Why do they make what some of us consider lesser known figures into Action Figures...

[MeWantMegos]

...before the big ones.

(Question inspired by a comment Lou made in another post).

In another post Lou said something like: Why do they make lesser known figures into these Re-Megos before the really well known heroes.

He aslo observed that the new line tends to be more Mego-style inspired than repros of the original figures.

Another excellent point -- which was meant as an observation and not really a criticism.

So to get back to my original question....why go for a character like Darkseid before Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Supergirl etc...

I think the reason (like the decision to make each wave have a hero and baddie) is a way to extend the line.

I think they are probably wisely bringing out the big guns slowly and carefully. If they released all the big really well known heroes all at once...what would they do for future waves.

This way they are ensuring the longevity of the line by making sure there are 2 big sellers per wave.

What do you all think?

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Because they can. Who knows?

[bobws]

I think you have the right idea. do we want this line to go 20 figures and then stop!
No, so what you have to do is spread out the big characters and put out villians.
Then you can put out a well known hero and a lesser hero and villians and stretch out this for as long as you can. Yes, i am waiting for Robin as well as any of the New Teen Titans they want to make in 8" size. But if they put out Gnarrk and Golden Eagle form the 70's i'll buy them up as well, because that's my favorite team.what someone can't stand, you can put money down on oit that someone else loves.

[MIB41]

I think the 'hero/villain' dynamic has proven to be a very successful marketing tool when you look at other figures lines such as the highly successful DC Universe series. What wave are they up to right now? Sixteen? So when you say "lesser known", that may be more applicable to your own familiarity with certain characters than with others. The Retro Action series has certainly addressed all of DC's primary heroes, which are the biggest sellers in the action figure industry. But you want to keep some of the other popular characters (like Robin and Batgirl) for later waves, to keep the line vital and create inroads for second tier characters. It's all about promoting the DC brand. And I think the Retro Action series is doing a good job of that.

[The Toyroom]

Everyone is calling these characters "lesser known" or wondering if they fit in to the "Bronze Age" era or not....

Seriously, READING IS FUNDAMENTAL....none of the characters released or announced so far into Wave 4 can be considered "lesser known" if you've been even remotely following DC Comics for the last 30 years.

Darkseid has been DC's preminent "go-to" baddie for about 25 years now (Remember the Super Powers line of toys and comics was out in the '84-86 I believe)....John Stewart has been a prominent GL in all incarnations of the JLU animated universe for the past 10 years.

Pick up some comics folks....you might be surprised what you find in there

[jacoblb]

Sometimes, I prefer to see lesser known characters than the endless variants or repaints on over exposed characters of, say, Wolverine, or the latest glow-in-the-dark Batman.

But I do find it annoying to buy figures I have no affection for just to obtain a BAF/CAC part in Marvel Legends or DCUC, which explains partly why I dropped those lines a long time ago.

As the topic relates to re-Megos...well, hopefully the line will maintain and it'll all balance out.

[UnderdogDJLSW]

Sinestro's old costume might be lesser known to today's crowd, but I don't think that any character announced so far is a minor character, either. As an adult, I'm happy that they are stretching out the line, but if in the 70's, as a kid, if I had to wait over a year for a Robin figure I'd be frustrated.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Kenner shot their wad all at once with Super Powers, and the line suffered due to this. If they had held back some of the big guns and interpersed them with Plastic Man, Desaad, etc. the line would have probably went longer.

Chris

[Gorn Captain]

I think they make lesser-known ones first, and delay heavy hitters, because they're totally insane.

That's just my theory, of course....

[Cmonster]

To answer this question, I'll quote a WB studio executive, who when asked why they don't want to create anything new in regards to the superhero genre, replied; "I've got the entire DC library of superheroes, why would I do something new? I already own all those and there's more there than you or I could do in a lifetime..."

True story.

SC

[huedell]

To answer this question, I'll quote a WB studio executive, who when asked why they don't want to create anything new in regards to the superhero genre, replied; "I've got the entire DC library of superheroes, why would I do something new? I already own all those and there's more there than you or I could do in a lifetime..."

True story.

SC

In that context (DCU as being an incredible thing to draw from) it's a great philosophy.

Visually and descriptivewise (powers, personality, all that) the DCU has anything you'd want to address in a movie anyway.

Same with the DCU as far as toys goes.... what a cool bunch of characters
to put out.... FOREVER.

And as far as movies go... you'll still get stuff like that drunk Will Smith
superhero movie.... look how well THAT stacks up to DC (and MARVEL the other big gun).

THE INCREDIBLES did okay

[Astronut]

This is not a hard question to answer IMO. You don't shoot your whole wad out of the gate, you have to keep interest alive through the projected run of the line. Otherwise we're left with C-list characters in whole bunches.

[HardyGirl]

I think Mattel wants to make the more obscure characters that Mego didn't. Since they're doing this in waves, the hero/villain route makes sense. But for my own preference, I would have preferred the more commonly known characters.

[hedrap]

Choices aren't made in a void. Matty looks at what the other lines are producing and makes sure there's not a great overlap. Otherwise, RA, DCU, B&B would all be releasing the same twenty figures.

[LOU]

Only since I was mentioned in the intitial poster's post; let me clarify what I meant by my remarks. I look at it in terms of target audience. Presumably the "Reto Action" moniker suggests that they are gearing this line towards fans of Mego figures of the 70's. Although I have clearly been proven wrong already in the other thread you reference; it was my thinking that it's only logical that the character selection would also be geared towards the time period they are supposedly offering homage to. I realize there's many, many 80's comics fans here and I respect folks' admiration for the characters that became popular during that decade; but I still fail to see how a Super Hero that became popular in the 80's should have anything at all to do with a toy line that is meant to pay homage to a 70's toy line. It would be like asking someone to make a 1956 Delorean model. An unpopular opinion of mine to be sure, but certainly not an obscure one as many other folks seem to be trying to wrap their heads around the same questions as me.
It makes sense that they don't want to release all the true 70's characters all at once in an effort to keep the line fresh, but you also have to be reasonable. How many of these Super Hero lines die before major characters ever get made? If you are fairly optimistic that this toy line will go into 10,
11, or 12 waves then I can understand the philosophy. I for one, hesitate to assume that. Sure, I'd love to see Mattel thrive off this line well into the future, I'd REALLY LOVE it in fact. But speaking realistically, it rarely happens. In light of that I fear if the line is cancelled prematurely, we'll have 52 Green Lanterns yet likely miss out on some other characters. So I guess one's opinion on this matter is hinged upon your forecast for the line.
It's rare a line of toys like this, especially at a higher-end price point of $20, last for several years. I just don't want to see this line end without many more DC Heroes made from the era the line is supposed to be homage to. That's all. I don't begrudge anyone any character they wish to see nor will I mock anyone for their opinion, which is just as valid as my own opinion. I remember when I worked for K-B and the 12 inch JLU's came out which included that TERRIBLE 12" Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. I immediately thought to myself, "WHY?! Why not HAL?!" Of course the 12 inch Raynor Lanterns were collecting dust on the shelves for 18 months until they were marked down to $2.99 on clearance. Conversly, the 12 inch JLU Aquaman and Flash from the same assortment were regular sell-outs. Using that as an example, there's no way in hell anyone is going to ever convince me that if that was a 12 inch Hal Jordan Lantern, they wouldn't have sold out and been long gone. I firmly believe they would have. I don't want to see this happen to this Retro line, it's the best toy line since Mego and the one I am most excited to collect since Mego. It would break my heart to see it end. I just feared that Mattel making these lesser-known characters would hurt the line, that it would be these characters which serve as the starting point where people start skipping figures in the line, as I am. As I said however, I have obviously been proven wrong as many people seem to love the new Green Lantern offerings. The main thing is keeping the line alive, and if that means I have to give up "collecting 'em all" and skipping some offerings, at least the line itself will thrive well into the future. That's really all that matters and it's more than a fair sacrifice for me to make to see these babies on store shelves for many years to come, as they should be.

I just wanted to make it clear that I have been proven wrong in the other thread and there is apparently a bunch of folks here who are on board with the Green Lantern exclusives. I may hate them, but my opinion means diddly squat to be perfectly frank. I just hope all of you who said you were buying these really do, so Mattel makes a killing on them and thusly provides future viability for the line as whole. "You can't please all of the people all of the time."