1.) While you can’t provide any specific numbers, can you give any sense of how much more widely available the next Walmart-exclusive wave of DCUC will be than Wave 5 (if at all)?
It is up to Wal-Mart to announce those numbers.
2.) Valo487 asks: I appreciate that Mattel has definitely done a lot to increase the number of villains in the JLU line (although more can never hurt!!) but the DCUC series seems to be far lighter in terms of the hero to villain ratio. I understand that the hero bodies’ ability to be reused for various DC heroes is probably a big part of the reason, but as the number of big name heroes left to be done is becoming smaller, will we see more of a focus on the villains of the DC Universe?
As the line continues you should see a nice blend of both heroes and villains in the line.
3.) George asks: Why does Mattel produce two of the same figures with just a head swap? Why can’t you include the “variant head” in the package (like Deadpool with ToyBiz’s Marvel Legends, or Ryu with SOTA’s Street Fighter)? It seems to me that people who are already going to buy the variants wouldn’t mind buying two of one character, so they would essentially buy two of each.
At the end of the day, we need to sell a certain number of units of each sku. It is a business thing. We will look at including extra heads sometimes, but both IH and DCUC were not designed to have removable heads and to go back and give them removable heads would require a lot of new tooling which quite frankly we would rather put into new figures. Going forward, for new lines, we will look into more removable and swappable parts as we know fans love this!
4.) Nicholai asks: Have there been discussions about moving past collect-and-connect figures in order to emphasize other accessories or are collect-and-connect a vital part of DCUC?
This is something which has come up a few times, but at the moment, with only 5 waves per year and therefore 5 collect and connect figures per year, there are still a lot of cool larger figures we want to get to before switching formats.
5.) Googum asks: Any plans to reissue Catwoman or Two-Face? (Apologies if that’s been asked or answered before, but I see the reissued Green Lantern on the shelves, and never saw those previous two at all.)
We had planned to put figures like this into some upcoming two packs but there was no retailer interest. If there is enough fan interest, we can always look at putting some of these figures in the main line in place of a new figures (hey, that would save us on tooling dollars!)
Esbat
I gotta say I really want Catwoman and Two-Face rereleased or at least redecos of them. It wouldn't be that hard to make a Silver Age Gray costumed Catwoman like in "Batman Year One".
George
Hey they answered my question! haha thanks Poe. 🙂
Frowny McBeard
So owning both Catwoman and Two Face makes me a member of a conspiracy? Awesome. Is it like Freemasonry, but with toys?
Scott
"We had planned to put figures like this into some upcoming two packs but there was no retailer interest. If there is enough fan interest, we can always look at putting some of these figures in the main line in place of a new figures (hey, that would save us on tooling dollars!)"
No, it should be one of the all-star figures that you include with bases anyway. This way the figures are out there, and those who have one already don't need to buy another to get a collect-n-connect piece.
Nicholai
I'm glad my question got answered and I expected the answer. Good to know they've thought some about the post C&C figures though. I agree there are a good number of big characters to do, but once they get through a number of them I'd rather they go to sweet accessories or other small items than scrape the bottom of the C&C barrel like Ares for ML.
nerdbot
Well, I know Catwoman was real, but I'm not so sure about Two-Face. Or the Cassie Batgirl, for that matter.
"Mattel" [Scott] often refers to retailer interest – and often suggests fans should ask about various lines at their local stores. I wonder- does Mattel ever ask retailers to peruse fan sites? It strikes me that it would be at least as effective as having us ask local managers, hoping the message gets relayed up the chain.
Now, I'm sure that most of the retail execs who make buying decisions have no interest in reading through fan forums to gauge interest in toy lines. But what I think might work is having one site with the sole purpose of measuring fan interest in specific lines, waves, and figures. I know many of us are eager to respond to surveys put out by toy companies because we see it as a more direct way of voicing our opinions. What if Mattel made a dedicated site where fans could vote or petition for specific products? What if Mattel could say "Look here, Wal-Mart, there are at least 5,000* people who would buy wave 5. We should go back into production." (Am I obsessed with wave 5? Yes. But it is absurd that they are not producing more of them.)
*That number was pulled out of my a- er, hat. Mattel never talks about sales figures, and there is no way of knowing how many action figure collectors are out there. I suppose one could look at the number of registered users of Fwoosh, or RTM to get a minimum number. I would like to know how many people are actively engaged in collecting – let's call it contemporary pop culture toys (which might still be too narrow, but should include action figures, statues (busts, maquettes, etc.), die cast and other vehicles, and so on) to distinguish the pursuit from other similar – and possibly over-lapping – but distinct hobbies. Maybe we need to organize. That's it- we need a club! Oh, who am I kidding. That would never work.
Chuck20
if thats true, then it was my conspiracy that just took a hard shelf dive….
clark
There never was a catwoman or two=face. It's all a conspiracy.
Newt
Get ready for DCUC 10, all DCSH re-releases! lol
PrfktTear
We had planned to put figures like this into some upcoming two packs but there was no retailer interest. If there is enough fan interest, we can always look at putting some of these figures in the main line in place of a new figures (hey, that would save us on tooling dollars!)
yuk! yuk! yuk!
Jim
Regarding not including 2 heads for a figure…
"At the end of the day, we need to sell a certain number of units of each sku. It is a business thing."
…I admire the honesty of mattel. It is a business so I'm not surprised there not adding swappable heads because why sell one figure when you can sell two.
Valo487
Nice, my question got answered, although frankly I wish it hadn't if that's the answer, haha. I believe Kaster's Korner had the news of the next DCUC two-pack being two villains (I bet it's Professor Zoom and Mirror Master…..just call it a hunch.) I was hoping more for an explanation of how to keep the line balanced since they've used a lot of the big name heroes already save a few, but there are TONS of villains yet to be touched, especially since most of the Bat and Super-villains were done already in the DCSH line. I know it won't become more villain oriented, because I'm not that lucky haha, but I do feel they could be more even handed so we don't end up with heroes that are so unknown the line suffers because they are all that's left.
Oh, and about putting older figures into the lines in place of new characters? Awful idea. Incredible just how bad that idea is. If they're the All-Star then go for it, but do not give them the collect and connect piece, we already buy doubles of Batman and Superman to get new characters and to build the C&C, there has to be a limit.
Chuck20
NExt time I need to ask a Q about a revamped Dino Riders line.
Sales bonanza