Enjoy the Weapons you DO have! Mattel Q&A September 15th

[CrimsonGhost]

Are you speculating about Lobo or was there an announcement I missed about them doing the Main Man?

At this point, I think they would really need to do a muscle body for the last Czarnian. You can't do Lobo with a padded suit.

NO! It was an example only! I'm not speculating either, in fact I picked it because it's unlikely. I was attempting to show why Mattel wouldn't give info about an unannounced character.

[samurainoir]

Shazam, Martian Manhunter and Darkseid are coming. I can't see them coming with anything. Not even sure Cheetah can have something. Figures such as these are ok. But Batman... not so much.

It's not necessary, but it would be neato if the Big Red Cheese came with Mr Mind (the old school version that wore glasses), Cheetah with a cheetah, Darkseid with a mother box (Which can be reused with any other New Gods character) or his killing glove thingy.

As for Martain Manhunter... a bag of Oreos!

[samurainoir]

Are you speculating about Lobo or was there an announcement I missed about them doing the Main Man?

At this point, I think they would really need to do a muscle body for the last Czarnian. You can't do Lobo with a padded suit.

[CrimsonGhost]

Right. They literally answered the question the way it was literally phrased -- which is what I said.

No, they're probably not going to talk about something that hasn't been announced yet (though I don't make a habit of reading Mattel Q & As so I'll take your word for it, and other companies [like Sideshow] do talk about things ahead of time, so it's not like the idea is without precedent), but that raises the question "What is the point of a Mattel Q & A"? The point is to give fans a sense that they're being heard, and that their questions are being answered in good faith -- which, again, is what I said. In other words, it's a customer relations thing, from Mattel's perspective. And if it's that, then they sort of fumbled the ball here. Others might disagree, and that's fine.

I don't read the Sideshow Q&A (or Mattel either for that matter) but are you saying Sideshow talks about product that hasn't been announced yet? If that's the case, I find it suprising they would.

I can see Mattel saying "Wonder Woman has her lasso" since that's been announced, but not, for example, saying "when Lobo comes out, he'll have a chain" because the plans could change and "Lobo" could be pushed back a year or two.

So in your opinion, how did they drop the ball? Were you hoping for inside info? I'm just trying to understand your perspective.

[Sandman9580]

What answer did you expect? They aren't going to talk about anything that hasn't been announced yet. The question was: Are there going to be accessories? And the answer was: Yes, some of the figures will have accessories. Quite frankly, we knew this already.

Had the question been worded better, and without the negativity, perhaps the answer would have had more detail.

What if the question was: "I like the retro figures, but would like to see each figure come with an accessory. Is there any chance that every figure would include an accessory?" in the end the answer would have been the same, it just would have been more definite.

Right. They literally answered the question the way it was literally phrased -- which is what I said.

No, they're probably not going to talk about something that hasn't been announced yet (though I don't make a habit of reading Mattel Q & As so I'll take your word for it, and other companies [like Sideshow] do talk about things ahead of time, so it's not like the idea is without precedent), but that raises the question "What is the point of a Mattel Q & A"? The point is to give fans a sense that they're being heard, and that their questions are being answered in good faith -- which, again, is what I said. In other words, it's a customer relations thing, from Mattel's perspective. And if it's that, then they sort of fumbled the ball here. Others might disagree, and that's fine.

[ODBJBG]

Kryptonite - Lex already has, as well he should, it would not be special
Steel Girder - too bulky, not really necessary
Black Mercy - lame
Kandor - lame
Face Hugger Starro - lame

Why are there so many whiners re: accessories? Mego Superman never had a freaking accessory. RC Batman never had one either. One minute everyone is harping on "Megos should be exactly like they were back in the day," the next minute they're PO'd that they aren't packaged with extra stuff. You can't have it both ways. They're Mego-like or they're not. The main figure... that's what counts most IMO. True, I have complained about them being priced too high and I know the bodies "wilt" but as far as the overall concept, look at what they are giving us! These Mattel figures capture the WGSH spirit perfectly! BE THANKFUL THEY EVEN EXIST!!

Lex could have just as easily come with a gun. What's wrong with having two pieces of Kryptonite? I mean, Kryptonite comes in several fruity flavors!



While you may think these accessories are lame, many people don't. It's more about percieved value than anything. At $20, these need to seem like a decent value. Weapons do that. When every other toy in the aisle has an accessory it makes these look less like a percieved value.

Mattel has shown that they have no problem repacking old JLU weapons as accessories for this line. If they're going to do that, they should go further with it. They have tons of presculpted accessories at their disposal that would be cheap and cost effective to add to the line.

Asking for improvements is hardly calling for the death of the line. When there are problems, they should be addressed. Very few people ask Retro-Action questions on these Q&As. This question was asked by a fan who saw an area he wanted improvement in. No frivolous complaints.

[Doc]

One more thing, and sorry if it's too blunt for some people but mark my words: when Mattel does decide to S-can this line (and it will eventually), many of the same people nit-picking it will be practically shedding tears. After approximately 25 years, there are 8-inch carded DC WGSH figures - MEGO-LIKE - hanging on peg hooks at retail!! And as we all now know was the case with the original Mego figures, the old saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" applies here IMO. I for one, am going to hunt them down, buy them, stare at them and appreciate them.

Unfortunatly if Mattel does S can the line it will be because they are put together like crap and are over priced for that quality. I doubt it will be because there were no assessories.

[MIB41]

One more thing, and sorry if it's too blunt for some people but mark my words: when Mattel does decide to S-can this line (and it will eventually), many of the same people nit-picking it will be practically shedding tears. After approximately 25 years, there are 8-inch carded DC WGSH figures - MEGO-LIKE - hanging on peg hooks at retail!! And as we all now know was the case with the original Mego figures, the old saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" applies here IMO. I for one, am going to hunt them down, buy them, stare at them and appreciate them.

I understand and appreciate why you champion this line so much and that's great. I felt jazzed about the prospects of this line before it came out too. But like any line prior, it's been a series of hits and misses. The action figure industry is a big place. When Mattel ends production, another company might take a crack at it...and do a better job. Toy Biz did it, Hasbro has done it, and now you even have another evolution of Captain Action coming out next year with Marvel heroes. There's no reason to believe Mattel is the 'be all to end all' company for Mego-like heroes. I'm confident the torch will get passed again.

[sprytel]

One more thing, and sorry if it's too blunt for some people but mark my words: when Mattel does decide to S-can this line (and it will eventually), many of the same people trashing this line will be practically shedding tears. After approximately 25 years, there are 8-inch carded DC WGSH figures - MEGO-LIKE - hanging on peg hooks at retail!! As we all now know was the case with the original Mego figures, the old saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" applies here IMO. I for one, am going to hunt them down, buy them, stare at them and appreciate them.

I think it is quite a leap from "I would have appreciated a batarang" to somehow we are hoping this line will fail.

When I bought my Batman, the first thing I did was fix the body. The second thing I did was build him a homemade batarang. The fact that I put that much effort into it is a testament to how much I appreciate the new Mattel figures, flaws and all.

But I don't think it is unreasonable or insulting for us to make suggestions on how to improve a product. That certainly seemed to be the spirit of the original question for Mattel, and the responses in this thread.

[AAAAA]

do guys really want accessories in Pink or powder blue?

[Astronut]

One more thing, and sorry if it's too blunt for some people but mark my words: when Mattel does decide to S-can this line (and it will eventually), many of the same people nit-picking it will be practically shedding tears. After approximately 25 years, there are 8-inch carded DC WGSH figures - MEGO-LIKE - hanging on peg hooks at retail!! And as we all now know was the case with the original Mego figures, the old saying, "You don't know what you've got until it's gone" applies here IMO. I for one, am going to hunt them down, buy them, stare at them and appreciate them.

[CrimsonGhost]

Yes, they literally answered the question the way it was literally phrased. But I think the whole point of these Q & As is to give fans a sense that they're being heard, and that their questions are being answered in good faith. By that measure, Mattel kind of fumbled the ball.

What answer did you expect? They aren't going to talk about anything that hasn't been announced yet. The question was: Are there going to be accessories? And the answer was: Yes, some of the figures will have accessories. Quite frankly, we knew this already.

Had the question been worded better, and without the negativity, perhaps the answer would have had more detail.

What if the question was: "I like the retro figures, but would like to see each figure come with an accessory. Is there any chance that every figure would include an accessory?" in the end the answer would have been the same, it just would have been more definite.

[Astronut]

Kryptonite - Lex already has, as well he should, it would not be special
Steel Girder - too bulky, not really necessary
Black Mercy - lame
Kandor - lame
Face Hugger Starro - lame

Why are there so many whiners re: accessories? Mego Superman never had a freaking accessory. RC Batman never had one either. One minute everyone is harping on "Megos should be exactly like they were back in the day," the next minute they're PO'd that they aren't packaged with extra stuff. You can't have it both ways. They're Mego-like or they're not. The main figure... that's what counts most IMO. True, I have complained about them being priced too high and I know the bodies "wilt" but as far as the overall concept, look at what they are giving us! These Mattel figures capture the WGSH spirit perfectly! BE THANKFUL THEY EVEN EXIST!!

[ScottA]

Shazam, Martian Manhunter and Darkseid are coming. I can't see them coming with anything. Not even sure Cheetah can have something. Figures such as these are ok. But Batman... not so much.

[samurainoir]

I think lack of accessories are forgivable for most Superheroes unless they are crucial to the character... like Two Face and his coin or Green Lantern and his namesake lantern. And even then it's difficult to come up with an eloquent solution for something so small as Two Face's coin, so I get it.

We all know about unnecessary accessories... remember Toy Biz Hulk's rock?

With that said, Superman coming with a bottled city of Kandor would be way-cool.