Mattel DC Figures

[Alt]

Makes sense.

I will maintain my course that some characters should just be Evergreen.

 

[secondwhiteline]

Makes sense.

I will maintain my course that some characters should just be Evergreen.

I think at a certain point in the line they're likely going to adopt a WWE Top Picks/Greatest Hits style line that re-issues A-lister figures. Especially if the line ends up successful enough that waves get sold through quickly. Anything to make sure there's always a Batman on the pegs.

 

[AceofKnaves]

Anything to make sure there's always a Batman on the pegs.

The good news with Batman is that he’s got several versions/variations of his main look, so cycling through is possible. Mattel actually did do a bit of that the first time through, with various “regular” Batman releases swapping between blue or black (and also grey or black), oval or no oval, capsule belt or pouch belt, etc.

 

[Reno]

Yes, I do think anchors are a 'necessary evil' to help retail sales. I'm generally likely to be the most annoyed of anyone by this because I'm the type that I want one and only one Batman and one and only one Superman. I'm all about world building with a wide roster of characters but absolutely do not want multiple versions of any character in my collection. So they can release 100 different Batman and Superman figures and I'm still only ever going to buy exactly one of each --- but I'll buy absolutely every one of the deep cuts they ever make no matter how obscure or silly, guaranteed.

 

[Alt]

The good news with Batman is that he’s got several versions/variations of his main look, so cycling through is possible. Mattel actually did do a bit of that the first time through, with various “regular” Batman releases swapping between blue or black (and also grey or black), oval or no oval, capsule belt or pouch belt, etc.

I really want the new look for him. Robin I can miss, with that fuckboi haircut.

 

[Atomic Knight]

I’ve never been drawn to one particular character in my life. Not Spider-Man when I read Marvel many years ago. Not Batman or Superman in these many years since I left Marvel behind. When I was a Marvel fan, I followed the Avengers and related titles mostly, as that was a kind of umbrella franchise.

So I’m not really able to relate to the focus on one specific character, especially since I believe that the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts. At both Marvel and DC. Marvel without Spider-Man is unthinkable. DC without Batman is unimaginable. But neither exists in a vacuum. Both need an environment to flourish. That’s also why I want all the deep cuts possible.

 

[Schizm]

Interesting - we've seen Marvel exist without Spider-Man just fine in the MCU pre-Civil War. Superman we kinda know what we're going to get when he's added into the mix but we never know what flavor of Batman we'll get when he's added.

I hope Mattel launches with Absolute because I still want an Absolute Superman. Just a cool look and since we know the kids line is launching classic, why not go popular, eye-catching, never-been-done modern with the other figures on the pegs over?

 

[secondwhiteline]

The good news with Batman is that he’s got several versions/variations of his main look, so cycling through is possible. Mattel actually did do a bit of that the first time through, with various “regular” Batman releases swapping between blue or black (and also grey or black), oval or no oval, capsule belt or pouch belt, etc.

Oh my God, just absolute dozens of Batmen that you can sell over and over again in a Greatest Hits line. Different eras, different stories, different artists, Dick Grayson, Thomas Wayne, Azrael, more popular Elseworlds looks, video games, movies...like they can go way further than DC Superheroes ever did, and that's just on reissuing the versions they're going to get out there in the first couple years of the main line. You can help anchor a main line or Batman sub-line with truly wacky stuff like Zur-En-Arrh, the rainbow outfits, all that jazz. Did he ever start a jazz ensemble in an issue? Boom, Cannon-Bat Adderly's a 2nd anchor in a wave that has Wonder Woman or Flash on top.

My dad had a Batman room when I was a kid. Just a whole ass room full of Batmen. If they learn from DCUC's mistakes, they're going to print just so much money here.

 

[Damien]

Regarding wave anchors... buckle up:

At minimum, I would say there's a strong case that anchor waves in collector lines are bullshit and don't need to exist. And I think people also have the wrong idea of what an anchor is and what it's for. Wave 'anchors' are for retailers. Full stop. They have nothing to do with collectors. The point of having a Batman in every wave -as an anchor- (as opposed to just wanting to sell lots of Batman figures, ala Todd) is that the retailer wants to see that character's name. That's why the stupidest, ugliest, least-liked version of Superman can still be 'an anchor.' Because it's not about whether the version is liked by fans, it's about whether Target sees the name 'Superman' on the roster for the wave and, therefore, agrees to carry that wave.

In a line that has retailer confidence due to strong sales (your SWB, or your Joe Classified, for instance) a wave anchor isn't necessary. Retailers have already agreed (or not agreed) to carry the line on the strength of its previous sales. Wave anchors may be important to get in the door, and retailers may still want to see certain recurring characters across the yearly releases, but it becomes less a 'wave' anchor and more of a 'line' anchor at that point.
Like, no retailer is going to agree to carry a He-Man line if you tell them you're going to make one He-Man figure and then never release that character ever again. They just won't. They'll carry that wave and then tell you to fuck off. But they also don't need He-Man in -every- wave as long as the product is selling.

What a wave anchor is NOT is some magical device that makes the whole wave sell. So, in terms of collector interest, having Wolverine in a wave doesn't actually matter. If the logic is that Wolverine will absolutely sell - that means nothing for the rest of the wave, AND even the idea that it 'will absolutely sell' is faulty logic. We, and toy companies, have definitely watched the 'anchor' figure pegwarm because no one really wants it. For whatever reason that may be.

So if you think every wave needs an anchor figure - ask yourself why. What purpose does it actually serve? If Batman 'has to be the wave anchor' because he is guaranteed to sell; what actual impact do you think that has on the rest of the wave? So Batman sells. So what? That does nothing for Mattel if the other 5 figures DON'T sell. Which means Mattel needs confidence that all of the figures will sell. Which means the 'anchor' doesn't exist. You just imagined it. In reality, toy companies are making decisions on what to release based on what their sales figures tell them people will buy. That's it. If they have the retailer confidence to not have to report to them that 'trust me, we'll put Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader in every other wave' - they can just do whatever they want that they think will sell.

Batman is in every wave for one of two reasons:
1.) The line isn't selling well enough (too new, or just poor sales, etc) for retailers to have confidence without seeing names they recognize as money-makers.
2.) The manufacturer just believes Batman is going to outsell everything else and they want more money. Particularly relevant with mixed assortments where one figure may be packed more heavily than others, or in waves with multiple 'big names' and only one or two questionables.

There's no magic to it. That's it.

 

[Atomic Knight]

NON-SPOILER/SPOILER:

The final page of K.O. has leaked on Bleeding Cool. I won’t link it here out of anti-spoiler respect. Let’s just say that there might be a lot of Absolute figures coming up next year if Mattel is on their game.

 

[secondwhiteline]

I should clarify that I don't think that a wave anchor is magic that makes the rest of the wave sell. To me "wave anchor" is just a way of saying "every wave and every case packout needs to be composed predominantly of characters at a certain popularity level to ensure consistent enough sales that buyers aren't asking questions." The terminology probably makes it sound too much like one character is a magic bullet when to me it's more of an understanding that you have to provide enough popular characters each wave to meet your audience's buying habits and expectations.

I'm convinced that, despite a fairly open-minded audience, DCUC had waves where they didn't manage that at all, aside from the many other issues with the line. I don't think a single Batman would have saved Wave 14, but a strategy that was less self-indulgent might have prevented all of those figures in the same lineup together. That's what I mean when I say we're not getting an Alan Scott anchor wave again - we're not getting a wave composition without risk management. And if the line's popular, fewer risks need to be managed, but I don't think we're ever going to be at the point where a wave can sustain a combination like Gold, Tyr, Obsidian, Hourman, and Kamandi in one assortment ever again. I don't think it was sustainable the first time.

Mattel's new DC line may get to the point where Batmen aren't as necessary, but it's not like they run WWE waves without main eventers. Hasbro doesn't do ML waves without the A-list, either. But the thing here is that WWE and Marvel have a comparatively broad A-list; or it might be more accurate to say comparatively broad character familiarity or a comparatively more intertwined character roster. Probably both those things. Basically what I'm saying is that your 2nd reason applies, but in an expanded way: Batman's there because they can sell 3 Batmen to every 1 Stargirl or Mr. Terrific, or every .5 Geo-Forces, and that Batman also has more necessary character connections that spur other sales and make his associated characters into anchors. Because you're also selling 2 Batgirls or Scarecrows to every 1 Wildcat. I think that's a major issue with DC as a property even when you slap the word "collector' on the box, and it feels weirdly unique to DC. It seems to invite compartmentalization way more than other properties at a similar level, with a wildly uneven popularity distribution between those compartments, and I think that's something that needs management for any DC line.

I'm not saying that they don't have an audience who wants Mr. Terrific, they do. But the line health is going to depend more on serving the 3 people only buying all the Gotham stuff versus the 1 person who wants a full DCU, which is the market that DCUC aimed for (I would argue at least a little to the detriment of the people who wanted Gotham stuff or Metropolis stuff). And hopefully those 3 people end up finding excuses to buy non-Gotham characters, because once you've hooked people into a line they usually start buying more broadly than they intended, but that's a long-term hope and you can't really know that it's happening until you've seen your own data. So I think that playing the hits more often is just where we're at with DC right now. They're potentially on an upswing that makes more characters more viable and more importantly drags in a bunch of new kids aging in, that's why Mattel bought back in, but one decently performing Superman movie isn't a movement, just a reasonable bet.

But I do think retail buyers matter here, because we're talking about both a new line and a property that's at the onset of a new media direction. I think we're also at the point where your 1st reason applies, especially once we're jumping up in price points.

It's not magic, it's just that they have major character popularity gulfs and don't have access to as many known quantities as other properties do. And whatever they're planning for their $25 price point line, it's not just for collectors. They're not McFarlane, they're likely aiming for both sides of the market.

 

[fac]

Wave 'anchors' are for retailers. Full stop.

Of course, ultimately that is the true customer for the manufacturer, and they know what sells and how fast and how often they have to go on clearance. If you give WalMart the choice of a wave with Batman, Superman and WW in it versus a wave with Red Tornado, Plastic Man and Fire - of course there is one they prefer - even if the AT Poll on most wanted DC figures says Red Tornado, Plastic Man and Fire each got 30 votes, WalMart might reasonably ask who is buying the other 9,970 of each you expect us to order.

It isn't so much that anchors are outdated as that waves are probably outdated, at least in terms of mixed cases of characters to keep the character mix fresh on shelves. Its kind of a weird quirk to the toy industry really - when Nabisco is filling Oreo orders, WalMart doesn't get a box with 3 packs traditional, 1 pack mint, 1 pack peanut butter, 1 pack the flavor of the month. Or when the new Taylor Swift album comes out it isn't in a wave with a new Ed Sheeran and a re-release of Sabrina Carpenter.

Which is why anymore they double or triple pack key characters, and likely sell solid cases as well of the heavy hitters. The only trickle down to the other characters in a wave for casual buyers is if the wave is themed - so there is some "might as well get Robin too" buys.

But I also think there are A-listers and then there is Batman, Superman and Spiderman, which are on another level.

Batman's there because they can sell 3 Batmen to every 1 Stargirl or Mr. Terrific, or every .5 Geo-Forces.

Over the year, all the various Batmen probably sell 100 figures for every 1 Stargirl. Stores know they will eventually sell, and no one is being asked by their boss why they ordered more Batman figures which have sold for 50 years straight.

 

[secondwhiteline]

It isn't so much that anchors are outdated as that waves are probably outdated, at least in terms of mixed cases of characters to keep the character mix fresh on shelves. Its kind of a weird quirk to the toy industry really - when Nabisco is filling Oreo orders, WalMart doesn't get a box with 3 packs traditional, 1 pack mint, 1 pack peanut butter, 1 pack the flavor of the month. Or when the new Taylor Swift album comes out it isn't in a wave with a new Ed Sheeran and a re-release of Sabrina Carpenter.

Mattel WWE still utilizes a pretty traditional wave structure, but they've also experimented a bit with the separate SKUs for separate characters, full character cases thing. I don't know if that's going to be a potential approach here. I think it's probably even more viable here than WWE, where even if you have your dude, nearly every other wrestler released by Mattel is a potential opponent for them.

But WWE's also a line with a ton of accumulated sales data, and the speed of wrestling means that the level of product churn you can achieve is incredible, which makes those one-of smaller names way more viable. I think at a certain point you can learn your proportions enough to get out the riskier figures and satisfy the completionists. A few years into Mattel DC we'll have a way better sense of what risks the line can sustain.

 

[fac]

I assume that WalMart buys into a full year worth of waves anyway - so they know by the end of the year they will have ordered 250,000 Batmen and 150,000 Supermen and 10,000 Stargirls, and next year 250,000 Batmen and 150,000 Supermen and 0 Stargirls but 10,000 Red Tornados. And don't mind if some of the Batmen and Supermen peg warm a bit going into November when they know they will sell.

 

[Niko (protozoalord)]

I think at a certain point in the line they're likely going to adopt a WWE Top Picks/Greatest Hits style line that re-issues A-lister figures. Especially if the line ends up successful enough that waves get sold through quickly. Anything to make sure there's always a Batman on the pegs.

If we get any subline, this is the one I hope for most. Anything that keeps the most desirable characters on the shelves in their most iconic looks is good with me.