New York Comic Con 2011 – Mattel DC Universe Classics

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At San Diego Comic-Con, Mattel announced the start of the Club Infinite Earths subscription for DC Universe Classics and a shift back to more mainstream character mixes for their retail line. A lot of you took this as a harbinger of the demise of DC Universe Classics at retail. The subscription failing to hit the sales target originally set by the Mattel team, was yet another signal of impending doom.

Mattel hopes to set the record straight, showing off new figures for Club Infinite Earths, the retail line, and some more retailer exclusive 2-packs. And, yes, the “last” DC Universe Classics wave in production form, the Nekron Collect and Connect wave. Is it enough to put the collector community at ease? You tell me.

DC Universe Classics Wave 20

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We hadn’t previously seen the height-corrected Sinestro in his Corps outfit or the White Lantern Flash when Mattel first showed this wave in 2-up form at San Diego Comic-Con. I think most of these translated well down to 6-inches, but I’m going to have to do something to fix Ollie’s hood.

Toys R Us 2-Packs

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I’m glad to see that there’s still enough support from Toys R Us for retailer exclusive 2-packs. I think these are stronger than what we’ve gotten recently in that they all have completely new decoes, unlike Captain Marvel / Black Adam, and the Harley Quinn that just had modified paint apps for her face from the 2-pack with Joker. I still think these fall somewhat in the no man’s land between appealing to kids and appealing to collectors. Bats and Azrael I think are better suited for kids, but Hal and Kyle? Hard to say, as I’m not sure the rainbow corps is something kids necessarily know about yet, and I’m not sure collectors really want their favorite Green Lanterns in their flash in the pan dalliances with the other Corps.

Batman’s battle damage is just some new paint apps, and Toy Guru pointed out that it’s one step closer to the Super Powers Batman (without the black shading on the cowl). He still wants a pure Super Powers Batman, and all he’d have to do is remove the battle damage. For those of you eyeballing the gauntlets on Azrael, they are still backwards.

Club Infinite Earths

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Mattel told us they’d be showing off Metron and his Mobius Chair – for me, that’s another one knocked off my Cosmic Odyssey checklist. Metron’s in 2-up format, as are Starman, Flash, and Atrocitus. The Mobius Chair is sculpted to scale. I had hoped Mattel would reveal what look they’d be going for with the other figure they’ve announced, Poison Ivy, but we were told there are no more new DC reveals coming this show.

Larfleeze and Penguin

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Toy Guru is hoping that by revealing Larfleeze as an upcoming retail figure that this will put to rest the notion that next year’s retail line will be all DCnU. He’s not sure how that became the prevailing view in the collector community, but he wants people to know that it’s not going to be all about the new 52. He acknowledges that some of the new designs will make it to retail, but there’s still going to be figures like Larfleeze that make it to retail.

Personally, I think that as the Green Lantern craze was running wild last year, Mattel had plans for more GL stuff to go alongside of GL Classics and the Rainbow Lantern wave. Take White Lantern Flash and Nekron from wave 20, mix in the Sinestro Corps Hal and the very hopeful Kyle, and add Larfleeze and you’re well on your way to another GL-themed wave.

Penguin is another Super Powers figure that we’ll knock off the list. Mattel hasn’t announced a home for this in the 2012 lineup, but you’d think it’d go in Batman Legacy if there were room.

So, what do you think? How’s the outlook for DC Universe Classics in 2012?

16 thoughts on “New York Comic Con 2011 – Mattel DC Universe Classics”

  1. I am so SICK of Scott’s Obsession with Green Lantern Skittles waves and his Super Powers Fetish. An ENTIRE Comic Book Universe of characters and decades of designs to choose from and we keep getting these crappy repaints of modern Rainbow Lanterns and Batman figures already made. The line was dying because of this kind of planning….still clueless I guess. Looks like yet another year of disappointments from Matty!

  2. Hey there…loving the pictures. Has ToyGuru said anything about the Animated Green Lantern line?? He said at SDCC that we’d see something, or hear some news, and yet….nothing. Ask that guy, would ya? 🙂

  3. Uhm…ToyGuru_H8tr…

    The line lasted 20 waves, with what? 1 or two store exclusive waves? There were over 115 different characters released not including the different BAF’s. In the standard line alone. Not to mention boxed sets (like the Green Lantern Corp, and the newly released Crime Syndicate 2 pack). Let’s also not forgot the odd Matty Exclusive two-packs. I’m also not counting sublines like DC Superheroes (what it originally started out as), Batman Legacy, Green Lantern Classics. Oh yeah, and there’s this DC Subscription line, which will be continuing the more obscure characters. And, if I’m not mistaken, hasn’t there been word that the retail line will be continuing, just without BAF’s? Overall we’re talking closer to 250-300 figures.

    Yeah. You’re right. He ran that bitch right into the ground.

    You can be upset about the line not being available in its’ previous format all you’d like. But for God’s sake…..be reasonable about it.

  4. Oh crap, and I forgot about the SDCC exclusives! How could we forget Plastic Man, the Wonder Twins, and Lobo???

  5. I agree with TOYGURU_H8TR!!
    “An ENTIRE Comic Book Universe of characters and decades of designs to choose from and we keep getting these crappy repaints of modern Rainbow…etc.”

    So many great characters to do and it seems we will never see them, now.

    You be reasonable about it!! The end of the waves is going to slow and end the chance of choices of a great many characters we would have gotten with better choices made. (Only my unreasonable opinion.)

  6. Oh goodness….how could I have forgotten the Legion TWELVE PACK that’s being released, too?

    There’s reasoning with you. I’m done. Enjoy being in misery. I’ll be over here where the grass is indeed greener, and my glass is half filled.

  7. Grimy, I think we are disappointed by what we didn’t get,…. certainly not with what we did get. I think some better choices could have been made. (But then again, I would slant the choices toward some of MY choices… but I won’t bother you about it.
    Sitting on the green grass with the glass half full, isn’t such a bad place to be.)

  8. I wish they had made a whole bunch of characters we havn’t seen(yet). I wish i had more money in the bank, i wish my wife was a supermodel and i wish people would stop complaining about a toy line that is clearly trying to please as many DC fans as possible. Chill out H8TR! They’re just toys

  9. Although the articulation is more limited, which I personally don’t have a problem with, the DC Direct versions of Atrocitus and Larfleeze are vastly superior sculpts to these from Mattel. Don’t get me wrong, I love DCUC and have purchased nearly every figure produced to date, but DCD’s versions are beautifully sculpted and painted, and I think these two slots in the subscription line are sadly wasted on these two characters.

    Also, Mattel should have been ready to blow us out of the water with a gorgeous Poison Ivy figure and they should have had a Legion version of Starboy ready to show. I know they haven’t promised we’re going to get a Legion version, but it is utterly ridiculous if we don’t. Considering the release of the Legion 12-pack tomorrow and that with a head swap and adding a Legion flight ring to his hand, we can immediately add another Legionnaire to our team, but especially considering that the Legion version of Thom Kallor is THE CLASSIC incarnation of this character, and not the short-lived JSA version, Mattel should be scrambling to get us Legionnaire Starboy.

    For me, the figures they have shown for the sub line so far are a complete disappointment. The only one I’m interested in is Jay…all of the others are going on eBay, including Metron, who I have no interest in whatsoever. If they can get me a Legion Starboy, that will be a keeper, otherwise, he’s going on eBay as well. I purchased three subs hoping to do ‘my part’ in helping the sub go forward and, based on what I’ve seen, it’s not paying off for me at all.

  10. They are torturing me with that ALMOST Super Powers Batman. Why the “battle damage”? Lame. And I will not be picking it up. I will however gladly hand my money over for that awesome Penguin.

  11. I love that penguin. That is “my” penguin, and the reason I skipped the figure from DCUC wave 1 was because I hoped this one would make it to production some day. Red Azbats is pretty cool, but I have the single-card version so don’t really need him. I already made my own super powers Batman, but for some reason he is riddled with production errors, so it would have been nice to get one without the battle damage.

  12. There is no reasoning with YOU, Grimes.
    Not everyone wants endless/pointless repaints/rehashes of characters from that stupid “war of light” storyline.
    Hal Jordan. Green Lantern. The end. We don’t need “Plaid Latern Corp” Hal Jordan or “Pink with Yellow Polka Dots Corp” Captain Atom. One GL Corp, one Thaal Sinestro, that’s all we need. 500,000 people with Power Rings in the DC Universe makes the Power Ring about as special as a 2×4 with a nail in it. “Ohh, you have a Power Ring? I’m shaking in my boots. My cat has a freakin’ Power Ring too. So does my Grandmother and my mail carrier. Whoopity-doo!”
    What’s next? The entire Gotham City PD gets standard issue Grey Lantern Corp rings? The charge lasts an entire shift. No overtime.
    What a pointless storyline. All the Brightest Day/Blackest Night series was good for is a way to cram a bunch of unwanted repaints down everyone’s throat.
    Meanwhile? We’re all still waiting for Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Huntress, Elongated Man, The Guardians of Oa (obvious?), Alfred, Lois Lane, Granny Goodness and, for the love of toast, WHEN is Jay Garrick being released?
    I’m so tired of seeing “save DCUC!” when all they have to do to save the line is release GOOD figures, decent line-ups and fix their quality control issues!
    How hard is that?

  13. RedHulkCorps(lol) wrote;
    ‘The Guardians of Oa (obvious?)’
    You would think. But remember we’re dealing with Matty, who seems to think Blue Lantern Flash is more important that Jade, Ra’s al Ghul or a Christopher Nolan Batman in DCUC scale. Really, there is ‘no reasoning’ with Mattel.

    Multiple Lantern Corps.
    I’m torn. I agree that the power ring is no longer special now due to oversaturation. But I’m loving the Red Lanterns. Maybe this should be a seperate toyline or a different matty sub altogether. There are lots of ‘heavy hitters’ and ‘a listers’ that could or should go into the main releases. I’m just not sure that mattel has ever picked up a comic book so they don’t know any better.

    On a side note. Matty? The Endless. Death, Dream, Desire, etc? Need. Thank you.

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