Mattel DC Figures

Jolene00Negative said:
Well....I did not know that!
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Kids line comes out first, so that's what they're showing right now. The collector line (which lots of people assume will look/function more like MOTU Chronicles figures) is something they've told us is coming, but won't be previewing for a bit longer yet as those are set to come out well after the kids' stuff.
 
I'm pretty excited to see what Mattel has planned for their collector oriented line. The kid stuff looks pretty good for what it is, and from the way people talk about their other lines in recent years, it sounds like they've learned how to better handle a line of figures for collectors. I also really hope they've been paying attention to the problems people have had with the McFarlane line.
 
Wil said:
I also really hope they've been paying attention to the problems people have had with the McFarlane line.
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Seconded. Minimally, I suspect we'll see better announcements of what's coming when and have a better chance at pre-ordering mainline release. Exclusives will still exist and will suck, but hopefully no more than they suck for say Marvel Legends.
 
I don't plan on buying the Mattel figures but I am excited to see what is coming. I just feel like I need to end with McFarlane instead of starting a new line. I may get something if it hasn't been made before or looks good. I tried that with Mattel before, I would get DC Super Heroes figures that weren't done by DC Direct. Then I got DCUC and made a separate display for Mattel from DC Direct. I must say I am more excited for Mattel than I ever was with McFarlane.
 
I'm still on the fence. I'm 100% in for any characters Kirby created for DC. Fourth World, OMAC, Kamandi, Etrigan, provided they're all classic designs and not modern ones. Though I admit I'll buy Fourth World stuff regardless.

Likely in for the Legion as well, depending, again, on which era the figure represents.

But aside from that...times are tough. Cost of living is going up and my paycheck isn't. Much. So I may have to decline blanket collecting this line like I did DCUC. But we'll see.

Definitely not buying any Bat-related stuff though. Pfeh.
 
tenzilkem said:
I don't plan on buying the Mattel figures but I am excited to see what is coming. I just feel like I need to end with McFarlane instead of starting a new line. I may get something if it hasn't been made before or looks good. I tried that with Mattel before, I would get DC Super Heroes figures that weren't done by DC Direct. Then I got DCUC and made a separate display for Mattel from DC Direct. I must say I am more excited for Mattel than I ever was with McFarlane.
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I used to do something similar. Kept mixing in DCD and Mattel, but it was pretty clear as soon as DCUC really got started, that they didn't mesh well. As a Bat-collector first and foremost, I ended up keeping the bat-related figures of both lines, but selling the other DCD figures. I preferred Mattel's more unified style. Then I decided that it was just all too much, and got back to my first love of just Batman related, selling everything else.

Even just those figures are a ton between DCD and Mattel, so much so that I've gone pretty light on McFarlane in recent years, really only nabbing Bat-villains or version of Batman that haven't been made yet. I can't imagine Mattel will go very deep into new character territory (especially at first), so I might be pretty hands-off this time around. I could use a collecting break, especially after $35 deluxe figures from Todd.
 
I've got a crazy hodgepodge of DC Direct / DC Collectibles, Mattel and McFarlane stuff. And no, it doesn't mix well.

I started with DC Direct and slowly replaced stuff with Mattel as it came out as I preferred the "playability" of the Mattel stuff to the "statuesque" DCD stuff, while still keeping the DCD characters or buying more that Mattel didn't get around to making. I haven't sold any of my Mattel stuff and still have a ton of DCD stuff also including all of the characters no other company has gotten to.

When McF got the license, I swore that I would only buy figures that neither DCD or Mattel got to. This changed pretty early on when stuff started hitting deep clearance prices almost right away and now I have at least one version of every character that McF has made as well.

My goal is to always have one version of every character ever made (I do this for Marvel as well). I do have at least one version of every DC / Marvel character ever made by any of DCD/DCC, Mattel, McFarlane, Hasbro, ToyBiz or Diamond (Select) in this general range of 1/10th to 1/12th scale. (That's true for the 1/18th scale too that mostly died along the way for both brands).

I plan to be very active in the new Mattel line to the point that it will likely replace anything existing DC that I have but I won't be getting rid of anything until I have a "better" version of any given character to replace it with.
 
I’ve got Mattel and DCD mixed all over the place. While I would prefer a consistent style, I can deal with the differences if it my only way to world build. For scale issues, displays with Mattel and DCD can be fudged to make this less noticeable. However, most McFarlane figures exceed the fudge factor. Some of the earlier releases that were smaller can work, larger characters work as well, anything else from McF has to go on their own shelves. I’m only buying new characters from McF, for the most part, and I’ll happily replace any one of them if Mattel covers the same character later.
 
I can’t fudge. Something in my brain glitches when I try. Doesn’t really matter much anymore as all of my DCD and DCUC figures are gone anyway.

I’m not sure what I’m gonna do with the new Mattel line either. I’m leaning towards a very measured, curated approach. JSA, Kirby, characters from the Multiverse, etc. What I’m not interested in is the SA/BA JLA smashed together with the1982 JLGL style guides, Super Powers and Super Friends. I’m over that 💩. Crisis on Infinite Earths is the beginning of the story, not the end.

I want something fun from Mattel. Fun is however, relative and subjective.

And I’m still looking forward to seeing what Todd can do with Image and Dark Horse characters in the 7” scale compatible with DCM and Spawn.
 
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Let's have this conversation again in a year and see if you haven't sold off your entire McFarlane collection and are all in on Mattel. :p I joke, but I'm also genuinely curious, understanding the pathology of different collector's and what not. I'm very much the opposite kind of collector, I don't think I'd ever part with my DCD and Mattel figures. I'll only swap out if there is an opportunity to upgrade, but even then the old figure will probably just end up in a box somewhere.

In any case, wherever you end up with your collection, I hope you enjoy what you've got or enjoy buying the new stuff, or some combination thereof. That is, after all, the point at the end of the day. And I should probably take my own advice, because I do not enjoy dealing with McFarlane's shenanigans, but my compulsion to have one of every DC character keeps me coming back. I think I have an addiction... Hopefully Mattel will be less scummy dealer.
 
Honestly, I was pleasantly curious about this line until I had a Chronicles figure in hand and now I'm chomping at the bit. There's a lot of potential there. And Todd's making it it really difficult to give a shit about his last year with how bad the releases have been to get.

What really want is something between Icons and Essentials scale but that doesn't feel like it's going to snape off at the joint if I don't treat it with kid gloves. A well-articulated Justice League who can take a dive off a shelf if the cats get up there but still be fun to pose and feel like they belong together. There have been some good figures in McFarlane, but CONSISTENT is not the word I'd use for them. There's less variety in, say, Masterverse, but they were pretty good and very consistent. (Funny enough I'm irritated that Chronicles is so much better than Masterverse because I LIKE and want to KEEP my Masterverse but their character roster is small enough that I could have a replacement set in a few years, while I'm ready to dump the McFarlane figures if Mattel's adult collector line is good but it'll take forever to get stuff like Constantine and Zatanna, Ollie and Dinah, Wildcat, Catman, etc., so I might end up holding onto a lot of favorites for longer than I might normally want to just so I have one of those characters in my collection.)

The kids' line clearly is a kids' line, but if they had a similar aesthetic but with far, far better ROM I'm very interested. Here's to hoping the economy isn't a dustbowl by the time the line kicks off.
 
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