Toys in San Diego… Make Mine Mattel!

Originally published 07/31/09 at geekinthecity.com

For me, San Diego Comic Con has always been akin to Christmastime. A plethora of sights and sounds, all exhilarating, unexpected and… shiny. Comic Con is a yearly pilgrimage for those who count themselves among the pop culture elite. A conclave of showmen (and women) from the comic book, movie, television and toy industries, the San Diego Convention Center transforms into a writhing biomass of glorious geeks.

After attending Comic Con for the past three years, I decided to take a year off. A geek (even one as feverish about his toy collecting as this one) must recharge the cells and this year seemed like the perfect time to do so. As I watched Comic Con unfold last weekend I realized that, like Mr. Donovan… I chose poorly. There were so many amazing toy announcements (the return of Battle Beasts!), prototypes on display (Venkman!) and exclusives sold (He-Ro!) that I embraced that most easily-accessible sin (envy!) with warp speed.

So then, in the spirit of Comic Con and all the things that I (and likely you) missed out on, here are some of my favorite toy announcements. This is by no means a comprehensive list of what was shown in San Diego, but more a selection of my action figure picks for the coming year…

Masters of the Universe Classics (Mattel)
Shocking, I know. This line has perfected the art of freeing $26 from my wallet on the 15th of every month. If you haven’t yet seen or purchased any of these amazing figures, this release schedule ought to do the trick. Mattel also announced the details of their new MOTUC subscription service, dubbed Club Eternia. Joining the Club will secure 12 months worth of figures. You will be charged for one figure each month on the 15th. The service does not include any of the the bonus figures, which are being scheduled to allow for potential delays in production and availability of the regularly-scheduled MOTUC figure. Club Eternia membership does include the exclusive figure “Wun-Dar” (complete with loaf of bread!) and a double-sided Eternia map / checklist poster.

MOTUC release schedule:

• Tri-Klops- August 17, 2009
• Webstor - September 15, 2009
• Teela (w/ Zoar) - October 15, 2009
• Zodak (2002 version) - BONUS FIGURE, October 15, 2009
• Scareglow - November 16, 2009
• King Randor - December 15, 2009
• Green Goddess (w/2002 chest piece, shield and axe)- BONUS FIGURE, December 15, 2009
• Princess Adora - January 15, 2010
• Battle Armor He-Man - BONUS FIGURE, January 15, 2010
• Trap Jaw/Kronis (w/ interchangeable heads and arms) - February 15, 2010
• Battle Cat - BONUS FIGURE, February 15, 2010
• Moss Man (flocked) - March 15, 2010

Movie Masters (Mattel)
One piece of news that I was most anxious about going into this year’s SDCC was the future of the stunning Movie Masters line. This series (sculpted to perfection by the Four Horsemen) was fraught with distribution and availability issues last summer. With the release of The Dark Knight, fans were initially unable to locate a Joker (Ledger version) figure, but found that later in the year that they were swimming in them! At New York Toy Fair, Mattel displayed prototypes of the next wave of figures in the TDK Movie Masters line. Luckily, plans to release these haven’t been shelved. Instead of a retail release, you will now be able to purchase each figure exclusively from MattyCollector.com. A new figure will be available each month, starting September 15th.

6″ Movie Masters release schedule:

• Bank Robber Joker - September 15, 2009
• Prototype Suit Batman - October 15, 2009
• Harvey Dent - November 15, 2009
• Jailhouse Joker - December 15, 2009
• Arkham Asylum Scarecrow - January 15, 2010
• Sonar Eyes Batman w/ Battle Damage - February 15, 2010
• Two Face - March 15, 2010

A surprise addition to the Movie Master line was the announcement of a 12″ Superman Movie Series. The series will feature vintage weapons, cloth costumes and a stunning likeness of actors from the films. The first figure in the series is Christopher Reeve as Superman, followed by Terence Stamp as General Zod. The line will be launched exclusively on MattyCollector.com in January.

DC Universe Classics (Mattel)
This juggernaut of a line rolls on with more amazing 6″ figures (sculpted by the Four Horsemen) and 9″ - 10″ Collect-And-Connect figures. Mattel will be introducing more exclusive two-packs (available online) as well as retailer-only multipacks. Also, a strong commitment was made to improve the distribution of the DCUC line, the flaws of which had many fans frustrated since the series first launched.

DCUC Wave 9:

• Black Adam
• Black Canary
• Classic Guardian
• Deadshot
• Green Arrow
• Mantis & Mantis robot variant (these will be evenly packed in cases)
• Wildcat (and rare chase blue variant)
• Collect-And-Connect Figure: Chemo

DCUC Wave 10:

• Beast Boy
• Batman (all black w/ yellow symbol, yellow belt & bat-laptop)
• Forager
• Joker
• Man-Bat (brown)
• Power Girl
• Robotman (with head-opening-brain-viewing action!)
• Collect-And-Connect Figure: Imperiex

DCUC Wave 11:

• Cyborg Superman
• Deadman (and variant version with fading translucent legs)
• John Stewart with Green Lantern constructs
• Katma Tui
• The Question
• Shark (Silver Age)
• Steppenwolf (Super Powes style and green armor version will be evenly packed in cases)
• Collect-And-Connect Figure: Kilowog

DCUC ‘Public Enemies’ wave (Target exclusive):

• Superman (and metallic suit variant)
• Batman
• Icicle
• Silver Banshee
• Black Lightning
• Major Force
• Collect-And-Connect Figure: Brimstone

- DCUC two-packs to be made available exclusively on MattyCollector.com: Yellow Lanterns Romat Ru & Karu-Sil w/ construct. Animal Man & B’wanna Beast.
- Wal-Mart exclusive Silver Age 5-pack: Batman, Two Face, Catwoman, Lex Luthor, Superman

Ghostbusters (Mattel)
Mattel’s announcement of a collector-centric Ghostbusters line became the absolute talk of this year’s Toy Fair International. At Comic Con, Mattel took advantage of the grandest stage of all to unveil new prototypes for their 6″ and 12″ figures, as well as a new and completely unexpected addition to the line! The Ghostbustes 6″ line will be released online (through… you guessed it, MattyCollector.com) and will launch this October. A new figure will be released every other month. The Ghostbusters 12″ line will be available once per quarter starting in January. The 12″ line will start with Ray Stanz, then will continue with Egon, Venkman and Winston.

Ghostbusters 6″ release schedule:

• Ray Stanz (with Ghostbusters logo ghost) - October
• Winston Zeddemore (with ghost trap and blue energy explosion) - December
• Walter Peck !!!!!! (with ghost containment unit) - February
• Peter Venkman (slimed) - April

Avatar:
The latest epic from James Cameron garnered quite a bit of noticed at this year’s Comic-Con, thanks in part to the life-size mech that sat on display in the Mattel booth. Avatar is clearly the hot license of the season, with a number of collectible companies jumping on board for a piece of the action. There wasn’t much information available (outside of Mattel’s amazing diorama setup) on upcoming Avatar products. However, Sideshow Toys confirmed that they will be producing character and vehicle maquettes as well as premium format figures based on characters in the film. Perennial favorite Gentle Giant also announced that they would be releasing a full line of Avatar mini busts.

The Four Horsemen:
I’ve made no secret of my undying love for all things sculpted by 4HM Studios. This crew of artists were behind some of the most popular and visually stunning figures in recent memory (Harry Potter, 202 Masters of the Universe) and can now be found rolling out the amazing DC Universe Classics line from Mattel. Of course, all this work doesn’t mean that the Horsemen don’t have a bit of extra time to play in their own universe! Enter the Seventh Kingdom, a fantastic playground for the Horsemen. Previous characters from the Seventh Kingdom include a minotaur, mutant, elephant swordsman and a rhino-warrior. These figures are designed through input from fans on 4HM’s website and are sculpted and released by the Horsemen themselves.

The most recent addition to the Seventh Kingdom is Queen Alluxandran of the Bluddmane Clan and her court. The various queens will soon be available through a number of online retailers.

• Queen Alluxandra (storehorsemen.com)
• Isadorra of the Ironspynne Clan (storehorsemen.com)
• Siliskk (storehorsemen.com)
• Raavia (Raving Toy Maniac)
• Akkuli (Action Figure Xpress)
• Kromius (The Fwoosh)
• Biggara (Big Bad Toy Store)
• Baddathir (Big Bad Toy Store)
• D’Zwirra (Wizard)
• Ccora (Corner Store Comics)
• Oktobria (October Toys)

The next group of creatures to be added to the Kingdom will come as part of the Gothitropolis line. The line will include The Raven (an amazing birdman warrior), Scarabus (a Tutankhamun-esque king) as well as various jackal/goat/bird warriors. There is no definite word on when these might be available, but don’t plan on seeing them until early to mid next year.

Star Wars:
It seems like almost a requirement that gratuitous Star Wars coverage be included with any mention of San Diego Comic Con. I suppose that’s true, though the general consensus from many older collectors is that the line (and perhaps even the universe itself) is beginning to fade into irrelevance. Sure, there was plenty of Star Wars product to be had at this year’s Comic-Con, but unless you were a 7 year old or were looking for another Yoda/Vader/Luke Skywalker variant, there was little that would have held your attention. There were a few items that seemed impressive, though the price tag on many (especially from Sideshow) will likely be enough to keep them out of reach from most collectors.

Sideshow Toys:

• Articulated C-3P0 Premium Format Figure
• Clone Wars Commander Cody 1:6 Figure
• Clone Wars Captain Rex 1:6 Figure
• Gamorrean Guard 1:6 Figure

Lego:

• Mon Calamari Cruiser
• Tantive IV

Hasbro:

• Mail-Away Nahdar Web (mon calamari jedi) figure. (December)
• Diamond/TRU exclusive McQuarrie Concept multi-packs. Re-releasing all 13 figures. (October)
• Wal-Mart exclusive Dewback & Stormtrooper. New sculpt on Dewback. (November)
• Target exclusive Wedge & X-Wing w/ red astromech droid. (September)
• Force FX lightsabers. Count Dooku (December), Asajj Ventress (September)
• The Titanium Series ends after end of 2009.
• ROTJ Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader “Funeral Pyre” set w/ flaming Vader - lights & sounds (this was a 2011 concept item and bore a sign from Hasbro saying “Should we make this?”)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NECA):
NECA continues in their efforts to keep this Eastman.Laird inspired line alive and were offering an exclusive April O’Neil (blue outfit) exclusive for sale at their booth. Earlier rumors of distribution issues for the line seem to be confirmed. NECA is unable to put their Turtles into Toys R’ Us due to a prior licensing aggreement that the store has with Mirage. In addition, international sales of NECA’s Turtles has been poor, in part due to the fact that overseas fans just don’t recognize the comic likeness of characters. NECA plans to relaunch the line with a single figure, April O’Neil. She will be available in green and yellow variants. If April sells well, the line will continue with the next figure being Shredder.

Finally, I leave you with this. Bif Bang Pow! takes my prize for the creepiest and most unnerving toy of this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Of course, this means that I absolutely MUST own one!