Mattel gets DC license back

[Werewolf]

Starting in 2026.

Official Press Release: Mattel and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products Announce Multi-Year Licensing Partnership for DC Characters and Stories - ToyNewsI.com

[Dannyc]

Mixed feelings on this to be honest. But i hope the other part of what was being predicted a few months back, mcfarlane losing DC but gaining Marvel doesn't end up happening, imo.

[palitoy]

Drat, I didn't collect the Super Powers line religiously but it got me more than any DC line has since JLU.

[MRP]

Drat, I didn't collect the Super Powers line religiously but it got me more than any DC line has since JLU.

Me too. And with the new Super Powers animated from DC Studios that has nothing to do with the established Super Powers brand I doubt that branding will be used by Mattel. I do hope they do something in the Super Powers/Spin Master scale though.

I'm assuming since the McFarlane and Spin Masters deals didn't impact Mego's deal, this one won't either?

-M

[Werewolf]

They only thing I collect out of Mcfarlane's DC is Super Powers and they are really hit and miss. Mostly miss to be totally honest. So-so sculpting and a lots of repaints and parts re-use. Plus only one female character and the WW sculpt isn't great. Where's Batgirl and Catwoman? There are some stand out figures like the Kenner Batman. Then there are some they just can't get right like Superman. Much improved sculpt but still not quite as good as Kenner and way too tan. The vehicles are all pretty nice.

The 7 inch line I don't really care for. Too much Batman and too much Grimdark. I never want to see Zombie Batgirl on the pegs again, ever. They also have really ugly and obvious joints.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I resisted McFarlane's DC output at first, but they began to give us more classic styled figures, and then Super Powers came. It's often not perfect, but for $10 a pop, they are pretty nice, and the vehicles are outstanding.

I wouldn't mind seeing DCU Classics return with the Four Horsemen involved, but beyond that and JLU, the Mattel output was pretty "meh".

[powersthatbe]

It would be a win win if mcfarlane could still do the 7" and super powers Spin master still their retro line and Mattel bringing back the dc classics 6 inch line(and probably a DC barbie line).

[PNGwynne]

I'll miss Super Powers, it really grew on me.

I can't imagine Mattel doing anything very original. FP had a soft relaunch of DC Imaginext but has never completed the Legion of Doom that devoted collectors hoped for.

The McF 7" line were mostly pretty awful, but I feel bad for Batman '66 collectors--those were rather nice.

[PNGwynne]

... Plus only one female character and the WW sculpt isn't great. Where's Batgirl and Catwoman?...

So true, don't get me started on McF and female figures.

[Werewolf]

I'd love for Mattel to do a Super Powers Origins line. Make them look exactly like the Kenner figures and the same size but add a little more articulation like elbows.

[MRP]

What I would love to see from the Mattel DC line is something that uses the DC Finest brand that DC has been using the last 6 months for the classic collections.

The DC Finest line of trades is collecting DC's library from 1938-2011 (it's their answer to the Marvel Epic Collection style trades). Initial releases were Golden Age Superman, Year One era Batman and Gail Simon's Wonder Woman. They've been releasing 3 volumes a month, GA JSA, SA JLA, Doom Patrol, GL and Flash, Bronze Age Legion, some 90s era stuff (Grell's GA, Catwoman, etc.) and some early 2000s stuff (Harley).

I'd love to see Mattel do a line using the Dc Finest brand and do versions of figures from throughout the span of DC's history-a Golden Age Shuster/Fleisher inspired Superman, a Year One Mazzuchelli influenced Batman, Golden Age JSA, Bronze Age legion figures, etc, rather than more contemporary version from new52 and later. They'll certainly do those in their main line whatever branding they use, but I'd like to see a line devoted to more classic looks of characters from throughout DC's history.

Personally, I'd refer the 4 ich scale used on Super Powers for this line, but I'd be happy to get it in any scale.

Here's a sample of the DC Finest volumes released.

dc-finest-line-v0-bbn8fky66f7d1.jpeg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=dc57eb5e7ed386e7e98f19990e978d359fbadf6b.jpg

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I doubt it will happen, but the DC Finest is a brand DC is working hard at building, and I'd love to see it carry over into their toy and collectible offerings.

-M

[powersthatbe]

MOTU x DC crossover.

[monitor_ep]

I for one will be buying more 3D printed Super Powers once McFarlane is done.

I hope the DC Retro keeps the Super Powers size going. I would love to add Supergirl and Zodiac to my collection. Mattel burned me with there collector club and those off putting Metal Men. Also I hate the build-a-figure making me by a bunch of figure just to resale them on eBay to recoup some expense.

I am wondering have far the DC Retro is going to go because I would love for Spin Master to add in DC TV series like Batman '66, Shazam/Isis, Superman TV series. Heck I would include Gotham so long as they fit in the Super Power line.,

[TRDouble]

Ah, this is disappointing. I, too, was not a big purchaser of the McFarlane DC stuff in the beginning. I was very happy with my Mattel DCUC collection, warts and all, and I liked the articulation direction it was trending in at the end, even if it was a little off putting in the hip area. But Mattel wasn't making many characters I was interested in, with so many classic characters already made. When McFarlane got the license, it felt like a good jumping off point of that style and scale, and I focused on the Mego-style from FTC. Plus, I wasn't interested in starting over in a larger, non-compatible 7" scale, or that style of figure (I already did that with DC Direct to the original Mattel 6" DC lines, followed by DCUC). I bought the initial Superman and Batman, and picked up a few here and there. Nothing major.

2023 saw an big uptick in my McFarlane DC purchases. Then 2024 came and so many classic DC Multiverse figures came out, from many Batmans and Supermans, Kid Flash, Barry Allen Flash, The Atom, Green Arrow, Krypto, Geo-Force, Kyle Rayner, 1990s JLA, Plastic Man, etc. With FTC's DC selection ending and Mego kind of trickling out, I found myself immersed in the McFarlane DC Multiverse line, despite already owning most of these figure characters in the Mattel DCUC line. I dug in on the Batman TV Series line, despite owning all of the equivalent Mattel line; McFarlane created the line I hoped Mattel would create. I slowly went in on the Super Powers line, not a favorite classic line of mine, but I was drawn to the vehicles and then the improved figures, and before I knew it, I was all in.

So, yeah, I am disappointed. While I felt Mattel DC offerings had run their course at the time they lost the license, I feel McFarlane has hit their stride after a slow start out the gate. It's certainly not a perfect line and has its' warts, both in design and as a company (Gold Label? Platinum? Red Platinum?), but what company doesn't? And while I prefer waves or series to McFarlane's haphazard releases of characters (even when they tried, like the JLA Series, there was a Huh? factor, adding John Stewart to the line-up), McFarlane still released a pretty impressive line-up of non-Batmen and Supermen, two characters they leaned into heavily, just as every company does with the heavyweights.

So, once again, I find myself saying, it will be a good jump off point for me. I am older and have too much stuff anyway. Maybe I will just focus on Mego DC offerings (if that will still be a thing). Maybe I will start a sell off of extras I accumulated, or old stuff that I should have sold off long ago, much like I did the last time the license changed hands.

Or maybe in 2027, I will be shaking my head at the fact that I am buying the SAME. CHARCTERS. all over again, in a new Mattel style.

[Jase]

I’m not saddened by this news at all. Really tired of the McFarlane nonsense….Platinums, scale issues, the Super Powers Black Manta/Reverse Flash fiasco, and the crowdfund where GameStop had them before many backers did was the cherry on the poop cake. Bring on the classic designs in 6” scale, please Mattel! Oh and I’d love to see Mattel do Super Powers the right way.