2012 is going to be a bumper year for MotUC. That's because Mattel is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the line. Hooray.
Mattel has already announced the figures for the first half of the year:
January: Sorceress, Fearless Photog
February: Fisto, Star Sisters (Starla, Tallstar, Jewelstar)
March: Kobra Khan, Draego Man, Shadow Weaver
April: Stinkor, Griffin (Beast), Snake Mountain Stands
May: Slushhead, Spector
June: Horde Prime, Snake Man-at-Arms
Conventions: Temple of Darkness Sorceress
Whew, that's a good line up. So what do I want to see for the second half of the year? In no particular order:
1. At least three Princess of Power characters, with at least 2 from this list: Frosta, Glimmer, Angella, Madame Razz, Broom, Kowl, Light Hope. We seriously need the core members of the Great Rebellion and these seems to be the figures most in demand. I'd like Peekablue and Castaspella and Sea Hawk as well, but those are really optional when compared with the core list.
2. One more Galactic Guardian from NA and either a NA He-Man or NA Skeletor. We've been promised an all inclusive line and so far we only have two New Adventure characters out of a possible 30 (realistically) or so? They really need to step up and give us more NA characters to balance things out.
3. More nods to the MYP design book. Again, this has been hailed as the all inclusive line, yet we never got extra heads for Sy-Klone or Clawful or Buzz-Off. OK, Fisto can be displayed both ways, and that's good.
4. No more cheapening out on the Quarterly Variants. Snake Man-At-Arms seems a lot cheaper and not is not really a must have for the fans. When the line started, we were promised that there would be no variants that would not make sense. Well, this version of Man-At-Arms doesn't really make any sense since he was never shown in that guise in any of the media up to this point. Yes, I know the mini-comic will show him as such, but an entire reissue when all he needs is a new head? Really?
5. A brand new Snakemen from the 30th anniversary line. There is a shortage of figures for that faction and it would be great to get another one to swell up the ranks. Sure, there's King Hiss' slave girl, but she's not being made any time soon. And of course, Vipra is still off the table.
6. Mantenna... or Dragstor... or another vintage Horde member. They've been parading one Horde figure in the second half of the year for a few years in a row. We do need Mantenna to complete the original four Horde figures, but I wouldn't mind if they hold him back for 2013. Dragstor (with a spinning wheel please) would be a superb figure in his place, but I guess Mosquitor would also be good.
7. No more mini-comic characters. Enough already with the minicomic characters - we've had ToD Sorceress this year and that should really be it. I know there are huge fans of Geldor and such, but really Mattel should just make a minicomic character a year.
8. More stand alone accessories. OK, we are getting the Snake Mountain stands, but will we get another Weapons Pak this year? It would be great if that was on offer. We'd also like a heads pack as well, but I doubt we'll get those this year.
9. Geoff John's figure not to have anything to do with DC comics. He needs to wow us, so hopefully he'll be able to dig deep within the mythos and produce a character to wow us, just like what the Four Horsemen has done with Draego-Man.
10. DVD releases of the entire MotU, PoP and NA library as a collector's set. This would truely tie-in the entire mythos into one universe. And while they are doing that, how about a trade paperback of the vintage MotU, PoP and NA minicomics. This should be a no brainer as well. Mattel should have all the rights to these, and there are some rather big names on some of these.
11. No more QA/QC issues. I don't want to read about reversed shoulders or limbs, or exploding body parts next year. We are paying at least $20 for a toy. Please make sure that it meets the quality expected of it.
12. A fully functional online sale site that does not give the users any grief. How hard is it to do that when the online Mattel shop does that wonderfully?
And I guess that's it. Phew, that's not a short list either.
Mattel has already announced the figures for the first half of the year:
January: Sorceress, Fearless Photog
February: Fisto, Star Sisters (Starla, Tallstar, Jewelstar)
March: Kobra Khan, Draego Man, Shadow Weaver
April: Stinkor, Griffin (Beast), Snake Mountain Stands
May: Slushhead, Spector
June: Horde Prime, Snake Man-at-Arms
Conventions: Temple of Darkness Sorceress
Whew, that's a good line up. So what do I want to see for the second half of the year? In no particular order:
1. At least three Princess of Power characters, with at least 2 from this list: Frosta, Glimmer, Angella, Madame Razz, Broom, Kowl, Light Hope. We seriously need the core members of the Great Rebellion and these seems to be the figures most in demand. I'd like Peekablue and Castaspella and Sea Hawk as well, but those are really optional when compared with the core list.
2. One more Galactic Guardian from NA and either a NA He-Man or NA Skeletor. We've been promised an all inclusive line and so far we only have two New Adventure characters out of a possible 30 (realistically) or so? They really need to step up and give us more NA characters to balance things out.
3. More nods to the MYP design book. Again, this has been hailed as the all inclusive line, yet we never got extra heads for Sy-Klone or Clawful or Buzz-Off. OK, Fisto can be displayed both ways, and that's good.
4. No more cheapening out on the Quarterly Variants. Snake Man-At-Arms seems a lot cheaper and not is not really a must have for the fans. When the line started, we were promised that there would be no variants that would not make sense. Well, this version of Man-At-Arms doesn't really make any sense since he was never shown in that guise in any of the media up to this point. Yes, I know the mini-comic will show him as such, but an entire reissue when all he needs is a new head? Really?
5. A brand new Snakemen from the 30th anniversary line. There is a shortage of figures for that faction and it would be great to get another one to swell up the ranks. Sure, there's King Hiss' slave girl, but she's not being made any time soon. And of course, Vipra is still off the table.
6. Mantenna... or Dragstor... or another vintage Horde member. They've been parading one Horde figure in the second half of the year for a few years in a row. We do need Mantenna to complete the original four Horde figures, but I wouldn't mind if they hold him back for 2013. Dragstor (with a spinning wheel please) would be a superb figure in his place, but I guess Mosquitor would also be good.
7. No more mini-comic characters. Enough already with the minicomic characters - we've had ToD Sorceress this year and that should really be it. I know there are huge fans of Geldor and such, but really Mattel should just make a minicomic character a year.
8. More stand alone accessories. OK, we are getting the Snake Mountain stands, but will we get another Weapons Pak this year? It would be great if that was on offer. We'd also like a heads pack as well, but I doubt we'll get those this year.
9. Geoff John's figure not to have anything to do with DC comics. He needs to wow us, so hopefully he'll be able to dig deep within the mythos and produce a character to wow us, just like what the Four Horsemen has done with Draego-Man.
10. DVD releases of the entire MotU, PoP and NA library as a collector's set. This would truely tie-in the entire mythos into one universe. And while they are doing that, how about a trade paperback of the vintage MotU, PoP and NA minicomics. This should be a no brainer as well. Mattel should have all the rights to these, and there are some rather big names on some of these.
11. No more QA/QC issues. I don't want to read about reversed shoulders or limbs, or exploding body parts next year. We are paying at least $20 for a toy. Please make sure that it meets the quality expected of it.
12. A fully functional online sale site that does not give the users any grief. How hard is it to do that when the online Mattel shop does that wonderfully?
And I guess that's it. Phew, that's not a short list either.
1: Most definitely... Bow is incomplete without Kowl, also Glimmer is as core Rebellion as you can get and she's still MIA! We need more CORE Rebels ASAP!
ReplyDelete2:Why not a "Large Scale Beast" slot with BOTH NA He-Man and Skeletor? Boosts the ranks of both NA factions AND keeps two variant slots open for some variant figures...
3: We need More Fistos and less Clawfuls (The amount of Customization on Fisto is AMAZING! If I like Vintage I have my Fisto, If I like 200X I have My Fisto AND I can mix and match if I want a Hybrid Fisto!)
4: If the head is the only thing different on a variant, then make it like Demo-Man and toss in the head on a related Character. (Though the rumors of SMAA now having Techno parts that I can use to Kitbash a 200X MaA makes him a bit more appealing)
5:More Snakemen would be cool, but I don't think we'll see a Snakeman in here...
6:Yes, Yes, and YES!
7: The only Mini-Comic Character I want is Josh from the PoP Mini Comics... (since he was kind of Glimmer's date on the mini comic he appeared) aside from him, I could live with no mini comics chracters until 2013... (yes that includes Oo-Larr the Jungle He-Man!)
8:I thought that WP#3 Was coming in fall 2012 (Hoping for Vac Metal Sword of Power and sword of Protection... I hate Vac Metal on armors, but not on weapons)
9:I'd prefer NO Geoff Johns ANYTHING in MOTUC... (his spot should've been given to someone who actually HAS a history with MOTU...)
10: This is pretty obvious, but Mattel is very shortsighted. I blame the stinginess of the suits and the lack of vision of the Brand Manager. (Nothing Personal against Neitlich)
11: Most definitely, I'm gonna be paying $22 +S&H on these guys (roughly $35 per figure) so, less whining about Draego Man causing Mattel to lose their shirts and more money into fixing stuff that should've been avoided a LONG TIME AGO!!
12: Agreed!
Heh, Thrawn strikes again! I'm still waiting for a Geoff Johns fan to tell me off or something.
ReplyDeleteAm a newbie more or less with the Matty Masters stuff only owning a few of the TRU released figures but i have been following the line over time watching what is being released and such. I have to agree on improvement of the online site is a must and i have no problems with the Mini-Comics figures as long as they are "peppered" through out the line because i think they add alot and what about movie based figures? I know some folks groan about this but if done right i think they could be very cool. Just my random thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGuys, please do remember that we already have at least 1 minicomic figure for the year... two if Snake MAA is considered minicomic. If we get any more it'd be at the expense of the other factions. They need to "pepper" it in, which they have already done. We don't need any more, IMO, for 2012.
ReplyDelete