Saw this on Reddit, could be the first Bats figure that comes out, not confirmed.
That's a prototype David Vonner pitched to Mattel years ago - they said no then, they’d say no now.
I sincerely hope all you cats that have been clamoring for Mattel to get the license back get everything you have coming to you.
I have as much faith in Mattel as I do in McFarlane Toys. ZERO. Most of Mcfarlane figures were ass. But Mattel last DC waves were EVEN WORSE. Just look at this horrible piece of shit Batman figure. Look at these proportions, whoever made that body - hope you got fired.
I don't like Masterverse and don't want all DC figures to look like disproportionate bodybuilders. But...if we're gonna get something on the level of that David Vonner Batman figures - I'll be very happy. Like...honestly Mattel, just call Vonner.
That's a prototype David Vonner pitched to Mattel years ago - they said no then, they’d say no now.
Oh ok, dont know why Reddit posted it like 3 hours ago? probably click bait.
My wife collects Barbie, Monster High and American Girl. Chasing Mattel is much harder than chasing McFarlane. Call it anecdotal, but this our experience. I’m far from overjoyed with this turn of events.
It’d be great if they revisited some of the characters shown off right before they lost the license, obviously redone with modern sculpt and articulation, like Black Canary and Hawkgirl.
(The fact that McFarlane’s Multiverse might actually end without ever making a Black Canary really just says it all.)
A potentially interesting development. The Four Horsemen have announced that they will be returning to SDCC and NYCC this year:
https://www.sourcehorsemen.com/events
Hmmm. Mattel possibly having a DC panel and maybe some prototypes in their booth, and the Four Horsemen in attendance.
Just like old times.
And just for clarity's sake: I no longer know anyone that works at Mattel. I haven't spoken to anyone there in years and I imagine most of the old guard have moved on anyway. And, just being honest, I don't want to know anyone there. My toy reporter days are over. I'm retired. I find things out the same time everyone else does and I'm content with that.
I would assume Mattel will have a DC panel. It would be the logical thing to do. They just spent a boat load of money on that license and they're going to want to start getting people excited. I would guess a couple of reps from DC and Warner Brothers Consumer Products will be on the panel as well.
But here's what I've learned from 60 years of being a fan: Companies don't always do the logical thing. In fact, very often, they do the opposite.
So ... we'll see what the convention season brings.
I mean... that was a figure they had designed for their previous line when they assumed they would renew the license back before McFarlane outbid them. I remember seeing it shown years ago...
It's possible they'd still use it, but also possible they start from scratch. It would be kind of hilarious to see the heads explode if some of their initial releases were that old canceled wave that had the Collect n' Connect Mammoth - the wave was supposed to have Simon Baz, Hawkgirl, Impulse, Black Canary, Aquaman.... it would be about the laziest thing Mattel could do.
I think it's much more likely they come out of the gate next year with items to support current media offerings - stuff to coincide with the new Superman movie they are making, maybe the Creature Commandos toon that's been on Max, the Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Clayface, Brave and the Bold... We're still a year away from seeing what Mattel has in store though.
THAT Batman was a Dave Vonner concept HE created with some help to pitch Mattel on updating their DC Multiverse line to be closer to Legends. That was NOT made by Mattel.
After Todd ends his run this year, I might be done with DC figures, besides the random Mafex or Mezco figures.
Price and look/articulation COULD get me to snag a new Mattel Trinity, but I have enough versions of them both right now that I'm happy with.
Yeah, I'm excited for this. Good riddance to McFarlane. Hopefully Mattel goes into this new line of figures with some good advancements from their past ones, and a good mix of figures from the different parts of the franchise. I also kind of hope they do their own versions of some designs that McFarlane has already done. Most especially Jason Todd's current look as Red Hood.
I don't anticipate them having anything to show, or even really talk about this weekend. That said, next year's Toy Fair is going to be exciting.
I have enjoyed the rebirth of Super Powers and several of the Batmobile and movie figures McFarlane has produced, but I still have all my Mattel DC Universe Classics displayed. I hope they go back to 6 inch scale and give us updates and deep cuts of characters and teams. I for one am glad Mattel has the license back.
I could definitely handle the return of DCUC. I enjoyed that line more than any other that I have collected over the years. It wasn't perfect by any means but I always get a kick out of looking at the collection. McF did way better than I thought he would, and went way deeper. I bought and sold off many of the obscure metal figs but the Batmobiles are fantastic and McF Reeve Superman is and will remain a favorite.
Mattel is still so far behind Hasbro in figure quality it is not even funny. Their Jurassic Park and Masters figure look dated and not modern in sculpt quality, articulation designs, or paint quality. I hope they really plan on stepping it up with getting DC back. Even the Vonner Batman’s aren’t good enough anymore. Pinless is a must at this point.
This is great news to me personally. McFarlane was absolutely pissing me off with the scale. I had decided last weekend to quit when I saw the huge scale difference between Aquaman and Tempest. That is just totally ridiculous. If Mattel was smart they would look at what Jada Toys, Hasbro's ML team and even some of McFarlane has done and take ideas and come out swinging next year. Oh also McFarlane didn't outbid Mattel back when the license was up for Mattel. WB/DC just wanted to go in a different direction and try something new. McFarlane is worth around 350 million. The DC license back in the DCUC days for Mattel to renew cost them a cool half billion. McFarlane got some sort deal made with WB/DC to get that license. McFarlane did gives us some cool vehicles and some DC characters I didn't think would be made but it doesn't take a lot of brain power to know Superman is taller than Wonder Woman and Power Girl and Martian Manhunter is taller than all three.
As someone who has been collecting DC figures since the original Super Powers days, I've just have to say, I'm really happy McFarlane is losing the license. The latest Platinum release (Platinum Red Nightmaster) reminds me of the #1 reason (of many) as to why I hate McFarlane having the license, releasing new characters and the main/most desirable versions as chase figures. With that said, I've enjoyed the movie figures and vehicles, and I'll really miss Super Powers and Batman '66/DC Retro. I will mostly miss the BTAS line as well, though I was never a fan of having to buy 4 figures I already have to get one new one.
I'm hopeful for a Marvel Legends comparable line for DC, and maybe Mattel will bring back the Super Powers form factor as well. I haven't forgotten there were some dark years with Mattel, but I'm hoping the enthusiasm they've brought to their multiple MOTU lines in recent years makes it to DC.
Mattel is still so far behind Hasbro in figure quality it is not even funny. Their Jurassic Park and Masters figure look dated and not modern in sculpt quality, articulation designs, or paint quality. I hope they really plan on stepping it up with getting DC back. Even the Vonner Batman’s aren’t good enough anymore. Pinless is a must at this point.
I can only speak to Jurassic Park, but the team doing their Hammond Collection has made some innovations in the past year that I hope other toy companies emulate. They had been using bendy-wires in the tails of dinosaurs, but they've switched to a segmented ball joint design with a tight skin around it that is MUCH better than any bendy-wire. Bendy-wires tend to push back and are hard to pose and will eventually break after you bend them back and forth too much, but the team's segmented ball joint with skin system is innovative and superior to other seamless joints I've seen.
Their team puts out design videos for new dinos, and here's a screen grab from their video for the brachiosaurus that shows the design they came up with. The skin on the brach is a bit loose, but the subsequent dinos they've released with this system in the tails are REALLY nice with no skin looseness. Love them a lot, and in the design videos you can tell that team is trying to innovate with every new big dinosaur they release.
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