NYCC Armchair Coverage:
Weekend Round-Up


As I mentioned on Friday, you never quite know what to expect from NYCC. This year showed some real promise on Thursday evening. The cases seemed chock full of goodies! I eagerly awaited what Friday would bring…


Masters of the Universe

It brought Flogg… and that was about it. To be sure, Flogg is an eagerly anticipated MOTU/NA character, so it’s cool to see him – and to see how they handled him. He looks great thanks to some smart part reuse and thankfully because they didn’t skimp on the tooling where it was needed. With Extendar as the June figure, Flogg should be expected for July. He includes his classic accessory and, just in case you’re not that into Flogg, he also has the Filmation Power Sword. That’ll Hook ‘em.

In other NA news (how often do you get to say that?) the annoying fan poll to choose the next NA figure was held at the panel. One, it perturbs me that con attendees (regardless of subscribing or not pick this stuff) and two, well, my complete distaste for these contests is well documented here at IAT. Attendees were asked to choose between Mara, Darius, & Tuskador. It was really a sophie’s choice. Even though I really, really want a Darius, I think I would’ve had to pick Tuskador for sheer toyetic-ness. Either way, Mara won. In this thread at Mattycollector, Toy Guru revealed that only 54 people voted in the poll and that Mara beat Tuskador 26 to 25. So to that one guy out there that it all came to, thanks, buddy!! And to Mattel? Stick with polling the subscribers. There’s a lot more than 54 of us.

Mattel also had two MOTU teases . In the panel, a Terminator-like, battle damaged Faker head was shown. This was thought to tease a possible upcoming “head pack” (as was discussed at SDCC), but TG has since said that’s still not in development. Really, it could be anything – a chase figure or maybe just an extra accessory similar to the Alcala Skeletor or unmasked Zodak heads. Who knows.

Finally, as is the norm, a random accessory appeared in the booth on Sunday, a pink-hilted version of Battle Ground Teela’s sword. Speculation has ranged from it belonging to a Pink Teela Chase Figure to being an extra accessory for Angella (who could presumably headline a POP mini-subscription – which they kinda need to do at this point, POP is way off track).

Check out CoolToyReview for their corverage including this awesome walkthrough and this pic of a splayed out Modulok

DC Comics/Mattel

The panel also had DC news. As expected, Mattel will still attempt to capitalize on their Club Infinite Earths investment by releasing the already announced figures quarterly next year. No sub will be offered, so that’s 4 out of 12 months that Mattycollector has their hooks in this subscriber. The plan is Hook Aquaman/March, Ice/June, Superboy/Sept, & Damian Wayne in December. Containment Suit Doomsday will be offered at SDCC 2014. I’m excited for all of this, except that Superboy has an awful face sculpt and that Doomsday “Unleashed” is nowhere to be seen. The Containment Suit is a cool novelty, but at this point DCUC needs “Iconic” in terms of costume selection…

Meanwhile, Mattel is continuing to invest their time & energy into the Total Heroes line. It’s admittedly a cool line, but I still have no plans to bite. In addition to the retail offerings, Mattycollector will have four quarterly Total Heroes figures – and those Matty versions are a little awesome/frustrating! Showing that Mattel does “Get it” these guys will feature alternate heads or tons of accessories. Too bad that would never work for DC Classics, huh? Batman Beyond (w/ unmasked & old Heart Attack Bruce heads, plus mini-Micron figure), Black Manta (w/ removable helmet), & John Stewart (w/ constructs and two alternate Lantern heads) will be three of the four. Check out Toy Ark for Panel Pics & CoolToy Review for Booth Pics.

I’ve mostly stuck to MOTU/DC Coverage this week as I was rather busy this weekend (It was my third wedding anniversary – NYCC is important, but you gotta have priorities…). I do have a litany of links to other coverage that I will post without commentary below:

  • 3A ToyArk Gallery
  • 3A MWC Gallery
  • ARH Studios ToyArk Gallery
  • ARH Studios MWC Gallery
  • Bandai MWC Gallery
  • Bandai (Power Rangers) TNI Gallery
  • Captain Action MWC Gallery
  • Dark Horse ToyArk Gallery
  • DC Collectibles Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • DC Collectibles MWC Gallery
  • Diamond Select Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Diamond Select TNI Gallery
  • Enterbay Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Frombie MWC Gallery
  • Good Smile MWC Gallery
  • Graphitti Designs MWC Gallery
  • Hallmark TNI Gallery
  • Hasbro (Captain America) AFP Gallery
  • Hasbro (Spider-Man) AFP Gallery
  • Hasbro (Spider-Man) Parry Game Preserve
  • Hasbro Party AFP Gallery
  • Hasbro Transformers Parry Game Preserve
  • Kid Robot MWC Gallery
  • Kotobukiya Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Kre-O D&D ToyArk Gallery
  • Kre-O D&D Parry Game Preserve
  • Mattel MWC Gallery
  • Mattel (Day 2) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (DC Props) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (DC Retail) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (DC Retail) ToyArk Gallery
  • Mattel (DC) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (Ghostbusters) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (Monster High) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (MOTUC Preview) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (MOTUC) Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mattel (Panel) ToyArk Gallery
  • Mattel (WWE) TNI Gallery
  • Mega Bloks Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mega Bloks ToyArk Gallery
  • Mega Bloks MWC Gallery
  • Mezco Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Mezco ToyArk Gallery
  • Mezco MWC Gallery
  • Mezco AFP Gallery
  • Misc MWC Gallery
  • Moebius Models ToyArk Gallery
  • Play Imaginative ToyArk Gallery
  • Play Imaginative AFP Gallery
  • Pop Culture Shock ToyArk Gallery
  • Pop Culture Shock MWC Gallery
  • Square Enix Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Square Enix MWC Gallery
  • Star Wars Black ToyArk Gallery
  • Star Wars Black (Han Solo) AFP Gallery
  • Tamashii Nations Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • TMNT ToyArk Gallery
  • Topps MWC Gallery
  • Triforce Cool Toy Review Gallery
  • Triforce ToyArk Gallery
  • Yes Anime ToyArk Gallery
  • Yes Anime MWC Gallery
  • NoisyDvL5

    39 thoughts on “NYCC Armchair Coverage:
    Weekend Round-Up

    1. Priorities first: Happy Third Wedding Anniversary, Noisy! 🙂

      Nice “Hook ‘Em Flogg” pun, by the way. That poll idea of Matty’s was the worst yet. 54 voters? It should have been open to subscribers online given how much we’re paying for the extra benefits, supposedly.

      Looks like I’ll be facing the Day of Sales crowd come June since Ice is the only DC figure I want. I think I’ll preorder her through BBTS just in case there are further snafus come sale day. I noticed her face is off somewhat as compared to the earlier version, but seeing how messed up Fire’s head turned out, it should come as no surprise.

      Too bad about those Total Heroes. I would’ve bought the Black Manta if he looked compatible with DCUC, which he doesn’t. Easy pass there on all four from me.

      1. Thanks, Clutch!! 😀

        Ice will match Fire, at least, yes. I’ve been thinking about what I should do. My once-completism (all three Cheetahs, some silly variants like alien J’Onn J’Onzz or Phasing Deadman) has been pretty much obliterated. I never did snag Tux Joker and the Harley, Red Robin, or Vampire Batman. I don’t think it would be that hard to clean up and again “have them all”, but looking ahead do I need these four? I think it’s Superboy and his bad face sculpt that leave me wondering. Aquaman is a given, a holy grail figure for this line, Doomsday & Ice will be good to have and Damian too.

        And, yeah, Total Heroes – Vault treated me to an hour long rant about how much attention those figures were getting to “make them worth buying” and wondering where that had been all these years.

      2. Hi Clutch. Good idea about pre-ordering… I used to balk at pre-ordering ($34 / figure) until I subscribed and found myself paying $30 / fig anyway (granted including postage), but any savings is lost auto-receiving one figure I don’t really want in exchange for the lower price.

        PS. If stupid Matty had honored its subscriptions, you and I both would be paying for Konnor instead of cherry-picking Ice… smart move Mattel.

    2. Satisfied with the reveals, for the most part.

      Having said that, I hope never to see another sodding chase figure in MOTUC ever again. I still haven’t bagged a Spirit of Hordak, and it ain’t for want of trying or not stopping by Matty Collector frequently, let me tell you!

      Oh, and this:

    3. Superboy is the only one of the 4 I have any plans on trying for.

      Total Heroes Black Manta frustrates the shit out of me. He’s basically a Young Justice Black Manta, after Mattel refused to do a decent sized lineup or much new sculpting for the actual Young Justice line. I still wonder what could have been if YJ was released in waves of 4-6 figures, blister carded instead of boxed with dioramas, and featured new sculpted wherever needed (the YJ costumes had plenty of seams, panels, and raised elements). There would have been plenty of room for parts reuse, still, given how each YJ member had 2-3 versions of their costumes (stealth, arctic, etc.).

      I might have to go in for that Batman Beyond figure. My DCUC BB figure got packed away in storage when I moved last year (both of them, actually. I managed to snag the unmasked variant), and the show is a favorite of mine. Not sure about triple-dipping to be able to display it with all the heads, but I’d be tempted.

      1. I don’t know about Superboy. I just don’t like that head sculpt at all.

        Batman Beyond is the one tempting Vault. It’s kinda funny to watch.

    4. I’m pretty pumped about that containment suit Doomsday at SDCC. I think he’ll go great with my MOTUC figures … it does suck though that that is pretty much going to be the end. At least we will get that Damien, him and Doomsday were big wants for me when they were trying to sell the DC sub.

      I hate to say it, but Tuskador not winning is now completely my fault. I’m soooo sorry! I had me, my brother-in-law, and a friend leave as the Q&A started so we didn’t vote and that would have been three more Tuskadors. I’m sorry 🙁 I’m that guy.

      1. Funny story, but my wife & I didn’t get registered to vote when we moved earlier this year and a person we wanted to win a local race lost by one vote. Oops.

        But, yes, if we never get Tuskador, you can defintely know you had an impact. 😛 He’s like the opposite of my Battle Armor Faker. 🙂

    5. I’m excited that Mara won, BUT I agree that these polls should be for the “lifeblood of the line” and not congoers who may or may not be subscribers.
      Surprised that Mara and Huntara won the last 2 con-polls…

    6. Hmm, Huntara won last poll Female winner, Mara wins this one another female. Hey what was that about nobody wants female toys in a boy centric line.

      Getting the DC last batch to me is a good thing. Though Ice, Superboy, and Damian on my want list. Doomsday easy buy. I will predict right now. Next year we get the unleashed version as a SDCC exclusive.

      1. It is grown-up men voting at this point, right? 🙂

        I would be totally ok with Doomsday next year. Honestly, I want TG to find a way to do for DCUC what he did for JLU…

    7. Very happy that Matty is offering these DC figures. But I’m very worried about dealing with: their website, scalpers, and the very high chance of the product selling out. They really should allow some sort of advance sale to folks that signed up for the sub. And if they have to put a cap of one or two figures per person, then so be it. I’ll buy all four of the figures, but like you said: that Superboy face sculpt is awful. The 4H are the best, but they shat the bed on this one. maybe there is a chance it will get changed by then? Containment suit Doomsday is awesome, however. I hate that it’s a sdcc exclusive, though. Guess I better make friends with someone from San Diego. Any word if the Total Heroes heads can be swapped with dcuc? I’d love to throw together a Green Man GL.
      Oh, and even though I don’t collect MOTU, I think it’s completely moronic that 54 convention-goers get to pick the next character. Who decided that?

      1. Scalpers really aren’t an issue at Mattycollector. I know it’s talked about, but the immediate eBay prices just aren’t that big a deal anymore. Could be different for DC, but DC has never done really well there.

        I guess I will have EA to them as a MOTU subscriber. Everybody just needs a MOTU friend!

        And yes another vote that the congoer vote is lame! Soon they’ll be more of us saying that than voted in the poll.

    8. One vote? really? Why was the voting not open to subscribers online? The people who did vote might not even have the sub, so how can they have such a strong say? it is possible all the voters are sub holders, by why leave a big decision up to only 54 people? Sigh…

    9. J. Lee: I don’t. But I guess I’m in the minority (?)…or something? But I’d hardly call a 26 to 25 vote a telling statistic.

      And the characters that are losing (Lord Masque, Tuskador) would make killer toys.

      Speaking of which, these votes are stupid. Just make all the figures anyways….

      That Hasbro ML poll which AOA Sunfire won, all of the other figures shown should have been made already (Magneto, Silver Samurai, etc).

      1. That AOA Sunfire was a dog figure too. I think I got mine at Ross or TJ Maxx for $5.

        Yes, they need to stop with the polls. If they want to to subscriber’s choice – that’s one thing, but if these con polls have less turnout than a Wyoming school district vote, they can just stop.

    10. Did you guys hear that someone cut part of Glimmer’s skirt and then eventually stole the figure? WTF?

      Anyway, I’m glad Mara won. I do detest the convention vote though, no matter how many times TG says it’s a perk for attendees. I would think the perk for attendees is getting to be there, see the reveals and new sculpts. Really bothers me that sub-holders have no say.

      I certainly hope that sword is for pink Teela. She’s lower on my list of Teela wants, but I’ll take any Teela I can get. There are just too many vintage display options available to us in this line, and I only have one regular Teela. A straight reissue would still be welcome in my book, but in the meantime, pink Teela can join her pal BG Teela on the pre-Filmation/mini comics shelf.

      Very excited for containment suit Doomsday. Have a space all cleared out for him.

      1. GlimmerGate is the new fun NYCC story.

        Some folks at the panel noticed (& asked about) that the Glimmer on display had her skirt trimmed, but got no response. Afterwards, multiple folks saw TG pull her (she was now “damaged”) to some other non-display part of the case. Later on, it was claimed that she was vandalized (while locked inside the case) and later stolen.

        Now, maybe she was stolen from the lockbox area after TG pulled her, I don’t know (and there was some theft, a Horde Trooper & Gold Skull were taken from the CG display), but I would like to meet the master locksmith/customizer that broke into the case, perfectly trimmed the skirt and then locked up without the million people attending not noticing. Good on him.

      2. I think Angella being the source of the sword has taken over. I’ve seen some screen caps where she used a similar sword (it’s repaint no matter what). The rumor mill is a POP add-on sub to get the litany of those unreleased characters out to fans.

    11. Hi All,
      As I mentioned, in part one, I was at the con, booth, Mattypalooza, and even asked Toyguru some questions personally.

      The NA Vote:
      The panel ran very long, I wanna say we had 5 minutes to ask questions and that was interrupted by some confusion as to who had the generic ticket to hand out to attendees to vote for their NA choice. You also must be aware that panels bump up against one another, so many hustled out when the presentation finished and did not get a ticket. Also, many were unaware the ticket must be dropped off at the booth. I didn’t vote because I have no interest in NA figures, but be aware the attendees were very much MOTU fans, they mostly sat on their hands on the DC/Ghostbusters/Watchmen recapping. I was stunned when I read online that a winner was selected, I thought this was just a preliminary voting that would extend online later. 54 sounds about right given the circumstances and the size of the room, but you’re right Noisy, it should be handled differently.

      @Beedo Sookcool Spirit of Hordak will be available December 15th in early access. It was one of the last questions TG answered in rapid fire at like 11:59AM.

      @Noisy As I mentioned in the day 1 thread, the divide between Mattel retail and Mattycollector seems to be growing (see 4″ Keaton & Reeves) which makes the sharing of Total Heroes baffling. You’re seeing how the product would be handled on store shelves ($9.99, no accessories) vs. online ($20 for extra heads, hands, weapons). As I snapped photos of the Ultra offerings, I was left shaking my head wondering why this attention to detail wasn’t in the DCIE. I’ll probably pick up the Batman Beyond online and that’s it. I saw at least two dudes loving the containment suit Doomsday at the booth and I’m at least digging his price of $35.

      I’ll check this thread in a few hours, see if I can answer any Q’s

      1. Thanks for reinforcing that, Andy. I heard that in one of the links above as well, I think.

        Still doesn’t mean I’ll get one, though. };D I swear, it’s the way my life goes. Plain Old Hordak has been in “Evergreen” status for ages. I finally get an idea for some customs that would make use of four Hordaks, and according to MattyCollector, he is now sold out. Bloody typical. F.M.L.

        1. I’m still seeing Hordak listed as in stock?
          wait, no, just clicked on him: SOLD OUT.
          typical Matty not bothering to update his status. @_@

          Horde Troopers sold out in about 10min and Black Mask restock was gone by 20 after, with Mantenna “Almost Gone” where hes still holding just shy of an hour later. NOPE! just sold out!

          1. 14 hours later and Dactys is still holding at “almost gone” where he’s been since early evening, central time. No movement on Nepthu, either Weapons Pak, or Ocean Master at DC. Lead still seems to be in stock, too? now watch they clear him out with Tina+Tin for the Holiday at $20. >_>

      2. Thanks for the reporting, Andy! 🙂

        You bring up a great point – why not announce the poll in the room, take the votes, and then transition to online for more votes. That seems to get all the major points with no loss in gimmick.

        The setup makes it sound worse. MOTU folks do seem to crowd the rooms (if there were enough GB fans, we’d have Ecto-1) and DC is DOA, but they could at least have you vote as you exit – not wander back to somewhere else. No wonder they got 54! (At least it wasn’t 52…). I want to shake the hands of the three guys who voted Darius.

        Retail is no longer under Scott’s purview, so anything could happen there. I’m not going to buy Total Heroes. It could be a hit, I don’t know. DC is in a weird place – we went for nearly 15 years before we had a large overarching scale to collect DC figures in while Marvel chomped through the 5″ and 6″ lines. JLU was great for a while, but DCUC will be the DC line for quite some time. I’m no longer interested in the merry-go-round of designs like Hasbro used to do, so TH isn’t for me. I wish it will. And, yes, the “Ultra” figures are insane! It’s funny to see Hal and his one accessory compared to John Stewart. I don’t know, Firestorm, Dr. Fate, there’s a few I might end up with. I kinda hope they get Matty treatment and not retail though!

        I think some of that divide might be on collector’s end too. Thinking about toys at retail, I’m just hardly there any more. It’s all online these days.

        1. I don’t know if the average congoer would do that, but it’d be interesting. I’d be okay if they jacked up the price a bit like AH says and then ran Containment Suit as a 1 in 10 chase.

    12. I too would have liked to have a say in that vote. I guess Mara is a cool choice so NA isn’t such a sausage fest, especially if we get Crita. I hope Tuskadoor still gets produced, of the remaining Galactic Guardians he and Sagitar are the only two left that really need to be produced. Spinwit and Vizar are more generic and really don’t need to be made. I’m still holding out for an NA Skeletor. I’d love a Disks of Doom Skeletor as well!

      1. Mara is a cool choice. I did want all three. I’m not sure who from NA I really need at this point, I should look into it. Darius would’ve been my first choice though… 😛

    13. congrats on the anniversary, Noisy!
      (it’s mamacita’s cumpleanos, too! jejeje!)

      anyway….
      DC/Mattel’s Total Heroes is a more articulated extension of the animated Bat-line clogging pegs, just like the 5″ Justice League line could be an extension of the Brave & Bold line (same molds). yeah, MAYBE outside of Freeze, looks like a pass for me.

      I am glad to get dates on the Final Four DCIE figs. not sure about Kon, as that head mold got whupped but good. Orin, I’ll have to see. the McG is a bit beefy, but does fit in with the subset of the display I had up before moving. Ice is only definite, but I still need Fire.

      Not too excited about the TWO new figures in Batman ’66, either, surf Joker and …which Catwoman was that? Unfortunately, only news on Batgirl is there isn’t one planned, right now, but they just got the rights, so…? the Keaton and Reeve Movie Masters look like a pass due to size mainly, but ZOD is one I’ll probably get. not sure about MP-Selina.

      MOTU – really thinking about getting a Nepthu tomorrow to custom a ML Spinx. (Matty TRIES a “thru”/’pthu joke on his sale page, but fails. ugh.) Sea Hawk is a longtime want. that’s about it. No clue who/what Flogg is supposed to be? oh, I saw the Draego gear BattlePak set is on sale again with the Kowl gear tomorrow, too.

      As for Marvel, not really digging the split wave for Mandroid esp with variants when we haven’t seen any announced variants for a year, now. It didn’t work well for IM3, and I fear the same will happen with Mandroid wave. What Cap are we even getting? the Cmdr.Rogers/CA2 movie version?? If so, I can only guess/hope one of the shaded figures is movie Winter Soldier, maybe movie/Ult. Falcon?

      Not sure what the schedule is for the other MLs, either? T-bolt and Jubilee wave and whatever else. (where’s my BAF ATLAS????)

    14. Part of the reason there was only 54 votes is that a dozen or so people left after the DC Universe information was given out. I’d say there was more than 54 people left, but I guess they did not care to vote. I place my ticket for Tuskador, only because it would have been cool to see him brought into the MOTU line. Not that I collect the line.

      I wish Mattel had given the opportunity for people to sub for the CIE figures. I hate having to try to get the figures I want and possibly get shut out on them.

    15. Although he was an absolute non-entity on the show, Kayo was Optikk’s opposite number in the He-Man Toy line. I would rather the next N.A. figure slot (outside of Skeletor, who has been widely rumored for the 3rd Quarter “Variant” position?) to go towards at least completing the line’s first wave. This, with Mara (and PLEASE, God, Crita!!!) would leave me at east mostly satisfied with the New Adventures roster in MoTUC, if we can’t have ’em all. But I think ToyGuru has gone on record saying that Kayo is NOT in the cards for the next two years.. so what do I know?

    16. It’s stupid that Mattel didn’t let us remain on the sub (a locked-in purchase is a locked in purchase, even if you didn’t score your preferred target).

      Now I’m free to cherry-pick Ice, and skip the rest.

      Thanks Mattel. Guaranteed purchases are for losers, huh?

      -Tim

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