AFP's Ask Matty Round-Up for 9/15/9

I was traveling yesterday so wasn’t able to get these posted right away. Here are the latest questions and answers from Mattel. Thanks to Mattel and Toy Guru!

DC Comics

1. You’ve been saying for a while that the fate of the JLU line is in collectors’ hands. At the time of this writing, all three 4-packs and the San Diego Comic-Con Green Lantern Origins 3-pack are still available on Mattycollector.com. How are the fans doing with respect to keeping the line alive? How are the new products doing at Target?

JLU Legion of Super Heroes Action Figure 4-Pack

Justice League Unlimited Green Lantern Origins 3-Pack

New JLU packs are currently available at Target and Mattycollector.com. We are reviewing whether the Mattycollector.com packs, with fan demand playing an important role.

2. In DC Universe Classics, there’s been a lot of New Gods, but none in the DC Infinite Heroes line. Conversely, there’s lots of Crisis on Infinite Earth characters in DCIH, but none in DCUC. How is the character selection process different across the various lines? Are any differences because of the difference in target customer, e.g., is DCIH more mass market oriented than DCUC, or are they both equally collector oriented?

It is actually not as complicated as some people think. We try to spread out all of the different figures across all the brands. Of course there will be some overlap, but with so many great characters we like to give them all a time to shine.

3. Warner Bros now owns Midway and the license for Mortal Kombat, and in the Gotham City 5 set Catwoman appears in the costume that she wears in the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game. What are the chances that we could see more DC characters as they appeared in MKvsDCU? What are the chances that we could see Mortal Kombat characters from Mattel?

It is possible, but there are other video games we may get to first.

4. Also with regards to the Gotham City 5 set – how did you settle on that name, when two of the characters are from Metropolis? 😀

Originally this was planned as an all Bat themed set, but Superman and Lex came in at the end to round it out.

5. And, I’ve seen lots of reports of that set being found with Luthor being replaced by random figures, obviously as a result of a purchase and return. What can Mattel do to stop this kind of theft from happening, and what should folks do when they find tampered-with sets on the shelves?

If you find a set like this, please do alert the toy store you find it in. We also take great lengths to educate our retail partners about collector product theft.

Masters of the Universe Classics

6. Just thought we’d check again – what was the final outcome on Moss-Man? If there isn’t one yet, when will you be deciding?

We are going to flock him as much as possible without interrupting the articulation. We are still working on the final details.

7. Planned reuse of body parts is one of the hallmarks of the MOTUC line. Now that there’s a female buck (or is it two) for Teela and Adora, should we expect all female characters, like Evil-Lyn, Sorceress, She-Ra, and other Princess of Power figures to use that basic body? While a more muscular build seems fitting for warrior types, a more slender build may be preferable for the ones who rely on magic.

All of the females will use the basic Teela buck. You can see how it is augmented with new parts for Adora in our SDCC fan panel on MattyCollector.com’s photo page on Facebook.

8. Many people have noticed that Trap-Jaw’s arms are new sculpts. In the vintage line, Trap-Jaw shared arms (at least from the bicep down) with Man-E-Faces. When should we expect to see Man-E-Faces in the line? 😀

In time. Trap Jaw definitely got us closer to a Man-E-Faces figure, but he isn’t in the cards quite yet.

Ghostbusters

9. With the 6-inch Peter Venkman coming in May next year, it seems like a reeeeeally long time away. You’d previously mentioned changes to the figure (gloved hands and pant legs over the boots) – when should we expect to see pics of the finalized figure?

Likely by the end of 2009.

Miscellaneous

10. Lots of people are excited about the launch of WWE products from Mattel. Are these products being covered by the Ask Matty team, and will they be available on Mattycollector.com? When should we expect to see some news and pics about the line?

All Mattel products are covered in these Q & As so WWE questions are welcome as well. Our WWE line will be available on retail shelves onJanuary 1, 2010. We’ll have all the ring side action and scoop on WWE to announce in October!

Here’s a round-up of the other Ask Matty sessions from around the web. (Links to be added as they come up.)

AFP’s Ask Matty Round-Up for 9/15/9

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