What happened to DC action figures?!?

[Lee Stone]

I think I saw an Aquaman figure hanging very lonely all by himself in a Grocery Outlet store in Marina.

I always see Batman or Joker... but never the originals... always things like Jetski Batman, Hangglider Batman, Neon Dayglo Joker...

[upgrayedd]

I would love to buy a Batman with the Neon Talking Super Street Luge action figure, from the Brave and the Bold series.

[MRP]

A lot of the DC toys geared for kids won't be found in the action figure aisle, but in the toddler toy aisle, like these...




(this one's a Kohl's exclusive though)

but you should have seen this at Target as it's Target exclusive...



They are marketed as toddler toys by Fisher Price as part of the Imaginext line and kept separate from the action figures in most stores. They are also designed to withstand the kind of rough play toys get form kids, not to be stood on a display stand in an adult's comic room. So you have to go a little deeper into the toy section than the action figure aisle if you want to find them.

-M

[Lee Stone]

A lot of the DC toys geared for kids won't be found in the action figure aisle, but in the toddler toy aisle, like these...




(this one's a Kohl's exclusive though)

but you should have seen this at Target as it's Target exclusive...



They are marketed as toddler toys by Fisher Price as part of the Imaginext line and kept separate from the action figures in most stores. They are also designed to withstand the kind of rough play toys get form kids, not to be stood on a display stand in an adult's comic room. So you have to go a little deeper into the toy section than the action figure aisle if you want to find them.

-M

And be sure to get the Super Powers Galactic Guardians on DVD or your kids won't know who half of them are.

[upgrayedd]

Smiling Batman dressed in black... just wrong

[Robotman]

I would love to buy a Batman with the Neon Talking Super Street Luge action figure, from the Brave and the Bold series.

Hah I loved that!

[MajorHoy]

. . . They are marketed as toddler toys by Fisher Price as part of the Imaginext line and kept separate from the action figures in most stores. They are also designed to withstand the kind of rough play toys get form kids, not to be stood on a display stand in an adult's comic room. . . .

Hey! I've gone out and picked up quite a few of the Imaginext Batman villains figures and have them standing by my computer, and I sure as hell ain't no "toddler".
(I'm closer in age to old enough to be a grandparent to a toddler!)

[MRP]

Hey! I've gone out and picked up quite a few of the Imaginext Batman villains figures and have them standing by my computer, and I sure as hell ain't no "toddler".
(I'm closer in age to old enough to be a grandparent to a toddler!)

Oh I have all the Hawkman figures from Fisher Price (in various sizes and lines) and the Flash that came in the 2-pack, and you and I are probably of an age, so not criticizing, but they are designed to be played with by kids (unlike a lot of modern action figures which break if you look at them wrong). I was especially hard on toys (my Mego Hulk and Iron Man had their legs reattached at the knee by nuts and bolts by my grandfather when I broke them for example) when I played with them, but for the most part they could withstand being played with.

Heck, you can see 2 of the Hawkmans on my desk here (plus the Batman/Superman line's Hawkman, a couple of Hot Wheels Batmobiles and a Diamond Direct Ghost Rider)...




and here is the third Fisher Price Hawkman in the comic room (along with a host of other Hawkman stuff...)



so we old collectors will certainly snap up this stuff too, but they are designed and marketed towards kids to play with.

-M

[Lightning Rider]

That looks like a fabulous room.

[MRP]

That looks like a fabulous room.

Still a work in progress though.

-M

[Desh]

No prominent DC action cartoons on television = no action figure lines. DC seems to put out little DVD or cartoon short adventures to help sell whatever general audience toys they have now, but honestly, who the heck is going to watch those? Probably 30 + year old men who see them advertised on comic book sites and such. Very few children are just going to stumble upon those, I think. And of whichever kids who do see them, how many of those kids are going to want toys based off of straight to DVD or internet short things?

Batman toys continue to sell probably because he's so embedded in the public consciousness through his numerous successful cartoons, television shows, movies and video games that he's basically omnipresent.

[Mahzian]

Mattel killed DC figures at retail, they just weren't making enough money for them. They had DC Universe Classics for a fair few years but yeah it wasn't profitable enough for Mattel's margins. Your best bet for DC action figures is your local comic store, they will get DC Collectibles figures, later this year they are starting a new line called DC Icons which are 6 inch super articulated figures:

[Lee Stone]

Mattel killed DC figures at retail, they just weren't making enough money for them. They had DC Universe Classics for a fair few years but yeah it wasn't profitable enough for Mattel's margins. Your best bet for DC action figures is your local comic store, they will get DC Collectibles figures, later this year they are starting a new line called DC Icons which are 6 inch super articulated figures:

Are kids reading Justice League?
Or are these for adults?

I don't think they would recognize the female Atom and the shiny Mister Miracle.

[Mahzian]

Are kids reading Justice League?
Or are these for adults?

I don't think they would recognize the female Atom and the shiny Mister Miracle.

These are mostly aimed at young adults / adults I believe, but the current DC toy offerings seem to be from imaginext (toddler) to this so I'm thinking kids would gravitate towards these, especially main characters.

There is also a slew of new LEGO DC sets which are pretty cool

[Moriarty]

we had DC Universe Classics but that line was killed in favor of a more expensive subscription service...which failed. not everyone can afford $20-25 for an action figure these days.