At New York's annual Toy Fair a few weeks ago, Mattel announced that after eight years, the Justice League Unlimited toy line was ending. THANK GOD! I felt like I was finally being unchained from an enormous rock! As much as I loved the cartoon and enjoyed having toy versions of the HUGE cast, including a number of characters that have never been made as action figures before (or since), it was also one of the most frustrating lines I've ever gotten myself mixed up with.
For starters, the first wave only included Superman, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern. At least Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were
scheduled for release in the second wave, but poor Hawkgirl wasn't set to be included AT ALL! Mattel, there are only SEVEN characters and you can't bother to include them all?! After fan outcry, Hawkgirl was added to the line's fourth wave, after most of the male characters had been re-issued two or three times!
The first figures featured very limited movement, with only shoulder, hip and neck joints. (The girls, because of their long locks, didn't even have neck joints.)
Later on, Mattel added knee joints, twisting waists and even resculpted a couple of them like The Flash, to make the figure sturdy enough for snap on accessories. (I prefer the original skinny Flash, as it more closely resembles the way he actually appears on the show.
Wonder Woman, while not given knee joints, did receive a twisting waist and her face was tweaked, making it rounder and given a more pronounced smile (see right). (The first one, to the left, appears more stoic.)
The same figures were repainted in various color schemes and given a plethora of different accessories and re-released over and over.
Guest stars Aquaman and Dr. Fate were also added to the line as well as villains Darkseid, The Ultra-Humanite and Lex Luthor.
When the show was rebranded as Justice League Unlimited, the team's roster was expanded to include dozens of additional character. The toy line followed suit and began issuing figures of many of these characters.
But in an infuriating move, in order to GET these new unique characters, you had to buy them in three-packs with re-releases of existing figures. I collected all the duplicate Supermen, Batmen, GLs, etc and handed them out at Halloween. It was especially annoying when you only got ONE new figure and two old ones! GAH!!! Occasionally, you'd get a pack with two new characters and only one old one, which was okay. RARELY, you'd get a three pack with THREE new characters. It happened, but not very often.
A common cost-cutting
measure used by toy companies is the use of "bucks." Basically, they only make a few unique bodies and just paint them differently to turn them into various characters. Black Canary's body was reused as Zatanna's, since they both wear jackets. The hand-on-the hip thing makes sense, because when you raise that hand up, it cups the side of BC's mouth, to indicate she is using her "Canary Cry" power. I GUESS it works for Zatanna, the magician, who speaks mystical incantations... that's what I'm going with, anyway.
Occasionally, a character requires new sculpting, which costs more money, but companies do it to faithfully recreate the character. Usually if this was the case, as with Vigilante and Steel, they were issued individually as single-carded figures. This was fine. I certainly don't mind buying them individually. In fact, I PREFER it! But oddly, Mattel would also ship re-issues as single-carded figures, so case assortments included some all-new figures and some repeats! Which of course, NO ONE bought! So these reissues would linger on pegs and stores wouldn't reorder the newer assortments because they still had old stagnant product hanging around not selling.
Don't get me wrong, at times, Mattel clearly had fans in mind. They DID issue a ridiculous number of characters and as I said, many had NEVER been made as action figures before in any line.
After the cartoon series ended, the toy line continued on as a Target exclusive and whereas in the past the line was aimed at both adult collectors and children, the focus was shifted to almost entirely to adults. Also, the line expanded to include characters that weren't on the show.
They switched from insane repaints like this Wonder Woman to ones that paid homage to DC's history, like this Batman painted in the color scheme in which he appeared for decades, from the late 60s until the mid 90s.
They also made toys based on
specific fan favorite episodes, for example "Wonder Pig" from the episode in which Wonder Woman was changed into... yep, a pig by the sorceress Circe.
But the repeats continued. Audaciously, they issued a three pack last fall with Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman... three characters that collectors had bought over twenty times each!
On the show, Hawkgirl had abandoned her code name and costume and fans clamored for a toy that reflected this change. A three pack with this updated Hawkgirl (or rather Shayera Hol, her real name) as well as never-before-produced The Ray was announced and appeared on the backs of the toy line's packaging. But it didn't arrive... and didn't arrive... and didn't arrive... until finally over a year later, Mattel announced they would release this set as a ComiCon exclusive, meaning that the majority of fans were SOL or would have to vastly over-pay to get the set off eBay. (That's what I did!)
Like I said, they issued a number of characters that hadn't appeared on the show, including the above Super Friends-inspired three pack (one of those rare, all-original three packs, I mentioned) and upcoming releases of Firestorm and Blue Beetle.
Following the runaway success of it's online only Masters of the Universe Classics line, Mattel attempted to create online only additions to most of its other lines, including JLU. Unfortunately, sales were sluggish. I blame character selection. The first set featured four Batman villains, Scarecrow (mostly sculpted from scratch), Harley Quinn, Clock King and Bane. Sadly, these were some drab figures. Scarecrow is mostly gray. Bane is in black and Clock King is just some dude in a suit. At least there was Harley Quinn. But for the most part, these four characters made only minor appearances on the show.
This set sold sluggishly. Following it were four of the Legion of Super Heroes, a Shazam set (with only one character, Captain Marvel, that actually appeared on the show) and the Doom Patrol, who never appeared on it. All of these sets sold out... eventually, but compared to the Masters of the Universe Classics toys which sell out in minutes, they were a disappointment and Mattel discontinued these online offerings. The final set were members of the Justice Guild of America, who appeared in a fan-favorite episode from Season One.
The unveiled final releases from Toy Fair include a number of big name characters that have, surprisingly not been made already, including massive world-conqueror Mongul, immortal mastermind Vandal Savage and a second "futuristic" set featuring the Justice League from the Batman Beyond time, Static, Aquagirl and Micron.
Mattel WILL offer one additional online exclusive, S.T.R.I.P.E., the step-father of the already released Stargirl. (Their defunct comic was entitled
Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.) S.T.R.I.P.E. is an entirely new sculpt, requiring this type of release.
Also announced but not unveiled was a final boxed set that will allegedly complete the on-air team lineup. If so, this set should include Gypsy (above, far right) the only member of the Detroit-era Justice League yet un-produced. The other characters who appeared onscreen but have yet to be made are Crimson Avenger (an easy one to make, using The Question's suit-wearing body), The Creeper, Dr. Mid-Nite, Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt and possibly Speedy, a
Teen Titans character who made an appearance in an episode which featured all of the characters that had, in the comics, been part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
There are a few other "gaps." The Shazam online set included the wizard Shazam, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel and Black Adam, omitting the third member of the Marvel Family, Captain Marvel Jr. Likewise, the Justice Guild set doesn't include Catman. The futuristic Justice League from
Batman Beyond still doesn't include Big Barda or Green Lantern. (The modern-day Big Barda is part of the line, however... but she uses the regular female body, so she isn't as BIG as she should be.) I doubt there's ANY chance of the rest of the Legion of Super Heroes popping up, but I could see a companion "finish up" set for the Legion of Doom. The last figures unveiled included Heatwave, Angle Man and (most notably) Killer Frost. There are still a handful that COULD be used, though.
I guess ultimately, this line felt like a chore to collect. The distribution was terrible. I STILL don't get Target's toy stocking strategy. All I know is no store gets every single wave of every single toy line. I think it has to do with what I said before about lingering stock. If there are unsold quantities on-hand, they don't send more, even if it's just one or two figures still unsold. I probably had to eBay like... I dunno at least 35% and probably more of this line. Plus with the damn ComiCon exclusives, I probably paid like $40 for those. But, for the most part, I NEEDED them all. I mean, yeah, there are characters I think that DESERVE a figure in this line, whereas SO many of the ones that HAVE been produced never even had speaking parts!
Buuuuuut yeah, this line has been a pain to collect, but I AM pleased that there will be an attempt to complete at least the Justice League. Seriously, not having Gypsy drove me crazy! I can only hope for the others I mentioned. (Seriously, Catman! Make that happen!) Hope this pans out!
Jesus, Chord Overstreet could not possibly be any more perfect! Every week, I'm like "How on earth does such a creature even exist?! What mystical DNA convergence created THAT?!" Just flawless!
Can you say, "Must own?!"
Here's a Wonder Woman movie concept I can get 100% behind! A documentary on the impact of Wonder Woman called The History of the Universe As Told By Wonder Woman with input from everyone from Gloria Steinham to the lady herself, Lynda Carter and of course her fans!
At New York's annual Toy Fair a few weeks ago, Mattel announced that after eight years, the Justice League Unlimited toy line was ending. THANK GOD! I felt like I was finally being unchained from an enormous rock! As much as I loved the cartoon and enjoyed having toy versions of the HUGE cast, including a number of characters that have never been made as action figures before (or since), it was also one of the most frustrating lines I've ever gotten myself mixed up with. 
For starters, the first wave only included Superman, Batman, Flash and Green Lantern. At least Martian Manhunter and Wonder Woman were scheduled for release in the second wave, but poor Hawkgirl wasn't set to be included AT ALL! Mattel, there are only SEVEN characters and you can't bother to include them all?! After fan outcry, Hawkgirl was added to the line's fourth wave, after most of the male characters had been re-issued two or three times!
When the show was rebranded as Justice League Unlimited, the team's roster was expanded to include dozens of additional character. The toy line followed suit and began issuing figures of many of these characters.
A common cost-cutting 
measure used by toy companies is the use of "bucks." Basically, they only make a few unique bodies and just paint them differently to turn them into various characters. Black Canary's body was reused as Zatanna's, since they both wear jackets. The hand-on-the hip thing makes sense, because when you raise that hand up, it cups the side of BC's mouth, to indicate she is using her "Canary Cry" power. I GUESS it works for Zatanna, the magician, who speaks mystical incantations... that's what I'm going with, anyway.
Occasionally, a character requires new sculpting, which costs more money, but companies do it to faithfully recreate the character. Usually if this was the case, as with Vigilante and Steel, they were issued individually as single-carded figures. This was fine. I certainly don't mind buying them individually. In fact, I PREFER it! But oddly, Mattel would also ship re-issues as single-carded figures, so case assortments included some all-new figures and some repeats! Which of course, NO ONE bought! So these reissues would linger on pegs and stores wouldn't reorder the newer assortments because they still had old stagnant product hanging around not selling.
Don't get me wrong, at times, Mattel clearly had fans in mind. They DID issue a ridiculous number of characters and as I said, many had NEVER been made as action figures before in any line.
After the cartoon series ended, the toy line continued on as a Target exclusive and whereas in the past the line was aimed at both adult collectors and children, the focus was shifted to almost entirely to adults. Also, the line expanded to include characters that weren't on the show.
specific fan favorite episodes, for example "Wonder Pig" from the episode in which Wonder Woman was changed into... yep, a pig by the sorceress Circe.
On the show, Hawkgirl had abandoned her code name and costume and fans clamored for a toy that reflected this change. A three pack with this updated Hawkgirl (or rather Shayera Hol, her real name) as well as never-before-produced The Ray was announced and appeared on the backs of the toy line's packaging. But it didn't arrive... and didn't arrive... and didn't arrive... until finally over a year later, Mattel announced they would release this set as a ComiCon exclusive, meaning that the majority of fans were SOL or would have to vastly over-pay to get the set off eBay. (That's what I did!)
Like I said, they issued a number of characters that hadn't appeared on the show, including the above Super Friends-inspired three pack (one of those rare, all-original three packs, I mentioned) and upcoming releases of Firestorm and Blue Beetle.
Following the runaway success of it's online only Masters of the Universe Classics line, Mattel attempted to create online only additions to most of its other lines, including JLU. Unfortunately, sales were sluggish. I blame character selection. The first set featured four Batman villains, Scarecrow (mostly sculpted from scratch), Harley Quinn, Clock King and Bane. Sadly, these were some drab figures. Scarecrow is mostly gray. Bane is in black and Clock King is just some dude in a suit. At least there was Harley Quinn. But for the most part, these four characters made only minor appearances on the show.
The unveiled final releases from Toy Fair include a number of big name characters that have, surprisingly not been made already, including massive world-conqueror Mongul, immortal mastermind Vandal Savage and a second "futuristic" set featuring the Justice League from the Batman Beyond time, Static, Aquagirl and Micron.
Mattel WILL offer one additional online exclusive, S.T.R.I.P.E., the step-father of the already released Stargirl. (Their defunct comic was entitled Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E.) S.T.R.I.P.E. is an entirely new sculpt, requiring this type of release.
Also announced but not unveiled was a final boxed set that will allegedly complete the on-air team lineup. If so, this set should include Gypsy (above, far right) the only member of the Detroit-era Justice League yet un-produced. The other characters who appeared onscreen but have yet to be made are Crimson Avenger (an easy one to make, using The Question's suit-wearing body), The Creeper, Dr. Mid-Nite, Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt and possibly Speedy, a Teen Titans character who made an appearance in an episode which featured all of the characters that had, in the comics, been part of the Seven Soldiers of Victory.
I guess ultimately, this line felt like a chore to collect. The distribution was terrible. I STILL don't get Target's toy stocking strategy. All I know is no store gets every single wave of every single toy line. I think it has to do with what I said before about lingering stock. If there are unsold quantities on-hand, they don't send more, even if it's just one or two figures still unsold. I probably had to eBay like... I dunno at least 35% and probably more of this line. Plus with the damn ComiCon exclusives, I probably paid like $40 for those. But, for the most part, I NEEDED them all. I mean, yeah, there are characters I think that DESERVE a figure in this line, whereas SO many of the ones that HAVE been produced never even had speaking parts!
Buuuuuut yeah, this line has been a pain to collect, but I AM pleased that there will be an attempt to complete at least the Justice League. Seriously, not having Gypsy drove me crazy! I can only hope for the others I mentioned. (Seriously, Catman! Make that happen!) Hope this pans out!
Word passed quickly through the comics world yesterday of the shocking and untimely death of Dwayne McDuffie due to surgical complications. McDuffie began his career in the 80s working for Marvel Comics, writing The Fantastic Four and relaunching the title Deathlok, to strong fan reaction. He also created the humorous title Damage Control, about the construction firm whose job it was to clean up after super hero/villain battles. He also proposed a series called Teenage Negro Ninja Thrashers, a spoof targeting Marvel's treatment of black characters. It would have starred two actual Marvel characters, Rocket Racer and Night Thrasher, both "black guys on skateboards," plus a new character Dark Wheelie, another "black guy on a skateboard" and their mysterious leader, also a "black guy on a skateboard." His notes include such elements as "Bizarre speech patterns, unrecognizable by any member of any culture on the planet," "a smart white friend to help them out of the trouble they get in" and "They're heroes that could be you (if you were black, I mean...)" Not surprisingly, Marvel passed, but the memo became legendary among professionals.
He did write two one-shot comics starring one of Marvel's more prominent African American characters, Captain Marvel, in which he made a point of ditching the character's insanely outdated afro. The hope was that maybe the character could support her own ongoing series, but unfortunately, apparently the sales weren't there. You KNOW I bought them, though!
In 1992, McDuffie co-founded Milestone Media, a subsidiary of DC Comics, dedicated to providing more ethnic diversity in comics. Milestone published many titles including Hardware, Icon and most notably Static. The line lasted until 1997, with teenage hero Static going on to star on a popular Saturday morning cartoon Static Shock, with McDuffie serving as the series story editor.
While the Milestone comics did not take place in the regular DC Comics continuity, Static Shock actually shared the same universe as the characters from DC's animated world and crossed over, first with Batman and later the Justice League and Batman Beyond. In 2003, Static Shock won a Humanitas Award for the episode "Jimmy," which dealt with gun violence.
McDuffie continued working in animation, writing for Teen Titans and What's New, Scooby Doo? before writing for Justice League and becoming story editor when the series was revamped as Justice League Unlimited. 
The first series, Justice League was a hit, but quality-wise, it had its ups and downs. Because the episodes were an hour long instead of the typical 30 minutes, it seemed to take the creators a while to figure out how to pace the stories. But once they worked that out, it got better and better. Then, when the series was relaunched as Justice League Unlimited, the episodes were reduced to 30 minutes, resulting in a leaner, tighter, more action packed series. Anyone with a brain will tell you that Justice League Unlimited is the absolute finest comic book-based cartoon series EVER! McDuffie introduced the idea of season-long background stories that would come together at the end of the season, resulting in a huge climax. They were THRILLING!
In addition to utilizing John Stewart, the black Green Lantern, over the more famous Hal Jordan and the current-in-the-comics Kyle Rayner, JLU also included other heroes of color, most notably Vixen, which likely led to Vixen being repositioned as a more visible character in the comics.
McDuffie continued working in animation, as a writer and story-editor of Ben 10: Alien Force, going on to serve as producer of the revamp Ben 10: Ultimate Alien. He also scripted the DC direct-to-home-video Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, which featured the first animated appearance of the new Firestorm, whose book McDuffie had written. 
Ironically, McDuffie's death came one day before the release of All Star Superman, which he'd also scripted (based on the comic written by Grant Morrison).
Check it out! Good stuff!
For REAL?! I had no idea she had such a devoted fan base! 
