Want more Major Matt Mason? Mattel wants to know

MVC-005F

MVC-005F by johnnyapollo, on Flickr

So, I’m way behind on this, but a few weeks back Power Pal Pixel Dan asked me to help promote the fact that Mattel is apparently curious about what kind of interest there is in a Major Matt Mason comeback.

Part of me wonders whether this is partly inspired by the success of Glyos and the Outer Space Men; I suppose it would be way too much to hope Mattel would work with the Four Horsemen and Matt Doughty on creating a new Matt Mason line.

Ordinarily I’d probably say astronaut toys would be a hard sell to today’s kids, what with their Ben 10 and their Bakugan and their preferring electronic devices to plastic toys. But we may be due for another round of interest in outer space exploration, if the massive popularity of the Curiosity is any indication. And from what I can tell, Major Matt Mason seems to have a strong adult collector following – adults who are even older than me and probably have a lot more disposable income as well.

major matt mason 01

major matt mason 01 by iagorune, on Flickr

So it all depends on how Mattel approaches it. Will they try the kid-line-and-adult-line combo that Bandai did with Thundercats, and Playmates seems to be doing (to much greater success) with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Or will they actually go down the Glyos route, which is perhaps a viable way to do both: like the Outer Space Men, adult fans get vintage-looking toys while kids get the interchangeability of the parts.

And then there’s always the (remote) possibility the rumored movie starring Tom Hanks will actually get made – the movie with a plot, according to the potential screenwriter, like this:

“The story is set on the moon, near future, and it’s a team of people on a base on the moon, on the south pole of the moon. And of course everything goes wrong. There’s no bad guys. There’s no aliens. Nothing like that. It’s just, can you survive? It’s really fun […]

Oh yeah – no aliens or bad guys, and a team of people in space where things go wrong? Sounds like a ton of fun. Almost as fun as another Tom Hanks movie called Apollo 13 – which, of course, is famous for its appeal to young kids who buy toys.

What do you think? Are you interested in a Major Matt Mason revival, and if so, what form would you want it to take?

Previous

Secret Power-Con accessory will NOT be available elsewhere

Next

Minicomic Monday > #1: He-Man and the Power Sword

13 Comments

  1. Jey

    Why do people keep saying Mattel bringing back Matt Mason is them picking up another license? It's their property! They can do what they want with it. That's like saying Hasbro is considering picking up the Jem and the Holograms license.

    Personally, I hope they relaunch and modernize the franchise in some way. Some cool sci-fi toys with a good gimmick built around today's technology would be fun.

  2. Damien

    You couldn't pay me to display Matt Mason stuff in my home.

  3. Rick

    I loved the Major Matt Mason toys as a kid! They were the coolest toys and did so many things that other toys of the time did not. My six year old thinks they are very cool, she loves the way the space canon and crawler move and the way the characters bend and ride them. They were never cheap or lame. I'd buy new stuff in a heartbeat.

  4. I was too young for the initial Matt Mason release, and they've always looked cheap and lame to me. Bendy figures are my least favorite kind of action figure.

    It's conceivable that they could do something interesting with the line, but I wouldn't bet on it.

  5. King Yuk

    dayraven hit the nail on the head.

    I would buy these in a SECOND if they were the same size and style of OSM with the Glyos interchangeability. Just give the licence to Four Horsemen and make it an extension of OSM and sell them on their website. Everyone wins.

    A little money coming in through the Four Horsemen is better than no money at all. Don't be greedy, Mattel.

  6. doctorkent

    I would want MMM back mostly as a companion line to the Horsemen's OSM.
    But would buy some regardless of what format they took.

  7. Composite Ghost

    The Major Matt Mason Movie Moon Playset! Recreate all the fun and exciting technological malfunctions from the film!

  8. Aaron

    Not interested.

  9. FakeEyes22

    I agree with Dayraven in that at the very least, even if Mattel goes all out with Matt Mason movie product at one point, it would be really cool if the 4H were given the opportunity to introduce Mason as a OSM compatible figure.

    Even if they wanted to “maintain their own brand” or whatever by avoiding a crossover, a OSM scale vintage styled Mason would be a cool non-Glyos combatible figure and a cheap comic-con exclusive for Mattel to release on their own. As long as the 4H get to sculpt it.

    I’m fine with Mattel making it and obtaining more licenses, though. I think Mattycollector is quickly becoming the cheapest way to get somewhat ambitious obscure product these days with all the cutbacks. It’s Bandai America that I’d like to step away from classic licenses until they figure some things out. Jazwares…they”re on the right track to being really good but not quite all the way there yet. They’ve certainly got the ambition and are snatching up licenses like they were Palisades or something.

  10. This proposal feels very bottom of the barrel to be blunt. Cool '20 minutes into the future' space toys would be nice to have, but what is it about MMM that makes it worthy to lead the charge? What are the unique elements of Mr. Mason such that a revival of this line will do better than just a fresh space themed toyline?

    Is there a Matt Mason Community established somewhere which I haven't run across, since all this is looking quite similar to the hordes of secret Thundercats fans who came out of hibernation when the 2011 cartoon was announced. Not everything needs a 'Classics' line after all.

  11. dayraven

    the only context i could see wanting a matt mason is if the horsemen and mel work out a deal to release him as compatible w/ the OSM. mattel should, if they intend me to buy it, be nothing more than a name on a label. i've really come to dislike them, as a corporate entity, over the last few years, so in general, i don't want them to pick up any more licenses, at all. ever. so i'm against them getting matt mason, blackstar, t-cats, the remco guys, every name fans boys have dropped in the last couple years that they want mattel to add to their roster, i don't.

    it's not just because i dislike mattel, either. the creator-owned company just make better toys! the glyos stuff is so much better a product than the mattel stuff. the spy monkey accessories for motuc cost almost as much as the figs, and people are lining up to buy those pieces because they're cool toys, they're durable, and they're versatile… i.e. they're a TOY that inspires PLAY and INTERACTIVITY, which is what the thing should do in the first place. mattel stuff is, by and large, nerd hummels. oh, we're getting more articulation points than we did under say macfarlane, but it doesn't end up yielding a whole lot more play or posability. it's mostly open, pose, shelf, and dust. nobody is gathering dust on onell products.

  12. brothermidnight

    Im very interested as long as the line isn't sold exclusively on Matty collector . I will skip any toy line they release as long as I have to deal with Digital River.

  13. Mario

    As "cool" as I find the vintage line to be, I just couldn't justify adding another line to my collecting habits, especially one that has no real good vs. bad aspect to it. Just a tad boring to me, as you've so neatly pointed out.

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén