DC Superheroes (toy)

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DC Superheroes

6" Action Figure Toy Line
S3 Superman Series :	Series 2, Series 4, Series 5, Series 6
S3 Batman Series:	Series 1, Series 3, Series 7, Series 8
Justice League Unlimited Series :	Series continued from Justice League Unlimited, continued as Series 3-6

DC Superheroes is a collection of action figures originally produced by Mattel in early 2006. It is divided into two different lines- the Justice League Unlimited toyline and the S3: Select Sculpt Series, which is further divided into two lines, one featuring Batman, and the other featuring Superman. Series 1 of the S3 line began shipping just after Christmas 2005 to Wal Mart and began arriving in retailers like Target and Toys R Us approximately one month later. The figures have characteristics similar to the competing Marvel Legends line in terms of detailed sculpting, articulation, and including a comic book or in some cases, a poster with each figure.

[edit] History

The last series of Mattel's Batman (2003 toy line), featuring several new characters, was not released in America, instead, reaching distant areas such as Australia. Three out of four figures (Bat Signal Batman, Bane and Scarecrow) were retooled (Batman had new paint and a new cape, and Bane had new hands), and shipped to Wal Marts. The fourth figure of the assortment was Killer Croc, who was previously hard to find and had a new head sculpt and paint application. At New York Toy Fair 2006, the first five assortments were announced (though the fourth wave was postponed). The figures came with a comic book or poster centering around the character it came with, but 2007 figures come with cardboard dioramas. At San Diego Comic Convention, Mattel announced they would be re-branding the line into DC Universe Classics.

[edit] S3- Select Sculpt Series Figures

DC Superheroes Batman and Superman series in packages Left to right: Batman and Superman in orange (2006) package, and Superman and Batgirl in purple (2007) package

Since Mattel only had the license to Batman and Superman characters as of 2007(with the exception of the Justice League Unlimited line), only Batman and Superman characters were able to appear in the line . Instead of using variations on a single character, the line focuses on secondary characters and villains. The entire line (with the exception of Robin) is sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios. The figures have around twenty one points of articulation.

After a line of Superman figures were released (Superman, Supergirl, Doomsday, Bizarro, and a Superman/Bizarro 2-pack), the S3 line returned to Batman, releasing a new Batman, Robin, Azrael, and Mr. Freeze. While Robin and Mr. Freeze shared the same sculpt as their Batman counterparts, Batman and Azrael were new sculpts released for the first time, though Mr. Freeze featured as much articulation as Batman and Azrael.

The Third Superman line featured Superman (black "S" shield), Lex Luthor, Brainiac and Darkseid. Two Target-exclusive two-packs were also released, one featuring Superman/Clark Kent, and one featuring Batman/Batgirl (comic styled Barbara Gordon version). Mattel also released two 13" figures, Batman and Superman.

Sticking with Superman, Mattel released Steel, Parasite, Kal-El, Black Suit Superman (hard to find) and Cyborg Superman (very hard to find) figures, along with repainted versions of Superman, Supergirl, Doomsday (a lava colored version), Bizarro (one a purple repaint, one with a #1 necklace) and Darkseid (a darker repaint).

So far, the S3 line features only Superman and Batman characters, and focuses on villains and secondary characters rather than variations of the main characters. The only Batman figure that was initially shipped overseas and never re-shipped under the DC Super Heroes line was Attack Armor Batman. Early waves of figures came with comic books featuring the character they came with, yet due to shipping costs and complications (Mattel is near the West Coast, DC Comics is on the East Coast), Mattel has since switched to cardboard dioramas.

On June 28, Mattel was granted the license to be extended to include all of the DC Comics characters, including all movies and TV shows past, present and future.

Mattel has expressed interest in the past to try and make almost every character in the DC universe. Mattel also said they'd continue their Batman and Superman lines, but most likely it'll be within the continued DC Universe Classics brand. Characters they expressed interest in, and plan on making in the Batman series are: Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, a Batman Begins Scarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, Firefly, The Riddler, Talia, Mad Hatter, and Black Mask.

The Penguin and a Classic Batman will be appearing in the DC Universe Classics line, as Batman spearheads its first series, while the electric Superman Red appear in the second series.

[edit] Series One- Batman

[edit] Series Two- Superman

[edit] Series Three- Batman

DC Superheroes Series 3 Left to right: Mr Freeze, Robin, Batman and Azrael

[edit] Series Four- Superman

[edit] Series Five- Superman

[edit] Target Exclusives 2-packs

The yellow-carded DC Superheroes S3 series packs were rounded out by 2-packs exclusively released to Target stores.

These 2-packs were released as follows-

• Bizarro/Superman
• Batman/Batgirl
• Clark Kent/Superman

[edit] Series Six- Superman

DC Superheroes Series 6 Left to right: Bizarro, Steel, Superman (dark), Darkseid (dark), Lex Luthor (armored), Parasite, Mongul, Bizarro (dark), and Kal-El/Superman. Seen at the back is the second 'purple-card' packaging.

This series marks the departure from yellow cards to the new purple packs.

[edit] Series Seven- Batman

[edit] Series Eight- Batman

• Man-Bat was originally scheduled for Series Seven, but was dropped. Mattel has stated the figure will appear in a series of DC Universe Classics. A dark tech-suit variant of Mr. Freeze was also to be included but was dropped as well.

[edit] Batman Exclusives

These figures are exclusives commonly known as belonging to the DC Superheroes line but are only marked with the Batman logo and not as part of DC Superheroes. It can even be argued that figures are a sort of continuation from the previous Mattel Batman line, which was where the DCSH line started from in the first place.

[edit] Justice League Unlimited

Main article: DC Superheroes: Justice League Unlimited (toy)

Around the same time the first S3 figures hit shelves, the JLU line had also moved under the name DC SuperHeroes. The packaging is similar to the comic line: in 2006 they were both orange, in 2007, they both became purple.

[edit] The Future of S3: DC Universe Classics

Main article: DC Universe Classics

A line of action figures comprising characters from the entire DC Universe were released in January of 2008. The first series was viewable at Comic-Con 2007.

[edit] See also

• Batman
• DC Direct
• Justice League Unlimited toyline

[edit] External links

• DC Superheroes Image Archive
• DC Super Heroes Archives