[The Wire]

Mattel Q&A Round 3

View the full article

[BingoBrown]

Quote

TNI: Is there a list of DC characters that WB has given you that you CANNOT do as 6" figures, and if so can you tell us who those characters are?

Mattel: Aside from some characters that have legal issues surrounding them (Charleston characters for example), we do not have access to certain “adult” figures that are too violent for a toy aisle (such as Lobo).

Why is Lobo too violent to make into an action figure, but yet he was routinely featured on Superman:TAS and Justice League? Does that make sense? How is an action figure too violent anyway? Doesn't McFarlane make a bunch of creepy monster sculpts that they sell in the toy aisles at Toys 'R Us? How is Lobo worse than those figures?

[acethebathound]

I wonder if anyone ever did a DCU body count. My guess is Darkseid has killed/enslaved more than anyone - oh and he's been on toy aisles plenty of times!

Lobo like anyone on the planet would complain if a Lobo figure ended up on toy aisles.

[ToodlesMrJim]

I don't see why no Lobo.......... well this probably means I won't get a mattel version of the Endless ......

[SatanLovesYou]

Lobo is too violent for a toy but not a cartoon? That's rediculous.

I would consider McFarlane's ultra-realistic Military figures sold in every Toys R Us to be infinitely more violent than anything in the DCU. These are toys created to profit off of and promote war and real-life death and violence. Yet, these are perfectly acceptable in any toy isle.

But Lobo, a fictional character who represents nobody and has never contributed to any actual violence, is what we consider too violent? He's not even violent by comic book standards, falling behind Darkseid, Doomsday and many others. Wolverine single-handedly killed 500,000 people in Enemy of the State, and he's one of the most popular toys on the market.

This country has its priorities backward.

[Dark_Phoenix]

Could somebody tell me who the "Charleston characters" are?

[Cloud]

Sadly I think the "Charleston characters" are the ones who got popular within these years: Blue Beetle, The Question, and that's all I can think of right now.

[thanos0341]

Cloud, on Sep 20 2007, 05:51 PM, said:

Sadly I think the "Charleston characters" are the ones who got popular within these years: Blue Beetle, The Question, and that's all I can think of right now.

Captain Atom.

[El Kabong]

So, pardon my ignorance, but why no Charleston characters? I know the world of copyrights is complicated stuff, but no one has ever given me an answer to this question. And if there were issues with the use of these characters, why did the Question and Captain Atom show up in JL? Bruce Timm and Cartoon Network could use them so why not Mattel? Heck, I'd think the lead paint Mattel uses would be great for Captain Atom's containment suit.

[TomTom]

the charton characters can't be passed onto anyone besides DC. that's why we don't have a jlu blue beetle. as for lobo, mattel could do a collaboration with DCD. the horsemen would sculpt the figures and accessories, maybe a base, and DCD would distribute them. he's be like 7 bucks more, but atleast we'd have him.

[synch]

I think its just the fact that he looks like a devil dressed up as a biker wh y the chimps at mattel do not what him put out .... still kind of bs though all in all... most of DCs characters are violent these days ... Heck anything out of batman = a big no I guess we can never expect to see a joker on the pegs again

[Leatusiv]

I demand we get The Main Man!!!! He is one of the ones I was hoping for the most now!!!

[thanos0341]

Kinda funny how they can't make LOBO, but they can make Etrigan the 'DEMON"!

[Mr. Yac]

thanos0341, on Sep 21 2007, 04:48 PM, said:

Kinda funny how they can't make LOBO, but they can make Etrigan the 'DEMON"!

well Demon hero is better then mass murderer "hero". but i do agree it's kind of stupid to exclude him for that reason

[KEWOOSKI]

If he's not appropriate for mass market release, maybe we can get a Con exclusive Lobo somewhere down the line. He's just too cool of a character to not get a Mattel version.

[legendsofbatman]

KEWOOSKI, on Sep 21 2007, 04:45 PM, said:

If he's not appropriate for mass market release, maybe we can get a Con exclusive Lobo somewhere down the line. He's just too cool of a character to not get a Mattel version.

not THAT i am buying into the "too violent" line; but, you do propose an awesome suggestion; one that i wondered. Then again, I'm not a huge Lobo fan, but, I do think fans deserve the sculpt if they want. And, they shouldnt have to be forced into a worse than Mattel sculpt at a hugher rate, from DC Direct.

[CapnJeffro]

Just out of curiosity - if Lobo hadn't been mentioned by name as someone to never see a tiny plastic counterpart - would there be an uproar for the character? Or is it more the principle behind what they said? Honestly, I personally couldn't have cared about Lobo, but hearing violence makes me fear for other characters I do enjoy.