Ask Mattel > Answers for December 1

Joshq asks: Regarding the DC All-Stars reveals: is what we see what we get? Will there be additional pack-ins or accessories?

Some figures will include accessories. For example, Larfleeze will come with a lantern.

Andy asks: What was the reasoning behind the character selection for DCUC All Stars series 1? Because is seems to conflict with the aforementioned intent of this line which was to select mainstream characters for a broader appeal.

We are offering characters at retail that are appealing to a broad base of fans. All of the characters in the first mix are well-known characters that will appeal to retail consumers, and be exciting to fans.

Snarf! Snarf! asks: With the whole SnakeMan-at-Arms issue, if/when other SnakeMan Variants of heroic characters are made (like Snake-Mekaneck, for example) can the figures be DIFFERENT ENOUGH from the default versions, so the figure does not feel like a “cheap” variant?

We will certainly take fan comments into consideration based on feedback from SMAA, but keep in mind we also want to be on model to the figure and in the end SMAA just didn’t have that much different aside from his head in both his animated series and comic book appearances. It is always a balance of staying true to the model and giving fans new parts.

crazyjaco asks: Why is Mattel watermarking all of its recently released official photos? Don’t they want the fan sites to use those images?

You are welcome to use the images, but the watermark helps remind fans where to go back to for all the info!

3B asks: What is the status of the shiny, metalized belts? Will they only be used on the “Defining Moments” figures going forward? The dull plastic looks terrible and shouldn’t be used in the Elite line, especially when they’re going for over $17 apiece.

This is a popular question! The shiny belts have not gone away, the reason we include shiny belts with some figures and painted belts with others comes down to cost. If a figure or series has more accessories, deco, etc and is therefore higher cost, we will generally only be able to afford to include a painted belt. If we can afford it we will always choose to go with the more expensive shiny belts because yes, we like those more too.

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20 Comments

  1. Salinium

    I agree. I’d like to have Poison Ivy for my Batman lineup, but I don’t want to pay for a subscription with figures I don’t want.

    I do like that they’re re-releasing Batman beyond, though. I’d hate to pay the prices he goes for on ebay. Flashpoint Plas though, eh, as long as he comes with some cool accessories like SDCC plastic Man I’ll be happy.

  2. nerdbot

    Well, yeah – of course fans of Superboy, Batman Beyond, and Plastic Man are happy to see these.

    I was under the impression that the purpose of the All Stars line was to move away from more obscure characters. So I was a bit surprised by the announced line-up for the first wave. Perhaps I'm giving the public too much credit; maybe most people will just see the "S" and think Superman and buy it for their kid. But even as a kid, I would have noticed that this is Superboy, not Superman (and then wondered what the "Prime" meant — and then wondered what the armor was). Likewise, I'd see it's Batman Beyond and wonder why Plas's costume looks so off.

    I think it's great that Mattel is pushing relatively obscure fan-centric product out to retail. I'm just puzzled by it, is all. This line-up seems to go against the situation they described when they explained the re-branding and were pushing the DCUC subscription. Larfleeze being available in brick & mortar stores while Poison Ivy is a subscription-only figure seems completely backwards.

  3. Dark Angel

    …with all due respect, being a "best-selling comic" is kinda like being the handsomest guy in the leper colony. DC Comics fans care, no one else does.

  4. Braystreet

    The Green Lantern comics are generally the best selling comics each month, and Larfleeze has been a major part of those comics for a long time. I'll buy that Warner Brothers expects him to have built something of a level of recognition. This is despite having appeared in no adaptations thus far, but I will buy it because of the constant success of the comic books.

    However, Plastic Man, even traditional Plastic Man is a total unknown factor. He's never been in best selling comics for any duration, he's never appeared in any substantial way in an adaptation, and he's best known as being secondary to Ralph Dibny. Flash Point Plastic Man has nothing, nothing to recommend his creation. It's like the third Ewok from Return of The Jedi getting a spin-off movie in 1952.

    • Scott

      Sorry, but in no way, shape, or form is Plastic Man considered secondary to Ralph. Try asking a random group of people who Plastic Man is. Then ask them who Elongated Man is.
      People are too hung up on the "Flashpoint" part. He's there because of the "Plastic Man" part. They're just using the Flashpoint one so they can have a legitamite variant instead on one they made up off the top of their heads.

    • Kid Nicky

      Are you completely off your rocker? Plastic Man has "never appeared in any substantial way in an adaptation"? For real? You mean aside from being one of the main heroes on Batman:Brave and the Bold? How about STARRING IN HIS OWN CARTOON FOR TWO SEASONS?!?!
      Not to mention he'll be appearing in at least one of the new DC shorts on CN.

  5. Dark Angel

    Larfleeze is an example of "well-known characters that will appeal to retail consumers…"? Really?

    …really?

  6. Scott

    People know who Plastic Man, Superboy and Batman are. They couldn't care less whether they're from Earth Prime, Flashpoint, "beyond", or whatever. That part's for the fans, so at least they're not making up variants like Polka Dot Batman.

  7. nerdbot

    Yeah… Gotta call BS on the answer to #2: "All of the characters in the first mix are well-known characters that will appeal to retail consumers, and be exciting to fans."

    I might not be an uber-fanboy, but I am both a fan and a retail customer. And that lineup is neither appealing nor exciting to me.

  8. Greg

    I know that in our biz "accessories" means anything but the figure, pretty much. But Larfleeze's lantern is essential to the character. An accessory to Larfleeze would be lantern constructs of the people he's killed.

  9. Andy

    Well, that wasn’t an answer to my question (#2)

  10. The irony being the many of who would normally repost their pictures don't post them with the watermark.

    Of the many things that Mattel doesn't get, their wanting to replace the various toy media outlets has to be really high on the list. Even the smallest site can reach people that don't visit Mattycollector regularly. They should be e-mailing out giant images from one side of the globe to the other, but no they make tiny little thumbnails with watermarks bigger than the products pictured and post them in one place.

    And these are professional marketing people?

    • Let's try "The irony being that many of us" in that first sentence instead. Typos are always worse in posts when you're complaining! Sigh. 🙂

    • Agreed. Why they can't look at what Hasbro does for their own brands and mimic that is beyond me, except for what seems to be a pathological fear of litigation that infects the Mattel offices. (Not that Hasbro would sue them, but that they don't want to be sending stuff out to fansites for fear of…some bizarre sort of legal repercussion.)

  11. The_Fun_has_been_Doubled

    Answer to #1: That's reassuring… (rolleyes) They take out the C&C and still some figures will have NOTHING!?
    Answer to #2: Did everyone wanted Flashpoint Plastic Man? I wanted Normal Plas and in the end couldn't justify buying the SDCC Plas…
    Answer to #3: If they wanted to be on Model with the figure, shouldn't he have the gigantic 200X Pauldron and a more Mechanical body? Hopefully they won't make any more snakeified variants.
    Answer to #4: Now if they gave us higher res pictures it would be better…
    Answer to #5: Understandable, but at least the WWE Matty seems to be more willing to work things to help the customer than DCU Matty…

    • Why would they re release the SDCC Plastic Man at retail? That would kind of go against it being an exclusive. They wanted to have a Plastic Man figure (since thanks to Brave and the Bold he is hugely popular among the kids), but needed a different version of Plas since they couldn't use the SDCC version again. Simple as that.

      As for Snake Man at Arms, they've already said it's possible they could use Trap Jaw or Roboto parts on his arms and legs to give him the circuitry that his suit had in the 200X series…however, since this is CLASSICS each character has to fall under the same style to keep a uniformed look in the line.

      In the show, the only obvious snake part of Man at Arms was his face…no tail popping out, no spikes or scales visible underneath his suit…just his face. And that's what the figure reflects. It's a great representation of that character, but overall it's a variant that is pretty pointless BECAUSE of how little change is needed to represent the character right.

    • The_Fun_has_been_Doubled

      I'm not asking for them to do the Normal Plasticman on Retail. Although that's the definitive Plastic Man look that mommies and kiddies would know… Cause that's the main target of the Retail Line (Or so Mattel wants us to believe at times).

      On the Snake MAA: they said the COULD, they didn't say they WILL… On the CLASSICS term: It's just a Marketing name… Kinda like the words Legends or Universe help the Hasbro Marvel Lines.
      Another problem with Snake MAA being too similar to Normal MAA… If the head is the only different thing, then why not release the head with another Snakeman (like Demo-Man will do with the Skeletor head) Using the Techno Parts makes both MAAs different enough to be worthy of being purchased.

    • In the case of MOTUC, the word "Classics" does denote harkening to the vintage style, with modern updated sculpting and articulation. We have seen 200X characters in the line, but done in a "classics" style so as to match the overall look of the line.

    • The_Fun_has_been_Doubled

      I'll give you that, but the 200X LOOK CAN Be achieved in the classics Style by using the Techno Parts on MAA (and Mekaneck going by Snarf! Snarf!'s example.) Sadly, this is more of a cost cutting issue than a Style issue for Mattel (as seen on the 200X He-Man threads from Matty)

    • clark

      Holy pizza! John, you're alive!

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