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Is Mattel ready to dump the DC license?


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From MattyCollector:

"Every super hero knows you can’t win ‘em all and we’re sorry to say we did not reach our goal for the DCU 2014 Club Infinite Earths subscription. We also did not reach our goal for the Ecto-1 pre-order. We’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all the fans for waging such a good, strong fight. It will take us a while to figure out where we can go from here. It may be possible to release a few DCU figures quarterly, or to release 12 figures at higher non-subscription prices. Or, we may have to say a final goodbye to this line at the end of this year. Without the sub, we just don’t know what’s possible at this point. Over the next few months we’ll be meeting internally and with all of our partners at Warner Bros., DC Comics, and Sony, and we’ll let you know as soon as we can what our options are."

It's looking like Mattel is going to finally axe the expensive 6-inch line of DC figures. I'm sure Mattel will meet with WBCP and point fingers at DC Collectibles, a division that's doing better and better at offering high-quality figures in both 4- and 6-inchish scales lately, and accuse them of cannibalizing their sales. But what works for DCC in the specialty market obviously doesn't work for Mattel and their subscription service.

I don't know how well the Fisher-Price lines are doing but they don't appear to be slowing down. However it's a demographic that moves on rather quickly and doesn't seem to mind endless repaints of figures, vehicles, and playsets. The question is what do these young consumers move on to?

In the absence of a 6-inch line, which offers nothing in the way of vehicles or playsets, I'm guessing this is why Mattel seems to be putting more of an effort into their 4-inch scale efforts. It's a more affordable and mass market, consumer-friendly format but with the articulation they're adding, I don't expect the retail prices to be any lower than $7.99.

I'm not sure when Mattel's license with DC runs out. Maybe they're hoping that the upcoming Batman/Superman flick will do the trick. But from what I've seen, Mattel's failings have been their own and I see no reason for that to change. Therefore it's only a matter of time before they reevaluate the property and it reverts back to WB.

When that happens, hopefully someone at DST and WBCP will use the opportunity to get some DC Minimates to the specialty and mass market through the usual venues and I'll be a happier, albeit somewhat poorer collector.

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Mattel announced a new line in the 6" scale back at Comic-Con. Different style from the DCUC figures, kind of a hybrid of DCUC and an animated style. They look nice enough, though I think most collectors are going to be passing.

The sense that I've always gotten, from both Mattel and Hasbro, is that the bread and butter of the the Marvel and DC licenses are the movie and kid stuff, and that the comics-based figures are gravy (sorry for mixing food metaphors). I don't think the death of the sub will make a damn bit of difference to anyone at Mattel, other then Scott Neitlich, who shepherds collector driven lines and gets crapped on by the collector community. I also don't think there's going to be much kvetching about DCC's stuff; after all, that stuff was around all throughout DCUC's very successful run. Maybe if Mattel's 4" stuff is a non-starter, as both Mattel and DCC are mining the same areas at the same scale, there will be a problem.

If I were Mattel, my bone to pick with Warners would be their seeming insistence on only having Nu52 styles at retail, as these designs do not have nearly the mass appeal to both kids and collectors that the classic stuff does.

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Mattel has no right to bitch about DC Collectibles. It's far too late for that.

As a DC Direct collector from the start, I've been petitioning DCD (and now DCC) to offer a 4-inch line for years. Hasbro had their shot. Mattel had theirs and blew it more than a couple times, even with those coveted movie tie-ins. So in my opinion, they don't get to gripe when someone else picks up the ball they keep dropping and finally scores with it. Shame on them – the biggest toy company in the world – for getting beaten at their own game.

Now DCC is eating Mattel's lunch (food metaphor!) by finally adding some decent articulation to their already beautifully sculpted and superbly painted 6-inchish scale figures. And they're doing it at an entry level price point that Mattel is struggling with. Mattel can't even offer oversized "deluxe" figures anymore because they nixed Collect & Connect and big box retailers won't buy figures at those higher prices. (Unless it's a Galactus or Sentinel, apparently.)

I've seen the 4-inch protos that Mattel had on display at SDCC and they didn't nothing to make this veteran 4-inch collector's nuts tingle. I just wasn't feeling it. DCC's 4-inch Green Lantern line only suffers from the fact that Mattel is probably keeping them from offering those figures outside of conventions. If the other figures were based on the classic, pre-52 look instead of Injustice, I'd be all over them.

I agree that the New52 push may have hurt sales to collectors but most parents and kids unfamiliar with the comics will likely only see that as yet another costume variant. The big two – Superman and Batman – have undergone enough wardrobe changes thanks to cartoons and movies that one more won't matter, especially when Cartoon Network is featuring those looks on their "DC Nation" interstitials.

So while this is admittedly a stretch, I'm hoping that this is the beginning of the end of Mattel's relationship with DC. When they got the license, I had high hopes. They've not only managed to disappoint me with almost every offering but they're cock-blocking DCC and DST from offering other products I want.

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I don't really see how anything Mattel has done has affected DCC in any way, shape, or form. DC Direct had moved towards artist- and story- specific figures long before Mattel acquired the master DC license. I don't think either has ever said "we're not going to do this because the other guys were doing it". In fact, both of them released Blackest Night related figures at relatively the same time, and both have tapped Nu52 and Injustice. And they certainly have nothing to do with DC not wanting to do any more Minimates; that's all DC.

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I don't really see how anything Mattel has done has affected DCC in any way, shape, or form. DC Direct had moved towards artist- and story- specific figures long before Mattel acquired the master DC license. I don't think either has ever said "we're not going to do this because the other guys were doing it". In fact, both of them released Blackest Night related figures at relatively the same time, and both have tapped Nu52 and Injustice. And they certainly have nothing to do with DC not wanting to do any more Minimates; that's all DC.

I was under the impression that the Green Lantern line of 4-inch figures was a convention-only exclusive because Mattel didn't want DCC selling a 4-inch line even into the specialty market that might compete with something they might want to do. That's a good example of a line that should be sold just like all of DCC's other lines (through their direct market specialty channels) and for some reason isn't. Something smells fishy there.

But I agree about Minimates. For a long time I found it hard to believe that DC/WB wouldn't want to do Minimates given the success of the Marvel line and the demand for it. It was more likely that Mattel's agreement simply didn't allow anyone else to offer "action figures" at that size. But then along came Mez-Itz, in comic shops and at TRU, suggesting that someone at WB simply didn't want to give DC Minimates another try.

That said, I can't help thinking that Mezco might have gotten around Mattel's comprehensive master toy license agreement by convincing WB that their figures were "vinyl collectibles" rather than action figures. If Mattel drops the license and the category for action figures under 2.5" tall opens up, we'll know for sure.

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I don't really see how anything Mattel has done has affected DCC in any way, shape, or form. DC Direct had moved towards artist- and story- specific figures long before Mattel acquired the master DC license. I don't think either has ever said "we're not going to do this because the other guys were doing it". In fact, both of them released Blackest Night related figures at relatively the same time, and both have tapped Nu52 and Injustice. And they certainly have nothing to do with DC not wanting to do any more Minimates; that's all DC.

I was under the impression that the Green Lantern line of 4-inch figures was a convention-only exclusive because Mattel didn't want DCC selling a 4-inch line even into the specialty market that might compete with something they might want to do. That's a good example of a line that should be sold just like all of DCC's other lines (through their direct market specialty channels) and for some reason isn't. Something smells fishy there.

But I agree about Minimates. For a long time I found it hard to believe that DC/WB wouldn't want to do Minimates given the success of the Marvel line and the demand for it. It was more likely that Mattel's agreement simply didn't allow anyone else to offer "action figures" at that size. But then along came Mez-Itz, in comic shops and at TRU, suggesting that someone at WB simply didn't want to give DC Minimates another try.

That said, I can't help thinking that Mezco might have gotten around Mattel's comprehensive master toy license agreement by convincing WB that their figures were "vinyl collectibles" rather than action figures. If Mattel drops the license and the category for action figures under 2.5" tall opens up, we'll know for sure.

I hadn't heard that about the Green Lantern line, but I could see that being the case when they were doing the movie toys at that size. Lord knows they needed all the help they can get with those things. Mattel doesn't seem to be objecting to the Injustice stuff, however.

As for Minimates, my impression has always been that DC Direct and Georg Brewer decided that they didn't work. The end. They never seemed to consider that perhaps the way THEY did them didn't work, nor do they seem to recognize that Minimates are in a much different position now, and that the TRU partnership makes Minimates a much stronger brand. But if there's one thing that DC/WB have proven conclusively over the last several years, it's that the Powers That Be don't know what the hell they are doing. Honestly, I think the partnership with Mattel is one of the few things they've gotten right.

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So while this is admittedly a stretch, I'm hoping that this is the beginning of the end of Mattel's relationship with DC. When they got the license, I had high hopes. They've not only managed to disappoint me with almost every offering but they're cock-blocking DCC and DST from offering other products I want.

I'm certainly no fan of Mattel, quite the opposite, but who else could take the license? I can't imagine it would be profitable for Hasbro to try and manage Marvel and DC at the same time and no one else is a big enough player to pull it off.

I can't even get excited at the idea of DC minimates anymore because of the NU52. Maybe I'd be able to manage some enthusiasm if they were based on the Arkham titles though.

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I think if Mattel dumps the DC license it’ll be because DC doesn’t know how to market itself to today’s audiences.

JLU hasn’t been on TV for 10 years (yeah, it’s in reruns in some weird package CW runs, but most kids are probably watching NEW cartoons on cable), Brave and the Bold/Beware the Batman skew obscure purposely, GL:tAS and Young Justice got canceled, and Teen Titans is pretty much just about the Teen Titans... so there’s basically no TV media to support the characters. (And what TV media there is has made John Stewart and Guy Gardener more prominent then Hal Jordan, so I can guarantee there are kids who see the Nu52JL and say “Look it’s Batman, Superman, Aquaman but he has no beard, Cyborg, Wonder Lady... I don’t know this guy, and why is Green Lantern not black?”)

Aside from Batman and Superman they have had TWO other characters get movie: Jonah Hex and Green Lantern. Both Bombed.

In terms of videogames, there’s the Arkham games which are Batman and everyone already loves Batman. And there’s Injustice, which while getting good reviews is an alternate world so it does little to promote awareness for the versions of the characters people might see on cereal boxes. (alternate skins excluded)

I don’t think kids like Nu52 comics, kids don’t read comics for the most part and I don’t think DC’s crazy “must grab mainstream headlines with shock news: LESBIAN TERRORIST GREEN LANTERN!!! FIRST LESBIAN TERRORIST CHARACTER IN COMICS! GOING TO KILL TRANSGENDERED VEGAN GREEN LANTERN NEXT MONTH! FIRST EVER TRANSGENDER VEGAN CHARACTER TO BOTH APPEAR AND DIE IN COMICS!!! SEVEN VARIANT COVERS BUY NOW!” campaign is going to change that.

So if DST got the license to make minimates because Mattel’s stranglehold is over... do we really expect them to do any better?

We need kid sales at TRU, so it’s mostly gonna be Superman and Batman variants because kids know who they are. Action Leagues not based around either of those two peg warmed like no tomorrow (Action League sold fine when it based on a TV shows kids knew all the characters from, and it sells great as a Toy Story and Wrestling line, but as a DC comics line no one was psyched about Firestorm and Green Lanterns) , so there’s no reason to think minimates would be different.

it’s gonna be stuff like this:

4xBatman Vs Joker
4xBatman and Robin (Modern Deco)
2xSuperman Vs Lex Luthor
2xGreen Lantern Vs Sinestro

4xBatman and Robin (Classic redeco)
2xSuperman and Wonder Woman
4xBatman Vs Riddler
2xFlash Vs Captain Cold

4xBatman and Robin (1966 redeco)
4xBatman Vs Penguin
2xSuperman Vs Metallo
2xAquaman Vs Black Manta

there is no wave 4 because TRU is full of Aquamans, Flashes, and Green Lanterns it can’t sell.

Maybe we get some movie themed minimates since the real meat and potatoes (FOOD METAPHOR!) of a license is movie tie-ins, but then we’d just pitch and moan we’d rather have comic versions of XYZ (XYZ in this case meaning ‘insert character here’ not some bizarre shorthand for Mxyzptlk*) because it’s our nature.

When Mattel controls the three biggest girl toy lines and MotU is doing just fine and they make LOTS of money off wrestling figures you can’t JUST blame Mattel for DC’s short comings. EDIT: I forgot about Hot Wheels AND CARS, they make sooo much money of those lines it’s crazy... Unless they specifically set out to let only morons run their DC line, in which case that’s just bad business so it’s probably more likely people just don’t care enough to buy “Green Hornet... or whoever” figures.

*personally I’d rather have an animated verions of Mxy then comic, but that’s just because I’m a big Gilbert Gottfried fan.

Edited by dr baghead
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[raises hand shakily] I... I've enjoyed some of the New 52... It's just like anything else. If the writing is good and the art is good, the comic's gonna be good no matter the world around it. [retreats into hole]

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I've read a smattering of the comics, now that they are hitting trades, and most of them I've thought were pretty good. I've read Swamp Thing and Animal Man, and liked them both; Frankenstein, which is cool; All-Star Western, which is just basically a continuation of the of the Jonah Hex book of which I was already a big fan; Batman, which lived up to the hype, I thought; Aquaman, which didn't-- it was alright, but Johns is operating too much from this "everyone thinks Aquaman sucks, but he doesn't" mindset, and it doesn't make for a good read; and World's Finest, which I quite enjoyed. I've got Superman and Action Comics sitting on my to-read shelf, and I'll be buying Flash when it comes out. Oh, I've read the first two Wonder Woman trades, and liked them, and Justice League Dark, which was pretty good. And Blue Beetle! That was okay. Kind of covers the same ground as the previous BB series, but not as well.

I don't know if there's much else I'll sample, but I'll probably pick up things like Firestorm and Captain Atom if/when I find them for remaindered prices. You'll notice the big one missing from my list is Justice League, which I really have no interest in reading. My biggest gripe with Nu52 (which extends to the toys, obviously) is that I hate Hate HATE most of the new costume designs. I'm okay with Jim Lee as an artist, but I think he's a TERRIBLE costume designer. I particularly dislike the new Superman costume, and I've yet to see a toy that makes that outfit look good (save for Squall's custom).

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I don't really see how anything Mattel has done has affected DCC in any way, shape, or form. DC Direct had moved towards artist- and story- specific figures long before Mattel acquired the master DC license.

It always seemed a hell of a coincidence that DCD changed from 6" to 7" scale right around the time Mattel acquired the master license.

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I just want dc minimates back.

I've been with you on that for awhile, but if it's Nu52, forget it!

Now that the 60's Adam West Batman is back on the table, I'm really bummed we're not getting these as minimates. The Mattel stuff leaves me cold (haven't seen the 6-in scale Batmobile in person yet). But WHO can do Batgirl figures with Yvonne Craig refusing to license out her likeness? Minimates, that's who!!

I gave up on Mattel a long time ago. I hated their business practices, I hate their SDCC exclusive nonsense, and I hated their rip-off mailing system for the Club and online purchasing. Everyone wanted a larger scale Doomsday, and they held off forever just to use him to anchor a wave that didn't come through, and kept giving us crap like that terrible non-classic Poison Ivy design and Uncle Sam. They milked it and put out a few good figures here and there.

Now, with my DC-fatigue, and my personal dislike of Nu52, I'm just not chomping at the bit for DC minimates like I used to be. Granted, knowing DST, they'd knock it out of the park and have me craving them with the first few pics. But without that, to paraphrase MisterPL, I just don't have that tingling in my nuts for DC right now. But when DST finally makes DC mates again, I hope they can still do the Adam West Batman series. With all the vehicles!

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I've also wanted DC Minimates back, but I never really considered the fact if they came back, they could be the Nu52 designs. (I did not know it was referred to as Nu52 until just now.) So I agree with monkeycrumb that my interest in DC Minimates have waned.

I'd probably still buy them though.

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I think by the time DC Minimates are revived, interest in the New52 will have waned, even within DC.

DC has pushed those incarnations of the characters as part of promoting the overall agenda. However, it hasn't stopped them from going in the exact opposite direction with the 1966 Batman property and offering other variations in video games and cartoons.

Personally I'd try to jump on the DC nostalgia bandwagon by pitching a Super Powers-themed set, reimagining Kenner's line as Minimates. (Heck, I think we have half of those as it is.) Just saying that something with a limited scope that no other licensor is doing might be the way to get the foot back in the door and gauge consumer interest.

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  • 1 year later...

I think if Mattel dumps the DC license it’ll be because DC doesn’t know how to market itself to today’s audiences.

JLU hasn’t been on TV for 10 years (yeah, it’s in reruns in some weird package CW runs, but most kids are probably watching NEW cartoons on cable), Brave and the Bold/Beware the Batman skew obscure purposely, GL:tAS and Young Justice got canceled, and Teen Titans is pretty much just about the Teen Titans... so there’s basically no TV media to support the characters. (And what TV media there is has made John Stewart and Guy Gardener more prominent then Hal Jordan, so I can guarantee there are kids who see the Nu52JL and say “Look it’s Batman, Superman, Aquaman but he has no beard, Cyborg, Wonder Lady... I don’t know this guy, and why is Green Lantern not black?”)

Aside from Batman and Superman they have had TWO other characters get movie: Jonah Hex and Green Lantern. Both Bombed.

In terms of videogames, there’s the Arkham games which are Batman and everyone already loves Batman. And there’s Injustice, which while getting good reviews is an alternate world so it does little to promote awareness for the versions of the characters people might see on cereal boxes. (alternate skins excluded)

I don’t think kids like Nu52 comics, kids don’t read comics for the most part and I don’t think DC’s crazy “must grab mainstream headlines with shock news: LESBIAN TERRORIST GREEN LANTERN!!! FIRST LESBIAN TERRORIST CHARACTER IN COMICS! GOING TO KILL TRANSGENDERED VEGAN GREEN LANTERN NEXT MONTH! FIRST EVER TRANSGENDER VEGAN CHARACTER TO BOTH APPEAR AND DIE IN COMICS!!! SEVEN VARIANT COVERS BUY NOW!” campaign is going to change that.

So if DST got the license to make minimates because Mattel’s stranglehold is over... do we really expect them to do any better?

We need kid sales at TRU, so it’s mostly gonna be Superman and Batman variants because kids know who they are. Action Leagues not based around either of those two peg warmed like no tomorrow (Action League sold fine when it based on a TV shows kids knew all the characters from, and it sells great as a Toy Story and Wrestling line, but as a DC comics line no one was psyched about Firestorm and Green Lanterns) , so there’s no reason to think minimates would be different.

it’s gonna be stuff like this:

4xBatman Vs Joker

4xBatman and Robin (Modern Deco)

2xSuperman Vs Lex Luthor

2xGreen Lantern Vs Sinestro

4xBatman and Robin (Classic redeco)

2xSuperman and Wonder Woman

4xBatman Vs Riddler

2xFlash Vs Captain Cold

4xBatman and Robin (1966 redeco)

4xBatman Vs Penguin

2xSuperman Vs Metallo

2xAquaman Vs Black Manta

there is no wave 4 because TRU is full of Aquamans, Flashes, and Green Lanterns it can’t sell.

Maybe we get some movie themed minimates since the real meat and potatoes (FOOD METAPHOR!) of a license is movie tie-ins, but then we’d just pitch and moan we’d rather have comic versions of XYZ (XYZ in this case meaning ‘insert character here’ not some bizarre shorthand for Mxyzptlk*) because it’s our nature.

When Mattel controls the three biggest girl toy lines and MotU is doing just fine and they make LOTS of money off wrestling figures you can’t JUST blame Mattel for DC’s short comings. EDIT: I forgot about Hot Wheels AND CARS, they make sooo much money of those lines it’s crazy... Unless they specifically set out to let only morons run their DC line, in which case that’s just bad business so it’s probably more likely people just don’t care enough to buy “Green Hornet... or whoever” figures.

*personally I’d rather have an animated verions of Mxy then comic, but that’s just because I’m a big Gilbert Gottfried fan.

Sorry for the necro, but I disagree with your idea of the 2x packs shelfwarming. I'm sure if they were sold in TRU and had the exclusive sticker they would be bought up by every scalper in the country. Bullseye and Moonstone were what, one or two in a whole case? They were really desired back then and they're really expensive now. Even the Wonder Man/Union Jack pack is worth $30.

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I think the thing to consider is maybe the price difference. Imaginext figures sell at about 6 for a figure and small vehicle or two figures. Minimates could perform similarly, free from the fifteen to twenty dollar price tag that kills other lines. Plus, you forgot one video game tie in... Lego. Those games feature a wide array of characters, and if those kids playing the Lego games could buy two packs of the features characters, I kind of bet they would

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Mnemosis, on 08 Nov 2014 - 07:53, said:

Plus, you forgot one video game tie in... Lego. Those games feature a wide array of characters, and if those kids playing the Lego games could buy two packs of the features characters, I kind of bet they would

Given how many franchises are in the “Lego” series I’m not willing to count this as a ‘win’ for DC that would help minimates... since you know, kids can buy LEGOS based on the LEGO games.

Yeah, they’re a bit more expensive. But if the kid played Lego Marvel, Lego Star Wars, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Indian Jones, Lego City, Lego the Lego Movie, Lego the flamethrower, and Lego DC Heroes they’re gonna have an easier time meshing a $20 Aquaman minifig with a boat they threw away with Emmet and Darth Vader then they are meshing a $7 Aquaman minimate who TOWERS above the minifigs

also, since I made my original argument over a year ago and things have changed I’ll say this:

Teen Titans GO! is still going strong some how and DC seems to have found a way to make live-action TV really work for them...

Mattel isn’t doing anything with the Arrow/Flash/Constantine/TTG! (although TTG! is part of Jazzwares... Jaks Pacifics? one of the sh*tty companies that starts with a J's Cartoon Network license I think) and Mezco hasn’t made any Mez-Itz that I’m aware of (it’s possible they’re sitting on the license)

so DST needs whatever loophole genius got them the ability to make Ninja Turtle figures and sell them in a TRU despite Playmates master license, and got them the Plants Vs Zombie license when other companies were already making Plants Vs Zombies block figures and 6 inch figures (one of them the same one that makes the Teen Titan figures)... find whatever technicality they can make minimates based on those shows with an run with it.

Then once those do well (if they do well) call WB back up and find out if it’s possible to expand that Batman ’66 license somehow into minimates.

So I know the response an obvious strawman will have is “OH BOO-HOO! I don’t want TV minimates, I want classic comic versions of the characters” or “WAH-WAH! But then I couldn’t get Superman, or Wonder Woman, or Dark Knight Joker, or Blah, blah!” well tough-kitties, pal!!! Even if you got comic based minimates they sure as shot wouldn’t be classic costume based, and to rant about Street Fighter once again: Maybe you should just take the figures you get and realize Blanka is NEVER gonna happen, EVER. If you’re offered a shiny new Guile you can bitch and moan all you want you never got Blanka, but be happy you even got Guile and realize Blanka was NEVER on the table... in this case Booyah shiny white armor Cyborg is Guile and Blanka is an updated Superman.

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Lol

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, except... having worked at TRU for some time now, I can promise DC Lego mates would sell. One of my most common requests now the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back on the shelves is for DC characters, and there's never a really good option. Imaginext is more "kiddie" than most people want, Legos are ridiculously expensive if you're predominantly interested in the characters, and anything for inches or above from DC suffers from numerous problems:

1) the mass market DC toylines are often hyper stylized

2) there's no longevity and therefore no continuity

Coupled with the extreme stylistic differences, this makes getting a full roster of a team exceedingly difficult; the green arrow they put out today will look out of place next to the red tornado from two years ago or the nightwing they make next year

3) articulation and accessorization has been a joke in most of their lines

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so DST needs whatever loophole genius got them the ability to make Ninja Turtle figures and sell them in a TRU despite Playmates master license...

Then once those do well (if they do well) call WB back up and find out if it’s possible to expand that Batman ’66 license somehow into minimates.

Now I'm wondering if anyone has the Batman '66 license for the keyring category.

Or since DST already has the bottle opener license, just tie a cheap bottle opener around the neck of Batman Minimates and BAM! There you go. Of course those are gonna be some expensive Minimates.

No, people simply need to stop nagging DST about it and aim their demand at Warner Bros. Consumer Products and maybe TRU. When a retailer talks, licensors listen.

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  • 1 month later...

The return of DC mates is a thought that goes through my head at least once a day. It is so bewildering to me that they can look at the success the Marvel mates have had and not see how much potential there is for them to jump on that bandwagon. Then again, DC refusing to acknowledge the success that Marvel has had to their own detriment seems to be a consistent theme for them these days.

I don't even care what era they pull costume designs from, I would personally like them to pull from all eras, but for a brief moment we had two lines, one Marvel and one DC, that were almost 100% compatible with one another, and my mind races to think that we could have had two comic universes with hundreds of characters in 'mate form. But no. The intellectual Giants at DC who are constantly trying to fix things that aren't broken, decided not to pursue that. Somehow oblivious to the fact that their own competition would generate sales for them by it's sheer existence. Even if you were a huge fan of one company over the other, who wouldn't buy some of their characters to be able to finally have a crossover between the two? Now that DST has introduced the blind bag approach for certain licenses, it would seem like the perfect opportunity to bring back DC mates. They're already doing blind box for two other DC licenses from different companies, somebody at DC must really have a grudge about 'mates, for God knows what reason.

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I haven't read a dc comic since blackest night was over. I did watch the flashpoint movie and I get how they rebooted everything. The costumes Iv'e seen aren't any different to me that the marvel now looks that I'm also unfamiliar with. But I have some Marvel now stuff and more on the way so I can't see myself giving a shit about them having a lot more of the new 52 looks than classics.

We just went through a long movie heavy period with minimal classic comic versions/characters coming out, so If DC did have new 52 stuff then I'd say we are already prepared for dealing with it. Besides you don't look a gift horse that's just been beaten to death in the mouth when it starts vomiting up DC minimates.

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