Welcome to Bat-Week!

August 28, 2011 | Poe

This was the first summer in years that I watched some of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. It’s not that I don’t love sharks–I do (JAWS is my favorite film). But by the time I was a teenager I’d already watched a lot of shark nature shows, so I suppose I figured there wasn’t much new to learn. Still, I enjoyed Shark Week this year, especially Jaws Comes Home, which examined the recent appearance of numerous great white sharks off my native Massachusetts coast.

More importantly for you, I was inspired to create Bat-Week! I’ve got over twenty unopened Batman-related toys, ranging from 1989 to 2011, and over the next seven days I’ll be reviewing as many of them as possible. So sit back, put on your cape and cowl, sandpaper your vocal cords and enjoy the Batmania.

Mattel Updates > MOTUC, DC subs, Draego-Man costs

August 17, 2011 | Poe

Lots of Mattel-related stuff to discuss today. First up is this addendum to Monday’s Q&A:

3.) Gasha168 asks: Does the 23″ Voltron contain any diecast metal components at all, or is it pure plastic except for the springs and pin joints?

The Lions that combine into the 23″ Voltron do not have any die-cast parts.  At the scale that the lions are being offered, if they were die-cast, the overall weight of the combined Voltron would be too much for it to be secure or stable.  However, we do understand that die-cast is a big fan request so this is something that we’re looking into for the future.

Next, we have a bunch of updates from Mattel regarding the MOTUC and DC subs. There’s a lot to cover here–this appears to be one of those times when Mattel comes surprisingly clean with us. I’ll reply bit by bit rather than a long speech at the end.

First off is this post from the Mattycollector forums:

Hey He-Fans and She-Ravers,

With so much talk over the DC Sub (and if we have enough subscribers) I wanted to check in with all of you on the MOTUC sub.

First off, as expected we have well passed our min sub order to keep the line going. (MOTU fans are committed!) BUT, I do want to let you know that we are actually at our lowest sub sale yet. Which unless we get a huge bump in sales this week, this means Shadow Weaver will likely be the lowest produced figure in the whole line! Wow.

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The Rock as Roadblock (Roadrock?)

August 16, 2011 | Poe

I’m not that much of a G.I. Joe fan, but I respect it as one of the great 1980s toy properties. The first movie was terrible, but I’ve been watching the development of the second film with cautious optimism. Most fans dismissed it the second the director of the Justin Bieber movie was chosen, but that awoke some contrarian sense in me that suggested two wrongs just might make a right. More specifically, Jon M. Chu, as a novice director, might be more willing to respect the franchise’s history than try to create his own vision of the concept.

But I digress. When I found out the Rock would be in the G.I. Joe sequel  as Roadblock, my optimism went up a bit more. I’ve never been a wrestling fan, but I love the Rock–mostly on the strength of his performance in The Rundown (one of my favorite movies), but also his general personality. He’s fun to watch.* And man, is he psyched to be in G.I. Joe.

The above pic was posted on Johnson’s Twitter account, showing him in full Roadblock costume. I have absolutely no legitimate reason to be optimistic about this film, and yet…there is a precedent. Star Trek: The Motion Picture turned off Star Trek fans with its incredibly slow pace, awkward dialogue, odd characterization of the main cast, and the forced addition of new characters. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan kicked ass by going back to what made the original show great–action, suspense, great dialogue and character interaction, and a focus on the main characters. It respected the franchise.

I think G.I. Joe: Retaliation just might pull off the same trick. But…I’ve been wrong before.

For more on the Rock’s importance to the new film, check out Poe Power Pal GeneralsJoes‘s post, G.I. Joe: Retaliation influenced by “The Rock’s” positive impact.

*At one point there was a plan to make a buddy cop flick called Blowback starring the Rock and Ryan Reynolds. I’m sad it never got made. Very sad.

Feliz Maskor Dia!

August 15, 2011 | Poe

Is anyone else impressed that Mattel managed to keep a lid on MEF’s secret accessory right up to sale day? Even if it gets revealed today, I have to say congrats to Mattel–oh, and also, why do you continue to suppress information that might result in increased sales?!?! But I digress.

Here’s the link to the all-in-one page. Also on sale:

  • Megator
  • Ready To Believe You Egon w/ Library Ghost
  • Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack
  • Beast Man
  • Gygor

Mattel Updates on the 2012 MOTUC Subscription

August 4, 2011 | Poe

I try not to spend too many posts regurgitating news you can find elsewhere, but at the same time, I know at least some of you are trusting me to provide you with any information relevant to your interests rather than doing the work yourself.

Also, this is exactly the sort of Mattel announcement that generates a lot of comments, so I’m going to post it.

He-Fans and She-Ravers,

With the 2012 Club Eternia sale in full swing and our SDCC reveals past us, I wanted to take a quick minute to clear up some questions and comments from the boards.

1: First off, yes, we are no longer going to be doing a second run of figures. This will start with Queen Marlena and move into Man-E-Faces and the other fall figures. We still have some older figures already slotted for line time and a second run that will be offered monthly(ish) in 2012. But starting with the July/August figures there will no longer be second runs of newer figures (at least for now, anything could potentially change down the road). So if you want Marlena, now is the time to buy!

Additionally, in 2012 we will be reducing our production of all figures above and beyond the subs. We will still have product on sale day for those who do not have a sub, but in general there will be a bit less. Your first, best and most reliable way of getting the figures you want is to sign up for the sub (and the only way to get Shadow Weaver–our first Filmation character!). This will be the case for all subscriptions, not just MOTUC.

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Mattel adds Poison Ivy to Infinite Earths sub (& why I’m still not biting)

August 2, 2011 | Poe

Why oh why oh WHY did I mention the idea of Batman figures in a subscription? Mattel announced another figure for the Infinite Earths subscription:

Hey DC Universe fans, you asked for it, you got it! Here is the reveal of another 6″ character in the DC Universe Club Infinite Earths subscription program…Poison Ivy!

What’s more, they’ve made it clear we will not see these characters as figures (or at least, not next year):

To clarify the DC Universe Club Infinite Earths subscription, If the sub does not move forward, the figures announced will not be a part of the 2012 retail line. The only way we will create these DC Universe figures in 2012 is through the subscription program. To get Starman, Atrocitus, Flash 1, and Poison Ivy, sign up for the sub.

I had to think it over. The sub is more tempting now, but I was mildly surprised to find I still didn’t want to sign up–not for Poison Ivy alone. (Probably the only single figure who could get me to sign up for an entire sub is Red Robin.)
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