Most Requested Year-End Poll: The Winner

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Last year, we featured eighteen Most Requested articles asking for figures from all over the toy kingdom. The requests ranged from cancelled lines to current lines, from 2″ Minimates to 8″ Hellboy figures, and we even threw in a juice drink for good measure. At the end of the year, we decided to start our first annual tradition, a runoff between those requests to see which one was really the Most Requested Figure of 2009. We let our readers decide who deserved that top spot.

After two rounds, and over a thousand votes cast, we have the results and are ready to announce our winner.

The Top Ten

Tenth Place. We offered an “Other” category because we wanted our readers to be able to voice their opinions in case they didn’t find our requests to their liking. This proved to be a great decision with “Other” taking the tenth place spot. The write-ins ranged from the popular to the obscure with only one name standing out. Though disqualified, because he’s now listed in the Wal-Mart computers, a DC Classics Martian Manhunter was one of the few write-ins to gain support. After him, there were plenty of great selections that might be seen as upcoming MRQ columns in the coming year. And kudos to a few of you, who managed to stump the entire IAT staff and send us off to Google for the identity of the write-in request!

Ninth Place. We featured the 25th Anniversary G.I. Joe line back in August after Rise of Cobra had debuted. All of us at IAT were happy with this summer’s Rise of Cobra line and are still anxiously awaiting the product we saw when we attended JoeCon last August. But that doesn’t mean we’re ready to let the wonderful 25th Anniversary/Modern Era line go. The 25th Joes just hit the right spot. Sure, there’s been a few 25ths tossed in the ROC line, but we hope Hasbro will mix even more of the classics so that we can finally get updated figures of Covergirl, Dial-Tone, Gung Ho in his Dress Blues, Iceberg, Low Light, Lifeline… okay, we’ll stop. Techno Viper. No, really, we’re done. Zarana. Okay, okay… moving on.

Eighth Place. This spot goes to a line that is one of my very favorites despite its early death and heavy reliance on Hellboy facial expression variants. If you asked me to name some of the best toy lines of the last decade, I’d be hard pressed to not put this near, if not on, the top. While I loved this line, I don’t need it to come back forever, just long enough to give us the handful of remaining characters that it didn’t get to. Mezco still has the Hellboy license, so it’s theoretically possible, but admittedly very unlikely. Still, if Mezco has the money to make a Kate Corrigan (using Liz as a base) as an exclusive, I’ll be first in line. If there’s a way to make Ben Daimio, I’m for it. And I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. If Hellboy III gets off the ground and Mezco is still making the toys, let’s all cross our fingers that they’ll throw some comic merchandise in there somewhere.

Seventh Place. JLU is the line that won’t die. It’s been rescued from certain death twice and persisted under conditions that would kill a normal toy line. It may not be every fan’s ideal toy line, but the fans that love it are some of the most devoted I’ve seen. While the line has lasted for seven years and given those fans a couple hundred unique characters, there’s still a short list of characters that appeared on the various animated show that haven’t received a figure. For our article, we chose Toyman from that list. He first appeared early in the STAS series and continued through to JLU. Of all the animated villains, he is up there with Luthor and Joker for number of appearances. And yet he still doesn’t have a figure. Hopefully, 2010 will be kinder to Toyman fans.

Sixth Place. The Rocketeer received a lot of support for a character that Disney bought up, made one film, and then retired sixteen years ago. I think it’s because most comic fans are endeared to the idea of a pulp hero, that’s where comic books got their start after all, and the Rocketeer seems to capture that pulp feel effortlessly. The Rocketeer has also been getting some more attention since AFI’s Behind the Plastic Panel at SDCC 2008 when it was revealed that he could have been in the Legendary Comic Book Heroes line (had Disney not been obstinate and had it lasted a little longer). That might be the closest we’ll ever get, but I still hold out hope. Disney released a one-off Indiana Jones 6″ figure a few years back. Maybe someday they’ll be up for a Rocketeer too.

Fifth Place. Public polls always tend to be skewed by current happenings and Blackest Night is the biggest thing in comics right now, so that might explain Arkillo’s popularity in our poll. But I wouldn’t bet on it. Whatever you might think about Blackest Night, one thing it’s done well has been to introduce new characters. Atrocitus, Arkillo, Kryb, Larfleeze, and Saint Walker are just some of the popular characters spinning out of the Green Lantern mythos. And while DC Direct has plans for most of these, many fans still want DCUC compatible versions. I’m looking forward to the DCD Arkillo coming soon (tongue necklace and all) and hoping that DCUC will get to him too. Secretly, I’m also hoping that Toy Guru’s new Green Lantern movie line will be used to get more comic-based DCUC figures out too!

Fourth Place. We ran a joke into the ground back in October about Bruce Wayne taking over ItsAllTrue.Net after we dissed Batman. During the week he was “in charge”, the most requested figure was naturally a DCUC Bruce Wayne. While we made the request as part of the joke, that doesn’t diminish the need for more Secret Identity figures in the DC line. I always wonder why toy companies don’t hit up retailers like JC Penney’s or Sears for exclusives anymore. Maybe things have changed so much that those companies can’t offer them anymore, but I think that might be a way to sell these Secret ID figures during the holiday season without fear of clogging pegs. Wayne led the poll at one point, so we know there are plenty of folks that would love to have a proper (i.e. no turn-to-Batman gimmick) figure of him.

Third Place. Many fans didn’t understand how Extendar could rank so high in this poll. I mean, the guy took out Bruce Wayne! How crazy is that? My best guess is that he was the highest profile MOTU character we featured and our MOTU readership used him as the focal point for their voice in the poll. He was catapulted into the final round, but once there he became the odd man out in a tight race. It was still a great finish for a lower-tier MOTU figure and we can only hope that Mattel will be ready to spend some of the money that has come from MOTUC exceeding expectations and turn it into more 100% new tools (unless the 4H have already cooked up some magical way to reuse the parts, it’s probably going to take an all-new sculpt to get this guy done). Personally, I want him and an Evil Horde counterpart. That way, Mattel can use the mold at least twice.

Some extra scrolling for dramatic effect…


First Runner-Up: Swamp Thing!

Second Place. You saw this coming right? Swamp Thing as the first runner-up? Swamp Thing was definitely a poll heavy weight throughout the competition. He was never lower than second place in round one or two, even holding first place on and off throughout. The reason is simple. He’s a big name with a fair amount of media exposure. We’ve also been told that he’s absolutely not coming. He’s not licensed to Mattel since he’s a Vertigo character. That’s the important thing about this request. It seems that if DC Comics can be convinced to claim him from Vertigo for awhile, that things could be worked out for a DCUC Swamp Thing. Sadly, DC’s powers-that-be are not willing to do that at this time. There’s always hope though and if fan demand is loud enough perhaps we can overcome the clerical error that’s standing between us and Swamp Thing.


The 2009 IAT Most Requested Figure: Mera!


The Winner. Mera and Swamp Thing were duking it out from the beginning of the poll. Mera won Round One by 5 votes and Round Two by 3. My reaction to seeing her win our poll was simply that it seemed appropriate. I can’t think of another character that had their popularity explode exponentially like Mera in 2009. Geoff Johns took a near fifty-year old character that was universally overlooked and brought her to the forefront in the grandest way possible, making her front and center in the biggest crossover since summer. But 2009 was definitely her year and I think her being elected as Most Requested is the icing on the cake.

Despite her newfound popularity, we’re still not hearing any long-term plans that include her. We’ve seen DC Direct’s lineup through wave five and still no Mera. Hopefully, DCD will find a spot for her in waves six or seven (both are on the drawing board). But since she’s a normal sized character, I’d prefer a DC Classics version myself. Mera wouldn’t be hard for Mattel to include. While she’s been portrayed with various textures to her costume, I’ll be perfectly content if Mattel goes with a standard female buck on a future Mera figure. The high collar piece is already available too. Mera is like most DCUC’s – she just needs a newly sculpted head. With the leaked lists running through the end of 2010, it doesn’t seem likely that we’ll get a Mera this year, but if Mattel is looking to work in some Blackest Night figures in early 2011 as they’ve promised, hopefully they’ll be considering Mera too. She’s in the spotlight. She’s won our poll. Who are they to say no?

Again, we thank you for voting and encourage you to send any requests for the Most Requested column to us! Check back on Fridays to see the latest Most Requested Figure!

51 thoughts on “Most Requested Year-End Poll: The Winner”

  1. We do need a Mera figure, but I can’t believe she won the poll. Last year she would have been one of the first ones drummed out.

  2. You know, despite your defense of Mera’s popularity, I’m still surprised she beat out Swamp Thing. And 4 of the top 5 are DC Universe Classics figures; interesting.

    My vote? Arkillo.

    1. We definitely get more DC readers than MOTU readers and that influenced the poll.

      The Mattel Q&As are a big traffic push for us and the forums where Mattel’s DC stuff is discussed generally send the folks to the site for the answers while the at the forums at the .Org, the MOTU answers are reprinted so the MOTUfans don’t have to come to the website. I think that really cuts into our MOTU segment.

    1. so the fact she’s been around for FIFTY YEARS has nothing to do with it?
      I’m sure Lois Lane would probably have ranked if she had been included for DCUC civilians (esp if she got a Lana variant). Yes, she’s gotten a couple DCD figures, but that was early Silver Age and the All-Star SuperWoman.

      Let Mera have her long overdue 15 minutes of fame while it lasts.
      It’s Good to be the Queen.

      1. I didn’t know Mera was that old. That just goes to show she’s a dud. Aquaman’s wife figure? Please. That will be the worst pegwarmer ever.

        The whole problem with this blog is that it’s DC this and DC that. You think it’s a mistake that like TAO pointed out 4 of the top 5 are DC figures?? You put a real Marvel Legends character or a real MOTU figure in this so-called poll and they’d mop the floor with this obscure DC requests. Brother Voodoo and Extendar handicapped those voters with lame characters.

        1. So your complaint is that the poll was won by an “obscure” DC character, but that I hobbled the MOTU/Marvel voters with similarly obscure choices?

          That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.

          As for MRQ, it’s for obscure choices. We’re looking to give support to something that isn’t obvious. Someone like Mera, with a sudden popularity surge, or like Swamp Thing, banned by clerical error, are ideal choices. Brother Voodoo was chosen as part of those 18 figures we were teased with at SDCC. Truthfully, maybe Extendar shouldn’t have been on the list at all. There’s about 150 “main” MOTU characters and Mattel has planned the line to be about 150 months long. I don’t find that a coincidence. Still, we might make a MOTU request now and again. If a character should be out by now or we hope to move them up on the schedule, we’ll do it.

          As for the blog being DC this and that. Well, it’s our blog and we like DC stuff. We also like MOTU, Joes, Ghostbusters, Lego, Transformers and a ton of other stuff. But our DC readership is strongest and we’re growing so we’re going to lean that way. Luckily, there’s a wide spectrum of great toy blogs out there. There’s a list on the right hand column of every IAT page. Check them out.

          1. What I’m saying is that Aquaman’s wife’s 15 minutes doesn’t warrant her being the most requested figure.

            You didn’t give the MOTU fans a fair shake with such a lame character like Extendar as their representative. If you’d gone with someone people actually ask for like Spikor, Marzo, or Ninjor then you wouldn’t have given DC a clear victory with a weak character.

            Maybe you’d get more MOTU readers if you’d focus on more MOTU articles instead of focusing on the small pool of people that still read comics.

            1. And your opinion wasn’t in conjunction without the majority of voters. Life’s tough that way.

              As for the notion that we don’t focus enough on MOTU, I’d ask you to look around the website a bit more. You’re missing out on quite a bit.

            2. What you’re saying is that you’re not very bright and you should probably stop before you’ve convinced all of us that’s the case.

              First, you claimed that Mera was a recent character. Then, you tried to blame your favorite properties losing out on obscure choices while lamenting that an obscure DC character won the poll. Then, you suggest similarly obscure MOTU choices based on your preferences. And finally, you seem to honestly believe that MOTU is a bigger property than DC Comics? What planet do you live on? How can you accuse anyone of not respecting a favorite property of yours while you don’t respect theirs? Pot meet kettle.

              Every time you post, you become more ridiculous. Earlier it was suggested that you try other blogs more to your liking. It was an excellent suggestion.

            3. clearly sir, if you’re placing extendar in the “lame” category, you’re not much of a motu fan either… so exactly whose opinion do you claim to represent? it sounds like it’s just yours, to me.

              and frankly, while i admit we don’t don’t have “real” numbers to work on, i’d wager spider man outsells motuc in a given month by a pretty large margin. and thanks to blackest night and arkham asylum DC has been getting a ton of press lately, both in and outside the tradition geek mediums. mayhap you ought to broaden your interests and give IAT a look through fresher eyes. these boys and girls do more MOTUC coverage than many sites, and they’re a might bit more relaxed on the militance than the org. i think you need some time watching midget porn… you know, for perspective. 😉

    2. And what would you have preferred to win? Complaints like yours are most certainly about your favorite not getting respect.

          1. He doesn’t want to offer suggestions. He only wants to complain. I wouldn’t waste the diplomacy on him.

    3. dude Mera has been one of my favorite characters all my life, sure some folks might just like her now because of BN but aqua fans have been wanting her to get her dues forever.

  6. Well, that’s certainly interesting. I was pulling for the Rocketeer tho. Classic design, awesome movie, plenty of stories left to tell ( in my own living room no less) Cliff really deserves a great 6in figure. I know Medicom made a wonderful 12in version,but the Rocketeer really needs his own well sculpted, highly articulated 6in action figure to call his own.

    Oh and I want new DINO RIDERS. YA HEAR ME? DINO RIDERS!

      1. A Dino Rider is pretty much what it sounds like. It was a small late 80s cartoon/toy line about a group of rebels being chased by their conquerors who inadvertantly end up trapped on prehistoric Earth and use dinosaurs in their battles against each other and their attempts to return home.

        I was into dinosaurs as a kid and too young to overlook specifics for story. The show mixed different eras of dinosaurs (most toys do) and it drove me nuts as a kid.

    3. A good quality, cheap, Rocketeer figure would be awesome.

      Also, seconded on Dino Riders! That’s a toy line that has kick ass potential for updating.

      I sense a future article…

  8. Not to take away from the DC folks and their wishlists, but 25th Joes coming in so low certainly means you don’t have enough Joe readers right?

    I only point this out because I love your reviews and we haven’t gotten a good G.I. Joe one since Summer.

    1. LOL, sorry. We just haven’t found much Joe product to buy. We got most of what ROC stuff we were interested in back when. Vault has a new Storm Shadow for review, but he’s backed up at the moment!

      Hopefully, when POC stuff starts hitting we’ll have time to feature some of it.

    2. Yeah, for the most part the Joe fans are going to have to wait for the PoC stuff.

      That Stormshadow review will be coming up soon though.

  9. Good for Mera!! Though I still want a Swamp Thing, Blackest has really shown her potential. I hope Geoff Johns does some solo Mera work next year.

    1. He said he’ll do more with her. I’d love to see a bit of a solo title.

      It’s funny, but the handful of women with their own title seem to be getting good treatment this year. Madame Xanadu, Detective/Batwoman, Wonder Woman, and Batgirl are some of the best DC comics the last couple months.

      1. Mera being able to be in two lines had to help too right? I’d rather have her as a DC Direct figure myself.

        1. I’ll take her any way I can get her.

          btw, I love your name. Hero Cruz was a great character, I also loved that Rex was his dog. He needs to be brought back.

  10. Super glad to see Mera win. And I’ll take her in the following lines: DCD, DCUC, JLU, Action League, and even DCIH and BBB 5″, even though I kinda wish those lines would just go away. (and I really would buy 5 different versions of her).

    Keep it coming with all the DC this and DC that. I love it. 🙂

    1. Maybe you should have a Mera gravatar? 😀

      Speaking of Action League it still blows my mind that Wotan has a figure. I see that Fate 2pk at Target and I break down a little more each time I see it. LOL

  11. I’m surprised to see Mera beat out Swamp Thing, but I think it’s a good thing. Swamp Thing winning would have seemed more pointless since it will take an act of god to get DC to back off on their inane branding rules.

    Mera has a chance to be made and I hope they do. Though I would want a baby Arthur, Jr with her. And where is Aqualad and/or Tempest?

    1. I want Mera & Tempest. I kinda think there should be an Aqualad, but I don’t really want it.

      I really want a modern Aquagirl, Oceanmaster, Dolphin, and plenty of other undersea characters. Aquaman’s having to represent them by his twoselves.

  12. Mera is a must. She’s been around forever, but seems to be forgotten in the “modern” age, at least until now. Johns is making her a hot commodity at the moment, but this is the respect that the character should have had the entire time. Hopefully her new fame will stick.

    Swamp Thing still needs to be made though. We’ll have to see what we can do about that. ;P

    1. Her being forgotten is really what it boils down to. People that don’t think she is relevant – well, you can really put an age to that opinion.

      Those sixties comics had their wives and girlfriends as part of the story plenty of the time. I don’t know what changed that dropped those characters. Even ones there were important to the story were seemingly dropped when comics transitioned away from healthy relationships. Most of them still suck for it too.

  13. I’m happy to see Mera take the top spot. I’d buy all the DCUCs in your article still.

    A Montgomery Wards SI set would be awesome!!! But alas, no more Wards.

  15. I’m loving Blackest Night so far, I’d be happy for any figures from it making it into DCUC.

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