Hasbro = Evil

[Beyond Batman]

I hope all of you have read that news article concerning Hasbro and their attempt to shaft fans from JL toys titled: "Status Of Justice League Figures And DK2 PVC Set!" found on the WF News Page.

I've always been against Hasbro's way of doing things with their Batman/Superman line. Repaint, upon repaint, upon repaint... to only come out with a new "exclusive" figure every blue moon. Maybe this is a good time to stop buying the crap repaints they keep feeding us. I stopped a looong time ago. I'd rather save my money and dish out more on the DC Direct lines. It may cost a little more, but it's definitly worth more than a repaint.

With the amount of money Hasbro receives from their Star Wars line, why would they bother to improve their Batman/Superman line. It seems for Hasbro, there's no incentive fro them to produce new JL figures. Maybe they feel they already have Batman/Superman fans in their hooks, and that we'll buy whatever they produce, even if they are crappy repaints. Something should be done about this.

Any suggestions?

[Bird Boy]

Well, Hasbro claims that their Batman line sells extremely well. If that's the case...then why don't they have a website for it?

I haven't bought any batman figures lately. The last one I bought was one of the Robin re-paints that showed up at Big Lots. And that was the LAST Bat-fig I bought...

-BB

[Karkull]

:mad:

If there is a God, DC and Warner Brothers will buy back the license, give Hasbro the finger, and make their own Justice League toyline. Hasbro is dragging the property through the mud and will eventually destroy it like Schumacher did the movie franchise. ARE THEY INSANE?

I'm so mad at Hasbro right now that I'm tempted to never buy anything Hasbro makes anymore...that includes the Star Wars toys. I probably won't follow up on this, but this has got to stop.

[Nass]

In my opinion, the problem is supply. I work at Toys R Us for example. Yesterday I saw we had to put out a second batch of the new batwing and batmobiles, when we just put them out on the previous week, and had a nice amount out. The figures go like hot cakes as well. Its because their there, kids walk down the aisle see the "cool" batman figure (we are in the Pokemon era of popularity) and beg their moms to buy it, because its Batman, and because its one of those crappy repaints we keep getting. Its hard to boycott when the collectors arnt really even buying them, we've all gone to DC Direct, or most of us have. Its the only sane thing to do anymore. But how do we tell the moms of the world to stop making their kids happy and boycott their glow in the dark bat-figure collection?

[kid_flash]

Hasbro sucks. I mean, I hated them enough before, but I at least tolerated them because I had heard positive reports on the JL front. I'm with Karkull on this one (especially giving Hasbro the finger. Someone has to).

Y'know, these things USED to be okay. Admist the legion of crappy repaints, there were some really good figures. Now, it's JUST the legion of crappy repaints.

From now on, no more Hasbro toys for me until we get some good figures. It's not like I was really buying anything of theirs anymore anyway.

[Dark Knight]

Yeah I've never purchased a crappy repaint just to have it, only occasionally to get a base figure for customizing. And of course the 4 packs which have the exclusives and the older characters they dont sell individually (which are also good for base figs.)

But the problem definately is not that fans keep buying them because its not the fans who are making them money. Its kids, which is fine I guess but we get screwed in the deal (personally even when I was little I HATED repaints and varients and always wanted all of the characters to be represented when I played with them.)

So, yeah, screw Hasbro. But at the same time DC direct better not make oversized animated JL figures because then Ill just want to customize them all anyway to be to scale with all my Bats and Supes figures.

[DisneyBoy]

We may ALL be ready to give Hasbro the finger as well as all the blame...but (to play devil's advocate) do they really deserve it?

Financially speaking, they are a company trying to make the most money possible in a rather tough toy market. Granted, no buisness is easy anymore, but advertising, tie-ins and cartoons have added a lot to the already difficult buisness of selling a product.

With the B:TAS line, they followed the show to the "T" and buisness went well. They followed the movies to the "T" and buisness went well. But, there came a point when TNBA was nearing the end where they had to consider the fact that animated-style figures just weren't going to be in as much demand as before. I'm not trying to justify their (often disappointing) decisions, cause lord knows I never even found a Lois Lane, Commish Gordon or Alfred Batcave :mad: !!! However, (even though my rather bad attempt at a defense...see above!) the explanation on the news page does make sense. The other members of the team just don't sell as well and the cartoon series is only on one network and a specialty network at that! The masses aren't as familiar with the series as they were when B:TAS came out, and to go through all this trouble when parents and children (the target crowds...sadly, collectors and fans aren't a part of it) are still out there buying "R.E.T.A.R.D. Batman" - Retractable Elastic Talon Armed Roto Device Batman - seems a bit much. Star Wars is insanely popular, and as hard as it is for us B:TAS affectionados to admit, our loyalty and love for B:TAS isn't more important to them than money. When was the last time we saw a company drive itself into the ground to please the public? Heck, Disney's going so low as to make multiple sequels to their classic animates features!!!

The World just isn't as simple as it once was. Money makes the world go 'round and until an agreement can be made, we'll either see half of the League in 7inch style by DC Direct ( :mad: ) or nothing at all ( :mad: ). Frankly, I'd like to see Hasbro handle the toys. You can't deny that those B:TAS figures were and still are awesome...

But I can't deny that I wrote all this as a way to try and prevent us from breaking down their door and attacking them with the monsters they've created - that's right - THE REPAINTS! :mad:

[Karkull]

They could not have a Justice League toyline, but DC would miss out on truckloads of money and the chance to give some of their second-tier characters some coverage. Look at Toy Biz's X-Men lines--some of the fifth-rate characters (Longshot, Shatterstar) are more well-known than Hawkgirl or John Stewart!

Better: what if DC Direct did their own line? They do good figures and could probably simplify their designs to mimic their animated style--they could even commission the Hasbro artists to do it! As for Batman and Superman (and Joker, Luthor, etc.) they could come to an agreement to do one or two of each (thus removing the possibility of repaints!). Hasbro wouldn't lose money.

What do you think? Is it a pipe dream or something that could potentially work?

[Nass]

It could work, but I do think DC Direct would want to do the line with AT LEAST Superman to kick it off, its like a given. AND Batman would be the money maker, something even Hasbro has realized, so how far can it go without those two. Its like having the Tick line without The Tick, but all the supporting members. Ooooh, such a confusing state......will we ever see the line?

[Beyond Batman]

Does Hasbro have its claws (licensing) on that specific animated Batman mold we've seen so many repaints of? Is it just that specific mold??? If DC Direct were to make a whole different mold with similar style and newly added details, would they not be able to make their own version of it?

Please, can someone with extensive knowledge of licensing clear this one up for me?

[JL4Ever]

On the DC Direct homepage they have a link explaining the licensing issue. DC Direct says that they don't produce action figures of many Batman or Superman characters because Hasbro owns the license and they have to pay them to produce them. So, they could do animated JL figures of Batman and Superman but they'd have to get Hasbro's go ahead and pay them a hefty sum. I e-mailed DC Direct and told them that they should produce the JL figures without Superman or Batman characters if need be. Don't get me wrong, I want the whole team made, but if anybody's got to be cut off why not Superman and Batman? They've both been done to death anyway, so what's the loss?

[Ed Liu]

Howdy all,

I'm with JL4Ever on this. If DC Direct did a JL series without Batman or Superman and in the scale of Hasbro's other animated figures, I'd go find my own Batman and/or Superman figures to go along with them. The big problem with that, of course, is that we can't actually GET a Batman or Superman that's just Batman or Superman. We have to get the aforementioned R.E.T.A.R.D. Batman or the Lightining-Laser-ComputerVirus-Ultra-NightAttack-KryptoniteSuit-Ninja-OlympicCurling Superman figure. That and DC Direct would probably have to charge $12 a figure to actually turn a profit on them, since they'd have the same market as the normal DC Direct figures.

The other problem is that the figure I'd really want (Hawkgirl) would probably be a pain in the patookis to actually do well. Her wings would make her easily twice as heavy as any other figure in the set.

-- Ed/Ace

[JL4Ever]

Originally posted by Ace the Bathound
Howdy all,

I'm with JL4Ever on this. If DC Direct did a JL series without Batman or Superman and in the scale of Hasbro's other animated figures, I'd go find my own Batman and/or Superman figures to go along with them. The big problem with that, of course, is that we can't actually GET a Batman or Superman that's just Batman or Superman. We have to get the aforementioned R.E.T.A.R.D. Batman or the Lightining-Laser-ComputerVirus-Ultra-NightAttack-KryptoniteSuit-Ninja-OlympicCurling Superman figure. That and DC Direct would probably have to charge $12 a figure to actually turn a profit on them, since they'd have the same market as the normal DC Direct figures.

The other problem is that the figure I'd really want (Hawkgirl) would probably be a pain in the patookis to actually do well. Her wings would make her easily twice as heavy as any other figure in the set.

-- Ed/Ace

Actually, I like the larger size figures, they're better then any of the smaller Hasbro figures. Also, I don't mind paying $12 if I'm getting a great product. And I think Hawkgirl would be a bit heavy, but she'd also be unique, which would make her figure all the more attractive. I hope DC Direct does these figs because Hasbro probably wouldn't do a good job anyway. Here's hoping.

[Killtacular]

Why should they release Justice League toys so early? Justice League isn't THAT popular. It doesn't get nearly as many viewers as the original Batman and Superman series did, so it would be an inopportune time to come out with action figures because THEY WOULDN'T SELL. Sure, collectors would buy them, but a lot of kids wouldn't know who the hell they are. And the hardcore fans will never outnumber the casual ones (how do you think the Dreamcast died?).

[JL4Ever]

Originally posted by Matt Wilson
Why should they release Justice League toys so early? Justice League isn't THAT popular. It doesn't get nearly as many viewers as the original Batman and Superman series did, so it would be an inopportune time to come out with action figures because THEY WOULDN'T SELL. Sure, collectors would buy them, but a lot of kids wouldn't know who the hell they are. And the hardcore fans will never outnumber the casual ones (how do you think the Dreamcast died?).

Here's why JL figures should be made: To my knowledge Justice League is the highest rated show on Cartoon Network and played a big part in making the channel the highest rated cable network. I'm not sure that compares to the numbers B:TAS and S:TAS brought in, but it's not too bad either. I mean considering more people watch JL then shows like Samurai Jack and Powerpuff Girld says a lot because those shows are very well-known wouldn't you say?

[DisneyBoy]

True, but Cartoon Network is only seen in the States, and even then, not everyone catches it. And in Canada, hardly anyone sees it! I think toy produces would be wise to wait until the series is seen on several stations, in several places before sinking the money into toys...Yah, I'm not happy about it, but if it were my company, that's what I'd do!

[JL4Ever]

Originally posted by DisneyBoy
True, but Cartoon Network is only seen in the States, and even then, not everyone catches it. And in Canada, hardly anyone sees it! I think toy produces would be wise to wait until the series is seen on several stations, in several places before sinking the money into toys...Yah, I'm not happy about it, but if it were my company, that's what I'd do!

There have been very successful franchising and toy lines for Samurai Jack, Scooby Doo, the Powerpuff Girls and other Cartoon Network shows so I don't see why they're number one rated show shouldn't follow in that direction.

[Killtacular]

Justice League had little part in making CN a top-rated basic cable network. It's been one ever since Dragonball Z's Cell saga aired on Toonami. Justice League only gets about a million viewers a week, as far as I know. Sheep in the Big City has 750,000 viewers, in comparison.

You're just gonna have to wait until JL becomes as much a household name as the other shows. But the time isn't NOW.

[Karkull]

Okay...it could still happen, but not right now. I can deal with that.

If DC Direct were do do the line they would still need to "borrow" Batman and Superman's license, however. They not only need their chief moneymakers, but they also need their villains. Sure, they could limp along without Superman and Batman for awhile, but what about the Joker? Lex Luthor (two figures there)? Darkseid? His henchmen? Some food for thought...

[Heehaw]

Hasbro lost their tales on the SW line, especially the Episode I stuff. They almost went bankrupt in 2000 because of it. Lucas commands a very high licensing fee(and royalty) and they produced so much of it(which Uncle George required) that they lost tons of money on all the markdowns at retail.

The Batman lines are they're old faithful. It's basically all profit since they recouped their money spent on R&D long ago.

[superfriend]

Weeks ago, back when the post of 2 action figure assortments and vehicles was putup here I told you all that we had NEVER had the JL license confirmed as going to Hasbro. I posted it here and on the DCDirect board at dccomics.com.

Since them, other posters there have stated they know people at DC and the JL license has not been picked up by ANYONE.

Get mad at Hasbro for crummy repaints of Batman and his clan. Get mad at the fact they only give us 1 new character per quarter in a 4pack that costs 20$. Get mad that the Batman license prevents DC Direct from making Batman family members. But don't get mad at a company for not making something they do not have the right to make.

[Beyond Batman]

"Get mad at Hasbro for crummy repaints of Batman and his clan. Get mad at the fact they only give us 1 new character per quarter in a 4pack that costs 20$. Get mad that the Batman license prevents DC Direct from making Batman family members. But don't get mad at a company for not making something they do not have the right to make." -superfriend

Well, you've listed three good reasons why I can't stand Hasbro. It's "three strikes your out" the way they've been handling their Bat line. I'm mad at the company overall when it comes to their Batman titles, so I don't think my anger is being misplaced at all. I've lost faith in their Batman line, and if nothing new is produced, I'll continue to spend my money with DC Direct who are faithful to their superhero fans.

If you guys want to see Hasbro pump out some quality figures, I encourage you guys not to buy anymore of their Batman lines... because most likely it'll be a repaint with some other gimicky gadget.

In essence, you're no longer paying for a new figure but a new piece of colored cardboard, different colored paint, and useless accessories you'll most likely never display or play with that will end up as a garage sale item or a toy donation.

[Karkull]

You know, I was under the impression that all Hasbro had to do was to buy the rights to make Justice League figures, not have to pay for each character's rights. The Batman character's rights were purchased in bulk, why not JL?

Besides, it's not like DC Direct really needs them at the moment. Last year they released a bulk of characters (John Stewart GL, Star Sapphire, Solomon Grundy, Shade, Kyle Rayner, etc.) that are appearing on the show. I thought that they were merely getting those characters out of their system...

[Squall]

You know, it's ironic that in Hasbro's hey day (the 1980's) they were THE toy company everyone else wanted to be. Transformers (Generation 1) and G.I. Joe (the 3 1/4 inch figures) were selling like hotcakes -- AND they were very high quality toys. (So high quality that collectors will pay handsome sums for them, even today!) Go to any collector's shop today and you'll see that Transformers and G.I. Joe get the dominant display areas, because the toys are worth so much now.

I agree that it's too early to make JL toys. Wait until the end of Season 2... then there will be enough JL episodes out to have built up characters and story arcs, and several DVDs will have been released by then too. :D We haven't even seen the best there is to offer in Season 1 yet! ("Injustice For All", "Fury", and "The Savage Time")

I hate what Hasbro has done with their Batman and Superman licencse, but I don't blame them. Money is their goal, because you can't pay the bills with fans' love. :rolleyes: It's just the way things work, I'm afraid. :(