Answers to WTFWTK 2.30!

[JVS3]

***Sorry for the delay, folks. It's been a lousy couple of weeks for me. Sorry for the delay in posting these. -JVS3***

Toyguru has once again provided answers to your questions.
Thanks again to him for taking the time to answer these!
Check out his answers to your Round 30 questions!

This round of questions were selected by sailoruranus,
and proofed against old Q&As by Uncle Montork.
Thanks to them for their help!

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1. Uncle Montork: At SDCC you said Wun-Dar would have a full and a half sword. The packaged picture just revealed shows only one sword. Will he have both types or just the one?

The half sword is in there, you just can’t see it in the package, much like you could not see the Tri-Klops ring at first.

2. Sabretooth: Will you consider releasing Skeletor’s devil-warriors as they appeared in ‘The Power of Point Dread’ and ‘Masks of Power’ minicomics, or the red werewolf-demon and the green lizard-demon as they appeared in ‘Masks of Power’ minicomics? These characters can probably be done with minimum tooling.

Those would be cool villain army builders, but nothing can be confirmed right now.

3. Bulkhide: Characters like Whiplash, Leech, and Spikor used to have Rubber materials (Whiplash = Tail, Spikor = Armor Spikes) used in their construction. How will you/the 4Horsemen address these materials/designs, just making them out of the standard plastic materials sculpted on the figure itself?

It’s too early to know at this point. Once we get to these characters we’ll have an idea of what materials will be used.

4. Grenadaspice: When/if we do get to a Keldor figure, will he come with his 200X Dual Blades?

When and if he comes, you’ll find out! We’re not ready to spill the beans quite yet.

5. bcrduke: Since you said that characters from the MVCreations comic are possible, will you make Illumina and her cat? It would be another great way to use the Battle Cat mold, OR create a new mold to be used for Cringer and Catra's cat-form.

Although Illumina does appear on a few panels in the MVP comic series, her larger backstory was part of a fan pitch that was ultimately deemed too complicated for publication.

We are including the “Icons of Evil” series in MOTUC storyline but the other MVP comics and characters will not be included as toys. We may allude to them in bios, but these stories are too difficult for new fans to access (i.e. out of print) and simply do not fit with the current franchise direction.

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And, have fun discussing Toy Guru's answers to your Round 30 questions!

[Darkspecter]

Thanks for posting Val! Pretty standard Q&A...except the answer on Illumina! I'm SO upset they will not be making any characters from the MVC (not MVP ) comics. I mean, the bios tell who the characters are. If something's too complicated, do a short summary or dumb it down. Mattel doesn't have to reveal ALL of MOTU's secrets. Some mystery is a good thing.

Also...EVERYTHING for MOTU is out of print. How are new fans supposed to access ANY MOTU literature from the past? You think they could just go to the corner store and pick up a mini-comic to find out who the Green Goddess is? Nope. We only know because of the stuff online. If you look for it, you can find almost any MOTU-media online...including the MVC comics.

How is something a fan-pitch when a writer/colourist/artist hired by Mattel wants to write a story?

And...isn't "the current franchise direction" to include ALL eras of MOTU into one. I do believe MVC comics, which are NOT off-limits, IS an era of MOTU.

I think it's about time for another poll...

[Grayskull's Heir]

The answer regarding Illumina is very upsetting and, frankly, just plain insulting. The storyline is too complicated?
What do they think we are, stupid?

What a joke.

[Flor2099]

How silly! It's easier for anyone to go to the comic store and find out who Illumina is than to find out who the Green Goddess or He-Ro are!

[MegaGearMax]

Out of print? This stinks of Mattel Legal. Most of the bios reference stuff that's been out of print for almost 30 years, unpublished bibles and other things only Mattel employees have access to. At least you can find TPBs of the MVC comics.

I think it's some Mattel legal thing where Mattel wants to use only Mattel created characters and not have to pay people any royalties.

That sucks that they haven't thought out Spikor yet. He's ULTRA popular.

[Tallstar]

Oh. How disappointing about Illumina...I don't get it.

[Darkspecter]

How silly! It's easier for anyone to go to the comic store and find out who Illumina is than to find out who the Green Goddess or He-Ro are!

Very true! I forgot about that. There are a lot of comic book stores that still have a few issues.

[Kevenn]

Wait...Illumina is too obscure and hard-to-find for a line that's supposedly for the fans, but Demo-Man, something NO ONE knew about is not?

Now I did enjoy the other answers (I LOVE that they're using Icons of Evil), but that one did not sit well with me. It was not very respectful at all.

[Hordaiquiri]

Out of print? This stinks of Mattel Legal. Most of the bios reference stuff that's been out of print for almost 30 years, unpublished bibles and other things only Mattel employees have access to. At least you can find TPBs of the MVC comics.

That sucks that they haven't thought out Spikor yet. He's ULTRA popular.

Oh. How disappointing about Illumina...I don't get it.

Agreed, on both counts. I've given up trying to think like Mattel does; I'm simply just going to enjoy what we get and quit trying to wrap my head around their business practices.

Guess Spikor's on the "won't be seeing soon list". I have a feeling we're really close to Clamp Champ/Fisto/Jitsu with all these "it's too soon for X" responses we get.

Very true! I forgot about that. There are a lot of comic book stores that still have a few issues.

Com..ic... book.... stores.... what is this strange nonsense you speak of? Those dinosaurs died out many years ago.

[Darkspecter]

Wait...Illumina is too obscure and hard-to-find for a line that's supposedly for the fans, but Demo-Man, something NO ONE knew about is not?

Exactly! ^^This!

Plus, Mattel Legal stopped the MVC Bible from being published. If it were allowed to be published ALL could learn about characters such as Illumina. Yeah, I went there. Check out this closed thread for more info:

http://www.he-man.org/forums/boards/...&postcount=125

Com..ic... book.... stores.... what is this strange nonsense you speak of? Those dinosaurs died out many years ago.

[Spectror]

Very uninformative round of answers, in my opinion, except for the bit about Wun-Dar's half-sword...

Spikor hasn't been planned yet, it seems... which goes to show that :

1) Mattel doesn't listen to the fans that much (given that Spikor is VERY popular, as it was stated above)

2) Characters requiring more TOOLING are just ignored and not ready to be made yet !


I think the Illumina answer is utterly ridiculous ! In my opinion, the "difficulty" of a storyline concept doesn't have to justify the fact that some characters won't be made into figures ! ONE MORE LIMITATION FOR THE LINE, I GUESS...

If it goes on like this, I guess we might get the following figures for the rest of the year :

Optikk, Orko, She-Ra (these were announced), NA He-Man (OR Thunder Punch He-Man - cf. the yellow sword clue), Keldor, the army-builder 2 pack (IF we're lucky), Battle Armor Skeletor, Panthor, re-release King Grayskull, (the horrible and sacrilegious non-MOTU exclusive character Mo-Larr ?) and MAYBE one or 2 good surprises.

This seems disappointing, in my opinion... I was really expecting something more spectacular like Clawful, Fisto, Jitsu, Kobra Khan, Tung Lashor, Grizzlor, Sorceress, Spikor, Tytus, Bow, Catra, Megator or Sagitar...

We'll know more by next week, but I really hope and pray we'll get more unexpected and exciting characters !

I feel that if the characters released are disappointing, sales might drop...

[davidlogan]

The answer regarding Illumina is very upsetting and, frankly, just plain insulting. The storyline is too complicated?
What do they think we are, stupid?

What a joke.

Wow...that is serious burn isn't it.

I'm sorry for anyone who gets offended about this...but I think if the current MOTUC bios content wanted to kiss the MVC comics butt, it would have to stand in a chair to reach it.

This answer is very insulting. Feels to me like a well written and well told story makes Mattel feel a little threatened.

[MegaGearMax]

Guess Spikor's on the "won't be seeing soon list". I have a feeling we're really close to Clamp Champ/Fisto/Jitsu with all these "it's too soon for X" responses we get.

Already updated!

[Tilt]

Boo and Hiss about Illumina. I don't know much of her, but the threads here got me interested.

[Heidi]

The answer regarding Illumina is very upsetting and, frankly, just plain insulting. The storyline is too complicated?
What do they think we are, stupid?

What a joke.

Yes, that felt insulting. And isn't it MVC, not MVP? Double-insulting, it felt.

Heidi

[SAMURAI36]

Wow, I gotta admit, that was a really weird answer on the part of TG, regarding MVC characters. The logic that some have said here, does apply.

Filmation is "out of print", the MYP toon is "out of print", all the comics (not just MVC) are "out of print", so based on that, MOTUC is basically a dead line.

[Eamon]

Well all of you have to remember, as these figures are for kids, then I guess Mattel want to keep things simple.
TV shows like Avatar and Wolverine and The X-men with complicated story lines obviously go right over kids heads and as result, those shows flop.
Kids and adults both hate complicated stories. I mean Lost is total flop.

Yes, that's sarcasm!

I do love it when a toy company decides what my IQ is.

The MVC were good comics man and since when does an official Licensee, published under both Image and Crossgen (by the way) all of a sudden get relegated to a mere 'fan pitch'??

Interesting that some MVC ideas get used on the new bios but yet for whatever reason some stuff gets religated to 'fan pitch' status.

So I would then ask how come Icons is considered canon and yet everything else in a 'fan pitch'?

mmm... a picture is being formed here. Tis a not good picture either.

Consistancy is a mother ain't it?!

[Grayskull's Heir]

I agree with all points of criticism mentioned here. It's so typical of MAttel to come up with arguments that just don't make and to re-write history in order to make their point. Just remember the way they have talked about bonus figures and whether they were a sort of insurance to keep the line going or not.

Moreover, Heidi is right, it's MVCreations and not what Scott wrote (MVP).

I also wonder for whom the stories are too complex to follow? Certainly not for me. I admit they were a little more demanding story-wise than the (partly) ridiculous bios on the MOTUC card backs. Maybe Mattel is forgetting that the classics line is for adult collectors who can read (and think about what they have read cf. the demon he-man fights in the crystal shard and the discussion about that)) and not for stupid 5 year-olds.
Eamon is right with what he said.

I also think it's offensive to call the comic a fan pitch. Val and Emiliano are pros and have been working as pros for years now.
IMO it would have helped to improve the quality of the MOTUC bios if someone had asked the fans which storyline they prefer.
Especially if one takes into consideration the fact that the MVC comc tied together lots of elements the fans have always loved about Motu.

I especially agree with MegaGearMax and others who point out that all of the stories are out of print and hard to access, not just the MVC comic. Demo-Man is the least accessible concept of all.
I guess if it wasn't for Mattel's negative and hateful attitude towards the fans, at least the MVC bible would have been published online ages ago and we could access that to look up who characters like Illumina actually are.

This whole thing is a joke and it just shows Mattel's disrespect towards the fans and the org.

[chuc98]

The answer regarding Illumina is very upsetting and, frankly, just plain insulting. The storyline is too complicated?
What do they think we are, stupid?

What a joke.

I was thinking the same thing when I read that! Too complicated? Whatever.

[Judith]

I agree what are they thinking!?! MVC was not just a "Fan" creation but a licensed product from Mattel. Val and Emiliano are not just "fans" they are working design professionals who have also been actively working to keep He-man and She-ra alive and interesting for at least a decade.

Matty Collector would probably not be selling out each month or even be around if it wasn't for such an active fan base at He-man.org.

I really think the most insulting though was the whole MVP used twice when the company's name was clearly listed in the question.

[Pixel Dan]

I literally don't understand the answer to question 5. The MVC (not P...) is too complicated? What?! How so? The MVCreations comics were some of the very BEST MOTU stories. Those comics still remain some of the most enjoyable form of MOTU media for me. I do not understand.

And since when was anything that MVCreations did considered to be a "fan pitch?" Didn't they hold the MOTU license?

And the "out of print" comment also doesn't make much sense to me. Everything MOTU is out of print. DVDs, Mini-comics, Cartoons, etc.

I really appreciate ToyGuru taking time to answer our questions. I really do. But I just don't get that answer.

[MegaGearMax]

The MVC were good comics man!!

How are the MVC comics a "fan pitch"? Val and Emilliano were not only the comic book licensee, but both ARE comic book professionals currently working today. Those comics had arcs, an overall story planned.

This is Mattel taking an "fans aren't good enough to work for Mattel" stance again. The bio writers (who are huge MOTU fans) can have their ideas in MOTUC, but when it comes to professional and recent stuff that other fans have created, those ideas aren't somehow good enough or don't fit within the scheme of MOTUC.

Why doesn't Mattel contact Val and Emilliano and work with them to make Illumina fit into Classics instead of not using her or any of the other concepts MVC had created?

[kagamigod]

I literally don't understand the answer to question 5. The MVC (not P...) is too complicated? What?! How so? The MVCreations comics were some of the very BEST MOTU stories. Those comics still remain some of the most enjoyable form of MOTU media for me. I do not understand.

And since when was anything that MVCreations did considered to be a "fan pitch?" Didn't they hold the MOTU license?

And the "out of print" comment also doesn't make much sense to me. Everything MOTU is out of print. DVDs, Mini-comics, Cartoons, etc.

I really appreciate ToyGuru taking time to answer our questions. I really do. But I just don't get that answer.

I don't think they care that much for our opinion anymore. It might be due to the constant complaints about EVERYTHING they show us or simply they wanna do things their way and don't want to be told how to do it. Please before I see any backlash, the line about the complaints: I was speaking of what they probably see and not of what is. The MVC thing might simply be another typo, I mean come on...MYP,MVC too many acronyms i could've made the same mistake and I bet most of you wouldn't be jumping on me as hard as you are at TG.

[Spectror]

This is Mattel taking an "fans aren't good enough to work for Mattel" stance again.

Exactly ! Not to mention that Mattel also took the "fans aren't intelligent enough to enjoy a complex story" stance !

Not to mention the usual "if the line isn't selling enough, it's the fans' fault" Mattel's stance !

There are times where I'm not only furious, but rabid at Mattel !

or simply they wanna do things their way and don't want to be told how to do it.

I think that's more like it.
Most of the critics I read on this forum were justified (QC issues, bad DR marketing and customer service, etc.). But Mattel is more used to blame the fans and they refuse obstinately to admit when they make a mistake !

[GeologyMule]

I thought MVP was a pro-wrestler?