old board” as Tommy Tomorrow.
I guess I see what you are getting at, and I’d buy some of that, but like many here I’m definitely not “done” with the old style guide and classic, iconic looks in a homogenized style for a complete and cohesive line. The more McFarlane has provided that kind of thing, the more I’ve enjoyed the line and the more I’ve been interested in the Elseworlds and wacky stuff. I guess I need a standard baseline in order to really enjoy the ancillary stuff.

I would like McFarlane to give us a gnarly vampire Batman from Red Rain before the end, though.
 
No mystery. That’s me. Gardner Grayle has been my screen handle since the days of the old DC message boards. I’ve used it on a variety of boards over the years but somehow lost it at the Fwoosh. Guess I went dark on there for too long. Came back as Tommy Tomorrow because of my affinity for DC’s older sci fi heroes. And am currently still unable to login at Fwoosh.

In all likelihood, I’m staring at the end of my collecting days when Todd loses this license. It’s honestly got me a bit rattled as I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed collecting as much as I do now. I’m not sure I’m ready to quit. Or change scales/aesthetics. Todd brought me in as an adult collector with Spawn. He appears to be ushering me out with DC. And when I say “rattled”, it’s in the context of first world problems. Dealing with family issues over the last couple of months has my priorities shifted.

Todd has clearly leaned into Batman and Superman, but he’s also made figures Mattel wouldn’t have considered. I don’t think I want to go back to a figure line with no risk taking. It’s been an amazingly fun ride. Even with all the hoops to jump through.

I tend to construct these scenarios in my head for my preferred outcome. I’m not a Pollyanna or anything. Just me gaming it out in my noggin. Trying to give myself some hope to hold onto. My preference is for the 7” scale Multiverse to continue on as it is, as a part of Mattel’s overall strategy. Todd gets the adults. Mattel gets the kids. But if the choice is Elseworlds or nothing, I’ll take Elseworlds. And in a technical sense, Golden Age, The Nail/Another Nail, and New Frontier can cover a good bit of the GA/SA/BA in a very classic style. As for generic/vanilla, that’s pretty much eye of the beholder. I look at Deadman. Very classic, but not remotely vanilla.

And picking one Elseworld figure to go out on, I’d have to got with Gotham by Gaslight Batman. Red Rain is a close second.
 
I mean... you say 'characters Mattel wouldnt consider' and I scan my shelf and see B'wana Beast and Validus and Blue Devil and Vigilante and Bronze Tiger and the Metal Men in my DCUC Collection and I feel like either you don't know what you're talking about or have forgotten how deep Mattel was willing to go.

Mattel relesed Elseworlds versions of Superman and Batman too ( Dark Knight returns, black Superman, Vampire Batman, etc)...

I know you prefer McFarlane's output, but just ptetending only he did 'obscure characters' or other wolrd variants is either forgetful or dishonest.
 
I do think that all 3 companies (DCC/DCD, Mattel and McFarlane) have given us some deep cuts, which is the beautiful thing about such an expansive DC Universe. I'm one of those who lives for the obscure characters, so I'm especially thankful for what all 3 companies have been able to do even though I'd say all were very Batman/Superman heavy, of course:

Mattel gave us an entire 12-person Legion of Super Heroes box set, nearly the full Doom Patrol, nearly all of the Metal Men, Super Friends (Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Wonder Twins & Gleek, etc), Giganta, Chemo, S.T.R.I.P.E, etc

DC Collectibles / DC Direct gave us The Authority, Planetary, Preacher, Sandman and the Endless, JimmyOlsen/PerryWhite/LoisLane, Vandal Savage, The Shade, Tom Strong, Promethea, Tim Hunter, Mordru, Enemy Ace, etc.

McFarlane gave us some real winners as well despite having the license one-third as long or less. Some of my favorites were Morgan Freeman Lucius Fox, Connor Hawke, Ragman, Frankenstein megafig, Damage, Peacemaker, Clock King, Captain Carrot, Ambush Bug, Ghost-Maker and Godspeed. I believe we're also still getting Mr./Director Bones and Kite-Man (Hell Yeah!).

So I give all 3 companies props for taking some risks. Mattel is still my favorite of these three and likely always will be, but I'm still thankful for some of the deep cuts that the other 2 companies have provided as well. Even though I've been mostly anti-McFarlane for the whole time they've had the license I'll certainly recognize that they've made some very great stuff that I'm very happy to have in my collection.

It will be interesting to see if the next iteration of Mattel is so Batman/Superman heavy especially since the copyright on both of those characters end soon and then they'll be fair game to everyone in the public domain.
 
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