Comments on: So Long, and Thanks for All the Figures

By: Cephus

Cephus — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:19:25 +0000

Maybe it should have ended. I see no point to a toy line continuing badly until it’s put out of it’s misery. So long as it puts out an active and interesting line of figures, sure. When it’s “buy things or it’s going to be the end of the world!”, it’s time to pack it in. However, there are a lot of JLU fanatics who will buy anything, no matter how badly made, no matter how badly painted, no matter how badly packaged, just because it has JLU stamped on the outside. Those are the people who are responsible for the downfall of the line. It could have gone out on a high note and be remembered for excellence, instead it’s being forced out because nobody really wants it anymore and it shows.

By: Cephus

Cephus — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 18:12:33 +0000

I don’t either, Amanda Waller was a relatively important character from JLU, she appeared in quite a few episodes and was the center of quite a few things. Why we wouldn’t expect her to appear in a toy line supposedly dedicated to this particular show is beyond me. It’s not like she showed up once in an episode and was never seen again.

By: Bunger43

Bunger43 — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 14:43:28 +0000

I still can’t stand the Hasbro style. Hate it. Mattel is running me out of the toy biz all together

By: Nick in NY

Nick in NY — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:20:10 +0000

Because it was a border-line situation where the line could have easily been cancelled several years ago, we can thank Toy Guru for tipping them over to continuing for a few more years.

By: gl666

gl666 — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 19:27:28 +0000

YOU couldn’t be more wrong: the line continues while it is MAKING MONEY. Why is this impossible to understand? Toy Guru kept an unprofitable line running? That defies logic and common sense!

By: j1h15233

j1h15233 — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 05:37:44 +0000

You two couldn’t be more wrong. If it weren’t for Toy Guru, this line would have ended 3 years ago.

By: anti mattel man

anti mattel man — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 15:49:35 +0000

you are a hundred percent right on. finnaly someone that can see thru the mattel charade.

By: Chill Billy

Chill Billy — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:33:52 +0000

Agreed. Opinion pieces usually annoy. Nice Hasbro plug …. you gonna send them flowers too?

By: gl666

gl666 — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 19:19:25 +0000

I STILL don’t understand this silly fawning over Toyguru (and his mismanagement). He did his job, poorly. He didn’t “keep the line alive”: people who continued to buy product did. Some people make it sound like he was the collectors’ friend who twisted Matty to keep making product and losing money.

Furthest. From. The. TRUTH.

By: Brainlock

Brainlock — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 00:59:56 +0000

as much of a fan of the line, I’ve had the same distribution troubles as many and considered myself EXTREMELY lucky to find Waller when I did, as she was slowly becoming a rare item for the line (re: distribution/availability).
.
More recently, I managed to find the LiveWire/Weather Wizard 3pk. LW I noticed was off color, which several figures of the line have been (Booster, Fate, etc). But I only noticed that after staring at WW whose left toes were almost touching his knees. In Package.
.
Needless to say, I saved $17+tax that day.
.
The J-Leg Syndrome on this line has been (argued) about to death and turned many die-hard collectors off because of it. I know I passed on more than a few “rare” figures because of leg warpage, and those I did buy remain sealed as they would NEVER stand on their own.
.
Seeing that J-Legged WW almost had me laughing at the futility of Mattel’s “Quality Control” and whatever QC rant of the month is I know will be headed into File 13 as far as “Matty” is concerned.
.
Don’t even get me started on these Con First! exclusives.

By: StrangePlanet

StrangePlanet — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 22:15:55 +0000

I have to agree also. The 4H are great sculptors and they do what they can, but the overall bland generic bodies part is true. I have a few DCUC and they’re pretty cool, but I’m also only buying those rare pieces that have unique sculpts.
DCUC makes me appreciate DC Direct.
If DC Direct had better articulation, they’d blow DCUC out of the water with better, unique sculpts, better paint apps and often better face sculpts. Many like the consistency, but I only want a toy that has the same body as another toy is those 2 people are twins.

By: j1h15233

j1h15233 — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:39:34 +0000

Eiling we probably could have skipped but Waller played a huge role. Look on the bright side though…we are getting Doctor Midnite!

By: Dusty

Dusty — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:17:56 +0000

Oh, okay thanks SF,

By: Lightso

Lightso — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:42:51 +0000

The line about JLU only having the two things going for it I totally agree — as for the rest, not so much. It was a bizarre, unprecedented toyline, no doubt, and for all sorts of reasons. I appreciated Toyguru getting some of the characters HE wanted into the line, but I’ve never agreed with his philosophy of slowly spreading out key characters over a line in favor of obscure ones. I think JLU suffered for it by having the line ending with a lot of key characters omitted. ‘Course I’m also of the mind that if you can’t get enough figures made out there to the limited number of fans there supposedly are anyway, then why bother at all? Knowing that a Volcana was made and I’ll probably never be able to afford or find one is annoying enough. But getting a General Eiling, Amanda Waller or Lightray, while cool in its own way, and not getting say a Trickster, or Firefly is even more annoying.
It will be tricky for DCUC to achieve its level of character selection, but JLU’s passing carries mixed feelings.

By: PhantomMark

PhantomMark — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 22:44:59 +0000

I agree with the praise being heaped upon the Justice League Unlimited line of figures. It was a great run and outlasted the JLU show by six years. However the line did have its problems, namely in one of the figures you mentioned: Amanda Waller. Another problem was the General Eiling figure.

Sure, Waller and Eiling had a role to play in the final episodes of JLU, but those slots would have been better used by a Volcana reissue, a Dr. Mid-Nite figure, a Speedy figure, the Top, Golden Glider…I could go on, but won’t. Eiling and Waller should have been available as a Matty.com exclusive or a mail-away offer, not clogging the pegs at Target and contributing to “killin teh lien.”

By: Mern-Ra

Mern-Ra — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 21:18:07 +0000

Wow. Why, when you were headed towards a tribute did you turn it into a douchey rant at the very end? And adding to the accomplishment of Waller, that was a one-time-use sculpt, which is even more impressive in a line that relied so heavily on reused parts. I also echo what everyone has already said about your taste being wrong. And yes, opinions can be wrong.

By: TrekkerGI

TrekkerGI — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:09:08 +0000

I must categorically disagree with you about DCUC. I appreciate the consistency of the sculpts, and my only real complaint with them is the recent addition of double-jointed elbows and knees, which I hope will be a short-lived aberration. DC Universe Classics is my top line of action figures these days, and the Four Horsemen are — to make a moderately cheap plug for another of their lines — Masters at what they do…!

That said, I will miss JLU. There’s characters that exist in that line that have never been turned out in any other DC line, and that amaze me that they appeared in JLU, since many of them were never even in the show! I do wish we’d get a couple more Crime Syndicate figures, and I know there was an Owlman prototype shown at a Convention a couple of years ago, but — I’m not holding my breath.

So I will enjoy what I have, enjoy what remains, and join with others in thanking ToyGuru for keeping this line alive, and certainly making it far more extensive, than I believe anyone could have reasonably hoped, especially after the show completed its run.

By: Howard the Duck

Howard the Duck — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:13:09 +0000

I do, and will now thank ToyGuru for all his hard work on the Justice League Unlimited line. ‘Thank you, TG:)’

But I’d thank him even more if we manage to see a re-released Volcana.

By: anti mattel man

anti mattel man — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 17:04:26 +0000

are you freaking kidding me!!!!! the fans of justice league are furious and really really really ticked off!!!! Toyguru and the rest of mattel has jerked the fans of justice league for the last four years with horrible horrible distribution. leaving the most requested figures out of wave after wave volcana!!!! theb blaiming fans because they did not buy enough parademons or kalibak or destroyer darkside. Toyguru and mattel are nothing more then a smoke and mirror side show carnival charlatan. I would not be surprised if at this years conventions matty is not booed out of the building. as of now I am officially boycotting any and all mattel product and I will not be buying any young justice toys.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 16:53:03 +0000

Outstanding blog!

Couldn’t have said it better if I tried!

Thanks!

By: looger33

looger33 — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:49:20 +0000

Sad to see it all end. JLU was a favorite which i started collecting with my son eight years ago. A big thank you too toyguru and 4H at least it will go out with a bang in 2011. Now i have a little extra cash for MOTUC. The 4H are awesome.

By: demoncat

demoncat — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:17:54 +0000

even though i never bought any of the jlu line mostly not my thing. have to agree with the post for collectors of the line its an end of dc collecting that style. and toy guru has got to be thanked for not only making the line last longer then it was expected too but to also wind up getting the question and Amanda waller herself which i never thought would ever get in plastic. though have to disagree with the four horseman scuplts being generic for their work makes the figures look like they came out of the comic or the old motu cartoon.

By: Hourman

Hourman — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:16:46 +0000

I really need to stop reading this guy’s stuff. He is easily my least favorite contributor to this site.

By: superfriend

superfriend — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:02:57 +0000

the picture in the blog replies has nothing to do with AFi, but the blog software. Check out gravatar.com. But beware that if you set this up, the same picture will appear on all kinds of blog replies all over the web.

By: Kal (aka Dusty)

Kal (aka Dusty) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 01:56:58 +0000

I agree with Superfriend, I lost most of my interest in JLU 1-2 years ago because of not being able to find them and because of price, (and that TG and Mattel said that the fans are to blame for it’s demise, TG kept saying that it wasn’t the fans faults once or twice then turned around and talked about us not buying enough parademons several times (it actually started to get really annoying.) Anyways, I do appreciate all TG has done for JLU (I really do) but please we all know where the fault lies (Distribution/Price/DIGITAL RIVER.)
anyways this was a good blog post, thanks Jon,

OT:
(Man! how come everyone else gets a picture by their name when they reply to these blogs? I have been coming to AFI since it’s awesome digital doors first opened. Conspiracy I tell you, CONSPIRACY! )
j/k,

K-D.

By: CantinaDan

CantinaDan — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 22:16:42 +0000

Good blog, Jon. I’ve been with JL(U) since ’03 and now I’ve got two big cabinets full of ‘em! And I still crack a smile whenever I look at my Amanda Waller figure. One of my favorites of the line. I’m OK with it ending – but that’s because I don’t have room for a third cabinet!

By: gknight13

gknight13 — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:39:58 +0000

I still say it’s an evergreen product like Star Wars or G.I. Joe! JLU forever!

By: gknight13

gknight13 — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:37:42 +0000

I like the ‘breakup’ comparison. I wish you played that up more. Yes, it’s still disappointing since there was still so much to do with this line. We can go on forever with the “It doesn’t sell/But we didn’t get the product” argument. I just wish it was clear what the problem was so we all could solve it. It’s a shame, but if MOTU came back, why not JLU??

By: jamiwa3

jamiwa3 — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 19:00:46 +0000

Add that she is a short, fat, almost bald, black woman who’s a villain in a business suit.

By: Caped Crusader

Caped Crusader — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:50:39 +0000

And boring. Don't forget boring.

By: j1h15233

j1h15233 — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:48:59 +0000

It’s a large accomplishment because of everything he said. It’s hard enough to sell women action figures. When you add in the facts that she’s a black woman who wears a business suit, it almost seems impossible that he would have gotten that approved for retail.

By: Luciferjonez

Luciferjonez — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:01:41 +0000

the plastic used is super soft & more often than not I find myself having to reset a display because the figures just fall over onto one another. DC direct is no better. The scar terra black lantern 2 pack has scar with one leg shorter than the other.

By: Luciferjonez

Luciferjonez — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:58:41 +0000

I agree about the 4H sculpts. I’m not a big fan either. Their stuff tends to look more like maquettes & lack any “personality.” Case in point the DC direct yellow lantern scarecrow vs. the DCUC. Articulation aside you cannot compare the two. Even their orange lantern lex has got evil written all over their face whereas the mattel version looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

Maybe toyguru should lay off of the interviews & concentrate on some quality control.

By: Steven M.

Steven M. — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:47:31 +0000

Quote: “A black woman who’s a villain in a business suit, and he got her into a mainstream line in the action figure aisle at Target. That’s no small accomplishment. I’ll be very pleasantly surprised if it happens again in any of our lifetimes.”

I don’t understand why this is a large accomplishment (i.e. “not small”), but it’s clear different people measure success in different ways. Also unclear is why Mr. Edwards would be happy if it happens again in his lifetime. He must be one heck of an Amanda Waller fan.

Regardless, I am all for any and all praise heaped upon JLU. It was a great run and I dearly love all these amazing DC Villains that I have as a result. Thank you, Toy Guru and Mattel!

By: Martin

Martin — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:32:41 +0000

I join in gratitude for this amazing collection, which gave us much satisfaction, emotions and is always kept us waiting for new action figures.
Thank you for considering our views, tastes and preferences for all the characters in JLU.
We welcome the latest figures and will close a cycle. But we’ll have the joy of being part of the history of JLU, for life.

Thanks and greetings from Mexico.

By: Shellhead

Shellhead — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:19:18 +0000

DCUC is generic and has poorly designed articulation?
You’re nuts.

By: Neil

Neil — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 16:03:23 +0000

I’ll miss them too. i have a shelf with all 180 figures i have displayed (no small task due to the leg problem).
While i agree the figures had a good run, Mattel had major goofs in promoting the line that sped up the demise. I’m sad most of the final wave is going to conventions instead of retailers. Leaving many of us to buy them on ebay/amazon at a mark up. going target exclusive hurt a lot. My local target is still carrying John S/Fire/Ice 3 pack. Also stupid to stop selling them on line because not many people wanted to buy 2 parademons @$25 for their set.

By: Chill Billy

Chill Billy — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 15:18:15 +0000

Wow. I’ve never heard anyone refer to 4H sculpts as boring and generic……. unlike cartoon figures that are all unique unto themselves and full of life

By: superfriend

superfriend — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:49:19 +0000

Very nicely put. I’ve kind of moved on from JLU already for a number of reasons, the chief one being a lack of ability to find retail product. If I find it now, I might buy it, but there are so many holes in my collection, I no longer really care.
.
As for DCUC – I’m using it to fill gaps in DC Direct. I love that Mattel has made characters like J’emm and looking forward to the Super Friends wave.
.
As for Young Justice, I am eagerly waiting to see the final product. The problem is that I will be buying Happy Meal toys of the main characters in the next month, months before the Mattel line hits. That may be enough. The real pull in for the line will be what usually pulls me in. Characters I do not have yet in any form. Speedy is one of those. Then there is the Hall of Justice. I think that will get me to buy things I otherwise might skip.

By: Fernando

Fernando — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:45:32 +0000

Great !!! 100% agree, I support your comments ..