If you were wondering where the Toyfare poll for the 2010 DC Universe Fan Choice was, you’re probably in good company – it was nowhere to be found on the revamped Wizard World / Toyfare site. But thanks to you favorite search engines, I found the poll, which for the first time is to pick the Collect & Connect figure, for DC Universe Classics wave 20.
Out of the choices available, the smart money is on Nekron – he was the big bad in the recent ultra-popular Blackest Night miniseries, and anything Lantern-related is hot right now, with the potential Green Lantern blockbuster movie starring Ryan Reynolds due out next summer. If Mattel was a risk-taking company (they’re not), they would probably be tooling up old Nekron as we speak.
But I want us to show Mattel that we can make the unexpected, better choice. So I’m making an impassioned plea to you, to vote for Shaggy Man in the DC Universe Fan Choice Poll for 2010.
First of all, Shaggy Man would make a kick-ass Collect & Connect figure. Shaggy Man is, well, he’s a giant hairy beast – and we all know how awesome the Four Horsemen do with big hairy beasts. Check out the upcoming figures of Gygor and Shadow Beast from the Masters of the Universe Classics line. Shaggy Man would be a little less ape-like in proportions, but he’d still be awesome coming from the 4H.
He’s also a classic villain that you can pit against your entire Justice League of America. He’s fought them to a standstill several times, like in JLA #104 (pictured above) way back in the 1970’s – that was my first introduction to him, in a pile of old JLA comics in my uncle’s stash. In this story, Hector Hammond (whom I imagine we’ll be getting in figure form when the Green Lantern movie figures come out) uses his mental powers to get a virtually indestructible Shaggy Man to attack the Justice League on their satellite.
Finally, he’s got a great power that would be very cool to represent with the Collect & Connect pieces. What makes him indestructible is his ability to quickly regenerate his body. In this JLA story, for example, Superman goes to town on him, smashing Shaggy Man into pieces – only to find that Shaggy Man rejuvenates himself after each explosive blow. I’d like to see the Collect & Connect figure be easily “shattered” by making the pieces come apart more easily, so Shaggy could blow up and get put back together again.
There’s three reasons to pick Shaggy Man! Don’t forget to vote, and leave a comment below on why or why not Shaggy Man for DCUC wave 20! Now here’s the official poll text.
DC UNIVERSE FAN CHOICE POLL 2010
The stakes are larger than ever (literally!) in our third annual DC Universe Classics Fan Choice Poll
You know what they say: once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is really friggin’ awesome. Especially when the third time is bigger and better than ever before!
ToyFare is honored to host the third Mattel DC Universe Classics Fan Choice Poll. You’ll remember that in 2008 fans chose The Question, and last year you guys selected Teen Titans’ own Raven (who’ll be appearing in Wave 15 this fall). But for this third poll, the winner will actually become a wave-anchoring Collect and Connect build-a-figure figure for 2011’s DCUC Wave 20, standing between 8 and 10 inches tall. Choose from a wretched hive of scum and villainy, a nominee list populated mostly with big baddies and assorted other n’er-do-wells. The winner will become a larger-than-life plastic reality. And the choice is in your hands!
Have a hands-down favorite? Cast your vote today—voting ends August 31!
BLOCKBUSTER
We don’t want to call Blockbuster a hulking character, but…he is a super-strong but mindless scientist in torn purple pants. Unfortunately, under the influence of his criminal brother (who would later go on to be the second Blockbuster, and a major crime boss), the brutish Blockbuster committed a series of crimes armed with only his brute strength and a burning hatred for Batman and Robin. Seeking a cure for his condition, he was recruited into the very first incarnation of Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad…and promptly killed by Brimstone (himself a previous Mattel Collect-and-Connect figure!) Hey, hulking characters in torn purple pants have made successful figures before…
GIRDER
One of the coolest looking new villains of the past decade, Girder is a nouveau-Flash Rogue, first encountered in Keystone City’s metahuman prison, Iron Heights. Girder has one of those classic “falling into a vat of something” origin stories–in this case, a vat of molten steel that turned his body into living (but continuously rusting) metal. Aside from continually clashing with the Flash, Girder has run up against the Teen Titans and the Justice Society. Also, he has a beard made out of metal. Dude would make one awesome looking toy.
KING SHARK
Sure, DCUC already has a humanoid shark guy (GL villain The Shark), but this is King Shark! The former Superboy villain cuts a much more imposing figure than the aforementioned regular Shark, and he’s used his size and strength to take on guys like Superman. Supposedly the son of a shark god (that’s even better than a king!), King Shark took a heroic turn for a while as a mentor to the new Aquaman, but he’s been back to his villainous ways of late. Which is exactly what we like from giant, hideous shark people.
NEKRON
Nekron, embodiment of Death in the DC Universe—well, one of them, at least—has been around for nearly 30 years, but his profile got a huge boost earlier this year when he was revealed as the big bad behind the mega-event Blackest Night (plus the guy behind every superhero resurrection ever.) Nekron’s one of the only guys on this list to actually have an action figure (as part of DC Direct’s Blackest Night line), but 2011 is going to be a huge year for Green Lantern, and there should be no shortage of DCUC Lanterns of every shade for Nekron to battle with or to control. Are fans dying for a giant Nekron figure?
SHAGGY MAN
The super-strong and indestructible Shaggy Man was initially only defeated by the creation of a second Shaggy Man. Of late he’s been best known in a much less shaggy form, ever since a dying General Eiling transplanted his brain into the Shaggy Man’s body, shaved it and called himself The General. Fun fact: on the cover of his first appearance, Shaggy Man is depicted holding Flash and Batman in each hand, slamming them into each other. If that’s not the set-up for an action figure display, we don’t know what is.
WILDEBEEST
Hero or villain—take your pick with this figure! It could be the robotic exoskeleton worn by the evil members of the Wildebeest society, who wore identical suits to obscure their crimes and befuddle their enemies, and clashed with the Teen Titans. Or it could be Baby Wildebeest, a baby genetically created by the Wildebeest Society who could occasionally grow to adult sizes and was a member of the Teen Titans. Either way, put this guy on your Titans shelf and you’ve got a big, bad-ass centerpiece to display.
I would much rather see Nekron than Shaggy Man.
Sorry voted for King Shark!
I think I voted for Blockbuster on my computer at home. I’d be happy with any of these guys as figures, but Shaggy Man and Blockbuster are so close in my personal estimation, I’m not really sure which one I chose the day I voted.
Gotta say, with the lack of Flash villains so far, I had to go for Girder!
like Matt, I also think they’re all pretty good choices. I have a big Batman book that has the original Blockbuster story in it, so he’d be my second choice. but I’d want Shaggy a little more, just because he’s another guy like Solomon Grundy who can take on the whole JLA.