Mattel’s marketing extraordinaire, “Toy Guru,” has graciously agreed to answer a few questions regarding their DC Universe Classics line.
PG: Does Mattel view DC Universe Classics as a collector-oriented line that can appeal to kids, a child-oriented line that can appeal to collectors, or a mix of both?
DCUC was designed to be a collector-oriented line with some kid overlap.
PG: The adult action figure collector’s market, while not nearly as large as the children’s market, is arguably a more a stable and reliable one. Is Mattel interested in developing a major stake in the collector’s market, or will the company’s investment in it always be subordinate to the children’s market?
Mattel is extremely committed to the adult action figure market and we view the DCUC line as our first flagship collector line with several others to follow. Look for big plans to be announced at this year’s conventions.
To put the previous question another way, if the DC Universe Classics line sells very well among collectors but fails to catch on with children, will it follow the fate of the Masters of the Universe revamp a few years back?
We are always reviewing plans for MOTU. Once we have news to share you can bet we will announce it with all the Power of Grayskull.
Are most or all of the figures that were made for the DC Superheroes line to be considered de facto members of DC Universe Classics? What are the chances that some of them (e.g., the Joker) will be resculpted?
The figures in the DCSH line which were not sculpted by the Four Horsemen are very likely to show up again in the next few years with new sculpts. They have already tackled Nightwing and Robin who were not Horsemen sculpts in the DCSH line. These two figures will show up in Wave 3 available in late spring.
Will collector interest continue to affect case ratios for variants, as it appears to have done for classic Red Tornado and classic Firestorm? For instance, many collectors are very interested in the Sinestro Corps variant of Sinestro.
Collector interest is always taken into account when creating case mixes. The entire DCUC line is aimed at the adult collector and we do our best to pack out figures in a way that will help fans find all the figures and variants they are looking for.