Who Handled DC Multiverse Better?
 

I'm just curious which company you think did a better job handling DC Multiverse. I'm willing to include the precursor lines in this debate like DC Super Heroes and DC Universe.

Mattel, even though the articulation wasn’t as good they actually included many female characters that weren’t even A-listers unlike mcfarlane.

Mattel they made other DC Characters including Females and it wasn't a literal all Batman Superman line

Are we strictly counting DC Multiverse or rolling DCUC into it too?

One big criticism I'll throw at Mattel was their frequency of showing figures at conventions that looked fantastic and final products looking not nearly as good (sometimes just plain bad) in comparison, see their final Poison Ivy for example.

I'm willing to throw DCUC and DC Super Heroes in the mix because Multiverse was the final iteration of those lines.

True. Even though Mattel used the same body sculpt for most of their figures they were willing to make figures for more than just A-listers and occasionally B-listers. They made a GL Sinestro figure. I don't even know if McFarlane has even touched Sinestro at all.

Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman

Mattel no question

Honestly, I think it's a draw. Both companies excel at certain things but also have their negatives. It's also really difficult to make a quality comparison when one company has made DC figures for a couple of years while the other company made them for almost 2 decades.

McFarlane has made DC figures for ~2.5 years. Their figures have modern articulation, unique sculpts, are priced very competitively, and there is a steady stream of new product hitting shelves. They even have vehicles. On the bad side, they line is very Batman heavy, there are very few female figures, they've yet to hit a consistent scale, and the line tends to do more Elseworlds figures rather than standard DC characters.

Mattel made 6" DC figures for ~17 years. I'm including all lines going back to their 2003 Batman line since some of the figures were re-released in DC Super Heroes as well as Mattel's post-DCUC Batman Unlimited line. The positives are the sheer amount of characters made as well as the classic costumes most figures sported. The negatives are the articulation that was out of date when each line started, the terrible smiling portraits on some figures, the female figures had terrible proportions, the massive parts reuse that eclipses Hasbro's parts reuse, constantly telling fans that the characters they wanted couldn't be made in the main DCUC line, putting trash characters like Golden Pharaoh in the main DCUC line instead of a Wally West Flash or a classic Poison Ivy (both went to the Club Infinite Earths subscription service), and barely putting out figures in the last few years they held the DC license.

And for those that complain that McFarlane is too Batman/Superman heavy whereas Mattel made a wide variety of characters. Mattel's first two 6" DC lines were Batman and DC Super Heroes. The Batman line obviously released Batman characters (duh) while DC Super Heroes was a Batman/Superman line. Mattel didn't branch out into the wider DC Universe until the DCUC line, nearly 5 years after they began making 6" DC figures.

Mattel. Depth and breadth of characters is very important to me. Additionally, as ballyhooed as MacFar's unique sculpts and modern articulation might be, I don't find his line to be much more appealing (if at all 'more' appealing; those ankle and wrist joints are atrocious and the pelvises are often equally jarring) than even DCUC.

Sadly, imo, Mattel ran out of time right as they made important and meaningful strides. Mattel's DC Multiverse line was very nearly what everyone had been asking for and the Mammoth wave, had it been released, would've been received favorably.

I agree, the mammoth wave looked amazing.
I wish they would give Mattel the license back :(

Mattel, no contest. They might not have always had the best articulation and some poor QC issues, but they went deep into the DC comics and did characters that were at the bottom of the barrel and it was great.

Plus, they did a solid Jonah Hex, Question, and The Spectre, something McFarlane seems incapable of doing.

Don’t forget how they made killer moth look kinda badass

That they did, but then, they made a lot of characters look badass. It's the whole reason I ended up collecting every figure at the time (a cost I did regret later on though).

Every time I think about selling off my New Gods I pull them out of the container and look at them, then think, "Well maybe I shouldn't because who knows if anyone will ever do these guys again..."

I already regret getting rid of my Flash stuff.

I went with Mattel. The depth of characters was amazing and we got the "It" version of character. Which Mcfarlane has done only for a handful of characters. They were getting better when they lost the lisence.

I like Mcfarlane but I think he spends to much time with one offs that don't appeal to me. Do love the arkham figures and the injustice ones.

Mattel handled the DC Universe well with the variety of characters in iconic costumes and finally getting away from having having Superman or Batman in a wave.

McFarlane is handling the Multiverse well because that's what he does: variants upon variants of characters. Look at his history of Spawn variations: Mandarin, Manga, Medieval, Spawn I, II, III etc. Even though he's only had the license for a short time, based on his Spawn history I'm assuming we're just going to get more of the same for DC so I give Mattel the win.

This is where I stand. It isn't an easy win like Hasbro vs. Toybiz on Marvel Legends. Hasbro handled that line much better than Toybiz. With DC Multiverse/Universe, it's a bit more of a draw. Mattel offered a wider variety of characters and captured the grander scale of all things DC. McFarlane offers better quality figures. The downside is that Mattel used the same body sculpts for a lot of their figures, this was especially apparent with DCUC and DC Super Heroes. Batman's body is the same as Superman's and Green Lantern's but just painted to be Batman. I will say by the time Multiverse rolled around they did start engraving their chests, or at least they did that for Batman. McFarlane on the other hasn't yet really branched into the DC Universe/Multiverse yet and they lack diversity in their figures. The only female character McFarlane has touched are Batgirl, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, and Wonder Woman even then two of those characters they have only made movie figures for (Harley & Catwoman). They also started with variants for certain figures, the only Captain Marvel figure McFarlane has made is King Shazam. There isn't a normal Captain Marvel figure on the market, there also isn't a normal comics Wonder Woman figure on the market either, just the normal movie Wonder Woman figure not comics. Also the only figures McFarlane has made for Riddler, Penguin, and Catwoman are movie figures none from the comics. Maybe give McFarlane time and they'll make Riddler, Catwoman, and Penguin from the comics who knows. They definitely need to work on expanding the character they make into figures.

Oh yeah. The bulk of their 2003 Batman line was Batman, Mattel only made action figures for three Batman villains (Joker, Killer Croc, and Mister Freeze). They had two Robins, one Nightwing, and a Superman figure. No Batgirl, Catwoman, Harley, Ivy, Riddler, Penguin, Two-Face, Bane, Scarecrow, Ra's, Talia, or Slade. Just a bunch of Batman variants.

^If we're being completely honest, the juxtapositioning of MacFar and Mattel isn't a straight line comparison as they're different scales. It's tantamount to comparing Marvel Legends to Marvel Select. You can do it, but the exploration from an exacting standpoint loses value and meaning. A better comparison might be MacFar and DC Direct. MacFar loses aesthetically there too, IMO, for many of the same reasons and heap on top superior sculpts for the older line.

I see your points regarding Mattel's longevity, but would counter with recency bias for figs that benefit from modern advances in articulation.

That's my wish too, Arachnid. I was quite upset when that Mammoth wave didn't make it to market and I believe that the attention it would've drawn might've given DC/WarnerBros reason for pause. I hope that Mattel is still petitioning behind the scenes, as there is no reason two manufacturers, of separate scales, cannot push DC characters.

Mammoth wave?

Mattel had a wave shown off with Mammoth as the CnC, it would've had Black Canary, Hawkgirl, and Flashpoint Aquaman (I don't remember if anyone else was shown). It was cancelled when they lost the license.

Black Canary that's a figure Todd should have made already

1000% agreed

Oh absolutely. Why don't we have her or Huntress yet?

True. The big reason I went for this question is that McFarlane picked up Mattel's Tab on DC Multiverse, as Hasbro did with Marvel Legends from Toybiz. Whereas DC Direct has been making DC lines concurrently with Mattel and McFarlane. Also, DC Direct figures aren't as widely accessible as McFarlane and Mattel. The only places I see DC Direct figures on shelf for are comic book stores and Vintage Stocks/EntertainMARTs. While Mattel and McFarlane have figures available at Target, Walmart, and Gamestop. So I think that's largely why I posed this question. Aside from that, DC Direct also makes figures based exclusively on particular comics and sculpts their figures to be perfect replicas of the artists' illustration of the characters from the particular comic they based the figure on. McFarlane has done that to some extent, but not to the degree of DC Direct. The Three Jokers figures aren't perfect replicas of Jason Fabok's artwork in the same way DC Direct's Hush figures are Jim Lee's art or their Public Enemies figures are Ed McGinnis' art.

She’s probably “not cool enough” for Todd.
Maybe a injustice 2 version will come one day but I can’t see mcfarlane making a classic canary.