DC Collectibles' Batman the Animated Series 6" Figures

[fwoosheyman]

Ivy's got her crossbow on her arm in the picture and as long as Freeze comes with the ballerina snow globe I'll be happy. 

[MisterPL]

Reportedly, future offerings will be themed sets like this one. They'll still have the same accessories and articulation but apparently single cards are going the way of the dodo. 

 

I broke down and ordered a $15 Two-Face on Amazon along with a Creeper and Batman. (My third Batman but still no Robin!) Still saving up for that Deluxe Batmobile.

[TENIME_art]

I still really just want negligee Harley (I already have the trade & don't want shiny Joker), and tuxedo Joker (but don't want shiny Harley) from whatever set that was.

Would've been better if they'd just done the two shinies with each other, and the two new costumes (though Joker's just a repaint) together. 

[MisterPL]

I'm pretty sure the Tuxedo Joker with shiny Harley got canceled and replaced by the shiny Joker and nightie Harley. (I really liked that tuxedo Joker, too.) Problem is, the Joker ended up not being shiny at all. :(

[TENIME_art]

That's odd, because the one my comic shop had on hold for me before they closed (and I had to let another customer buy it because I couldn't afford it) was definitely dark & shimmery like your first link, not that regular version that was single carded like your second link.

[MisterPL]

I don't know what the deal was with that set.

 

As much as I liked that first Joker, he only might have worn a tux in one image where Harley dreams of marrying him. (He's only seen from the back.) And the Harley figure was just a shiny repaint of the single-carded version. There's nothing to indicate that Harley's costume in Mad Love was glossier than before.

 

Obviously they ditched the tux in favor of the shiny Joker costume, probably just to arbitrarily differentiate itself from the carded version. But since – as with Harley – there's nothing to indicate Joker's costume was any different, they ended up reissuing the first figure in this 2-pack. But at least we got one Mad Love-accurate Harley in her negligee.

[Nessex]

On 1/17/2017 at 2:01 AM, fwoosheyman said:

Ivy's got her crossbow on her arm in the picture and as long as Freeze comes with the ballerina snow globe I'll be happy. 

She does too! 
You're right - Freeze needs his little snow dome. (Ans a freeze ray, of course).

[MisterPL]

If DCC is heading into mostly multipack territory, I'd be happy to add a 3-pack from this to my collection:

 

 

[The Scarlet Spider]

That was amazing PL thanks for sharing that! If I start collecting these now, I'm blaming you (Thank you xD)

Edited January 19, 2017 by The Scarlet Spider

[MisterPL]

If there's room in cinemas for both Affleck's Batman and LEGO Batman, I see no reason why WB couldn't make room on TV for both the Justice League Action Batman and a new Bruce Timm Batman series.

 

(And you're welcome!)

[NerdyTrev]

I love that short because it's based off of the second story from the first issue of Batman from 1940. Bruce Timm is a genius and I would love a Batman series set in that era of comics.

[SCW]

Brilliant short. I would totally watch a retro Batman TV show or start reading a comic series set in that era. 

The pulp sort of stuff is just more fun to me than most the modern day, future world, comic era we live in.

[MisterPL]

I just started reading Batman comics from the WWII era and they're a riot. In one (Detective #33?), Batman is lost on a country road, stops at a house to ask directions, but hears screaming coming from within. This was The Batman, "weird figure of the night," still before Robin, the one many insist was so dark. Yes, there was a guy being pistol-whipped inside the house but the whole premise of getting Batman there was ludicrous.

 

Still, it was a fun era in comics, influenced by crime fiction and spy stories of the day. If Timm's short is the proof of concept that these tales can be successfully reimagined while retaining the retro feel, I'm all for a new series.

 

And toys. I'm gonna need toys.

[Glantern]

*slight rant incoming*

I want to support this line.  I really do.  But I fail to see how moving to a *more* expensive sales strategy is going to keep the line going.  As awesome as the BTAS Mr Freeze is (and he's really, really awesome), I just can't see myself getting that set at full retail, because at most I only really want Freeze, Montoya, and Ivy (and even Ivy I can sort of take or leave) and $175 is too much for three figures.  I get rather tired of lines that try to force collectors into going all-in or nothing, especially at inflated prices.  It didn't work out for DCUC, and I don't seeing it going well for this line either.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Glantern

[Nessex]

45 minutes ago, Glantern said:

*slight rant incoming*

I want to support this line.  I really do.  But I fail to see how moving to a *more* expensive sales strategy is going to keep the line going.  As awesome as the BTAS Mr Freeze is (and he's really, really awesome), I just can't see myself getting that set at full retail, because at most I only really want Freeze, Montoya, and Ivy (and even Ivy I can sort of take or leave) and $175 is too much for three figures.  I get rather tired of lines that try to force collectors into going all-in or nothing, especially at inflated prices.  It didn't work out for DCUC, and I don't seeing it going well for this line either.

I completely agree. I'm really only considering this set for Ivy & Freeze, and the price-point is just too much for those two alone. 
A few of the Marvel Legends box sets left me feeling the same way. I was keen on Magik & Gladiator, but didn't really want to pay for the other figures they were packaged with. 

[The Scarlet Spider]

3 hours ago, Glantern said:

 I get rather tired of lines that try to force collectors into going all-in or nothing, especially at inflated prices.

*cough* blind bags *cough*

[MisterPL]

My first thought was of blind bags as well. Unless you're a completist like me, you'll be not only looking for a discounted pre-sale price but other collectors to split the SKU with you.

 

One thing to keep in mind (still) is that DCC doesn't sell to consumers, they sell to retailers. I'm pretty sure multipacks are more attractive to them because they're a higher price point with a better margin. And if I'm not mistaken, single figures have to be ordered by the case as part of an assortment. Multipacks do not.

Even if I just want a Commissioner Gordon figure, my LCS won't order it because they already have four Zatannas and two Ra's al Ghuls collecting dust on the pegs. But if I want a Girl's Night Out 5-pack, no problem.

 

At least these are five all-new figures and not three reissues with a couple new ones and no accessories excepts stands.

[pk13]

While there are several figures I'd like to see from BtAS, (probably a bigger list for TNAB), I really hope we get a Scarecrow and Alfred before all is said and done. Those are my two biggest wants as far as things we haven't seen. I don't feel like there is a huge amount of space left in the BtAS/TNAB line though. I mean, I would love to see a ton of stuff but I don't feel like we will see it at retail.

But I've seen the pre-orders for the Supes/Lois set and it makes me wonder if that's the next path for this line look or if there will just be a dipping of the toes into the Supes world. Which is just a long way to speculate about how wonderful it would be to see it all transition to JLU. What do you all think? Would you follow from Batman to JLU?

[MisterPL]

I have every intention of following the Timmverse to its conclusion. I started with Batman when it first aired and followed it through Superman, Batman Beyond, and ultimately JLU. I love the style and the character variety and I grew up a DC fan.

 

But I agree about exactly how much might make it to retail. That's the problem I have with figures; the larger the scale, the less likely we'll see more characters, especially a line restricted to the specialty market. If you're like me and want a comprehensive line of characters from the Golden Age on up, smaller is typically better. An assortment that has anchor characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman will always help less popular characters like Lois Lane, Alfred Pennyworth, and Steve Trevor to be made. But when you're offering figures individually, it's far less likely that someone like Renee Montoya is going to get her own SKU.

 

As for the Superman/Lois set, yes. From what I've read the intention is to move forward with more multipacks. Assuming sell-through justifies it, they'll offer more figures based on Superman and later series. I get the impression the Girl's Night Out set, featuring Supergirl, was the first such dip into gauging interest in the Superman Family. 

 

I've also read that WB has a new CFO who's been a real challenge to deal with. He's pretty no-nonsense and has set a higher bar for sales. If pre-sales don't hit a certain threshold, they won't go into production, regardless of how many collectors (like myself) who generally don't pre-order product. I understand they're trying to maximize profit so in order to keep the line going, I may have to pre-order some SKUs from time to time. The days of waiting for Amazon to drop the price by 40% may be over.

[NerdyTrev]

Anything that gets me more DCAU I'll take gladly with open arms. Much like PL, I was born and bred a DC fan on B:TAS and TNBA. I shall live and die by the universe that Bruce Timm and Paul Dini built up so many years ago.

Hoping we get a large assortment of villains to threaten our Justice League if they travel down that path.

[The Scarlet Spider]

Alfred with a Bat Cave Playset. That works for everyone they get to extort money from the buyers to get Alfred and the buyers get a playset! 

[MisterPL]

Collectors have proven they'll take anything from a $25 action figure to a $175 vehicle. Something tells me DCC is wondering what that upward limit is. I guess it depends on the product but I'd hazard a Batcave with Alfred would be the next way to push that envelope.

 

So long as the Batcave worked as a display for other bat-figures, I think enough collectors would be down with it. It might save me from making my own uniform displays with the duplicate figures I'll have.

 

[pk13]

4 hours ago, MisterPL said:

I've also read that WB has a new CFO who's been a real challenge to deal with. He's pretty no-nonsense and has set a higher bar for sales. If pre-sales don't hit a certain threshold, they won't go into production, regardless of how many collectors (like myself) who generally don't pre-order product. I understand they're trying to maximize profit so in order to keep the line going, I may have to pre-order some SKUs from time to time. The days of waiting for Amazon to drop the price by 40% may be over.

I just can't bring myself to pre-order anything. I understand the CFO's direction, I just disagree with it. I've been burned with pre-ordering in the past when the delivered product is different from what was solicited. Missing accessories, changed paint apps, major quality issues, etc... I just can't throw the money down until I know what I'm getting. I understand that companies want to feel like they have guaranteed sales, but it just isn't a customer friendly model. And that's not even going into the price aspect of it.

While I would love a JLU line in the same style as the Batman line we've received, I just wonder how big they could go with it if they aren't going to offer single carded figures. Although, they could probably sell at least one run of the A listers single carded. But then how do you market the rest of the box sets without one of the Trinity in it? (Speaking of which, I only recently noticed that they did a run of the Big 3 from JL: Gods and Monsters in this style. Picked them all up from a seller on Amzon for under $40 shipped for the set of three and I really like the figures). Anyway, After the first couple of sets that will no doubt knock out the A listers, would a deep dive into the JLU cast, even half as deep as the original line, work at this price point? Or would these high priced sets have to be released so far apart that the line would lose traction?

[MisterPL]

I totally agree on the pre-sales. While I collected DC Direct figures from the beginning, the one thing I noticed was that, unlike mass market manufacturers, their product actually improved between solicitation and release. Hasbro and Mattel put their best prototypes in front of buyers but the production pieces generally end up looking much worse. DC Direct somehow managed to use the time to tweak the paint apps and sculpts so that the finished product was surprisingly better.

 

But with DC Collectibles, though they've improved particularly on articulation, they keep changing and decontenting their products. Mad Love is one example of the product looking nothing like its original incarnation. And the Batman Expressions pack has possibly gone from this to this depending on which source you trust.

 

As for JLU, if DCC can justify selling so many Icons figures individually, I don't see the problem with selling most JLU heroes and villains the same way. I fully expect a character like Atom Smasher (who should be BIG) to be sold with others like Flash and Green Lantern, much like Mattel did, but at least make them variants instead of straight reissues. Gimme new portraits, alternate costumes, and different accessories to take the sting out.

[MisterPL]

My daughter was shopping on Amazon and lamenting that she didn't have enough items to qualify for free shipping.  Dad to the rescue! 

 

Long story short: I got two Robin figures for Valentine's Day. My grand total is up to 28 figures now.