SDCC 2016: Mattel Expands The DC Multiverse In a Big Way

6″ DC action figure collectors were in for a treat at Comic-Con… Thundercats fans? Not so much.

Mattel had quite a few toy lines and properties on display at Comic-Con, but their DC properties took center stage, for sure.  There were great new additions to the DC Super Hero Girls line in both 12″ and 6″ scales, and a whole slew of new figures being added to the Multiverse line in 2017.  We’re going to see more Frank Miller-inspired figures, including The Joker, Wonder Woman, and The Flash, as well as more figures based on The CW’s Flash show (like the awesome Collect-N-Connect King Shark!), and PLENTY of retail exclusives heading to Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and more.

Not surprisingly– considering the announcement that the line would be transitioning from Mattel to Super7– there was really nothing in the way of Masters of the Universe products in Mattel’s display… aside from some very nice looking Princess of Power dolls to match the SDCC exclusive She-Ra.

At present, there’s no solid answer on the future of Thundercats.  If we see more figures beyond the subscription coming later this year, they’ll most likely come from Super7, as word has it they and Mattel are actively negotiating to try to transition that license.  Fingers crossed, because after the multiple fiascos Bandai’s short lived Thundercats line underwent, it’s starting to feel like this property is cursed to never last long enough to even build the core team of Cats.  We’re almost halfway there after the Matty Collector sub line, so hopefully Super7 can work some magic and keep this great looking series going.

Mattel’s DC panel highlighted all the new releases they had on display in their booth, along with a few previews of the cinematic Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor… and it capped off with an active discussion on design choices.  The lack of new reveals and information shows that Mattel decided to put their best foot forward, as opposed to other companies who hold many of their products until later during the convention.  That trickle approach works okay, but I kind of like the deluge, of showing off everything right out of the gate.  It seems confident, and the quality of the new products Mattel revealed was solid enough to back it up.