I want to stop here a moment and congratulate Hasbro for a job well done. You might notice a curious lack of pics on this page compared to the first one. Well, shortly after most sites had beamed back their coverage of the Hasbro panel & booth yesterday, Hasbro Press Kit images came rolling in. Because of that, the IAT Checklists for Marvel Universe, Captain America, & Thor were updated, image filled, and ready to go the same day as the panel. That’s awesome – so awesome that I wish a certain other giant toy company would follow their example.
DC Direct
I’m still being told that DC Direct is in its death throes and, if so, they’re apparently trying to go out with a bang. AFI has three pics of new Green Lantern figures including Blue/Green Hal, Clear Green Hal, Modern Guy, Red Lantern Guy, Arkkis, Natu, Black Lantern Blue Beetle, Star Sapphire Fatality, Stel, Munk & Warth! Warth looks to be woefully undersized, but he’s a must buy since I don’t see an elephant in DC Classics future. Oh, and Red Lantern Guy has a red construct chainsaw. If I only could spend $15 on accessories…
AFI now has up a very thorough look through the DC Direct Booth.
Action League
In case you hadn’t noticed, Vault’s gotten into Action League rather intensely as of late. So he was excited to see the newest wave of action league featured at Elkk Thunder’s Toy Room. There are some real gems there – St. Walker, Zilius Zox, Kilowog, & Wonder Woman, but the other half of the wave is filled with what appears to be a straight-up Superman reissue, a black redeco of Batman, and a green/blue redeco of Hal (we saw two of those in one day, I feel dumber). Hopefully, Mattel will aim for some more diversity and not just throw in unchanged versions of figures in new 2pks in the future.
JLU
JLU is finally over. Well, it will be soon anyway. AFI has two pics of the next to last batch from Toy Fair. I love that Future Superman and S.T.R.I.P.E. looks fantastic! The folks at AFI also got a chance to sit down with Toy Guru for an exclusive JLU interview where Scott reveals that the last seven card-carrying members of the JLU will be featured in a MattyCollector.Com multipack later this year. I’m sad to see this line go, but it’s going out classy. Kudos to Mattel for putting out the last 7pk to finish off that ridiculously huge roster.
Young Justice
This was the line where I was really interested to see some of the product, particularly how the DC Classics bodies would combine with the cartoon heads. There were three 6″ scale figures on display – Robin, Aqualad, & Spee… I mean Arrowet…. I mean Artemis!
The Robin looked odd, but the Artemis and Aqualad really impressed me. I love Aqualad in the cartoon (especially when compared to the boring mess of an Aqualad in Brightest Day), so that figure appeals to me more than a comic version would. Plus, he looks good, comes with a cool base and a ton of accessories to boot. I think both he and Artemis will blend in well with my DCUC crop (Robin won’t without a headswap though). The smaller animated line looks okay, but I haven’t checked in on the JLU collectors to see if they see them as compatible, they don’t look it to me. Check out this gallery at TNI for Young Justice pics.
There wasn’t much on display for DC Classics (one new wave, a few more Legion figures, a 5pk, and a couple figures from a new subline), but there was nothing talked more about at IAT today than Mattel and DC Classics. Hopefully, the gang at AFI won’t mind my using their pic here to illustrate the main focus of our discussion:
In 2011, Batman is getting his own spinoff line (rumored to be two waves of three figures each, no C&C) and the Freeze above (on the left) is one of three figures from wave one. He looked awfully familiar to us. We already knew that Mattel was using our SP Mr. Freeze image for retailer solicits (lame), but we didn’t expect the figure to be so close to our custom. There are some differences, namely the head/helmet, boots, and gloves, but the rest. Well, you see it. The wave will be rounded out with an angry black/grey Bats & Golden Age Joker.
The other half of the Batman Legacy line will consist of two-packs of figures based on Arkham City and the Batman movies. AFP has a nice roundup on Batman Legacy and the two-packs. It’s cool to finally see Gordon getting a decent figure!
In other DCUC news, we got confirmation of the Super Friends rumor for DCUC18 – Black Vulcan, Samurai, El Dorado, Toyman, along with Bronze Tiger & Modern Captain Boomerang. Together they’ll build a C&C Apache Chief. The Chief wasn’t shown, but ToyArk has a nice look at the regular figures. Also shown were more Legion figures: Wildfire, Chameleon Boy, & Timberwolf. Those can be found in the 40+ DCUC pics at TNI. Oh, and we got a date for that Legion 12pk – August. Y’know, right after you have to blow all that money on SDCC exclusives. Nifty.
Last but not least was the 5pk reveal: the Crime Syndicate! Superwoman, Owlman, & Ultraman are modern versions and look awesome while Johnny Quick & Power Ring are classic versions that look okay. Not sure why they’re mixed (are the SA Power Ring & Johnny back because Hal & Barry are back? lame, but possible), but it’s a cool set nonetheless. I still want the other two modern figures and I definitely still want a classic Owlman. AFI has a nice shot of the CSA 5pk.
While there is still plenty of Toy Fair left, I felt largely wrapped up once Mattel finished DC & MOTU. I still haven’t been able to sort out my feelings about the MOTU reveals. We saw the scheduled figures through August:
- Faceless One (June) – I was a bit disappointed by this one. He looks cool, but they gave him a nose and mouth, so he’s kinda Sortaface One instead. He does include the ram stone and a havoc staff, so that’s cool.
- Battleground Teela (June) – Hot damn! IAT’s 2010 Most Requested Figure is already on the books! This Teela was the best looking MOTU figure shown today. I think she was the coolest thing I saw in the Mattel coverage today.
- Clawful (July) – Below the neck? I was really happy with the figure. I liked the fading on the arms, the scaly pieces, and the claw. But, much like Whiplash, the vintage just head doesn’t appeal to me. A new modern 4H take on a second hand would’ve really helped this figure.
- Man-E-Faces (Aug) – He’s straight-up vintage, includes his gun and a secret accessory, but one cool thing is that his Final Deco will be voted on by fans. You guys should all vote orange and not pale. Thanks!
- Megator (Aug) – I know I sound like a downer and I promise I did enjoy the reveals, but I just can’t get excited for this guy. Tytus was such a disappointment that I know Megator won’t be worth the price (and I’m already locked in to buying him). He does include a secret accessory, so maybe that’ll lessen the sting.
ToyArk has two MOTU galleries up with tons of images.
A few other items were there too like our first look at the red weapons on April’s Weapons rack as well as the next MOTU vs DC 2pk: She-Ra versus Supergirl. Neither figure “received development” which means there’ll be no review of it here at IAT. Finally, the reveal of Megator as a Q3 item means that Swift Wind is indeed Q4 and Mattel mentioned that a new She-Ra will be coming out the same day. The difference? The new She-Ra will be able to ride Swift Wind.
As a collector, I’m kinda happy that Mattel will be mass-producing your custom Super Powers Mr. Freeze, because I’ve been trying to acquire the goggle-less varaint for a while to copy your amazing work for my own collection!
That said, as a customizer myself, I’m sure your reactions were a little mixed this weekend. If Mattel had shown a Kalibak or Penguin in Super Powers colours, which looked exactly like my own customs (http://www.toymania.com/customcorner/cc25/zellers_r.shtml), I’d be torn. It’s perhaps not a novel idea that I can claim much credit for, but at the same time, I spent a while carefully choosing my colour palette and which regions would get which colour… So, flattering that an idea took on, but a tiny bit of recognition would be nice, too, right?
I know your Mr. Freeze is far more intricate, paint-wise that even my Kalibak was. I imagine you made many similar decisions that you can see here on their prototype that you (also? first?) made during painting. And I’d guess you’re also asking “well, why didn’t they use the goggle-less head, as well?”. As an example, I went back and forth so many times on the decision to paint a mustard-coloured midriff on Kalibak – if they showed a prototype with the same deco, I’d see my decision there I think… not their creativity.
It would be very nice of them to at least give you inspirational credit. Or a shout-out. Palisades was the king of giving credit to the community at large for participating in the creative process; Mattel couldn’t possibly be hurt for mentioning your participation, however tangentially, in public, right?
Damn! I knew I’d seen that Freeze before! I don’t know if I’d be ticked off or flattered.
Man-e-faces should not be a part of the Shore… PASTY MEF FTYW!
Thanks for doing this. I’m happy that we have the guys going to Toyfare to get the pics, but I’m thankful for sites like yours that pull it all together too.
Thanks for all the “points” Noisy. It was hard to find a website that had pic links that would even work yesterday and you have a few listed here I didn’t even think of.
I personally want both versions of Man E Faces. The vintage figure was my fave as a kid so I’ll want that for notalgia’s sake, but I’m also a huge fan of the mini-comic mythos, so I’d like his concept colors too. Hopefully whichever one doesn’t make the cut ends up in a MotUC/DC 2 pack or some other alternate vending.
BTW, I never thought of his orange body as his “skin”. If it was supposed to be his skin, then that means the vintage figure’s helmet plugs directly into his body. Ewwwww.
this TF looked quite excellent, but honestly, toypocalypse ruined TF for me. exploded scarabus image, along w/ reveals for raven, and then the numerous symbiotechs, AND new OSM to boot! come on, the other companies are getting around to almost treating us as well as the horsemen have treated us for years. that said, come on… the starscream skystriker w/ megatron weilding cobra commander takes the grand prize for 2011 for responding to fan demand in the coolest way possible. blonde bikini teela takes a distant second, though she too is welcome.
Just think of it as flattering that you’re getting your own custom made… 9_9;…. (except I like Vault’s more… ^^; )
For the Crime Syndicate figures, the Green Ring and Johnny Quick both were back as the versions in a recent issue of Justice League of America. I dont have it in front of me to reference but they seem pretty close to how they appeared there.
One way of looking at it is, each team is now a single two-pack away from completion. Or, knowing Mattel, two two-packs.
I was disappointed when I saw the Batman Legacy teasers. When they turned out to be mock-ups, it was a different kind of disappointing. Now that the full reveal shows they cheaped out on Freeze, I’m worried for Catman. They wouldn’t really use that crappy DCSH body, would they? I wouldn’t pay one dollar for that Catman, let alone whatever they’ll be charging by the time he hits. It doesn’t take much to do him justice, just repaint a decent base, maybe add a few sculpted details/new parts. A new head for sure, accessories would be nice… On a related note, why the Hell are they putting out the Supergirl no one wants again? That and Hal/Zodak are terribly unappealing. Are they trying to kill the DC/MOTU two-packs?
I’m in love with the 6″ Young Justice line. Price will be a sticking point, but I’ll spend hours trying to convince myself Artemis and Aqualad are worth it. Quality is the trump card. And oh, the possibilities… New Black Canary with useful hip articulation? Yes, please. This could be the DCU/DCAU hybrid line many have clamored for for years. Mattel can bolster the DCU ranks with Red Arrows and Cheshires without making room in the main line.
And hey, wave 18 doesn’t completely suck! Go figure. Not a fan of Boomer’s headsculpt, but Bronze Tiger must be mine.
Weapon shop! *squee* I can hardly wait.
The Mr. Freeze custom use is absolutely the funniest thing I saw this weekend. I guess you guys probably won’t take it too hard kind of being affiliated with Fantastic Exclusive and all? The Batman Legacies line was a wasted opportunity. Understanding its Movie Masters from Dark Knight Rises but I thought they we’re going to a Batman Classics DCUC subline like the Lantern line earlier this year. More “lack of retailer interest” excuses?
Best thing I saw though was Battleground Teela. June can’t get here soon enough! They stayed faithful to MOTU Teela’s look without falling into the trap of making her yet another stereotypical barbarian female in the Thor/Conan vein.
Triad Toys also had some good stuff in their booth, now its just matter of getting them to release the stuff in less than a year. These guys have nothing on Mattel.
The total lack of any Generations/RTS Transformers stuff is disturbing but its a movie year and Hasbro will focus completely on the film. Takara can pick up the slack with some repaints in the United import line.
Theres still some time left before Toyfair is over so I hope some surprises creep in. Overall I’ve been thrilled with far less stuff this year than in past years. SDCC can’t get here soon enough.
Love your writing, but, I’m sorry, don’t you mean Legion 12 pack instead of 5 pack? Or did they change plans?
Symbiotech stands up for me as the new toy line I’m most excited about. Has there been any word on release?
Transformers – Sad to see Generations suffer. Mechtech is not for me at all. Cyberverse looks fun, but again isn’t for me. Prime is okay and I may grab the Starscream. Generally a huge letdown after how awesome Generations has been.