Mattel’s WWE team always puts on a great show at Comic-Con. I was able to attend the standing room only Mattel and WWE: NXT Superstar of Tomorrow panel with William Regal, Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Charlotte, and Finn Bàlor. After the panel I stopped by the Mattel booth to check out the figures. Being a fan of classic superstars of Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and the Ultimate Warrior, it’s tough for an old guy like me to keep track of the younger talent, but I did recognize some of the new figures on their way.
Category: Events
San Diego Comic-Con, Toy Fair, and other regional event coverage
SDCC 2015: DC Comics – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Costumes
The DC Comics booth at SDCC is dominated by a gallery of their live action costumes. I took some pictures of the Batman v Superman costumes. Previously, we had seen lots of the “regular” Batman suit with Superman and Wonder Woman. This was the first time seeing the armored Batman from his confrontation with Supes.
So far, all the BvS collectibles we’ve come across are based on these four suits – no Aquaman or any of the other characters rumored for the Dawn of Justice movie. Warner Bros. has been keeping a very tight lid on how information is being disseminated for the movie.
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SDCC 2015: DC Collectibles – Artist Series, Arkham Knight, Icons, and Batman: The Animated Series
The competition for collectors has ramped back up between DC Collectibles and Mattel. For the past couple of years, one degree of competition had been eased up, with Mattel abandoning 6-inch scale by sunsetting DC Universe Classics. But with Mattel’s move back to 6-inch, more overlap will occur. We’ll keep that in mind as we go through the DC Collectibles offerings from SDCC.
SDCC 2015: Mattel Returns to 6-Inch Scale with DC Comics Multiverse and Batman v Superman
Mattel is putting 4-inch scaled DC figures on hiatus in 2016, and 6-inch scale is back in. And I’m wondering if there was some press release I missed, or if this change just happened and they didn’t really announce it. (Mattel has got the traditional Mattypalooza panel, but no DC panel at SDCC this year.) Both scenarios are possible – I am not actively seeking news. But if I tell myself there’s no way I would have missed a change this dramatic (as far as drama goes in toys), then it stands to reason that Mattel doesn’t want to acknowledge any questionable decisions they’ve made handling their DC license in recent years.
You could even say that they’re still putting some distance between what they’re doing now and what they did so well under the DC Universe Classics brand. For one, even though the Four Horsemen are back on DC, it’s not the same one to one relationship; Mattel is utilizing other design shops. If I had to guess, from the look of it, it’s Gentle Giant expanding beyond their work on WWE.
Second, they’re sticking with the DC Comics Multiverse brand name. And third, the line is rooted in modern, not classic character looks.
SDCC 2015: Hasbro Unveils Marvel Legends Absorbing Man Wave
Will be first Spider-Man Legends wave for 2016
Hasbro held a brand preview event this morning before Con opened, and the Marvel team used the opportunity to unveil a new wave of Marvel Legends featuring Absorbing Man as the Build-a-Figure. The Spider-Man themed wave will include Speed Demon, an updated Ben Reilly Spider-Man, Morbius, the new Beetle, Jack O’Lantern, Venom, and Spider-Gwen.
If you follow our Instagram account, we posted pics from our cameras from the event. Hasbro also put the new reveals in their booth on the Con floor. We took a bunch of higher resolution pics in both locations with our regular cameras, and we’ve combined them here.
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