Ask Mattel > July 1 Edition

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1.) Valo487 asks: The Legion of Doom has been fairly well represented in both JLU and DCUC with a few left to finish the team in both lines, however Toyman is currently missing from both. Is he in the works for either line? Also, any chance for a non-armored Lex Luthor?

Both are a possibility, but nothing to announce quite yet.

2.) He-Dan asks: Given the recent announcement in Toyfare that key figures (like Joker and Power Girl) will be part of the Wal-Mart exclusive line, what assurances can Mattel offer that the line will be available more widely and in greater quantities at Walmarts than Wave 5?

It is up to Wal-Mart (and any other retailer) to decide which toy lines to carry, not Mattel. If you are not seeing your favorite DC or other Mattel line at your local retailer, ask for it by name!

3.) Ed asks: Some collectors have reported their DCUC figures (wave 3 specifically) developing a strange coating of white film that doesn’t seem like normal dust. I myself have seen it on my DCUC figures and even some of my old Batman figures from the original Horsemen line. A collector on Fwoosh had speculated that it’s probably just mold release working itself out of the plastic. I was wondering if Mattel had a take on this to help clarify the mystery?

An interesting question. If you have photos of this to post we’d be happy to review with our safety department and get a more complete answer. At this time we are unaware of this particular issue.

4.) How much of the Question figure, revealed recently in ToyFare, is new sculpting/tooling?

The Question is based on the DC Superheroes suit body used for Clark Kent, The Riddler and Two Face with a new head, coat and arms.

5.) Given the success of the Movie Masters Batpod, is there any possibility of similar smaller-size vehicles (such as a Batcycle) for DCUC, perhaps as a Mattycollector exclusive or a Collect-and-Connect?

Nothing is planned at this time, but if there is enough fan interest it is something we can get to in time!

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20 Comments

  1. griffin

    RE: Asking your toy manager- I loved the time someone asked what to do if there is no toy manager to ask and they said "ask your toy manager."

  2. @Fengschwing, I totally understand man, I have no interest in Ghostbusters either…I just meant not all questions should be about one line thats all.

    I'm sure the Cars fans must have tons of questions they want answerd LOL.

  3. Maybe a reason a lot of shops haven't ordered the DCUC figures is because they do not want to have nearly every figure returned and have to give out refunds.

  4. Fengschwing

    Mark, with the greatest respect, it works the other way too, I'm not very interested in the MOTUC or Ghostbusters figures, they just don't captivate me at all and I quite happily skip the questions asked about them.

    I'm not bashing the line or the fans one jot, I'm happy that folks are happy they are getting new versions of cherished toys, I admit the Teela figure looks very cool, but DCUC is my main interest.

    I think balance on asking questions about all of Mattels lines must be tough, think of the poor Cars fans!

    Seriously, this isn't meant as a slight against MOTUC fans, please don't take it as such.

  5. PrfktTear

    As a Massachusetts resident, Wave 5 was merely a myth. Yet up to that point DCUC was NOT carried by any of the Wal-Marts in the area, and I've got at least a dozen all within a 30 minute driving distance. DCUC is now being carried by most WMs in the area, so I hope I will at least have a chance to get this wave.

    Talking to Toy Dept. managers… kind of unrealistic. That said, I think speaking with a store manager or writing letters might carry more weight. I'm not suggesting a letter writing campaign, but if managers can pass the information on to the proper dept. heads it might be more helpful.

  6. Yeah but in all fairness 5 questions all about DC, me personally I couldn't careless about DC or super hero figures. There is no point in asking Mattel about the distribution of their products as it has always not been great.

    I look forward to these Q&A and then when I see all the questions being about DCUC and JLA its a bit of a let down, I would have been happy if there was even one slight mention of MOTUC.

    Another thing we cannot slag Poe about being lazy or his site. This site is great and Poe does pleny on it….this is only a pass time for him and all us readers, we all have more impotant things to be doing in the real world. As for being a sell out he is far from that….but I still remember the Betty Page statue Poe LOL.

  7. Emerald

    Actually, Mattel stated in a Q&A a while back that Wave 5 was produced in less numbers than other waves as a sales test since Walmart didn't want to fully commit. Now that they know it's successful I believe the numbers will be more, but with Walmart downsizing their toy departments corporate-wide and still not really interested in non-media tie-in toys, there's no doubt it will be another fiasco on a different level. There's also no doubt that Joker has multi-media tie-ins and is the most A-list villain, thus why Walmart got the character along with Batman. To Walmart, DCUC is at the bottom of their priority list but if they're going to spend money they want a sure thing. Walmart probably was scratching its proverbial head when the Marvel Legends exclusive wave in 05 sold out in a week, with no media tie-in to guide it. Well, everyone knows that Batman will sell through. Even though Forager is sure to be the pegwarmer of this wave, he'll still only be found regionally. Good luck on the others.

    In the end, Mattel will do what they always do — re-release the hard-to-find figures years later, taking up slots that could have gone to new characters. I call them "Apology Figures". Just look at JLU to see what I mean.

  8. Thomas

    I have seen waves 6 and 7 (non-exclusive waves) in plentiful quantities in Wal-Marts. I never saw a single figure from wave 5. Not one figure, not one time. I searched in five different states and never laid eyes on them.

    I think the quantities for exclusive waves are significantly less than for normal waves and when Wal-Mart sells out of all the figures, they and Mattel deem it a success…even though the majority of people interested in them never saw them and will only be able to purchase them on the secondary market.

  9. Scott

    @Monkey Boy:

    I'm sure they make somewhat less, but not as few as you seem to think. One of the points of an exclusive is to keep all of the sales to themselves. If they thought they'd sell the same amount of non-exclusive Wave 9 as exclusive wave 10, why would they even bother? It's common sense.

  10. griffin

    @Monkey Boy, Nerdbot- Oddly enough an exclusive wave should be produced in numbers on par with regular waves to maximize profit to the exclusive vendor. If each Wal-mart wave is only produced in the amount that usually goes to Walmart, what is the point, becaue Walmart isn't actually making any more money than they would have had they just started carrying the line, unless they got them at a discounted price, which just seems idiotic for Mattel to do. The point of an exclusive is to keep supply and demand about the same but change the venue to maximize sales for that venue. Unless all Walmart wants is more foot traffic, why even ask for an exclusive if you aren't going to order it with numbers on par with demand? Also I don't think that Mattel should have given them an exclusive to begin with. With a line as hot as DCUC, Walmart can either get on board or lose out on sales to Target. Then again maybe it is Mattel's fault. Monkey Boy is correct that each Walmart can only house so many DCUC at a time, so Mattel should have anticipated this and made more than one production run of Walmart waves, so that when Walmarts ran out they could order more. Instead when Walmarts ran out they had to order series 6. But then again some Walmarts didn't start carrying until after the Walmart wave. Basically this whole thing is a cluster#@$%.

    Also @Poe- I think you are right to keeping asking while being more selective.

  11. The Flash III

    I appreciate your effort with the site; it's one of my favorites and there is always something cool to read about.

    There have been a lot of good points about Wal-Mart, production numbers for exclusive waves, and the fact that Mattel has us all by the cajones or girl-cajones. I, for one, don't care about MOTUC or Ghostbusters, but I don't mind reading Mattel's answers to those rather than getting pissed when they have no answers for the Wal-Mart debacle. If you drop the Q&A, they'll just find another site to do one with…it's the nature of fan sites. Being choosier about questions might help, but don't stress out over it.

  12. @jestergoblin, yeah I totally know what you mean….I remeber trying to find the MOTU 200X figures. Although I worked in the bike department in Toys'R'Us.

    Years back in the 80's a small toy shop over here was able to order in specific Thundercats figures, my dad ordered in some for me..Tygra and Panthro.

  13. @mark i used to work at toys r us too like five years ago, parents are not the most receptive to the idea that if they can't find what they want to write a letter.

    The worst for me involved Shredder from the new TMNT line. I had to explain that he was being shipped one-per-case of 12 at the time and the parents could not understand the fact that we can't just order a single figure.

  14. Wow. I didn't expect to set off such a chain of comments.

    I think the best way to handle this would be a week or two before questions are due, you post them so we can collectively go through and modify them or cut the ones that will be "go talk to your toy manager…" Currently, most of the questions are new for a lot of us and a discussion would help improve the quality of them.

    For example, a follow up on the white stuff would be fascinating. But asking about new characters is pointless.

  15. The answer to question 2 was so stupid….I had a job in Toys'R'Us for a while, if you actually asked any of the workers there they would laugh in your face….if anything its managment you would need to speak to….the people these shops hire go and do the job they are told to do to get their pay not worry about someones finding a figure.

  16. Poe

    @George: Lazy I won't argue with, but when did I sell out? Selling out implies making, y'know, a profit…

    As for my fewer posts, it's mostly burnout coupled with being a lot busier at my real job (plus one other thing, which I'll be talking about in a blog post soon). Ultimately this site is a hobby for me, and real life intrudes.

    As for the Q&As, I think I'll keep doing them, but I'm going to be choosier about which questions I ask.

  17. Fengschwing

    Motorthing is completely right, this stuff is plastic crack. No matter how much I whine about it, I still want it.

    The trouble is, Mattel are acting just like crack dealers, anything to get the cash coming in from us.

    Will I keep buying? Yes, I will. What's the alternative?

    I'm not going back to DC Direct, pretty as their statues are.

  18. Poe, there is nothing wrong with your Q&A, they are great…..the only thing I would say though is they have other lines than just DCUC, JLU etc that Poesters would rather find out more information about like MOTUC, WWE, Ghostbusters etc.

  19. The problem with the Walmart exclusives is the exclusive part.

    If the figures could be re-released later in other waves I'd be fine with them being exclusives for now. But Mattel makes out like we'll never see those figures again and that's troubling.

  20. Motorthing

    To bother or not to bother? I could give myself a Mattel answer and tell myself to go ask the local store manager……

    Snark Done.

    Poe, I think you do a fine job with these in what is obviously a very limited exercise in corporate comminication, but realistically the answers are not only predictable after the first three/four repeats and they become pointless to a degree that is insulting.

    Answer 2 must be delivered with a smirk – Mattel sat at the same panel/forum where the initial announcment was made about another Wally Wave and heard the collective groan that went up, Nobody was cheering. So they are either pathalogically stupid or simply don't care.

    I suspect the latter.

    And let's face it – we get what we deserve here.

    Mattel are going to suceed with DCU no matter the level of complaint, no matter how poor the quality of the product provided and no matter the hoops needed to be jumped through because very few of us actually want to bail out and not buy them.

    Legs that sheer off at the hip straight out of the packet? No problem, we'll be back next wave. If we can find it. Mad, economy-defying price hikes? Even less of a problem. We order by the case anyway.

    Mattel knows this and knows ultimately we don't matter.

    Only if we all decide enough is enough and simply stop buying Mattel product would even a blip register on the corporate radar. And it's not going to happen is it?

    Supply your own Mattel-non-answer to that one………

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