McFarlane DC Multiverse

[Atomic Knight]

All this talk of crossover got me remembering- when I was younger and we didn't have much money, the toys I got were all sorts of scales because we mostly got them from thrift stores or secondhand stores. So I had Happy Meal toys displayed with 4 inch, displayed with 12 inch, etc. And me being me, my reasoning for it was that everyone was different sizes in their respective universes. It made sense that the Scooby figures were like 3 inches shorter than Batman, because humans in Scooby's universe could very well have been like 4 feet on average, and it was all perspective. I think having to get creative as a kid has stuck with me, to a fault sometimes.

This was me as a kid. Except for I’ve probably got at least a decade on most of you. My G.I. Joes were 11.5 inches tall. They were generally the bad guys along with Johnny West and his crew. The Megos were usually the good guys. And Batman, Superman, Captain America, Tarzan and the rest were all on the same team against the evil giants.

There were lots more that never fit together and I didn’t mind it one bit. A motley menagerie that would do Toy Story proud. Today I can’t even buy Mandrake the Magician from Defenders of the Earth to sub in as Zatara. Best I can tell the scale is right. But it’s NECA, not McFarlane. Another me problem.

 

[RichardSimmonsRobot]

I received Guardian today as well and my first impression was "he's a little plain", but then I compared it to the Mattel one in my display which is even more plain and felt better about it. LOL! It's just a minimalist costume, of course.

Partly why I never bought Orion despite liking him from the cosmic side of DC. Those red pajamas are just too simplistic, reminds me of prospector long johns.

 

[scottg10]

Sorry man. Just the way I feel. I’ve never wanted to see the Enterprise take out the Deathstar. Nor do I see a connection between the Borg and the Cylons. In spite of my admiration for the work of Grant Morrison, I do not subscribe to the theory that all fiction is connected. I detest the Marvel/DC crossovers and couldn’t care less who the creators/characters involved are. And you’re right, it is a great escape hatch from reality.

But Batman doesn’t need to meet Dr. Doom. He’s already got plenty on his plate.

It's cool if you don't want your figures to cross over, I'm a firm believer that everyone should collect in the way that makes them happiest, but calling the idea childish is kind of silly. It is no more or less childish than anything else we discuss here.

I'm not particularly interested in mixing different lines either, I just want something that better aligns with the 20 years of DC figures I already have. I'm not going to replace my collection with McFarlane, so I'm really only buying new characters, and most of them have to go in a separate display. Some of the larger characters work, and I can't wait to add Detective Chimp to the main display, but most are just too big.

I hope Mattel goes back to the 1:12 and I'll be down for any improvements or new characters. If they go 1:10, I will be a much more casual collector of their line.

And for the record, the Enterprise can can absolutely take out the Death Star and I would totally read/watch that!

 

[PantherCult]

There's pros and cons to any of the scales, but switching up the scale after years and years of customers buying one thing is only gonna piss them off. Yeah, Todd did it too, obviously, but now that fans are used to 7 inch, switching back to 6 feels odd to me too.

On the other hand there are many collectors - like me and others who have posted here - who are delighted about a return to 1/12 scale. We never embraced Todd's new scale and are eager to see it abandoned. Many of us want DC figures that can mesh well with Marvel Legends in a way that McFarlane absolutely never could.

I imagine that there are some collectors that came on board with McFarlane who will be turned off, but there will be new collectors too. Therr will be the segment that collect regardless of scale and there will be those like me who come home to regularly buying DC output again. If the figures are reasonably consistent with Legends I imagine people who are mostly ML collectors will dabble

I do find it hilarious to hope Mattel might produce figures consistent with McFarlane in hopes of not having to start over, though giving McFarlane a pass for not doing that when he got the license.

 

[Atomic Knight]

Spawn ‘77 is up for preorder at GameStop today. Dunno what time.

Cheetah and Extant up for preorder tomorrow at GameStop and Wal Mart. Also dunno what time.

10/23/25 is an unknown item. Noon eastern.

 

[joshsquash729]

On the other hand there are many collectors - like me and others who have posted here - who are delighted about a return to 1/12 scale. We never embraced Todd's new scale and are eager to see it abandoned. Many of us want DC figures that can mesh well with Marvel Legends in a way that McFarlane absolutely never could.

I imagine that there are some collectors that came on board with McFarlane who will be turned off, but there will be new collectors too. Therr will be the segment that collect regardless of scale and there will be those like me who come home to regularly buying DC output again. If the figures are reasonably consistent with Legends I imagine people who are mostly ML collectors will dabble

I do find it hilarious to hope Mattel might produce figures consistent with McFarlane in hopes of not having to start over, though giving McFarlane a pass for not doing that when he got the license.

Totally fair! I don't begrudge anyone for any preference. I love me some 6 inch figures- Black Series, Legends, etc. At the end of the day, it's a hobby that should make you happy. I genuinely have no real preference between 6 and 7 inch, it's just a matter of what I'm used to. In the 6 inch days, I preferred that and gave Todd flak for switching. Now, if Mattel switches back, which I'm expecting them to, I'll give them flak, and then eat my words when I inevitably buy a bunch of their product. It's shame there isn't a way for everyone to get what they want; places like Hasbro that, with Star Wars at least, give both 3.75 and 6 inch (even if the distribution is far from equal), are a rarity, and you can't do a custom made-to-order on everything. But as long as the hobby keeps bringing me joy and remains at least somewhat affordable, it ultimately doesn't matter what scale things are in, and I wish whatever company nothing but luck!

Spoiler

On the "Here and Now" front, I got a shipping notice from GameStop about my Scarecrow and Max Shreck order. Gonna feel weird to have Shreck before everyone else, but I'm just glad he shipped at all! Has anyone gotten their Duckmobile yet? Post some purdy pictures if you have! And if ya happen to end up with an extra onesie Penguin, let me know!

 

[tenzilkem]

Totally fair! I don't begrudge anyone for any preference. I love me some 6 inch figures- Black Series, Legends, etc. At the end of the day, it's a hobby that should make you happy. I genuinely have no real preference between 6 and 7 inch, it's just a matter of what I'm used to. In the 6 inch days, I preferred that and gave Todd flak for switching. Now, if Mattel switches back, which I'm expecting them to, I'll give them flak, and then eat my words when I inevitably buy a bunch of their product. It's shame there isn't a way for everyone to get what they want; places like Hasbro that, with Star Wars at least, give both 3.75 and 6 inch (even if the distribution is far from equal), are a rarity, and you can't do a custom made-to-order on everything. But as long as the hobby keeps bringing me joy and remains at least somewhat affordable, it ultimately doesn't matter what scale things are in, and I wish whatever company nothing but luck!

Spoiler

On the "Here and Now" front, I got a shipping notice from GameStop about my Scarecrow and Max Shreck order. Gonna feel weird to have Shreck before everyone else, but I'm just glad he shipped at all! Has anyone gotten their Duckmobile yet? Post some purdy pictures if you have! And if ya happen to end up with an extra onesie Penguin, let me know!

You don't have to feel weird about having Shreck before anyone else. The Batman Returns wave has already shown up at Target and some of us already have Shreck. Most just weren't able to preorder from Gamestop.

 

[joshsquash729]

You don't have to feel weird about having Shreck before anyone else. The Batman Returns wave has already shown up at Target and some of us already have Shreck. Most just weren't able to preorder from Gamestop.

Oh, of course. I think I'm still just a bit happily stunned that we even have a Max Shreck figure to begin with. With such heavy hitters as Catwoman and Penguin, he feels a little vanilla, but the Batman nerd in me always considered him the 3rd villain of the movie, if not the big bad overall, so I'm stoked to get him. One can never have too much Walken on the shelf.

 

[Schizm]

Remember how well Power Princess sold because she was basically a paint job away from being a 6" Wonder Woman?

The market is hungry for a 6" DC line.

Best Buy shipped BR Penguin - but is now letting me know the others are delayed. Also, shipped Riddler which I thought I had cancelled him and Batgirl because I found them elsewhere, but I forgot he had to go on his own order and I forgot...

 

[Reno]

I received the "pre-order processing soon" email from BBTS for the Atom Smasher / Spectre 2-pack. Wow, a lot of stuff seems to be hitting right now.

 

[RicksNerdLife]

I received the "pre-order processing soon" email from BBTS for the Atom Smasher / Spectre 2-pack. Wow, a lot of stuff seems to be hitting right now.

Well, appreciate it while we have it, because with these tariffs, we are likely to start seeing a massive drought. Our hobby is about to get rough, I'd say after Chinese New Year. What CAN make it into the US will be so scarce. Watch this space.

 

[Reno]

Details on timelines. Mattel will start with kid stuff (old Spin Master) in mid-2026 but not the collector stuff (old McF) until 2027.

DC Comics And Mattel - Clarification On The Timeline For New Products

The other day we reported how Todd McFarlane had clearly stated for the first time that they would continue to be making DC Comic based action figures until t

toynewsi.com

 

[RicksNerdLife]

Interesting.

 

[rodkeith]

That gives six extra months for Todd to put out Batman No. 1000!

Kidding (well, not really). While I'm a 1:12 collector at heart, and hoping Mattel goes back to that scale, I really would like to see McFarlane wrap up some teams and throw a few more deep cuts in. Might as well go big before going home. To me this is good news and gives some room to breathe. Plus, gives Mattel more time to launch on the right foot.

Seriously, I would like to see about twenty more prime female characters, and wrap up classic JSA with a proper Johnny Thunder and Thunderbolt set. Throw Jakeem in the box too.

 

[spinc]

A bit of a deep cut, but I would love to see Mcfarlane release a Swamp Thing 90s TV series Swampy (you know, the one played by Dick Durock). Would look pretty cool! Or just another Swampy bit with a more classic look, ala Bernie Wrightson, and a more normal size. I never liked the one they made.