Author Topic: Mattel DC Superheroes  (Read 87782 times)

Offline Brian

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Mattel DC Superheroes
« on: July 14, 2005, 11:10 AM »
It looks like Mattel must have gotten tired of seeing Marvel Legends get all the hype, and they are starting up a new "DC Superheroes" line.  You can see a mock up of the packaging, as well as links to the first "wave" of figures HERE.  If they do these ML-style, they could be pretty cool.  There seems to be conflicting information out there, with Superherotimes saying that this is a "DC Superheroes" line, where TNI seems to be leaning towards this being a continuation of the Batman line.  Sounds like the sculpts will be done by the Four Horsemen (from MOTU fame), so that might be cool.  I'm not sure, but either way it could be a neat way to get ML scaled figures of Batman, Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, etc.

Actually, from the looks of the first wave (Batman, Superman, Bizarro, Bane, Scarecrow, Azrael), it does look awfully Bat-themed, so maybe it just is the Batman line and SuperHeroTimes was incorrect.

Now...after reading through some information at TNI, it sounds as if the 1st wave will be Bat-themed (Batman, Bane, Scarecrow, Azrael, etc.) where the 2nd wave will be Superman themed (Superman, Bizarro, Darkseid, etc.), so maybe this will end up involving the whole DC Universe.  I hope so.
« Last Edit: April 16, 2008, 01:02 PM by Jeff »

Offline Brian

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #1 on: July 27, 2005, 03:56 PM »
I see that Action Figure Insider (Julius Marx has further details on this upcoming line, and explains the focus on Superman and Batman in the initial lineups.  Apparently Mattel doesn't have a "DC-wide" license, but instead can produce Superman, Batman, Justice League Animated, and "The Batman" animated figures.  They are "testing the waters" with the DC Superheroes line (likely to try to keep up with Marvel and the ML line), and if it does well, they will look to acquire the whole DC universe to use for their figures.  You can see some pics of the figures so far at the link above (scroll down), but I think the figures and bases look kind of neat.  I might be interested, especially if the line expands to cover more DC characters.  Should be cheaper than DC Direct, and easier to get a hold of.  I think regardless, I'll pick up the Superman and Bizarro from the first wave, but we'll see once the line gets closer to coming out (Spring 2006 I believe).  Anyone else interested?

Offline Jeff

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #2 on: July 27, 2005, 04:08 PM »
Anyone else interested?

I'm always interested in new DC Figures.  I may not be able to afford to "collect 'em all" but I will probably pick up a few (including, of course, Green Lantern once they get to him/them ;)).

I'll check them out, but price point and character selection will ultimately decide whether I pick up this line or not.  :-\
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Offline Brian

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2005, 09:36 AM »
ToyNewsI.com has another update on the "DC Superheroes" line, although not really anything we haven't seen/read before.  It sounds like the first wave should be hitting in Jan of 2006, or around there.  Here's the lineups for the first two waves (centered around Batman and Superman of course):

Wave 1
Batman
Bane
Scarecrow
Killer Croc (new head sculpt)

Wave 2
Superman
Bizarro
Doomsday
Supergirl (white shirt)

Wave 3 is rumored to be another Bat wave, probably including Azrael.  It sounds like the first batches of figs will be Supes/Bats centered, then possibly expanding into the whole DC Universe after that if they do well.

Personally, I'm kind of looking forward to this line.  I always thought DC should have a "Marvel Legends"-type line at retail, and hopefully this will be it.  If this is a line that will eventually encompass all the DC characters in Legends style, it could really be neat.  With my Marvel buying slowing down now that I have many of my favorite characters, I might shift over to these a little bit.  Not a "collect them all" either, but if they are nice, I'd likely pick up quite a few if the funds are there.  A DC line like this is long overdue.

Offline John C

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2005, 03:34 PM »
I'll most likely buy this line.  I liked the last DC Heroes line that Hasbro put out a few years back.  Too bad it didn't continue.  I'll pass on the Batman from the first wave, since he looks to be the Batman from the Mattel comic line.  I will buy Bane and Scarecrow along with Bizarro and Doomsday.  The Superman and Supergirl are maybes.

Offline Brian

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #5 on: November 30, 2005, 03:59 PM »
It might not quite fit into this topic (maybe a stamp collecting one?), but I just read over at Newsarama that there will be a series of stamps from the USPS in 2006 featuring DC Comics superheroes.  Apparently, 10 heroes will be represented, along with 10 stamps featuring "covers" from their comics.  Here is the list:

1) Superman - Superman #11, 1941
2) Green Arrow - Green Arrow (Vol. 2) #15, 2001
3) Green Lantern - Green Lantern #4, 1961
4) Wonder Woman - Wonder Woman (second series) #22, 1987
5) Batman - Batman #1, 1940 (with Robin)
6) The Flash - Flash #111, 1960
7) Plastic Man - Plastic Man #4, 1943 (with Woozy Winks)
8) Aquaman - Aquaman (third series) #5, 1989
9) Hawkman - The Brave and The Bold #36, 1961
10) Supergirl - Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1, 1982

Might have to see if I can pick these up next year.  More details and pictures at the linky above.

Offline Ben

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #6 on: December 2, 2005, 10:07 PM »
My, it looks like Mattel is doing something right.

But I'm just positive Batman and Superman will eat up 3/4 of each case and leave the rest at one a piece every other case, like the first wave of the Batman comic line they ruined.

Too bad they can't do something like this for MOTU. I know they paid out the ass for the DC license, but if they did this for MOTU it'd be more money for them since they don't have to pay licensing fees.

End off-topic ramble. >:(
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Offline John C

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #7 on: December 4, 2005, 09:33 AM »
The Mattel Batman stuff lately ends up at Walmarts in those endcap displays, so hopefully that happens and all the figures will be easy to get.  Too bad that didn't happen for MOTU as you said.

Offline Brian

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2005, 12:01 PM »
It looks like BBTS has the lineups for the first five series of the DC Superheroes line.  Keep in mind, from what I understand, Mattel doesn't yet have the rights to the "entire" DC Universe (aside from JLU), so the first year or so will just be Superman/Batman...with hopes of expanding after that.  Here's the lineups:

Wave 1 April 2006
-Batman
-Bane
-Scarecrow
-Killer Croc

Wave 2 April 2006
-Superman
-Bizarro
-Supergirl
-Doomsday

Wave 3 May 2006
-Battle Damage Batman
-Robin
-Mr. Freeze
-Azrael

Wave 4 June 2006
-Batgirl
-Stealth Jumper Batman
- Two Face
- Joker

Wave 5 July 2006
-Battle Damage Superman
-Lex Luthor
-Brainiac
-Superman Mother Box
-Darkseid

Not sure about the dates, as the first Batman wave was reportedly spotted over the weekend at a Wal-Mart in Utah.  We'll see, but this looks to be what is coming this year.  At least the assortments aren't 3 Superman/Batman variants and one villain ;).

Offline jedipurge

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2005, 06:22 PM »
Saw Bane, Scarecrow, & Croc @ my local Wal-mart yesterday.  These are definately awesome would've gotten them too, but x-mas expenses have been killer.
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Offline Hemish

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2005, 08:29 AM »
DC have some cool heroes, but... they also have some of the worst characters ever, Captain Boomerang anyone???? And whats worse is he's getting a figure!?!?!?!?!?!???
The problem with America is stupidity I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself

Offline John C

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #11 on: December 28, 2005, 02:32 PM »
This line is packed at two of each figure per case.  Too bad Mattel didn't figure out this ratio with the MOTU line.

Offline Brian

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #12 on: January 3, 2006, 11:07 AM »
I saw these at a couple of Targets this past week/weekend, the 1st (Batman) wave.  I had the Batman in our basket, but ended up putting it back.  It isn't all that different from the Zipline one I picked up in the Batman line (although better articulated), and they are charging $10 each for them (and lost the bases we saw originally), so I passed.  I'll likely pick up the Superman related figures when they start hitting the pegs though, but that price is definitely not friendly.

Offline Victor_Von_Doom

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #13 on: January 5, 2006, 04:16 PM »
I'm excited about this line. While I usually only read Marvel comics, I do read DC from time to time. I'm not going to be buying all the figures, just ones that don't already have great or better versions (ie not Killer Croc). While I love DC Direct figures, they aren't widely available and I usually have to go to a comic store to get them because major stores like TRU and Wal-Mart don't carry the DC Direct line. This new line seems widely available though.

I'm a little cautious on getting a bunch of these due to the price. Like DC Direct figures, they are too expensive for kids to collect. $10 for a figure and a comic doesn't look like a steal, especially when Marvel Legends are on the next peg for cheaper.  Personally, I like the ML figures better.

I picked up Bane yesterday. Pretty good figure with well articulation IMHO.

I was going to pick up Killer Croc as well, but after looking at his minimal articulation, I passed. I'm just going to try to get the Secret Files version. Its sort of weird that all the other figures in the line have ample articulation, but Killer Croc has hardly any at all. Knee and elbow articulation are a must in todays world.

Are the comics that come with these figures made just for the series, or are they reprints?

BTW, I saw the figures at Target for $9.99 and at Wal-Mart for $8.88.
« Last Edit: January 5, 2006, 04:26 PM by Victor_Von_Doom »
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Offline Ben

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Re: DC Superheroes
« Reply #14 on: January 6, 2006, 11:28 PM »
I would have gladly bought into this line if it didn't cost $9-10 a figure. That's just too much for a mass-market line, and they didn't bother to pack in the cool bases they were pictured with.
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