Mattel DC Figures

Stoopid_Sandwich said:
Don’t forget that Neca had the DC license for a good 6 years during Mattel’s first run and produced a whole bunch of 1/12scale figures and 1/4 scale too. If I had to guess, I’d say that Mattel was more infuriated with Neca since they tried to shut that shit down as fast as possible. But DCD didn’t manage to shut down until after Mattel lost their bid. They survived the floor from falling out from underneath them back in the late 90’s too when Hasbro lost the rights. The only reason DCD had been shown the door at all is because Zaslav came in was like “What up, Bitches?!?!?” And then strip mined the place. It was very unfair. Who knows what kind of artistic direction and talent could be working at DCD now if had been left alone. Instead Todd took control and has essentially been using it as a clearing house ever since. No innovation comes out of that company anymore.


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DCD already existed when Mattel got the license and WB was likely motivated to keep DCD going. Mattel may have also been competing with Hasbro at the point (assuming they didn’t already jump ship to Marvel), so the WB may have had more leverage.

Yeah, the NECA thing was weird, we got the Superman/Muhammad Ali set, what was supposed to be the first of many, then nothing until they dropped the last SDCC sets. It think this was after the scaled down movie figures at TRU? This seems like the kind of thing Mattel would specifically want to prevent this time around.

I think the end of DCD predates Zaslav. It ended in 2020, and rumors that they didn’t want to do lower priced items like action figures anymore were out there a year or two before that. It seems like Zaslav came around in 2021 or 2022. Maybe DCD was dropped to make the books look better for the merger/buyout.
 
Warner carved out a lane for themselves via DCD with the licenses they gave out. It was at a time when Mattel probably wasn't as interested in the collector market and really just wanted to make cheap figures for the Toys R Us crowd. Times are definitely different now so it wouldn't surprise me if DCD remains dormant.
 
Here's a preview of the kids line from Mattel that will be replacing the Spin Masters figures (not McFarlane):

toynewsi.com

Mattel DC Comic Figures For 2026 First Look

Shown below via Comictoyhunter are images giving us our first look at DC Comic based figures coming from Mattel in the Fall of 2026. The images are of a poste
toynewsi.com

Think of these as the equivalent of the Mattel WWE Basic figures that I believe sell for like $12. I believe these are 6.5" scale.
 
Those look basically exactly like DC versions of the WWE Basic figures. Could be a cool way to fill out the collection with characters whose articulation you care less about, actually. They look decent.
 
Well those... aren't the worst thing I've seen. That Joker seems quite decent even, Batman I like the look of the least. Is Deathstroke reusing WWE boots? I've never seen that weird ass costume before.
 
RicksNerdLife said:
These look to be a continuation of the DC Total Heroes line that Mattel did towards the end of their first run.
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Didn't those have more stylized proportions? I remember those having big ol' forearms and maybe a bit of angularity in some aspects of the sculpts.

These don't look too bad. I'm wondering what the accessory situation will be, because I could talk myself into a John Stewart at this price point if it comes with a construct. WWE Main Event doesn't generally include accessories, but I feel like there's a little more need for them in a superhero line with Batman and Green Lanterns in it.
 
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They look pretty good for what they are. For some reason, that close up shot of Deathstroke looks closer to 4" than 6" to me. But hopefully they are 6" scale.
 
GrumpyMatt said:
They look pretty good for what they are. For some reason, that close up shot of Deathstroke looks closer to 4" than 6" to me. But hopefully they are 6" scale.
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I think it's just because of the articulation scheme. I feel that way about the WWE Basic figures. Just the way they do the artic, and the specific layout of it and all that, in a vacuum they can look like certain modern 4" lines like the 4" Fortnite stuff from a few years ago.
 
If this is the kids line, it really ups my desire to see the adult line. These look pretty good. Still, if they won't fit in with Legends, I'm out.
 
They have double jointed knees, that's a step up from WWE. Their basic figures seem to have ridiculously stiff single jointed knees in recent years. Non-articulated ankles looks like a carry over from WWE. I hate that because they at least had pinned up and down movement for nearly 10 years.
 
Not bad looking. But kind of vanilla as I thought it would be. Pretty sure now we’ll see a display at Toy Fair. One of my fears is now realized: homogeneous sculpts. Not terrible, not exciting.
 
mrboshek said:
Non-articulated ankles looks like a carry over from WWE
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Yeah - I have it from someone I consider very reliable that someone at Mattel (above the WWE/DC teams) doesn't see any value in ankle articulation for toys aimed at kids and actively argues against it as useless and a negative value for play. There's a sentiment of reduced articulation in kids' toys makes them more playable and therefore more fun, as well as more solid, with fewer failure points (which is fair).
 
The other "kiddie" I used to buy regularly until they took away the ankle articulation was Hasbro Mashers. This might kill any interest I have in buying these DC figures

Mattle Ankle Trivia: Which Basic wrestler continues to get the old style ankle articulation?--
Hulk Hogan
 
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