Whenever a beloved line fails, we as collectors immediately become experts as to what went wrong. This character or this wave killed the line. This series was way over ordered. They shouldn’t have made this popular character an Internet exclusive.
It’s possible we’ll never really know what sinks a line whether one that initially started off so promising or one that had a good run and ended way too soon. All that really matters is a line we were passionate about is over with the collectors being the main ones that repeatedly suffer over mistakes and no-brainer decisions companies make.
Take DC Icons for example. This was a really promising line featuring individual sculpts for each character and a ton of accessories. There’s a lot of reasons the line failed to make it to double digit waves. Character choices was a big one (Atomica before Catwoman???), but the biggest was scale.
DC Collectibles ignored a sizable amount of its fan base who didn’t want smaller-scale figures. Articulation was also an early request and DCC ditched some articulation joints fans requested. With DC Essentials, DCC hopes to win back disgruntled fans and hope irritated Icons collectors will come on board. And that hopefully the legacy problem of QC issues doesn’t hinder another line.
Mattel’s Flashback line has been a recent sore spot for me. Mattel has started putting fewer Flashback figures in waves. Some collectors blame peg-warmers like Tito Santana, the Wild Samoans, and the Hall of Fame four-packs. But Mattel’s overall strategy with Legends/Flashbacks has always been somewhat questionable. Early decisions like fringe-era versions of Jimmy Superfly Snuka and Sgt. Slaughter were baffling.
The Four Horsemen pack featured an inaccurate-to-the-era Barry Windham, and did Mattel really think the Wild Samoans would fare better in a tag-team pack than, say, The Hart Foundation or The Outsiders? But for Mattel that doesn’t matter since they can just crank out more NXT and current wrestlers and say modern wrestling collectors aren’t interested in Flashbacks without any ounce of accountability.
Hasbro continues to insist that there’s no market for G.I. Joe figures of any scale despite other lines going strong in that format. Banking hopes on disappointing movies derailed a line that survived Sgt. Savage. But for some reason, the higher ups don’t even want to chance on a 6-inch line with all but guaranteed sellers like Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Cobra troop army builders. How long do fans have to atone for not buying every Retaliation Roadblock and Jinx figure?
There’s some positive examples of how to take collector input to heart and making a better product.
Mattel definitely figured out the best approach for its Masters of the Universe line. A direct subscription model that thrived for years and went deep into the well of characters that’s now still enduring thanks to Super7.
Hasbro is easily the best case with its Marvel Legends line. Initially after taking over the line from ToyBiz, Hasbro seemingly had no clue. Figures lacked paint detail, used bizarre joint choices and had sketchy articulation. Predictably, the Marvel Legends brand got shelved due to lack of interest. Hasbro took some time to get it right and came roaring back with figures that collectors wanted.
Where once was ToyBiz was the gold standard for Marvel figures, now collectors are clamoring for a Hasbro update like Human Torch. Imagine how much different the figure landscape would be if Hasbro chalked the failure of their original Marvel Legends line to a lack of customer and retailer support?
Flooding the market with personal favorites and niche characters eventually killed off the DC Classics line. Mattel did make an effort with an online subscription model, but its pay now and see what figures are getting released later approach turned off fans to the point it too died. Mattel is slowly getting back into the 6-inch market, but the hybrid wave setup of TV and comic book characters seems like a divisive plan for fans of either property.
That’s my thoughts. What line do you consider killed prematurely due to poor decisions by the company decision-makers? What’d I think of the latest episode of Arrow? Check that review out here.