DC Direct vs Mattel

[Scott]

With two companies now putting out virtually the same product, I was curious to see which line people were planning on collecting. Will you continue to buy DC Direct figures or wait for Mattel to put out the figures you want? Or will you buy both?

[Mr. Yac]

i love DCD, they put out a lot more figures then i see mattel doing, plus they're gonna be the place to go for figures based on specific storys (like the awesome Sinestro Corps stuff coming) so i see a viable place for both lines in my collection

[Degato]

I'll continue getting toys from DCD for the obscure characters. But, I really like my toys to have more articulation than DCD offers so, I will collect the Mattel line as well.

[JayCueBatman]

Same here there is room on my shelves for both...currently i have them mixed together as it is

[Cloud]

I'll be getting both. DCD provides mostly artist specific figures and Mattel gives us a more standard style.

I like both and will support both companies as long as they are good figures.

[Tarman13]

With two companies now putting out virtually the same product, I was curious to see which line people were planning on collecting. Will you continue to buy DC Direct figures or wait for Mattel to put out the figures you want? Or will you buy both?

 

Well to put it mildly, Mattel is doing a LOT of cool characters like Darkseid, Doomsday Brainiac and Parasite not to mention NEW characters for NEXT year like Firestorm, Gorilla Grodd, Aquaman, Red Tornado & Penquin also DC Direct makes GREAT figures for many years, trouple is they all have a HEFTY price tag at $16.99 and up and the only place you can find these figures at retail are SPENCERS, SUNCOAST and specialality COMIC BOOK STORES... while Mattel has them at a VERY affordable price range at $9.99. which leaves me less desire to buy them at all for DC DIRECT and get them all from MATTEL

 

Of course there's always EBAY...

 

That's my 2 cents...

[muppethost]

Notice that the toys that Mattel are making (for the most part) are ones that DC Direct has already made? The Superman Blue/Red is the only one that's been announced so far that hasn't been made by DCD. I'm guessing that DC Direct will continue to make great toys and will make some characters that Mattel will not. Also, DC Direct is making figures based on certain artists' work (Tim Sale, Ed McGuinness, Michael Turner, Brian Bolland, George Perez, etc.). I will definitely continue to buy both, and sometimes one may look better with my collection over another. I'll mix both and decide which one I want to display. I still have some characters from other lines that are currently on display (for example, I have the Man-Bat from Legends of the Batman on display, because I like the looks of him over the other versions of Man-Bat that have come out...one of the reasons I like it is the detail of his work badge that has a tiny picture of Kirk Langstrom on it. I 've always thought that was cool.

[ARROW]

I will not touch DCDirect product, and haven't for years simply because it didn't live up to my expectations for an action figure. Mattel DCSH and DC Universe line is doing what DCDirect cannot.

[Kvan]

I'll be sticking with Mattel. DCD Figures seem to brake on me too often. Not to say that mattel doesn't have their problems but DCD figures cost more and its just not worth it when they brake.

[thanos0341]

I will not touch DCDirect product, and haven't for years simply because it didn't live up to my expectations for an action figure. Mattel DCSH and DC Universe line is doing what DCDirect cannot.

 

 

You said it Arrow! Also, I really could care less for artist specific or story themed waves! The DCCU Aquaman the 4HM did is perfect cuz he's not based on anyone's artistic style! Same goes for the rest of their figures. The generic, vanilla style is what I want.

 

Muppethost,, you state: Notice that the toys that Mattel are making (for the most part) are ones that DC Direct has already made? The Superman Blue/Red is the only one that's been announced so far that hasn't been made by DCD. I'm guessing that DC Direct will continue to make great toys and will make some characters that Mattel will not.

 

Mattel just got a 5 yr deal to do the entire DCU, how the heck do you "guess" Mattel will not make characters that DCD will!

 

What? Tons more Superbats? I really hope not. That's the one thing I hope Mattel & the 4HM stay away from, the over saturation of Superbats in every freaking wave like DCD does!

 

Also, the characters Mattel/4HM have done that DCD has already made, blow the DCD versions out of the water in terms of sculpt, articulation, comic costume accuracy & SCALE!

 

Last, but not certainly least, the price point. DCD $16 fig - Mattel fig $9.99

 

Also, I collect "action" figures & Mattel is giving us that with their awesome DCCU line. If collecting static, statues is your thing, DCD is for you!

[boff123]

well i will gladly stick with mattel, just their spotty as hell distribution sucks. dcd has been in business awhile now and they still haven't made definitive versions of their characters. here are a few examples:

 

mattel darkseid vs the 2 dcd ones (there is another 1 coming out in the new gods line which looks good). come on, no freaking contest, 4hm darkseid blows those crappy molds right out of the water.

 

mattel azrael freaking awesome figure, dcd did not even make 1, they made the lame azrael-batman.

 

mattel cassie cain batgirl (fantastic feminine figure) vs the 1st appearance dcd version. again no contest. the dcd is ugly as sin, giant head, weird cape pose, and giant feet. the 4hm version is sleek and feminine.

 

don't forgot, everyone complains about the endless superman & batman figs from mattel but guess what, dcd does the same thing! 90% of every wave of figures has either one of them in it.

 

if mattel can has some decent distribution and better character selection (which it looks like it does), the dc classics will sell very well.

[the dc direct fan]

I made space for future MAttel figures on my room. I'll continue to purchase both but I've slowed down on DC Direct due to the price. Mattel is more affordable and poseable (superman goes nicely with a marvel legends flight stand!)

 

Despite Mattel only having superman and batman chracters at first, they really impressed me. I was able to just about complete the whole Superman/Batman families and their villains all in one scale and style. It's nice to display a big group like that and not worry about who has a head so big that they look out of place. At the same time, some DC Direct goes into that display just as nicely. My infinite Crisis Power Girl is with my Mattel Superman display and my Turner Darkseid is truly the giant he needs to be.

 

DC Direct is still getting my money with their 13" line (which is very impressive) and certain waves. I'm a sucker for their JLA figures by Ed Benes and they have a display of their own. DC Direct also gives me more baddies to add to my mattel display so in the end, both lines help create one ultimate collection.

[asurmac]

I prefer the Mattel line for articulation and such, and I really like the 4H sculpts, but I also really enjoy some of the artis specific DCD stuff like the McGuinness line. I'll probably collect the Mattel line, while picking up a few DCD.

[thanos0341]

I prefer the Mattel line for articulation and such, and I really like the 4H sculpts, but I also really enjoy some of the artis specific DCD stuff like the McGuinness line. I'll probably collect the Mattel line, while picking up a few DCD.

 

 

It's funny that some people are complaining that Mattel/4HM have been using Supes body sculpt for a few of their other figures, yet the DCD McGuiness waves have used the same freaking body sculpt for every single male JL member in all 3 waves! Body builder Nightwing!

 

Sorry, artist specific lines do nothing for me. I pray Mattel/4HM stay far away from this.

 

Go to DCD for your artist/story themed line fix.

[lazrod]

With two companies now putting out virtually the same product, I was curious to see which line people were planning on collecting. Will you continue to buy DC Direct figures or wait for Mattel to put out the figures you want? Or will you buy both?

 

I am a big fan of DC characters and have been impressed (so far) with the sculpting and articulation of Mattel's line. DC Direct has great sculpts(usually) but is very weak on articulation. Given that Mattel is cheaper and their figures are as good (or better in some cases) I will lean towards Mattel, but will probably buy from both when they produce stuff I like.

[Rollo Tomassi]

I'll be getting both. I'm not a completist when it comes to DCDirect, but when they put out a figure I like, I'll get it. I suspect at the rate both companies are putting out figures, there will probably be certain figures that DCDirect will put out and we won't see from Mattel for awhile ( like the SInestro Corps figures mentioned above) so I will get those from DCD and if Mattel releases one later on, I'll get that too.

 

I wasn't going to be getting Mattel after their initial offerings (Batman, Robin, Joker, Nightwing, etc) but they've really stepped up recently and the stuff I saw in San Diego looks really exciting. So now it's a matter of hunting down the earlier figures like Azrael and Braniac that I missed out on.

[muppethost]

All I meant by my comment is that DC Direct has a history of making some pretty obscure characters like Psycho Pirate, The Crime Syndicate, Mordru, SuperNova, Jonah Hex, etc, that I doubt Mattel will be making in their 5 year contract.

I do recognize however that Mattel has made some characters in their JLU line that DC Direct have not made--Hawk & Dove, Aztek, Blue Devil, Nemesis, Stargirl, Sand, Atom Smasher, etc. Some of these are characters that DC Direct SHOULD have made...shame on them.

For me, the more characters the better. I love it when ANY company makes a character that has never been made as a figure before. That's why I will always support DC Direct...even if they are guilty of making too many Batmans and Supermans.

 

"Muppethost,, you state: Notice that the toys that Mattel are making (for the most part) are ones that DC Direct has already made? The Superman Blue/Red is the only one that's been announced so far that hasn't been made by DCD. I'm guessing that DC Direct will continue to make great toys and will make some characters that Mattel will not.

Mattel just got a 5 yr deal to do the entire DCU, how the heck do you "guess" Mattel will not make characters that DCD will!"

[janderson]

These days I side with Mattel WHEN I can find the stuff. DC Direct costs more and usually isn't in scale with Mattel. Mind you, we get exceptions. Reactivated Lobo matches well with DCSH and I doubt Mattel will make one. And DC Direct costs more.

 

I'd rather stick with DC Direct for stuff like the 13" line. I was rather pleased with the Two-Face they made and plan to get Power Girl.

[Snowman81]

DCD has better paint, but since they're only interested in making stylized versions of their characters these days I have to say Mattel all the way....100%

[Bigsexy944]

DCD is and always will be far superior to Mattel in every way, but Mattel can out out a decent figure from time to time, only problem is that I have to end up ordering it from ebay because those things are nowhere in sight and then using a dullcoat finish to make it look less cheap.

 

Sculpts are usually good on both ends (DCD and Mattel) I the odd instance, ie. Steel, the Mattel figure tops the DCD version. But this is usually not the case. You generally get what you pay for, DCDs are 6 bucks more but they are made of quality plastic and have good paint.

 

Both companies make figures that break.

 

I'll buy both but mainly stick to DCD.

[thanos0341]

DCD is and always will be far superior to Mattel in every way, but Mattel can out out a decent figure from time to time, only problem is that I have to end up ordering it from ebay because those things are nowhere in sight and then using a dullcoat finish to make it look less cheap.

 

Sculpts are usually good on both ends (DCD and Mattel) I the odd instance, ie. Steel, the Mattel figure tops the DCD version. But this is usually not the case. You generally get what you pay for, DCDs are 6 bucks more but they are made of quality plastic and have good paint.

 

Both companies make figures that break.

 

I'll buy both but mainly stick to DCD.

 

 

 

This is superior to

 

This!

 

This is superior?

 

to this!

 

Your freakin crazy! When it comes to correct 6'' scale, comic book accuracy, sculpt, POA, vanilla pose & capturing the basic generic look of the character, Mattel & the 4HM blow DCD out of the water!

[Mr. Yac]

Aquaman is debatable depending on how much you like the Mcguines style, but i personally feel the DCD Grodd is better, the BaF one has 0 personality in his face, he just looks like a monkey in headgear

[Snowman81]

Aquaman is debatable depending on how much you like the Mcguines style, but i personally feel the DCD Grodd is better, the BaF one has 0 personality in his face, he just looks like a monkey in headgear

I totally agree with you about the Mcguines Aquaman, if you dig the art and like stylized action figures you'll like the Batman/Superman figure so it's not fair to compare those two figures (personally I hate that style of action figure...but to each his own). The Grodd on the other hand has to go to Mattel (just my opinion, not knocking yours). The DCD one looks like a human in the old 1968 Planet of the Apes makeup.

[Skips]

Iam not into either of them anymore... ~

[PJ]

Well, My DCD has purchases have slowed down already, but not because of the Mattel news...But rather the $15 a figure price point on some very flawed figures. And for that much money I feel they should be less pre-posed and use better plastic. 99% have poor articulation especially on pre-posed figures which all the Batman figures released so far have been. DCD continues to use cheap plastic for the pins used to hold the figures articulation points. I've had to replace/fix knee or ankle pins on both Hush Batman, Hush Nightwing, HTH Hal & Ollie, MA Superman, Teen Titans Blackfire & GL series 1 Hal all within the last 8 months due to the knee or ankle pins snapping from the weight of the figures. And I just display my figures on shelves. And I've never had a Mattel figure break. That being said I'll buy Mattel's figures as they look great, but I'll still buy any Batman related, Green Lantern or Green Arrow figures DCD releases.