53 thoughts on “Ask Matty
October 1st Edition”

1. So, the whole Atrocitus will be Larger was another Matty bait n’ switch? That’s BS… then again I just noticed something really funny on the back of the DCUC cardbacks
   “FIGURES MAY NOT STAND ALONE OR HOLD ACCESSORIES AS SHOWN.” WTF!?

   1. yeah, that’s pretty damned heinous.

2. Wow, all the DC questions were basically punted except the very unfortunate news about Atrocitus and the MOTU question was gladly answered openly & honestly.

   …and about Atrocitus, Mattel just lies. Plain & simple. The whole reason for his inclusion in the “classics” subscription was because he was an example of a figure that could be made larger as an online fig as opposed to being a regular sized 6″ fig released at retail. What a load of BS!! Just like many fans speculated, he was never meant to be a special figure and was just thrown out there cause he was already in development…probably a throw back to what might have been a GL wave 3.

   If anyone was thinking about throwing their hat into the subscription this weekend, I’m sure they won’t do it now! And I bet there may even be a few folks canceling their existing subs too.

   HEY JULIUS MARX, DOC OWEN & and any other MATTEL APOLOGIST!!!! WHAT CAN YOU TELL US NOW ABOUT THESE GUYS AT MATTEL & THEIR DECEPTIVE MARKETING?!?!?!

   1. Rule #1 – I always lie.

      I lie now. Lying is cool.

      1. thats way too funny

   2. From critical mess:
      1. If the subscription is for classic characters and a way to complete teams, what was the rationale for including Atrocitus, a modern era character who is part of the DCnU reboot?       

      The subscription is to offer collectors the characters that they love!  We are leveraging the opportunity to introduce form factors (e.g., the oversized figures) and characters that might not have worked as well at retail, but we know that fans want for their collections!       

   3. Yes, where are the Mattel cheerleaders this weekend? Wonder if they are planning any youtube videos to explain this away?

      1. I love how everyone drank the Kool Aid for these DCUC subs…
         now watch as EVERY matty collector line becomes 25%+ more on sale day for everyone else…

         I don’t hate Mattel, DCUC,MOTUC or any of it, but I do hate the sheep mentality Matty has created, the “be happy you get ANYthing, shut up, and don’t complain.” Scott/Matty had that horrible attitude when I met him at a con, and it’s gotten even worse; a yuppie with a nasty chip on his shoulder, and a dishonest guy as the face of a historically dishonest company. If you don’t cancel your sub, you most def got played, for a Metron they’d make anyway.

         All the cheerleaders got played. Again. Looks like you guys took off your skirts and put your pom-poms down. GLAD TO SEE IT IAT! Funny how I don’t see so many “I love Matty, shut up troll!” posts here this time 😉

         1. Shut up, troll. I may not think you’re that far off the mark about Scott, but I’d still rather sit down and have a beer with him than you.

            1. How can you drink beer with your lips so firmly planted on his you know where 😉

3. Of all the things we actually knew(all speculation aside), Atrocitus was the primary reason for me getting a sub. And now that’s been shot to shit. I cannot stand this f*cking company.

4. Even after we were told Atrocitus would be larger I assumed it would turn out to be false, but I figured they’d wait a little longer to reveal that fact. Glad I didn’t sign up for the sub.

5. The thing about Atrocitus is that Mattel does have bodies that are slightly larger than the standard Superman build. Not sure if he’d look all that great on a Public Enemies body, or retooled from parts of Etrigan, but it’s possible.

6. I’m starting to think I should stop reading these “ask Matty” posts. They’re getting more and more discouraging to read, as a collector. While Atrocitus wasn’t high on my list, that news still doesn’t bode well for the subscription in general… Argh!!!

7. When I saw the Atrocitus reveal I never thought he was any bigger than a regular figure. Will just have to see it when I get him? Guess they could have used the Ares buck instead?

8. I like how in one answer they say Atrocious doesnt need to be taller then in another answer on a different site they say Atrocious is isn the sub to give fans the chance to get figures that wouldnt be possible at retail….WTF is Mattel smoking over there? Where can I get some?

9. OMG ATROCITUS IS NOT BIGGER THAN A NORMAL FIGURE! THE WORLD IS ENDING! MASS PANIC IN THE STREETS! CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER!!!!

   1. its not the size of the figure so much as the fact Mattel trotted him out as an example of a larger size figure they couldnt do at retail. You can only hear so many conflicting/wacked out answers from someone before it all just seems like BS. If things were handled a little better on all fronts people would complain (a least a little) less.

   2. I KNEW THERE WOULD BE AT LEAST ONE MATTY CHEERLEADER TO SHOW UP….unfortunately, he has nothing to add to the discussion •_•

      …what a surprise…

      1. Yeah! How dare some not conform to the consensus of complaining that will cause nothing to change! They lie! They always have, they always will. If you do not like it, don’t buy anything made by them. Simple as steel.

         1. Just like your incessant whining about other peoples opinions will change everyones opinion to yours right?!?!? WTF!!!

         2. I really think you’re missing the point. We all know Mattel lies…and still lies. It’s the fans & customers right to still call them on it and if necessary drop the product. And stuff like this will definitely lead to Mattel losing their fan base.

10. WHAAT!?? You mean Mattel lied to get you to buy their sub?? NOooo.
    I can’t believe it.Wonder how you’re going to take when you finally realize
    that they were ALWAYS going to do their sub,and just used it’s supposed
    failure to reach it’s goal as an excuse to charge “day of” shoppers more money.Well, those
    who are dumb enough to give them more money for their inferior product anyway.

    1. So one would assume you don’t collect their “inferior product” anymore…so why would you be here again?!?! O_o

       1. Just asking,,,

          1. dude, i buy next to no matty product at all anymore, of any line. there’s one here, and one there, but they’re exceptions, not the rule. that doesn’t mean i’m not interested in toy news, or that i’m uncommitted to the folks who i know do still buy their products loyally. no matter how pissed i get at some dirty dealing (and atrocitous definitely falls into that category) i want the best toys for every collector and kid, regardless of the line/company that interests. i obviously don’t speak for todd, but why can’t he be invested in the news on your behalf? his tone is a little mocking, but for reals… it’s not like some of us weren’t warning you DC fans that the sub was likely a trap. and it appears it was, in a sense. there is a degree to which a little “i told you so” was in order… not to be mean, but to make certain that future warnings are given their due weight.

             i will add this: once you’re not a regular matty customer, these Q&A’s became laughable, and the mind frees up an amount of stress you couldn’t believe. i advocate for every mattel regular to take three months off, buy nothing, read w/ a grain of salt and relax… it’s amazing. you move stool easier, your hair grows back, you make more money at work, and you keep more money out in the world, and you find yourself doing things like taking extra vacations or learning to crochet or feeding the homeless. seriously, your skin tone clears up and your singing voice becomes angelic. give it a whirl. 🙂

             1. if only they didnt make such awesome Masters of the Universe toys

                1. i won’t do it here, but i could argue this… extensively. they make motuc figures, let’s leave it at that. 😉

                   1. ha ha! I would love to hear you thoughts on this sometime

                      1. http://www.itsalltrue.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=177&p=23312#p23312

                         if you’ve got the time and the will, follow me down the rabbit hole sir.

             2. I’m not saying the guy doesn’t have a right to voice his opinion but why waste time spouting about something that you don’t give two shits about?

                I make it a point to leave my $.02 out of conversations that I find to be a waste of time. I don’t comment about or visit sites dealing with Marvel Universe figs. Why? Cause I don’t collect them!

                Just seems like a futile endeavor…just saying. What he said didn’t offend me as I was gonna buy the sub for the simple reason that I want a non-stressful buying avenue to keep my collection complete. There are only a couple of figure lines I collect as a completist and DCUCs happens to be one of em. Will that stop me from giving Mattel shit when they pull crap out their arse like this Atrocitous thing? Absolutely not! On the contrary. It only helps to prove the ineptitude of this dumbass company that so many others, me included, have pointed out. It also, as I mentioned, puts another nail in the coffin for guys that really want to see the sub successful but can’t bring themselves to commit. So all those guys will probably not even give the 2013 sub a second thought. It may even cause some supporters to tell Mattel to go f*ck themselves the next go round…which could ultimately lead to no DC stuff being offered on Matty in a years time.

             3. …and I agree with you. The Q&A’s are a friggin waste of time. I give them no weight whatsoever because Mattels team answers shit out the side of their arse. Even the Atrocitos issue is still up in the air until we see actual production samples.

                1. I agree. I don’t know why sites bother with Mattel’s Q & A. They always either skirt the question entirely or give some sort of vague answer. They seem to think they are holding on to deep company secrets. Most of the stuff is already in production already, so why not just come out with a a proper answer? I’ll bet if you asked them if Superman’s cape will be red they won’t answer with a simple “Yes”.

                   1. the problem is tom, these Q&A’s drive site traffic. it’s not that the fwoosh or critical mess or IAT is giving mattel a shake at our expense. we’re flocking to these sites to read the Q&A’s, so regardless of how the site feels about matty, they’re going to keep doing the Q&A’s cuz it’s good business. it’s up to us to stop reading. 🙂 and we THRIVE by having things to bitch about, so the Q&A’s are like crack for us, aren’t they? even we who know better show up many times to comment and gripe.

11. Love the Robotos / Fisto pic! Never even thought to try that as a kid. I’ll be trying that next year, though, provided Mattel’s stance om the connection points hasn’t changed in the interim.

    Devil’s Advocate: I don’t think it’s so much that Mattel intentionally deceived the DC Subscribers to get more money, rather that they jumped the gun and made the announcement that Atrocitus would be big before they’d done all the costing plans and discovered . . . oh, crap, we can’t follow through with this! I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt on this one, but it’s a good opportunity to say to Mattel: Get your freakin’ act together; you’re annoying the people who pay your wages with your lack of forethought and organisation!

    [DARTH VADER VOICE]: >Khooooooo-HAAAAAA< I find your lack of forethought and organisation disturbing.

12. Wow. These comments are all over the place… I’m not really sure how I want to start.

    I guess I feel the need to remind everyone – pro-subbers and naysayers alike – that half of IAT’s “buy a sub” editorial was written towards Mattel, insisting that they do more to make Club Infinite Earths worthwhile. I doubt that many collectors signed up blindly or that people who didn’t sign up are somehow more aware and gave warnings that should be heeded. There’s no need for an “I told you so” because we knew, we just knew with our fingers crossed. And, even though we knew, we still must express our disappointment.

    As for Atrocitus being undersized now – yeah, that (if you’ll permit me to use some of our message board language) mangosteening sucks. Personally, I suspected that not being able to get Jay a young head or Starman a proper Legion head would be the first disappointment (and I’m still positive it will be the second). Also, I recognize that it’s just a half inch or so and that some folks (like Megatherium above) are more addressing that that little of a difference (he’ll be 4-9% too short) doesn’t really matter more than they are cheerleading or apologizing for Mattel. Collectors are a passionate bunch and we tend to feel that 4-9% harder than we should. In any case, it’s important that we don’t direct our anger towards each other. Mattel is shorting the figure – and the fans – if you’re upset by it, focus that on Mattel. Don’t attack each other, particularly in the comments section here at IAT. 🙂

    Anyway, the truth is, for me and probably for a lot of you that it’s not about his height at all. It’s about Mattel saying one thing and doing another. My fellow IATers want to throw away a question on “Why” in our next Ask Matty. In my eyes, there’s no need – we’ll either be told that Bill Benecke wasn’t making an official announcement in that interview (as has happened in the past with statements made by Toy Guru at AFI) or that they had to change their plans when only 60% of us signed up (which will become their de facto excuse at some point). In short, it doesn’t really matter why.

    What matters is this. Mattel will be expecting us to sign up for a possible 2013 DC Subscription next July. The 2012 subscription doesn’t start until April. That means that come sign up time, we’ll only have six of the 2012 figures in-hand. So far, those figures aren’t that impressive. Jay Garrick & Thom Kallor (that’s Flash One and Starman Eight, btw) probably aren’t going to get the alternate heads they sorely need. Now, Atrocitus is going to be out-of-scale. Metron will get his chair, but what will Mattel do to make it cool? That leaves just two other figures which we’ll probably see at NYTF. If those don’t impress, if the reveals at SDCC for the last half of 2012 don’t impress, there’s not going to be a campaign to “save” the 2013 sub. There’s not going to be folks like me doing the marketing or collectors willing to pony up their cash for another year.

    And that’s what it boils down to for Mattel. While I respect that the shareholders need profit and understand the value of coming in under budget, they still have to impress the consumer. The MOTU sub succeeded because they made the figures cool, and granted the first few were as weak as the first DC offerings (something every DC Subscriber should keep in mind), but the DC lot is much more fickle than the MOTU lot: the divisions are deeper, the age gap is more severe, the opinions are much more ingrained. Club Infinite Earths has to be even more special, even better. The figures must work to impress collectors that aren’t fans of the character.

    So I think I want to Ask Mattel something like that. How will they impress us to get us to buy 2013? We won’t go quietly into next year’s sub like our MOTU brothers. That’s not our nature. And we don’t care that only 60% signed up, that plans had to change, or that a Mattel rep said something in an interview off the cuff. How are they going to make it work? How are they going to innovate? There’s more than a few ways to get Atrocitus’ height back without making an all-new buck – why aren’t they doing those? That’s what I want to know.

    1. I think that if what I guy meant was that the height difference won’t make a difference, they would have just plainly & clearly said that. They didn’t say that.

       I would just like to see those who almost always give Mattel a pass come out and explain the unexplainable. But I agree, the angst should be aimed at Mattel, not each other.

       There are two things about the dc sub that leaves Mattel with little wiggle room. One is saturation. DC fans have many more options than the MOTU fans including an additional 6″ line to chose from. The second being the experience they’ve gained on the MOTU sub. Having a slow start and questionable offerings is completely not acceptable. They’ve got the format down, or atleast they should have it down by now. They really have no excuse…not even for this height issue.

       It was admirable how you and other guys marketed this for Mattel but Mattel has a knack for cutting off their nose in spite of their face.

       1. I don’t think it’s admirable. I’ve wanted a DC Sub since before they thought of it and I had the platform to maybe sway things the way I wanted and took it. I actually think you were being rather kind to me before to not lump me in with Julius and Doc Own. I wrote the first “Buy the Sub” piece.

          You hit the nail on the head in your last sentence though. That’s exactly what the problem is – we all understand that the figures simply can’t go over budget, but they shouldn’t be churning out something substandard so non-chalantly. That’s the antithesis of how the sub should work. The answer to that question is essentially “we’re going to do him wrong, sorry” and that’s basically how you kill a toy subscription.

          My aggravation stems from the fact that there are cheaper workarounds to his height… and they’re just not going to look into them or come out and say we tried other unworkable solutions? Wrong figures at retail were annoying, but in the subscription they’re it feels far worse.

          1. Noisy,
             I really never saw what you wrote in the same vein as what I read/saw coming from those camps. You’re more of a straight shooter and it was evident in your “Mattel Manifesto”! What I mean is, you tell it like it is. You were able to promote the sub while at the same time not discounting or patronizing fans about the constant mistakes made by Mattel. You acknowledged their mistakes and made a point of it. Some of those other guys just glaze over their mistakes or completely come up with excuses for them altogether, IMHO.

    2. Maybe it’s just my feelings, but after several years, 20 main waves, and a bunch of exclusives (even a few sub-lines), I just figured Mattel should have these issues worked out. Yes, MOTUC took a little bit to really find it’s legs, but hasn’t DCUC had enough of that time yet? If not by now, when? Maybe never?

       So much of the troubles collectors are having, myself included, are about poor marketing and communication issues. It may have been easy to sell toys to us back in the 70’s and 80’s, when many of us were kids, but they should expect, or at least understand that the adult collector is a bit more savvy than your average kid. It’s harder to pull the wool over our eyes. Better to actually address issues than try and fool us with poor legerdemain…

       1. On your first paragraph, my feelings are that the subscription is a whole new ballgame. You’re certainly correct in your assessment that they should’ve been being more innovative the entire time, finding more creative solutions that reused parts, etc., but the subscription has a new audience. It’s all us. And like with MOTUC, they’re going to have to engage us more directly. We’ve also had changeover behind the scenes – Toy Guru is no longer our brand manager. I don’t mean this as condemnation of Fangirl or sanctification of Toy Guru, but that’s our loss. He knew toys, was a fan, and for good and bad engaged us directly. Fangirl’s been at this for a year, but it’s not been a particularly good year for the line. My hope is that the restrictions offered by the subscription along with the much higher need to please the direct fanbase urges some innovation on their part the way it has for MOTU. If it doesn’t, I think we can all agree Club Infinite Earths will die an early death.

          As for the second part of your post – communication and marketing – I’m in total agreement. Even if the communication between Mattel & the Four Horsemen isn’t at what I’d call an acceptable level. And marketing… don’t even get me started. Whether it’s because Mattel doesn’t budget for it or what, they just make crap, put it on a site, and expect people to know it’s there. It’s ridiculous.

          1. I knew when I heard Mattel talking about getting figures in the “right” height, it wouldst apply to Atrocitus. For me its not the end of the world, but It comes down to the new people in charge of DCUC, do not have the passion as someone like TG. Good or bad, he is a fan first. He takes time out of his personal life to talk with the boards, to answer questions. Fan Girl hasn’t answered a DCUC question on Matty’s forums since Sept 13th.

             My big problem is them most likely not putting the 2nd heads with Starman and Jay. We were told that b/c their was no CnC part, figures would be getting the accessories they needed to make them the best version of that character. So if no heads are coming with Starman and Jay, what are they going to get? Nothing?

             On another Ask Matty, Elongated man was brought up, and Mattel said that DC was not really wanting to put EM out their, since he is dead or not important or whatever other lame excuse. I saw WTF to that, If we cant get some like EM out of the DC Sub, what is the point of the sub?

             I also know that just like everything with Mattel, things can change, I mean at one point we were lead to believe that Hawkman in wave 19 was not coming with a 2nd head. So my question was that a change? or was it a showing again of how the people that are now running DCUC, have no idea what is going one with their own product line? Im not going to personally attack someone over toys, but I fear we just have mattel mouth pieces running my 2nd fav toy line. A line that I believe needs a fan with passion to make it work.

             I also agree 100% with Noisy, that Mattel needs to put some great stuff out if they even want to think about a 2013 sub.

             Sorry for the rant, but I signed up for the DC Sub day 1 and have been pushing for others to jump in my day one, but I have a bad feeling in my gut that the DC sub will leave a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths.

             Also it sucks most of these negative DC Sub answer come out just days before the end of signup.

13. There seem to be all kinds of issues with this sub coming up AFTER people have already signed up. The fact that Atrocitus will be the wrong height is “unacceptable”(I put it it quotes because canceling my sub now will be nearly impossible and is only unacceptable in theory) Why tell us the height will be corrected unless you are sure? (I guess to get people to buy in) I thought the whole point of the sub was to get those figures that would not work at retail,and that should include Atrocitus at the right height. I can maybe see why a retail offering would get the wrong height (but not really considering how many bucks they have at this point), but a special sub for collectors should get special treatment right? And now I am hearing on some toy boards(TG was quoted) that Elongated Man is being squashed by DC because he is not very current. I thought this sub was a collectors line to help complete some classic teams that are missing members. DC has the retail line, why mess with this sub as well. If DC can put a halt on characters being made in this sub, we are in real trouble. Very very frustrating

14. and therein lies the problem… much moreso than atrocitus’ height or elongated man’s existence is the fact that the company lied to the general public to solicit sales. that’s illegal. that’s not just bad Pr, that’s illegal. this is bad mojo and from a company known for bad mojo. unacceptable.

    my post above wasn’t attacking any fan or fans directly, and i’m sorry if it read that way. all i was saying was that while noisy personally takes a very “glass is half full” approach to toy collecting, this is mattel we’re talking about… even if the glass is half full, it’s as likely poisoned as not. it’s a tough place for DC collectors, since right now, they don’t have any other options (cuz even the retail line is mattel product). as noisy says, DC fans are much more varied lot than motu fans, and even we’re feeling the pinch lately. mattel has GOT to do something to get word out on these lines, and then deliver a product the consumer is proud to own. otherwise, i’m all for a complete boycott on mattel’s dc product till it tanks and DC/WB moves the license to a competing company.

    i LOVE masters of the universe… as a concept. but the toys i’m getting offered just aren’t up to the standards of an adult collector, so i’m out on the toys. when/if they decide to market toys to my tastes, i’ll consider getting in again… but i don’t know if that will happen. motuc certainly isn’t it, not anymore.

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16. “We have not yet revealed which Poison Ivy figure will be part of the 2012 DC Universe Club Infinite Earths subscription.”

    No shit Sherlock, that’s why someone asked the question.

17. just out of curiousity, are superman and captain atom the same height as martian manhunter? because i think that would actually be comic acurate. atrocitus in the comics is bigger than hal, but not quite as big as kilowog or arkillo, or at least that’s what i remember.

    1. Martian Manhunter & Jemm were on modified hero bodies. I think they had longer shins to make them taller.

18. Hi, everybody! Been away, what did I miss? 🙂

    OK, sorry, still running off of 4 hours worth of sleep over a 5 day period. So, Matty bent the collective ‘us’ over and didn’t kiss us after once again? I am shocked, shocked I tell you!

    Here’s the picture I’m seeing. Warner Bros/DC doesn’t really give jack s**t about toys based on comic books. They don’t CARE unless that comic book is a source for a movie property. Mattel doesn’t actually CARE about the product they produce, there’s just all kinds of really strange legacy issues that somehow drive current thinking. Secret Wars did OK for them way back in the day, why can’t everything be as easy as regular Spider-Man and Black Suit Spider-Man?

    We have a fairly good picture of the process on how a figure gets made by now. All those interviews over the years, dribs and drabs of knowledge dropped in casual convo and interviews. What that says to me is, ALL this kerfuffle is nonsense. These decisions would had, would HAD to have been reached around a year ago. And if I’m wrong (and look, I’m a geek banging away at my keyboard like a damn monkey, I’m just flinging opinion like it was poo 🙂 ) then clearly the changes at DC were never really thought out to the point of wondering how it would affect product, which, mind, totally negates the synergy and income generation that Warner Bros is trying to GET from a move like this.

    There’s still a hella lotta product out there using Neal Adams generated clip art and licensing guide illos.

    But see, that was something I read that bugged the hell out of me. “We’re not interested in doing a EM figure because he’s dead and so on” but…but…the POINT of the sub, this very concept, is you don’t HAVE to be tied to the ‘now’, you can generate income from an otherwise ‘stale’ or ‘dormant’ segment of the license. I mean, hell, who gave a crap about O.M.A.C. 10 years ago, right?

    I know I don’t have much skin in this game, I rant out of anger and sadness for what I COULD want to get behind, for the POTENTIAL that is clearly lost. I really would collect the hell out of a Kirby 4th World line of figures. I’d love an entire run of ’70s Legion of Super Heroes. I f*ing want my Paul Kirk Manhunter. To get to those wanted items I’d have to wait through the releasing of figures I have little or no interest in. OK. I’d play that game, I’ll be happy for the folks who are getting what they want now as long as my waiting had SOME chance of paying off.

    Not gonna happen.

    It’s not being pessimistic to say “if you go out into the rain you’re going to get wet”, that’s just objective reality. I’m pretty sure it’s raining.

    And I figured it was about time for Toy Guru to get the chopping block. Not that I wish the guy ill, it’s just been a couple of years and someone over him HAD to change and that always means ‘sweep out what isn’t mine so nobody challenges me’ at that exec level. There will be LOTS of mis-communication now as the new person in charge will just not grasp how…complicated…customer/fan interaction is. *sigh*

19. Man, reading those DC answers are cringe worthy.

    “DCClassics.Com: In the SDCC interview with AFI, Mattel stated that Atrocitus would be a larger figure in the subscription than he could be at retail. What height are you targeting for him?
    He will be the same height as Superman and Captain Atom. Standard 6″. At one point we thought he might be a bit taller but that is not the case.”

    And any interest in picking up an Atrocitus is now gone. Thanks for saving me money, Matty. 🙂

20. I will be better off with My DC Direct Atrocitus. That response about him is ridiculous. “At one point we thought he would be taller..” When was that and why did it change is the real question. What a mess….

21. And I though Atrocitus already looked a bit underwhelming on that bland same old buck-looking body.

    Now he actually will be on that bland same old buck body.

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