TNI: Are there any plans for Mattel to go back and do figures based on the old Super Friends cartoon?
Mattel: No plans are set, but again, we are looking into this possibility. There is large fan demand for this, and we do have access to these characters.
TNI: Is there a list of DC characters that WB has given you that you CANNOT do as 6" figures, and if so can you tell us who those characters are?
Mattel: Aside from some characters that have legal issues surrounding them (Charlton characters for example), we do not have access to certain “adult” figures that are too violent for a toy aisle (such as Lobo).
TNI: DC Comics recently announced that they were going to do a comic book based on the new DC Super Friends. Since this line was created by Mattel, will you all be working closely with DC on this and if so how? Wonder Woman is on the cover of the first issue, does this mean a Wonder Woman figure will be released soon?
Mattel: Just because a character appears in the comic line does not indicate it will also be in the toy line (as a base rule). This does not rule the Amazon Princess out, and we are well aware of the fan demand for this figure in the Super Friends style.
TNI: Are the Four Horsemen doing the sculpting for the Build-A-Figures in the 6" line, and how does sculpting a Build-A-Figure differ from sculpting a regular figure?
Mattel: Yes, the Four Horsemen are sculpting the build-a-figures. The only difference is that the BAF needs to break up into 5 separate pieces, and we asked them to make it at least 25% bigger then a standard figure.
Also see:
Mattel Q&A Round 1
Mattel Q&A Round 2
Just out of curiosity - if Lobo hadn't been mentioned by name as someone to never see a tiny plastic counterpart - would there be an uproar for the character? Or is it more the principle behind what they said? Honestly, I personally couldn't have cared about Lobo, but hearing violence makes me fear for other characters I do enjoy.
If he's not appropriate for mass market release, maybe we can get a Con exclusive Lobo somewhere down the line. He's just too cool of a character to not get a Mattel version.
not THAT i am buying into the "too violent" line; but, you do propose an awesome suggestion; one that i wondered. Then again, I'm not a huge Lobo fan, but, I do think fans deserve the sculpt if they want. And, they shouldnt have to be forced into a worse than Mattel sculpt at a hugher rate, from DC Direct.
If he's not appropriate for mass market release, maybe we can get a Con exclusive Lobo somewhere down the line. He's just too cool of a character to not get a Mattel version.
Kinda funny how they can't make LOBO, but they can make Etrigan the 'DEMON"!
well Demon hero is better then mass murderer "hero". but i do agree it's kind of stupid to exclude him for that reason
Kinda funny how they can't make LOBO, but they can make Etrigan the 'DEMON"!
I demand we get The Main Man!!!! He is one of the ones I was hoping for the most now!!!
I think its just the fact that he looks like a devil dressed up as a biker wh y the chimps at mattel do not what him put out .... still kind of bs though all in all... most of DCs characters are violent these days ... Heck anything out of batman = a big no I guess we can never expect to see a joker on the pegs again
the charton characters can't be passed onto anyone besides DC. that's why we don't have a jlu blue beetle. as for lobo, mattel could do a collaboration with DCD. the horsemen would sculpt the figures and accessories, maybe a base, and DCD would distribute them. he's be like 7 bucks more, but atleast we'd have him.
So, pardon my ignorance, but why no Charleston characters? I know the world of copyrights is complicated stuff, but no one has ever given me an answer to this question. And if there were issues with the use of these characters, why did the Question and Captain Atom show up in JL? Bruce Timm and Cartoon Network could use them so why not Mattel? Heck, I'd think the lead paint Mattel uses would be great for Captain Atom's containment suit.
Sadly I think the "Charleston characters" are the ones who got popular within these years: Blue Beetle, The Question, and that's all I can think of right now.
Captain Atom.
