Long answer: Mattel's approach for the packs was the wrong approach and the laziest!
Full blown long winded rant on why Mattel doomed the packs to failure: Coming up next!
Like I said, Mattel is the one to carry most of the blame for the 2 packs' failure.
Let's start with the OBVIOUS THING! The toys were not meant for each other!
The MOTUC Figures are 7" figures, while the DCUC Figures are clearly on a 1:12 scale.
Look at the figures standing next to each other... See the problem? It's the same problem that Bandai's Thundercats Classics had compared to MOTUC... they were too big, then they were too small... But One is Bandai and the other's Mattel. This case is different cause MOTUC and DCUC ARE BOTH From Mattel. Now, I understand the whole DC doesn't want to share Character Specific parts with other Toylines, but the TDKR Batman shows that a MOTUC SCALED DC Figure CAN be made...
Having Both the DC Figure and MOTUC Figure be on the same scale would have been better for the Toyline. a MOTUC Scaled Superman would have been awesome... or a MOTUC Scaled Wonder Woman using the MOTUC Female buck...
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| Luthor looks puny next to Skeletor! Also these two sets were available around the same time... |
Issue Number 2: The only ones who TRULY wanted the figures were the MOTUC fans.
Let's talk the He-Man vs Superman pack and the Lex Luthor vs Skeletor packs.
Superman was the plain old vanilla Superman that was available as an All Star Figure, was in a Two-Pack (vs Parasite) and Lex Luthor was available on a two pack with Supergirl (seen on pic)... See the problem here? If I'm a DCUC fan, why would I bother buying the Lex Luthor with a lame ass Conan Rip-Off toy when I can get the SAME Lex Luthor AND a Supergirl to boot! (not seen since the Pre-DCUC DCSH line...) Same thing with He-Man... Why when there's the Parasite 2-pack?
Had they released something like Superfriends Colors Superman or Business Suit Lex Luthor (CK buck with LL head) to make the DC Half more special.
As said before ONLY the MOTUC fans were more interested in these:
He-Man with Symmetrical bracers and sporting Red Boots and Loincloth...
Skeletor in a more Filmation-esque palette.
Stratos with the vintage toy color variation (Red Harness, Blue Wings)
Blue Merman as in some vintage Material
Zodac with Human feet (More Filmation-like)
Battle Armor Faker... OK this one the DC Fan might be a bit more interested in since it had Bizarro in it!
Superman, Luthor, Hawkman, Aquaman, aren't that different from previous releases... Green Lantern seems like the same GL as in the GL vs Sinestro 2 pack or one of the Metallic Hal Jordan repaints.
Lazy 2packs with only the MOTUC Half getting SOME Love, not to mention that the DC Figures were also available in some way or other. Not to mention that they were badly distributed through Toys R Us... I had to order my Zodac set online through a reseller since Local TRUs didn't have it... Stratos and Mermen...
Methinks this was a ploy to lure MOTUC Collectors into DCUC collecting than luring DCUC Collectors into MOTUC... Heck there was ZERO promotion to the Mattycollector site that SELLS the MOTUC product.
Still a special Limited edition of MOTUC Scaled Main DCU characters would have been nice and a cool way for Mattel to churn out some cool MOTU Variants (like Filmation MAA, Red Beastman or Mini comics Trap Jaw to name a few) Would make the DCU figures Special since their only release would be in the MOTU line and churn some MOTU characters different enough from their Matty Counterparts... but Logistics screwed the customers over once again...
So, let's recap for the third time:
-Mismatched Scale
-Lack of "Must buy" Special Version appeal from the DCUC Half.
-Piss Poor TRU Distribution... not to mention shelf location... you had to be a Chihuahua to have these guys at Eye level.
-Bad QC (Mostly from the DCUC half)... My Hal Jordan has a frozen leg... Then again HALF of the DCUC figs I've bought suffer from the same fate!
So, this makes Mattel the one who carries most of the blame... TRU's piss poor Distribution is the second biggest culprit...
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