In my previous post, I mentioned the DCUC two-packs Mattel is soliciting. In order to get made, there has to be enough fan interest. Here’s a quick reminder of what the two-packs include:

Batman vs Clayface – Batman will be in his black and gray costume with “mud splatter” effects. Clayface will be an exact reissue of this hard to find figure.

Superman vs Brainiac – This is proposed as a standard Superman figure (Eradicator head on the Wave 6 Superman body with red heat vision eyes) vs. Classic Brainiac (green head) with an all new head and coller piece. Brainic will come armed with Luthor’s gun from the 2007 figure.

Supergirl vs. Luthor – This will be a reissue of the Blue outfit Kara Supergirl and the power suit Lex, but perhapes with a little surprise in the accessories!

Golden Age Hawk Pack – Two new figures to start your golden age collection.

Here’s my 2¢: Mattel could easily drum up more fan interest–and pre-orders–if they make a few simple changes.

1. Get rid of the “muddy” paint on Batman–not as many collectors are going to want “Bathroom Accident Batman,” especially if they already have Clayface. But a straight black-and-gray repaint of Batman? Awesome. And it would save Mattel money by requiring fewer paint applications.
2. Give Superman normal eyes, instead of red “heat vision” eyes
3. Give Clayface solid plastic arms, not the rubbery arms he originally came with.

The first two would be very easy. I’m actually a bit curious as to why Mattel would make figures with these paint variations. It’s possible Mattel intends to release a non-muddy, black-and-gray Batman and a non-heat-vision Superman down the road, and so they’re making these variants to make sure collectors get a “new” figure.

Here’s the problem, though–collectors aren’t going to be as interested in these sort of variants if they don’t already have the “normal” versions. However, if you make the Batman and Superman in these two-packs “normal” versions, I feel confident Mattel would be much more likely to reach the pre-order numbers they need. (Clayface I suspect would be more difficult, due to the production issues involved, but I thought I’d throw it out there.)

I suppose if the idea is to maximize the total number of units sold between both these two-packs and the eventual “normal” versions, then you put out these variants in the two-packs first with the idea that impatient fans will buy them, and then also buy the normal versions when they come out. However, if it’s important to Mattel to get enough orders to produce these figures, going without the paint variations is the smarter idea.

So, my recommendation to Mattel is that they announce ASAP that the Batman will be non-muddy and that the Superman will have regular eyes. Make these changes and it’s a virtual lock those two-packs will have the pre-order numbers they need.

UPDATE! On the Matty Facebook profile, “Matty” (a.k.a. Toy Guru, a.k.a. Scott Neitlich) writes that Mattel does have a non-muddy Batman in the works. That’s great to hear, but it also removes any reason for me to order the Batman/Clayface set.