Last updated 6" Action Figure Toy Line of DC Superheroes
DC Superheroes is a collection of action figures originally produced by Mattel in early 2006. It is divided into three different lines - the Justice League Unlimited toyline, with figures based on the animated Justice League Unlimited series; the S3: Select Sculpt Series, featuring more comic-accurate figures in the 6" scale; and a 12" figure line. The S3 line 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 diorama with each figure.
The line began as a successor to Mattel's Batman toyline. Since Mattel only had the license to Batman and Superman characters at the time (with the exception of the Justice League Unlimited line), only Batman and Superman characters were able to appear in the line. Instead of primarily using variations on a single character, the line focused on secondary characters and villains.
At New York City's Toy Fair in 2006, the first five assortments were announced (though the fourth series was postponed). The entire line (with the exception of Robin and Nightwing) was sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios. The figures have around twenty one points of articulation and initially came with a comic book centering on the character it came with, but in 2007 figures came with cardboard dioramas instead.
On June 28, 2007 Mattel's license was extended to include all of the DC Comics characters, including all movies and TV shows past, present and future. At San Diego Comic-Con International, Mattel announced they would be re-branding the line into DC Universe Classics. The first series was viewable at SDCC 2007 and was released in January 2008.
Around the same time the first S3 figures hit shelves, the JLU line had also moved under the brand "DC Superheroes". The packaging is similar to the S3 line: in 2006 they were both orange; in 2007, they both became purple.
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
The S3 line featured only Superman and Batman characters, and although the promise was that the line would focus on villains and secondary characters, in practice the assortments were heavy with variations of the main characters. Early series 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 later switched to cardboard dioramas.
In the past Mattel had expressed interest in trying to make almost every character in the DC Universe. Mattel also said they would continue their Batman and Superman lines, but within the continued DC Universe Classics brand. Characters they expressed interest in, and planned on making in the Batman series were: Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, a Batman BeginsScarecrow, Ra's al Ghul, Firefly, The Riddler, Talia al Ghul, Mad Hatter, and Black Mask (Harley Quinn and the Riddler were eventually released as part of DC Universe Classics, while Scarecrow was released as part of the Movie Masters line).
Series One (Batman)
The last series of Mattel's Batman toyline, featuring several new characters, was not released in America; instead, it reached 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 a running change on Bane gave him 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. The only Batman figure that was initially shipped overseas and never re-shipped under the DC Superheroes line was Attack Armor Batman.
DC Superheroes Series 3. Left to right: Mr. Freeze, Robin, Batman, and Azrael
With Series Three, the S3 line returned to the Batman family, releasing a new Batman, Robin, Azrael, and Mr. Freeze. While Robin and Mr. Freeze shared the same sculpt as their original releases in the Batman toyline, Batman and Azrael were new sculpts released for the first time, though Mr. Freeze featured as much articulation as Batman and Azrael. Series Three was also the first series to include a diorama with each figure instead of a comic book. Although comics would be included again with Series 4 figures, Series Five through Eight would feature dioramas only.
The second Superman series (fourth series overall) 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).
Figure
Version
Accessories
Description
Articulation
Re-release
Superman
2nd sculpt
Rereleased from Mattel 2003 line
14 points
Superman
1st sculpt
Repaint of Series 2 version - black and red logo, red eyes
23 points
Series 5
Supergirl
Linda Danvers
Repaint of Series 2 version - black and red logo, black skirt
This series marks the departure from orange cards to the new purple packs. Sticking with Superman for the next two series, Mattel released Steel, Parasite, Kal-El, Black Suit Superman, and Cyborg Superman (very hard to find) figures, along with repainted versions of Superman, Supergirl, Doomsday, Bizarro, and Darkseid.
Repaint of Series 2 version - 2nd paint scheme (dark), nameplates either gray or black
23 points
Series Seven (Batman)
A brown version of Man-Bat was originally scheduled for Series Seven, but was dropped. The figure was eventually released as part of DC Universe Classics. A dark tech-suit variant of Mr. Freeze was also to be included but was dropped as well; it was eventually released as a convention exclusive in 2008.
Figure
Version
Accessories
Description
Articulation
Re-release
Camo Bane
Teddy bear
Repaint of Series 1 version - camouflaged suit
14 points
Knightshadow Batman
2nd sculpt
3 Batarangs
Repaint of Series 3 Batman - black suit with new head
Mattel also released several 12" figures under the DC Superheroes banner. The figures are larger versions of the S3 sculpts. This line continued as part of the DC Universe line.
Figure
Version
Accessories
Description
Articulation
First Release
Re-release
Superman
1st sculpt
12" version of DCSH Series 2 figure
Batman
2nd sculpt
12" version of DCSH Series 3 figure
Batman
2nd sculpt
12" version of DCSH Series 8 figure, Toys "R" Us exclusive
Cyborg Superman
12" version of DCSH Series 6 figure, Toys "R" Us exclusive
An action figure is a poseable character toy figurine made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
Four Horsemen Studios is a collectible figure design studio and manufacturer, specializing in creating sculptures of toys and action figures. The company was founded in the late 1990s as a contractor to Mattel, and have since grown to an independent studio creating their own lines of figures as well as manufacturing third party designs under license.
The DC Animated Universe is a shared universe of superhero-based animated television series, produced by Warner Bros. Animation and based on characters that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. The shared universe, much like the original DC Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.
Marvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the 6-inch (150 mm) scale, with spin-off lines in the 4-inch (100 mm), 8-inch (200 mm), and 12-inch (300 mm) scale.
Minimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a 2 in (51 mm) tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 points of articulation, higher than average for block figures. Released in both specialty stores as well as mass-market retailers, Minimates are made for both kid-friendly and adult-oriented properties, giving them a diverse fan base. The best-known and longest-running series of Minimates is based on Marvel Comics, with over 60 waves of figures in existence, but lines of Minimates have been released for numerous other comic books, TV series, movies and video games.
The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.
Batman Total Justice is a line of toys produced by Kenner based on Batman and other, connected, DC Comics characters.
Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s.
Lego Batman is a theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2006, based on the superhero character Batman, under license from DC Comics. The sets feature vehicles, characters and scenes from the comics and films. The inspirations for the design of these varies widely. For example, the Batmobile retains its basic sleek shape and prominent fins from the Tim Burton films, whereas the "Bat-Tank" seems to be based on the tank-like Batmobile in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. In 2008, a video game based on the theme, Lego Batman: The Videogame, was released, along with four new sets. The theme was relaunched in early 2012 as part of the Lego DC Universe Superheroes line, which is a sub-theme of the Lego Super Heroes line. In total there were seventeen sets, almost all of them including Batman.
In 2003, DC rewarded the rights to produce Batman, Superman, and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited figures to Mattel. Mattel, who took over production from Hasbro, released their first original comic-style toy line, Batman, in 2003, and it lasted until summer 2005.
DC Universe Classics was an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios, and were first available for sale in 2008. The "DC Classics" line ceased to be sold at retail in 2012 with wave 20. The series then became an online-and-convention exclusive line. It was announced in late 2014 that the line would come to an end with a final series of six figures celebrating the history of the line.
The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, as part of their Fisher-Price brand.
DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection is an action figure line based on the highly popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Though it was based on the show(s), the line has continued well beyond it, and has been re-branded in 2008, as a Target exclusive. Mattel announced in February 2011 that the line would come to an end later in the year with the final figures being released on the Mattel website including the final two three-packs, a seven-pack as well as the three exclusive Con three-packs being made available to the public.
DC Universe is a toy brand manufactured by Mattel. It has five sub-lines – Classics, Fighting Figures, Giants of Justice, Infinite Heroes, and the reintegrated Justice League Unlimited line.
Marvel Universe is a 33⁄4" action figure line manufactured by Hasbro, featuring characters from the Marvel Comics universe. It first hit stores in early 2009 and features detailed sculpting, multiple points of articulation, and accessories. The line was created by Hasbro Designer Dave Vonner.
Movie Masters is an action figure toyline from Mattel based on popular movie franchises most notably DC Comics. The line has featured characters from the films Superman, Avatar, The Dark Knight trilogy, Green Lantern, and Man of Steel. Figures in the line are sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios, who also sculpted figures for Mattel's DC Superheroes and DC Universe Classics lines.
Princess of Power is a toyline created by Mattel. Among others, it features the characters of She-Ra and Catra on planet Etheria. With its launch in 1984, the toyline spawned a variety of products, including three lines of fashion action figures. The Princess of Power logo and characters are currently used by Mattel as part of the Masters of the Universe Classics toyline.
DC Universe All-Stars is a 6-inch action figure toyline to be released by Mattel beginning in 2012. It is the follow-up to Mattel's previous 6-inch toyline DC Universe Classics, and focuses on characters owned by DC Comics.
Robot Chicken DC Comics Special is an episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken and it was aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim on September 10, 2012.
DC Multiverse is an American action figure toyline from Mattel. Primarily consisting of 6-inch figures, the line is based on properties owned by DC Comics. The line was launched as a continuation of Mattel's DC Universe Classics line, and utilizes the same scale, sculpt and articulation style.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
