[jwyss234]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon

I don't think AOTC Batgirl was put on 50%-plus clearance. The fact that two more Batgirls are on the way disproves whatever point you might've meant to make about the character.

Regular armor Gal Gadot sold out quickly. Yes, Golden Armor Gal Gadot is still sitting on Target's shelves (at full price, btw), but Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn are the four pillars of DC merchandising (this is per Jim Lee). Anyone with a DC toy license will flog those four characters, and some will be misses simply due to sheer output (Red Son Superman is also $8-$9 now). McFarlane even made a Birds of Prey HQ, and that movie was divisive to say the least.

The only conclusions to draw are:

1) maybe female characters really do sell poorly or
2) maybe someone calling the shots (could be McFarlane, could be DC) is sexist.

AOTC Batgirl was put on clearance. Many people specifically hated the figure because of the costume choice and because she was the same height as the DC#1000 Batman. And the fact that there are more Batgirls on the way PROVES my point. One flop doesn't mean that all future figures of a character, or similar/adjacent characters, are doomed. Sometimes, figures just don't sell and it happens across all mass market toy lines.


As for the conclusions you listed:
1) Female characters do sell. Just look at other toy lines and you'll find figures of female characters that have sold well. You'll even find Top 10 wish lists for various toy lines that regularly have female characters that fans want to see made. And brand managers for those toy lines do look at some of those Top 10 lists and make decisions.

2) You shouldn't be calling people sexist until there is evidence of it. The conversations between McFarlane and DC/WB aren't public knowledge. We don't know what directions or mandates DC/WB gives McFarlane. And while Todd himself has said that he likes to make figures that look cool, we don't know the full decision making process his company goes through when specifically choosing what gets made. Just because we're unhappy with the results of their decision making doesn't mean that something nefarious is happening behind the scenes. As you pointed out, the pillars of the DC universe are The Trinity and Harley Quinn. Even prioritizing The Trinity takes away spots from other characters, female characters included.


The only conclusion that we can tangibly draw is that McFarlane has a problem with character selection. That particular point has been a part of the conversation since the line started. Many fans want McFarlane to fill out the DC Universe. But like I said above, Todd has said in the past that they like to pick designs that look cool but aren't necessarily the classic designs. That means they're jumping from story to story and we can clearly see that in what they've chosen to base figures on: Last Knight on Earth, Metal/Death Metal, DCAU, CWTV, Injustice 2 Futures End, Snyder-Verse, White Knight, Arkham, DC Rebirth, Dark Knight Returns, etc.