ASK MATTY: MATTY ANSWERS 3/15/10

Matty took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions.


1. Can you please address the "modern" Cheetah deco change? The original photos fans were given had a full body cheetah deco, but now fans are seeing a version with black clothing. Can you clarify which is the official deco and the availability of each? Since we're already getting a superpowers and modern variation, I don't expect we'd be lucky enough to get all three unless one was some sort of Mattycollector or convention exclusive.

The version released in Wave 13 will have the black deco added. We do have plans for the more “nude” version in the not too distant future.

2. There have been conflicting reports about whether the double joints on Blue Beetle III will be the new standard for DCUC going forward or whether it will only be used as needed. Can you address this?

This is a feature we will add when a particular figure calls for it. In the case of Blue Beetle, he wears full armor and this made it easier to add in extra articulation. Since the Horsemen do such amazing sculpts we don’t like to break them up with too many articulation points.

3. On the Maters of the Universe/DC Universe classics 2 packs, is this a way for Mattel to test the market to see how Masters of the Universe would sell in retail? Also, any thoughts as to producing more of the 2 packs?

Not as much as test, but rather a cool way to get more MOTUC and DCU figures to market and offer something unique for TRU stores.

4. Last round of questions, we asked about lowering the qty of per item from 10 to something lower. You answered: “Actually, very few customers are buying more than two figures. We want to keep the ten options for those international customers who requested this to help with shipping.” If few customers are buying more than 2, why keep it that high? One would assume, the few customers include international customers. While the logic is there about lowering shipping costs, it still doesn’t answer the question about keeping a single item with a qty of 10.

We are keeping the limit at 10 to help international fans who wish to order in bulk to save on shipping. As we said before, very few customers are ordering more then two or three figures per order. The number of fans who order 10 is extremely small so we’d like to keep this option open for now.

5. You have announced that DCUC Wave 14 that will be another Walmart exclusive. Fans are sick and tired of this nonsense with trying find them at Walmart, especially seeing Walmart is not willing to put the stock out. Why continue offering exclusive waves to Walmart when people obviously have a hard time finding them? (Calling the company/store doesn't work.) Can you give us a promise they will be available on either Walmart’s website or Mattycollector.com?

We won’t be selling Wave 14 on MattyCollector.com as it is a Wal-Mart exclusive item, and it is up to Wal-Mart whether or not they want to offer it online. Mattel cannot control this.