While there has been no official announcement from Mattel, BigBadToyStore has put up pre-orders for the 3rd series of the DC Unlimited line. No big surprises here – we’re going to be getting more of the New 52 designs with Aquaman and Darkseid and more from the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game with Superman and the Joker. From New 52 we’ve already seen Batman and Superman and are waiting on Flash, Wonder Woman, and Hawkman to hit shelves. And from Injustice we’re waiting on Batman from the Batman Unlimited line.
I find the marketing of Mattel’s retail offerings a bit puzzling. I’d think they’d get more pop by putting out an Injustice line separate from their comic offerings. If the game is a hit and spawns a franchise, then they can milk the line the way DC Collectibles has with Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. And if not, at least they’d be able to piggyback on the marketing for the game when it hits next year.
The focus on New 52 is expected but still disappointing to me, in that I’d like it better if Mattel and DC Collectibles could find a way to release complementary products instead of rehashing the same characters and costumes again and again. And sadly for Mattel, DCC has been able to release more New 52 characters sooner (see also Blackest Night and Arkham Asylum / City), rendering the quarterly release schedule of a couple figures here and there somewhat limp.