Answers to WTFWTK 2.7!

[Uncle Montork]

So what if we got NA characters for a whole year before you got any vintage figures? Add to that, if there isn't enough interest the line could die way before you even get any vintage characters. It must be nice not to see MOTUC from this perspective. From where you're sitting it's incredibly simple to say how great everything is going. You're happy since your figures are coming out. Now see things from the NA, POP or 200X fan's viewpoint...there are no POP, NA or 200X MOTUC figures for a long time!

It's like a billionaire trying to tell a homeless person how grand life is.

Oh, no, I don't think so. See, you decided to miss my post where I said I'll buy 2 of EVERYONE, hands down, and that I'm as excited and happy to see Angella and Hoove as I am Man-At-Arms and Mekaneck. Also my post about "we may see NA and POP in 2009 yet!" Note the exclamation point. That means I'm excited at the prospect. If you're going to read my posts, please read them all. It's as if you're choosing to ignore parts of my posts to strengthen your own argument.

I posted that like 40 posts ago. Amazing that only one person noticed it.

See? You're not the only one that has their posts missed.

[MegaGearMax]

Oh, no, I don't think so. See, you decided to miss my post where I said I'll buy 2 of EVERYONE, hands down, and that I'm as excited and happy to see Angella and Hoove as I am Man-At-Arms and Mekaneck. Also my post about "we may see NA and POP in 2009 yet!" Note the exclamation point. That means I'm excited at the prospect. If you're going to read my posts, please read them all. It's as if you're choosing to ignore parts of my posts to strengthen your own argument.

My bad. I did miss your earlier statements. I'm sorry.

You're satisfied with everything they put out. I'm talking about the folks who aren't, so I put you in their shoes. Obviously since you like everything, you can't be disappointed.

But do you see where I'm coming from?

[Uncle Montork]

My bad. I did miss your earlier statements. I'm sorry.

You're satisfied with everything they put out. I'm talking about the folks who aren't, so I put you in their shoes. Obviously since you like everything, you can't be disappointed.

But do you see where I'm coming from?

Yes, I do, and I'm sorry if I sounded a bit crass before, but it seems folks here are missing a lot of what I've been saying lately.

If I WERE in their shoes, I would agree with you. I'm just the kind of person who sees the good in just about every situation, like Mr. Rogers or Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap. Even if it rains on a day I want to work on my car outside, I might be a bit disappointed, but I won't rant about it, and then I start thinking about what ELSE I can do that I wouldn't have done if it were sunny out.

I like everything about MOTU. I bought ALL the DVDs, even the live-action movie. I watched all of NA and I like it. I had the NA toys when NA was around. I've bought vintage MOTU, vintage POP, NA, 2002, and the stactions, and I like them all. Some more than others, but there's none I really hate or would say "I'll never buy that person". I'm in a fortunate enough position where I CAN buy my favorite toy line and enjoy it, and I'm not about to scoff at that opportunity, lest I lose it.

I do understand where you're coming from. All I can say is hold on and have patience and faith. I will smile alongside with you the day I see Angella, Hoove, and anybody else from POP or NA on mattycollector, and I'll cheer the day they're in my hands.

Take care.

[Lay Ze-Man]

But seriously if there is no NA or POP in year two I'm going to have a hard time being convinced to rebuy all the figures I just recently got in the 200x line.

How are you rebuying the figures when the MOTUC don't look anything like, and don't fit in with, the 200x?

Maybe you're rebuying the some of the characters (although in many fans' minds Zodac and Zodak are two separate characters a la Hal Joran and John Stewart are both Green Lanterns) but again, this is its own line in its own scale and its own style.

[phantom1592]

So wait.........

The line is FOR the fans, yet the Fan's cant pick wich figures we want? Id rather get He-Ro before Faker, will that happen.... maybe in 2011? Nice. The 1 figure a month thing is still kinda stupid, and keeping me away from buying these. I lose intrest fast, Id rather spend the coin and get 2 a month to build em up.

No.... You don't want the fans voting on what characters get made... Not if anyone EVER wants to see NA figures. I understand there are fans out there, but I don't think they'd win a popular vote. You've got a better chance with Mattel/four horseman deciding what they want to make/might sell better, than asking the masses to vote.

Personally I consider the Horde characters to be MoTU, so the only PoP characters "I" want are She-ra, Adora, Bow, Frosta. I don't care about ANY of the NA

i don't blame Mattel at all for pushing these two franchises to the back burner.

1) NA killed the franchise in the 80's. Whether its old stigmas or wounded memories or whatever, this will be a hard sell.

2) PoP was for "girls" A lot of the "boys" never really got into PoP for that reason, and the direct market collector geek squad is mostly guys. I'm not sure why....

3) PoP can't look like the Filmation series, so its not really what fans want anyway. If She-ra and Adora are the first PoP characters I kind of hope they wait as long as they can to come up with a cool design. I never really liked the She-ra toy that didn't look anything like the cartoon/movie.

4) 80's Vintange MOTU was a MASSIVELY successful line and they are desperatly trying to recapture that magic. So they are going to focus on the most positive aspect of the line.

5) As for a disclaimer of "not the first year" or however they phrased it, Remember we should already be working on our third figure. things have gotten pushed back. If they promised she-ra for 11 months from now and a delay pushed her to 13 months from now, there would be an angry mob outside Mattel with torches now. I don't blame them for some of their "safe" answers.

Mattel is logically going to pick the best sellers with the most reusable parts for the early waves. Neither PoP or NA use the reusabl parts. and the line started with a 200x figure.

The biggest complaint I have is the 1 a month. I would like at LEAST 2 a month just to get a little color on my shelf before I donate YEARS to this line.

I hate to say it but the fans of less popular lines are just going to have to be overjoyed when they actually get a bread crumb thrown to them. Personally I would love a new set of Thundercats toys, but the line just isn't being offered anywhere. At least y'all have a shot.

[Lay Ze-Man]

That's a good point.

If there were a poll to vote on the characters, I think it would likely be ALL MotU characters near the top of the list.

Sure, maybe She-Ra would get a lot of votes, but beyond that, I doubt any PoP or NA or MYP secondary characters would score very high.

But when Mattel and the 4H decide to throw a NA character in the mix, I think it will look cool enough to convince even some staunch anti-NA fans to give it a shot.

[He-Mun]

Honestly, I would not mind picking up some of the NA and I would vote for them to be made as much as I would the other characters...maybe its a byproduct of being a Star Wars fan, but I love secondary and odd characters, maybe even more than the main ones. Plus I would find a way to tie in the NA with the MOTU, being like they are space bounty hunters or something...that's the only thing I did not like about the MYP MotU, they cut out the cosmic bits of the show...maybe that would have been good if the seasons continued...idk, thats just me

[Lord Anubis]

Do you really feel like buying the 200X figures and stactions were a waste of cash? I was bummed when the stactions died because they are in my mind the ultimate incarnation of MOTU. That being said I certainly don't feel that because they did not make more that the ones I have are not just as good as they were the day I bought them.

Actually bro, I do sadly. With all the hunt and gas,time and money searching for these things so the "Line does good, so we can keep it alive" just for them to pull the plug anyway kinda hurt.

Maybe its just me, but im a completeist. By that I mean if we're getting a new line, of a old line, I want ALL the charachters so I can expand the universe of the toys, not just cut it in half and get 90 versions of He-Man. So while I still dig the figures of 200X, I do feel that money could have gone to something better, prehaps more vintage figures. Its my own fault for buying em, but I just wanted to support my favorite figures like everyone else did

Again im not being a downer, I just want some solid commitment that they will give us more then the bassic figures before canceling the line again. Id sincerly hate to buy the first say......17 figures, and then we get "Sorry but we cant continue the line cause you didnt buy enough!" and then we're stuck with the SAME figures from the classic, commemortive and 200x again, when some figures arent even getting a chance.

Give me Scare Glow, Gwildor, Ninjor, Randor, Adora,Hordak, hell Id be THRILLED to see a flocked Moss Man! ... whatever, just something to break the ice. (Im not counting King Grayskull, since hes pretty much he-man with long hair)

[Lay Ze-Man]

Plus I would find a way to tie in the NA with the MOTU, being like they are space bounty hunters or something...that's the only thing I did not like about the MYP MotU, they cut out the cosmic bits of the show...maybe that would have been good if the seasons continued...idk, thats just me

But isn't NA already tied to MotU?

The other characters are different but He-Man and Skelly are the same ones from MotU.

[Patreek]

How are you rebuying the figures when the MOTUC don't look anything like, and don't fit in with, the 200x?

Maybe you're rebuying the some of the characters (although in many fans' minds Zodac and Zodak are two separate characters a la Hal Joran and John Stewart are both Green Lanterns) but again, this is its own line in its own scale and its own style.

That maybe how you feel, but for me it is rebuying the same characters. I don't need 20 different versions of the same character over and over, I'm just not that type of collector. Yea they are new scupts, but if they are never going to get to the characters I really crave that i didn't get in 200x then I really don't see a need to rebuy all the characters again. Especially when I prefered the old sculpt to the new one... Thats just my personal preference... I'm very happy with my 200x figures, and while I like the articular with these, I prefer the 200x

Now like I said though, I'm in this for the first year and if I start getting some of these other characters the second I'll keep buying. I think thats pretty reasonable.

[Eric]

I think some people are being unrealistic about their expectations for this line and claiming Mattel led them to believe certain things when the real case seems to be people jumped to conclusions or are just thinking wishfully.

Mattel said MOTUC would encompass all eras of MOTU, not that they'd get equal representation. Additionally, expecting a continuation of the 200X line within MOTUC is misguided. How could they, in the line's infancy, throw in a random character from late in the original MOTU line that didn't make it into the 200X line?

Tell me which figure doesn't belong: He-Man, Beast Man, Skeletor, Stratos, Mer-Man, Extendar, Zodac.

As for 200X being a waste of money, I'm sure there are people who would take your 200X collections off your hands so you'll have more money for MOTUC.

Maybe its just me, but im a completeist. By that I mean if we're getting a new line, of a old line, I want ALL the charachters so I can expand the universe of the toys, not just cut it in half and get 90 versions of He-Man. So while I still dig the figures of 200X, I do feel that money could have gone to something better, prehaps more vintage figures. Its my own fault for buying em, but I just wanted to support my favorite figures like everyone else did

But if you're a completist, even if MOTUC lasts three years, aren't you just going to turn around and cry foul when some figure inevitably doesn't get made? The original MOTU wasn't even complete, so how can a line based on it be complete? Cause I'd venture a guess that no matter how successful this line gets, there are certain figures we won't get (Blast Attak comes to mind...).

[Patreek]

I think some people are being unrealistic about their expectations for this line and claiming Mattel led them to believe certain things when the real case seems to be people jumped to conclusions or are just thinking wishfully.

Mattel said MOTUC would encompass all eras of MOTU, not that they'd get equal representation. Additionally, expecting a continuation of the 200X line within MOTUC is misguided. How could they, in the line's infancy, throw in a random character from late in the original MOTU line that didn't make it into the 200X line?

I was at the NYCC panel and they really did make it seem like this was going to be a little bit more broad and diverse than its turning out to be. I don't think they ever intended it to be equal I expected it to be MOTU heavy, but from what they said at the panel I expected at the VERY least to get one or two NA/POP the first year as well as one obscure character. At the very least! ... now that may still happen, there is still much to be revealed. Just judging from whats been said after NYCC I wouldn't be surprised if in the first year we didn't get an NA/or POP.... i'm still holding out hope for the one obscure character, like Green Goddess or Hero since they made such a big deal about name dropping them at the COn.

I understand why things changed, I think it makes sense for the first year, but I hope in the second year things go a little bit closer to how they implied at that panel.

Take my 200x toys away!? NEVER! U'd have to pry them from my dead grip lol

I don't mind it the line is complete or not, i just want to see as many unmade 200x characters as possible from 200x NA and POP. thats my own selfish hope lol

[Lord Anubis]

But if you're a completist, even if MOTUC lasts three years, aren't you just going to turn around and cry foul when some figure inevitably doesn't get made? The original MOTU wasn't even complete, so how can a line based on it be complete? Cause I'd venture a guess that no matter how successful this line gets, there are certain figures we won't get (Blast Attak comes to mind...).

Well thats just the thing, their making it sound like its the whole motu universe, to update all charachters. The original MOTU ended, thus we base the current off that, giving up the measuring stick. And no I wont "cry foul" cause I wont buying all the new line, just the main figures that I like. I will support MOTU but I just dont trust mattel with their promises and always pulling the plug mid-way.

For every He-Man,Skeletor, and repaint we got, we coulda topped off the 200X line and gone over!

[Eric]

I was at the NYCC panel and they really did make it seem like this was going to be a little bit more broad and diverse than its turning out to be. I don't think they ever intended it to be equal I expected it to be MOTU heavy, but from what they said at the panel I expected at the VERY least to get one or two NA/POP the first year as well as one obscure character. At the very least! ... now that may still happen, there is still much to be revealed. Just judging from whats been said after NYCC I wouldn't be surprised if in the first year we didn't get an NA/or POP.... i'm still holding out hope for the one obscure character, like Green Goddess or Hero since they made such a big deal about name dropping them at the COn.

I understand why things changed, I think it makes sense for the first year, but I hope in the second year things go a little bit closer to how they implied at that panel.

Take my 200x toys away!? NEVER! U'd have to pry them from my dead grip lol

I don't mind it the line is complete or not, i just want to see as many unmade 200x characters as possible from 200x NA and POP. thats my own selfish hope lol

I hope that, too. I hope everyone is pleased with MOTUC (200X, NA, PoP, and vintage). And I hope it lasts long enough to be able to please everyone, cause if it dies after the first year, there will be a lot of potential dying with it.

Well thats just the thing, their making it sound like its the whole motu universe, to update all charachters. The original MOTU ended, thus we base the current off that, giving up the measuring stick. And no I wont "cry foul" cause I wont buying all the new line, just the main figures that I like. I will support MOTU but I just dont trust mattel with their promises and always pulling the plug mid-way.

For every He-Man,Skeletor, and repaint we got, we coulda topped off the 200X line and gone over!

It's your prerogative to support or not support anything you choose. My point was that if someone's reason for not supporting MOTUC is based on some unrealistic expectation or misguided wishful thinking, that would be extremely unfortunate for MOTUC because the line would be suffering for no real reason.

And you're right about 200X: if only Mattel had offered regular characters in place of all the repaints/re-decos (not just of He-Man and Skeletor but everyone) we could have had just about every character available. I realize they had to do repaints to get more mileage out of the molds and cut costs, but still.

[Lord Anubis]

I know dude, its just that 2 times we were promised "big things" and "Keep supporting the lines!", we did. Then we'd ask questions and we're being fed the same old "If the lines does good....", but no matter what us fans have done, we always get the plug pulled.

He-Mans my homeboy so I support anything with him, but its just hard pumping money to save such a icon, when the company doesnt have faith in anything. Face it, without the 4 horsemen (despite I didnt like SOME of their work) Mattel woulda never even listened to give us the Stactions.

I dunno, Its a win/loose. Its nice to have some new stuff, and Im happy for everyone, but Im just trying to point out that its gunna be hard to start the line off giving everyone the SAME stuff again to rebuy. Sure these are prolly the best sculpts (IMO) but man..... what a drag. Start us off with Scareglow as good faith!

[evenflow]

I was at the NYCC panel and they really did make it seem like this was going to be a little bit more broad and diverse than its turning out to be. I don't think they ever intended it to be equal I expected it to be MOTU heavy, but from what they said at the panel I expected at the VERY least to get one or two NA/POP the first year as well as one obscure character. At the very least! ... now that may still happen, there is still much to be revealed. Just judging from whats been said after NYCC I wouldn't be surprised if in the first year we didn't get an NA/or POP.... i'm still holding out hope for the one obscure character, like Green Goddess or Hero since they made such a big deal about name dropping them at the COn.

I understand why things changed, I think it makes sense for the first year, but I hope in the second year things go a little bit closer to how they implied at that panel.

Take my 200x toys away!? NEVER! U'd have to pry them from my dead grip lol

I don't mind it the line is complete or not, i just want to see as many unmade 200x characters as possible from 200x NA and POP. thats my own selfish hope lol

I think that is part of my problem as well. I was at the NYCC panel and it was portrayed very differently from what we are getting now. I believe they said that within the first 12 we were supposed to get 2 never before made characters before. Still waiting on word about those.

[Eric]

I know dude, its just that 2 times we were promised "big things" and "Keep supporting the lines!", we did. Then we'd ask questions and we're being fed the same old "If the lines does good....", but no matter what us fans have done, we always get the plug pulled.

He-Mans my homeboy so I support anything with him, but its just hard pumping money to save such a icon, when the company doesnt have faith in anything. Face it, without the 4 horsemen (despite I didnt like SOME of their work) Mattel woulda never even listened to give us the Stactions.

I dunno, Its a win/loose. Its nice to have some new stuff, and Im happy for everyone, but Im just trying to point out that its gunna be hard to start the line off giving everyone the SAME stuff again to rebuy. Sure these are prolly the best sculpts (IMO) but man..... what a drag. Start us off with Scareglow as good faith!

You're preaching to the choir, man. I've just been a little more positive and upbeat recently with this line.

But my posts before kept pointing out we're basically being held at ransom with this line -- they tell us if we don't buy what they give us, we won't get anything we truly want (unreleased characters, NA or PoP, 200X stuff, etc.). That's not a good way to run a line, though I understand the line has to do well to survive.

And if we don't get a Scare Glow this time, I think a lot of fans will be ticked. He's one that's rare, that a lot of people spend a lot of money on to get on eBay, so he's a no-brainer for this line.

[Lay Ze-Man]

But my posts before kept pointing out we're basically being held at ransom with this line -- they tell us if we don't buy what they give us, we won't get anything we truly want (unreleased characters, NA or PoP, 200X stuff, etc.). That's not a good way to run a line, though I understand the line has to do well to survive.

I take slight issue with your notion of what "we truly want".

I don't know about anyone else, but I truly want the figures we've seen so far!
Especially He-Man, Beast Man, Mer-Man and Stratos look amazing to me, and I can't imagine having a MOTUC collection without them!

Of course I ALSO want the obscure people and unreleased characters, but not ONLY.

I think Lord Anubis hit on it by saying give us Scare Glow as "good faith".
Instead of the fans actually wanting Scare Glow to be released before He-Man, I think a lot of fans are just worried that Mattel is not in this line for the long haul like it expects the fans to be.
And if Scare Glow (or whoever) were released early on, that would be a hint that they ARE in it for the long run.

Myself, I'm going to buy the cool figures we've seen so far, and hope sales are so through the roof that Mattel has all the tooling dollars they could've ever dreamed of so they fast-track some cool new sculpts as much as they can.

The 1st Quarter of 2009 isn't that long to wait, and I too hope we'll have a couple of surprises! (He-Ro, Green Goddess, a PoP character, etc)

[JonWes]

I wonder if, should the line become successful, then POP/NA/200X (the latter still in classic styling) characters could be offered as a secondary character. That way you could subscribe just to the main 12 or you could subscribe to the main 12 and then the secondary 12 (or have the option to just pick and choose month by month, of course.)

That way POP/NA/200X fans could get characters they want while they are still releasing their core line. I REALLY hope the first year does well enough that they are convinced they can go with two releases a month. I'm 29 - I really don't want to have to wait until I'm in my late 30's to have them all.

Also, it might make more business sense. It seems like the older people get the less likely children of the 80's are going to buy stuff like this. You'll have hard-core collectors but what about the more casual "these are cool and I remember these" collectors? I'm probably somewhere in between myself. They've probably lolly-gagged more then they should on getting an effort like this off the ground, so I think an accelerated release rate is not out of the question.

My biggest fear is that when/if the MOTU movie comes out is that the Classics will be abandoned to focus on a new movie-centric line.

[Eric]

I take slight issue with your notion of what "we truly want".

I don't know about anyone else, but I truly want the figures we've seen so far!
Especially He-Man, Beast Man, Mer-Man and Stratos look amazing to me, and I can't imagine having a MOTUC collection without them!

You've misunderstood what I'm saying.

I meant the collective "we" of all of us fans, which includes people that want any and all, but also people who are only/primarily interested in PoP characters, NA characters, and 200X characters. For those people, they "truly want" a Frosta or a Flogg or a Count Marzo, and to get them they're being told the line needs to do well to get those figures.

I wouldn't begin to speak for everyone, which is what you seem to think I was doing. I'm with you: I truly want every figure we've been shown thus far.

[Mern-Ra]

I believe they said that within the first 12 we were supposed to get 2 never before made characters before. Still waiting on word about those.

I remember them saying that as well, and we're ALL still waiting on word about those. There are still five whole slots to be filled so that's why I think everyone should just chill a little bit. Now, if they announce those 5 and what they said would happen doesn't, then I'll totally understand if people are ticked.

[Lay Ze-Man]

For those people, they "truly want" a Frosta or a Flogg or a Count Marzo, and to get them they're being told the line needs to do well to get those figures.

I want those too, but really, Frosta is meaningless without She-Ra, and Count Marzo is useless without any Heroes to fight.
. . . unless that character is your absolute favorite, in which case you want a figure no matter what.

But everyone has their own favorite character, and it isn't fair to pick just one fan's favorite character.

I agree with Mern-Ra on just chilling a bit until the "1st Quarter of 2009" when they'll reveal some future figures.

[chuc98]

I remember them saying that as well, and we're ALL still waiting on word about those. There are still five whole slots to be filled so that's why I think everyone should just chill a little bit. Now, if they announce those 5 and what they said would happen doesn't, then I'll totally understand if people are ticked.

I agree! For now, let's just sit tight and wait for those awesome figures that are gonna be up for order in just a few weeks! Let's take it one step at a time. More figures will be announced once the line is actually underway.

[Mike Bock]

I've read the whole thread and I agree with a lot of you. I am one who is baddly waiting for new characters. I am all excited about that.
I understand that we need to get core characters cause without them MOTU could not be the same. But if you want to spice things up you are gonna have to start boosting interest in the line by giving us new and rare characters. That will also give us hope and high expectations.

Don't repeat the mistakes of the past Mattel. We all know that NA or POP aren't as strong as MOTU but at least give us a couple of characters per year.

I am dying to get a Frosta, even before She-Ra. I want characters that will make this line feel different, a new fresh era. I will also want to have characters like Slush Head and Evil Seed mixed with traditional MOTU characters in the year. That will give us high expectations and will definitely boost interest in the fans to support this line even further.

[Tallstar]

I want characters that will make this line feel different, a new fresh era.

That's exactly how I feel. I really wanted Mattel to make a statement by including characters from POP and NA early on (within the first year), so MOTUC would feel fresh and all-inclusive.