Shortly after Club Infinite Earth failed to meet the minimums to make another year of DC Universe Classics figures on Mattycollector, we Asked Matty if the Doomsday Unleashed figure could be considered as a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive for 2014. Basically, Mattel said no. But after New York Comic Con, we’ve got another angle – they won’t make the “unleashed” version, but they’re “far enough along” with the “bound” or jail-suit version to offer him up for SDCC next July.
During the NYCC Mattypalooza panel, when Toy Guru announced the plans for the jail-suit version of Doomsday, he noted that this particular version of Doomsday has never been made into a figure before. Maybe Mattel should have considered the reasons why. I’m betting that the vast majority of collectors would prefer the unleashed version, and that if Mattel proceeds with their current plan for the jail-suit version, it’s bound to be a disappointment for fans, and for their SDCC sales.
If collectors are going to have one Doomsday for their shelves, they’ll want the Doomsday that killed Superman, not the one that beat up Booster Gold. In the Death of Superman series, Doomsday spends a few issues in the suit, but it’s mostly build-up. He tangles with some local wildlife, beats up on the Justice League (and severely trashes Booster), but mostly he’s just jumping from place to place looking for Metropolis and Superman. While the intensity increases with each page turn, it does so as more and more of the jail suit gets shredded away – and it reaches its peak when Doomsday is fully unleashed.
We’re at the point in the line where you have to ask yourself, if you can only have one, which would it be? Apply it to any toy line and you’d get the same answer – it’d be He-Man over Prince Adam, Hulk over Bruce Banner. And it should be unleashed Doomsday over jail-suit Doomsday.
As much as I love the work that the Four Horsemen and Mattel have done with six-inch DC figures, starting back with DC Super Heroes, they’ve had a few miss-steps. And for the most part, they’ve looked for opportunities to fix mistakes. For example, some hard-to-find figures were re-released in 2-packs, like Supergirl. Similarly a paint issue with Harley Quinn was corrected via 2-packs. A glaring size issue with two versions of a shrimpy Sinestro were eventually fixed via re-releases.
(Photo Credit: Action Toy Review)
The original Doomsday in DC Super Heroes (who never had to be distinguished as “unleashed” because it’s the way most everyone wants him) was another big mistake with size. He was barely as big as Superman because of a production issue when shrinking down the two-up sculpt of from the Horsemen.
With their run of six-inchers coming to a close, it would be a colossal shame if they didn’t fix their Doomsday mistake for the fans. When the Justice League Unlimited line was coming to a close, Mattel pulled out all the stops to bring out the remaining characters that had been on the show. I can’t believe they’d close out Classics with such a half-hearted effort on Doomsday.
To top it all off, you, me, and everyone else knows it in our guts that an unleashed version of Doomsday would sell a hell of a lot more units than the jail-suit version. Because Mattel won’t release any numbers, it’s hard for us to build a case for it, but I’m convinced that Mattel could justify it financially if they tried. And because I think that most people believe there’s a business case for unleashed, I think a common reaction to the jail-suit news is that it’s like Mattel punishing the collectors for not supporting the Club Infinite Earths sub.
The worst part of this is that there’s still time to fix this, but I doubt Mattel will. Mattel says they plan a year in advance, but when you think about it, it seems like they can get a figure manufactured in about six months. They sold the Club Infinite Earths sub in July, with the first figure to ship in January. If you are wondering why they’re actually producing the revealed figures (Aquaman, Ice, Superboy, and Damian Wayne Robin) as quarterly figures, it’s because they had started production on at least some of them even in advance of the subscription pre-order failing.
But with Doomsday pushing out from February / March to July, that’s another four to five months of production time for the figure. There’s still time.
I don’t know if Mattel would ever consider it, but if you want Doomsday unleashed, it’s pretty much now or never. I’ve said my piece – make your voice heard for unleashed Doomsday. Leave a comment below.
Someone suggested the lighter blue Superman vs. Doomsday 2 pack and I’d be all over that. Hopefully Mattel makes it happen.
if DD Bound does happen, they better make him able to put his arm behind his back as pictured. The only bonus is there are still a couple larger figures he could be used as a custom base for, provided that extra “bindings” kibble comes off easily. (koffMAMMOTHkoff.) which it should, that is the Kilowog base, right?
and is Unleashed missing his right knee spike? or did it fall off the proto?
As much as I hate to say it, im done with Mattel DC. After the 2 year roller coaster ride I feel like Ive been on with them from store hunting, speciality store hunting, and online hunting, im exhausted and just over it. Not to mention all the online posts from Mattel letting us know that it is our fault that we didn’t buy there products.
Im ready to see what DC Collectibles is going to do. They have some awesome looking releases coming out over the next 6 months with a lot more articulation and original sculpts.
“Bound”? That headline is pun-tastic!
Dear Mattel: Give us a Dark Knight Returns Superman based on the Batman: Unlimited DKR Batman buck for SDCC– and I’ll let your CEO’s family go!
I want both.
Do you REALLY think that Mattel doesn’t know people want the unleashed version or know what they are doing? You really think that Mattel has time, or cares, to punish anyone, let alone fans/customers? They are not an evil genius living on a volcano island plotting ways to kill james bond which is what it sounds like you think Mattel is lol.
There are MANY reasons to release the bound version and not the unleashed version yet.
I would almost guarantee we will get the unleashed version.
We will get it with:
– another shot at a sub of somekind, perhaps a 2015 batman/superman sub to go with the movie or else a superman/superman retail line with a BAF doomsday. They will use the unleashed version as the sub draw or line draw.
– a con exclusive for NYCC or some other con during 2015.
– a one off figure on Matty, perhaps a bonus figure/item at the end of 2014.
Either way I still believe there is NO WAY they will not be making an unleashed figure, especially since the bound one is being made. Now if they announced the unleashed version then I would say there was a very very slim chance to get the bound version.
Agree with this article 100%. It’s absurd to release this version, and not the version everyone would prefer.
This would be fine as a variant or a second version. But as the only correctly sized Doomsday? Absolutely not.
As you said, people want the Doomsday who fought an killed Superman. Not the one who had a fight with Booster Gold.
One more thing I would like to add. Collecting figures is my hobby, its what I do for fun. When people start talking about production numbers, availability, price points, and no day of sale, its a stressful turn off and it is no fun at all for me.
When stress starts to invade my hobby, I have to stop and take a look from 35,000 feet. Its always the same result, stress does not belong in my hobby world Period
I greatly prefer the suited Dooms Day.I have always thought DD looked like Xtra Xtra EXTRA LAME.all those spikes. Terrible design.
I have a Doomsday “unleashed” from Mattel. I have a Doomsday “unleashed” from DC Direct. I have a Doomsday “unleashed” from Kenner. How many damn unleashed figures could I possibly care about? I want the “leashed” version, and that’s the only version I want. Nothing’s going to beat the DC Direct version anyway, I don’t need yet another inferior version.
Why can Mattel offer both versions, bound and unleashed, of Doomsday to end the Club Infinite Earths with a grand finale?
I’m sick & tired of all these comic-con exclusives, they don’t need any incentive for ticket sales, plus when it’s con exclusives that limits the availability to the greedy bastards that stand in line to get con exclusives to turn a quick buck on eBay, & prevent true collectors by clogging up lines, or preventing us getting them by buying them all up, it’s bullshit! But hey, that’s the greedy American way right? I’ve been collecting action figures for 36 yrs, when I was a kid, u actually had 2 go to a store, check the shelves, & pray they had what you were looking for, if they didn’t, tough shit, now with the Internet, it’s so much easier, I don’t see why Mattel/hasbro, just don’t revert back to retail, or online, without having to buy a figure subscription & pay for figures you don’t want, or need, sick of all of the bs!
Where’s the “Both were made too big, over compensating for the previous one, increasing the production costs, and so we’re still not getting a good, accurate one, either way” option?
And I don’t see why selling both versions on mattycollector.com isn’t an option, all of their good action figures sell out within mins, hrs, or days, usually not days, they are gone pretty quick. I am very much intrested in both versions, but not if con-exclusives. Then you will see the price double instantly!
The unleashed version from the Brimstone body is a great sculpt, and the leashed version is also cool. But I won’t be buying either of them unless they scale to halfway between the size of Brimstone and the DCSH Doomsday. Then I would pay $25 plus shipping for each one.
Until that happens, I’ll be perfectly happy with my slightly undersized DCSH version.
The DC Superheroes version is just fine. Go back and re-read Death of Superman. The DCSH version is more scale accurate than the version they refuse to release. Doomsday was not Hulk sized, He wasn’t THAT much taller than Superman. Taller, yes. But the one we’ll never see is way too tall. Buy the DCSH version on ebay or amazon and don’t touch the SDCC version as a way to express your displeasure with matty.
Sinestro Amen!
Fun seems to have been thrown the heck outta the window in the past few years!