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Which figures should Mattel make?
This thread is for the 99.9% of us who don't know which characters are in the next waves.
Mattel will have to pick characters that will sell. They will want to appeal to people who remember Megos but don't have any and want to get into it. They will want to appeal to people who have all the Megos and just want new characters. They will want to appeal to a new audience so will have to have a well rounded list of characters. And they will have to have popular enough characters for the causal buyer.
From looking at who that have announced already, I'm guessing going forward they would like to have:
A "relaunch" popular, common figure (like Superman). This appears to the Mego fans as well as causal buyers. Big named characters like Superman or Batman will always find buyers.
A "relaunch" uncommon figure (like Green Arrow). You can't ignore the high price of some figures on the secondary markets. There are a lot of people who have incomplete Mego collections due to the high price of some holy grails. Also speculators will think that since the vintage one are expensive, the new ones will be a good investment.
A missing Mego figure (like Green Lantern). This will appeal to the Mego collectors that have every figure. Give them something new. Also many popular characters were never made so it can drive the causal buyer also.
A mixture of heroes and villains. Aside from Batman, most of the Mego heroes have nobody to battle (or nobody interesting, I'm looking at you Mxyzptlk). The first wave demonstrates a parity of heroes to villains and I hope they keep it up! It has a Superfriends / Legion of Doom appeal.
Some kind of pairing or theme (Superman/Lex, Green Lantern/Sinestro). This is more just a personal preference of mine, but I really did like the Famous Cover themes even if some where a bit of a stretch (Avengers Assemble, Children of the Atom, Bring on the Bad Guys, etc.) I can definitely seen a Batman wave and a Justice League wave.
Lets look at which DC characters Mego made that Mattel should relaunch:
Definite
Batman: Huge seller, DC's #1 hero, largest fan base.
Joker: DC's biggest villian, paired up with Batman, large fan base.
Wonder Woman: DC is pushing her now, part of the big 3 with Superman and Batman. The only negative is that they may not want to do a female body early in the line to save cost.
Likely
Robin: Paired with Batman, part of 60s TV show nostalgia. However, Batman can stand alone and they may want to wait for a male teen body.
Aquaman: Strong second tier character, Superfriends nostalgia. However, not the most popular character and gets a bad rap.
Riddler: Icon Mego figure, part of 60s TV show nostaliga. However, definitely a second-string Batman villain.
Batgirl: A Mego favorite, complete Mego version very expensive so likely a hole in many collections. If they do a female body, she will be made.
Catwoman: I really hope they do a different version of her that appears to Mego fans such as maybe a 60s TV show catwoman. If they do a female body, I think Catwoman has a good chance, but not the Mego version.
Unlikely
Shazam: Third stringer in the DC universe. He has a very loyal fan base but just never seems to break into the mainstream. I hope I'm wrong on this one!
Supergirl: The Mego version is fun but she has a lot to overcome. Never that popular of a character. Need to make a female body. Even with a female body, they wont want too many women in the waves as female characters never seem to sell as well. I think she would come after Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Catwoman which makes her chances slim.
Mr Mxyzptlk: Not that popular of a character, the Mego version didn't really capture the comic book character, Superman has better villains to choose from. May require a new body type.
Penguin: Less popular Batman villain, especially in recent years. May require a unique fat body.
Isis, Tarzan: I'm unclear on the licensing and DC-cannon of these two. I doubt they will be made.
Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wondergirl: new teen body unlikely. Double wammy for Wondergirl being the only female teen.
Now lets look at which DC characters Mego never made that Mattel should:
First, Flash has to be included. If you asked anybody here what DC characters are the most glaring omission from the Mego lineup, the answer would be Green Lantern, Lex Luthor and the Flash. They already did two, so I feel the Flash is a given. Probably a Barry Allen flash.
So here is my list. I tried to order them in likelyhood:
Flash: See above.
Martian Manhunter: He IS the Justice League. With Green Lantern and Flash, the Martian Manhunter would be the new glaring omission.
Other Green Lanterns: Very likely with since DC is really pushing Green Latern now. Also could see a Guardian.
Hawkgirl: Popular due to Justice League cartoon. Very cool looking and Superfriends appeal. Wings may drive cost up.
Hawkman: Very cool looking and Superfriends appeal. Wings may drive cost up. Not as popular as Hawkgirl.
Black Canary: Popular female character (sorry Supergirl), goes with Green Arrow.
Brainiac: Very popular Superman villian (sorry Mxyzptlk). Can be very visually interesting.
Ra's al Ghul: Popular Batman villian.
Black Mantis: about the only Aquaman villain anybody has heard of. Legion of Doom appeal. Very cool looking.
Cheetah: about the only Wonder Woman villain anybody has heard of. Legion of Doom appeal.
A Flash Villain: probably Mirror Master, but I would love a Captain Cold. Personally I'm sick of Prof. Zoom customs so I hope they don't go that route. A Gorrila Grod would be awesome but I doubt the tooling costs would warrant it.
Solomon Grundy: another awesome villain, but probably unlikely due to costs of a new body.
Atom: Third string hero. Very simple clean design.
Firestorm: Visually very interesting, but never that popular.
Black Lightning / Apache Chief: Only if they go a Superfriend wave.
Zan / Jayna / Gleek: Only if they go a Superfriend wave and teen bodies.
Okay, this is getting long enough. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of obvious choices, and you probably disagree with everything I wrote, so what do you think???
Mattel will have to pick characters that will sell. They will want to appeal to people who remember Megos but don't have any and want to get into it. They will want to appeal to people who have all the Megos and just want new characters. They will want to appeal to a new audience so will have to have a well rounded list of characters. And they will have to have popular enough characters for the causal buyer.
From looking at who that have announced already, I'm guessing going forward they would like to have:
A "relaunch" popular, common figure (like Superman). This appears to the Mego fans as well as causal buyers. Big named characters like Superman or Batman will always find buyers.
A "relaunch" uncommon figure (like Green Arrow). You can't ignore the high price of some figures on the secondary markets. There are a lot of people who have incomplete Mego collections due to the high price of some holy grails. Also speculators will think that since the vintage one are expensive, the new ones will be a good investment.
A missing Mego figure (like Green Lantern). This will appeal to the Mego collectors that have every figure. Give them something new. Also many popular characters were never made so it can drive the causal buyer also.
A mixture of heroes and villains. Aside from Batman, most of the Mego heroes have nobody to battle (or nobody interesting, I'm looking at you Mxyzptlk). The first wave demonstrates a parity of heroes to villains and I hope they keep it up! It has a Superfriends / Legion of Doom appeal.
Some kind of pairing or theme (Superman/Lex, Green Lantern/Sinestro). This is more just a personal preference of mine, but I really did like the Famous Cover themes even if some where a bit of a stretch (Avengers Assemble, Children of the Atom, Bring on the Bad Guys, etc.) I can definitely seen a Batman wave and a Justice League wave.
Lets look at which DC characters Mego made that Mattel should relaunch:
Definite
Batman: Huge seller, DC's #1 hero, largest fan base.
Joker: DC's biggest villian, paired up with Batman, large fan base.
Wonder Woman: DC is pushing her now, part of the big 3 with Superman and Batman. The only negative is that they may not want to do a female body early in the line to save cost.
Likely
Robin: Paired with Batman, part of 60s TV show nostalgia. However, Batman can stand alone and they may want to wait for a male teen body.
Aquaman: Strong second tier character, Superfriends nostalgia. However, not the most popular character and gets a bad rap.
Riddler: Icon Mego figure, part of 60s TV show nostaliga. However, definitely a second-string Batman villain.
Batgirl: A Mego favorite, complete Mego version very expensive so likely a hole in many collections. If they do a female body, she will be made.
Catwoman: I really hope they do a different version of her that appears to Mego fans such as maybe a 60s TV show catwoman. If they do a female body, I think Catwoman has a good chance, but not the Mego version.
Unlikely
Shazam: Third stringer in the DC universe. He has a very loyal fan base but just never seems to break into the mainstream. I hope I'm wrong on this one!
Supergirl: The Mego version is fun but she has a lot to overcome. Never that popular of a character. Need to make a female body. Even with a female body, they wont want too many women in the waves as female characters never seem to sell as well. I think she would come after Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Catwoman which makes her chances slim.
Mr Mxyzptlk: Not that popular of a character, the Mego version didn't really capture the comic book character, Superman has better villains to choose from. May require a new body type.
Penguin: Less popular Batman villain, especially in recent years. May require a unique fat body.
Isis, Tarzan: I'm unclear on the licensing and DC-cannon of these two. I doubt they will be made.
Speedy, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Wondergirl: new teen body unlikely. Double wammy for Wondergirl being the only female teen.
Now lets look at which DC characters Mego never made that Mattel should:
First, Flash has to be included. If you asked anybody here what DC characters are the most glaring omission from the Mego lineup, the answer would be Green Lantern, Lex Luthor and the Flash. They already did two, so I feel the Flash is a given. Probably a Barry Allen flash.
So here is my list. I tried to order them in likelyhood:
Flash: See above.
Martian Manhunter: He IS the Justice League. With Green Lantern and Flash, the Martian Manhunter would be the new glaring omission.
Other Green Lanterns: Very likely with since DC is really pushing Green Latern now. Also could see a Guardian.
Hawkgirl: Popular due to Justice League cartoon. Very cool looking and Superfriends appeal. Wings may drive cost up.
Hawkman: Very cool looking and Superfriends appeal. Wings may drive cost up. Not as popular as Hawkgirl.
Black Canary: Popular female character (sorry Supergirl), goes with Green Arrow.
Brainiac: Very popular Superman villian (sorry Mxyzptlk). Can be very visually interesting.
Ra's al Ghul: Popular Batman villian.
Black Mantis: about the only Aquaman villain anybody has heard of. Legion of Doom appeal. Very cool looking.
Cheetah: about the only Wonder Woman villain anybody has heard of. Legion of Doom appeal.
A Flash Villain: probably Mirror Master, but I would love a Captain Cold. Personally I'm sick of Prof. Zoom customs so I hope they don't go that route. A Gorrila Grod would be awesome but I doubt the tooling costs would warrant it.
Solomon Grundy: another awesome villain, but probably unlikely due to costs of a new body.
Atom: Third string hero. Very simple clean design.
Firestorm: Visually very interesting, but never that popular.
Black Lightning / Apache Chief: Only if they go a Superfriend wave.
Zan / Jayna / Gleek: Only if they go a Superfriend wave and teen bodies.
Okay, this is getting long enough. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of obvious choices, and you probably disagree with everything I wrote, so what do you think???
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