💬 General DC Collecting Chit-Chat 💬

[Vroom]

Not news or sharing a recent pick-up/find, so I wanted to give this a bump.

I was recently thinking back on DC lines of the last two decades that I never bought anything from, and Art Asylum’s C3 line came to mind.

What was this line, you ask?

C3, an abbreviation of “create, construct and customize”, was Art Asylum’s first go-around with DC Minimates, and featured them in Lego-esque building sets, many of which can be seen in eBay pictures below:

The above pictures are by no means the entirety of Art Asylum’s C3 DC output, but they do represent a generous portion of the line.

C3 was one of many fun DC lines that debuted in 2003, alongside Mattel’s initial output of DC product, which consisted of Justice League (the TV series), animated Batman and their first 6-inch DC line, Batman, which featured beautiful sculpts by the Four Horsemen and is a line that easily stands the test of time two decades upon its release.

Did/do you have anything from Art Asylum’s C3 line?

Is this now a line you’re interested in and will ardently check eBay and elsewhere for (if so, the timing is right, as demand for the line seems to be pretty low ATM)?

Discuss!

[Vroom]

Since this isn’t a showcase of recent finds or collecting news, it bears mentioning here.

When Mattel got the DC license in late 2002 (and began releasing product in January of 2003), it was initially limited to three things:

• Justice League (the TV series)
• Anything Batman-related.
• Anything Superman-related.

At this point in time, Mattel was rebuilding their portfolio of boy’s brands (like the gender label or not, boys statistically did buy the majority of action figures at the time), as prior to 2002 (and 2001, if you want to count their Masters of the Universe re-issues), they had largely been out of the boy’s/action figure aisle for many years.

With that in mind, Warner Brothers Consumer Products only allowed a small portion of the DC license to Mattel initially, so as to let them prove themselves before getting the entire DC master toy license, which they eventually would in 2007.

While Mattel produced a lot of cool product within their slim share of the DC license from 2003-2007, I’d like to highlight some of their Barbie output.

Now, I’m not a Barbie guy (I do love Aqua’s Barbie Girl song, though) but come on, Barbie enthusiast or not, these releases from mid-2003 to 2005 are just cool (all pictures hail from eBay):

Paging @DC89:

Paging @moro and @SteveTrevor2.0:

In addition to the basic dolls above, here are a few of the more collector-oriented Barbie DC pieces:

While I saw all of the above when they were at retail from 2003 to 2005 (especially at Toys R Us, who seemed to go in on the line quite heavily), I never bought any of them while they were at retail, nor have I bought any of them on the secondary market in the two decades since the dolls’ initial release.

With the 20th anniversary of this collection nearing as of this summer, I thought it’d be a good time to celebrate the initial dalliance Barbie had with DC characters under Mattel’s initial foray into producing DC action figures and related collectibles, one which would extend into other releases throughout the years, from Superman Returns to DCEU-based product from the Wonder Woman and Justice League movies via characters such as Wonder Woman, Steve Trevor, Antiope, Cheetah and Mera, along with this summer’s The Flash, where Supergirl will once again see life in Barbie form with the following release (available at Amazon right now and for $55):

Do or have you had any of the above Barbie/DC releases?

Is there a Barbie/DC collaboration you’d like to see?

Are these dolls entirely new to you and you’re saying “I need these!” to yourself?

Whatever bill fits you, share your thoughts on the Barbie/DC collaborations (including any not highlighted in this post, as I didn’t cover all of them) from over the last 20 years down below.

Finally, I’d like to spotlight the Antiope Barbie, which is a favorite of mine:

[DC89]

@Vroom

Your girl’s got this one.

[Vroom]

Being that Batman was my #1 fav in 2003, you might have thought I’d want Batgirl above the others, but this is the one that always grabbed my four eyes the most at Toys R Us:

Time and time again, I’d pick her up, while thinking “Should I buy her today?” as I moseyed around TRU and checked out their aisles of action figures.

Ultimately, I said “Nah, some other day.” and always put her back in her respective spot in the doll aisle.

Is this the year I finally get Mattel’s very first offering of Kara, as well as her Flash counterpart?

In the words of Bugs Bunny (and come on Mattel/Barbie, how about a cross-dressing Bugs Bunny disguised as a female rabbit, eh? ), “Mmmm, could be!”

[TheMidnightGhost]

@Vroom

image1200×1600 149 KB

My mom has that doll. I remember being a kid and me and my twin were playing with some of our action figures. My twin had a Batgirl doll, and I had my Batman, GL, Joker and Bane. My little sister wanted to participate and we kind of said no, because she always made everything girly and overly dramatic, (she was only 6). She got mad and told out mom about it. My mom felt really bad for her and took the doll out of the box so that way my sister could be happy.

I thought it was a pretty cool doll, and when I got into my mid-teen years, I realized how expensive and collectible that doll is and my collector heart broke. I asked my mom why she took it out of the box, and she told me that it was because my sister felt left out those years ago, and I told her that she never even played with us that day. My mom got a bit bothered that she took this great doll out of the box, only for my sister not to play with it or anything expect for messing up the hair and the cape.

She still regrets taking it out of the box to this day

[Vroom]

It was a cool move on your mom’s part though, so as to help your sister get involved.

Did she save the box, so as to put Diana back in it?

[TheMidnightGhost]

@Vroom

It was a cool move on your mom’s part though,

It was cool, but my little sister never even played with that doll. Somehow she managed to mess it up though. It’s not the first collectible doll that she’s taken out for her though.

@Vroom

Did she save the box, so as to put Diana back in it?

From what I remember, no. She has the doll hidden away somewhere, and I don’t know where that box is.

[moro]

Yeah I’m aware of the Wonder Woman pieces. As you may know, I recently acquired some larger Superman pieces in 10”, 12”, and 13” scales. Being the Trinity collector that I am, I’ve been searching for WW and Batman pieces to pair with at least one of these.

Excuse the repetitiveness if you’ve seen these pics before in my other posts.

Ultimate Superman (Kenner, 10”)

Couldn’t really find a matching Batman or Wonder Woman.

Fully Poseable Superman (Kenner, 12”)

Kenner made a Batman/Catwoman set in this style & size.

13” Superman (DC Direct)

There’s a whole roster to go along with this one, Batman & Wonder Woman included, but as nice as the figure looks, the quality left me a bit underwhelmed.

I’ve also been looking at Mattel’s Giants Of Justice 12” line, which has great Superman & Batman pieces, but no Wonder Woman.

In my search, I came across the Wonder Woman Barbies you showed. Ebay listings say they’re 12” scale, is that accurate? If so, their size and cloth goods costumes may be a good match for the second Supes figure I just shared, for which there’s also a Batman. The aesthetic is (naturally) more doll than action figure though, especially the faces, so I’m not sure how well it would go with the Kenner pieces.

Long story short, I found that older, larger scale Wonder Woman figures are hard to come by, unless you’re looking at these Barbie dolls. Nowadays 1/6 scale is common in collector brands, so not as hard a get.

[moro]

@TheMidnightGhost

She still regrets taking it out of the box to this day

Tell her moro says she shouldn’t feel bad, and she should take it out, put it on display and enjoy it .

[moro]

There’s also this Wonder Woman Barbie piece that I think would look pretty good out of the box on a shelf (ebay picture).

Based on asking prices, it seems this one is of the rarer variety.

Edit: Deleted the second picture. Had a custom head.

[TheMidnightGhost]

@moro

Edit: Deleted the second picture. Had a custom head.

Already caught that image lol

@moro

Tell her moro says she shouldn’t feel bad, and she should take it out, put it on display and enjoy it .

I’ll tell her. It’d be nice to see that doll again, anyway

[Vroom]

@moro

Couldn’t really find a matching Batman

@moro

Kenner made a Batman/Catwoman set in this style & size.

Indeed and its quite a nice set:

I wouldn’t mind getting some of Hasbro’s 8-inch offerings in their DC Super Heroes line, especially this Superman:

When that line was at retail, this was my grail from it:

I have the 6-inch figures from that line, but never pulled the trigger on any of the 8-inch pieces.

@moro

Ebay listings say they’re 12” scale, is that accurate?

12" is indeed accurate.

@moro

I found that older, larger scale Wonder Woman figures are hard to come by, unless you’re looking at these Barbie dolls. Nowadays 1/6 scale is common in collector brands, so not as hard a get.

An example of just how much collecting has changed (in some ways for the better, while in others not for the better) in the last 20 years.

[DC89]

@moro

NGL- I absolutely loved Mullet Supes’. And I really dug it when Clark wore his hair in a ponytail during the day at the Daily Planet.

[Vroom]

@DC89

Mullet Supes

I remember in early 1995, when Tomart’s Action Figure Digest showed a picture of this Kenner Clark…

…that came with this vehicle (although, the vehicle wasn’t named or shown in the magazine as it was still far-off from its retail release)…

…and pre-teen me said “Why the hell does Clark have a ponytail?” when I saw the figure.

Of course, I wasn’t actively reading Superman books then, so I understandably didn’t get what the ponytail was in reference to.

AFAIK, that remains the only figure of Clark with a ponytail.

[moro]

Saw that Batman Forever figure. I suppose mixing movie and comic figures could work.

First time seeing those Hasbro 8” figures. Aware of the smaller ones, but not those. I’m gonna need a whole new cabinet and some extra room if I’m gonna do a serious dig into Mattel and Hasbro (and Kenner Total Justice). Alas, space is what it is, and my collection is already pretty big.

Moderation, moro… moderation…

That car/Clark combo along with Superboy and his motorcycle, seen below, are the only two items needed for me to truly complete Kenner’s Man of Steel line. It will likely remain incomplete. I wouldn’t know where to put those vehicles.

Thanks for the confirmation on 12”. Good to know for future reference!

Collecting has changed. I can’t say I know what it was like 20 years ago, but product offerings alone are a huge indication, so is adult collector involvement.

Apologies for not quoting you on each point. Scrolling back & forth on this thing isn’t always fun .

[moro]

There’s a whole thread dedicated to long haired Supes! My contribution there was that Dan Jurgens has insisted it’s long hair and not a mullet. He also doesn’t like the ponytail very much

Personally, I’m mullet/ponytail neutral .

[DC89]

@moro

mullet/ponytail

My bad. I didn’t mean to offend. I didn’t know that this was a thing in the Superman fandom.

[Vroom]

@moro

I suppose mixing movie and comic figures could work.

It always works, mon frere.

While I absolutely understand why some like to keep figures grouped by the type of media they’re from (as I do that myself), I also try not to shackle myself and the potential of a wicked-rad display by doing that, as I like mixing versions of characters from assorted media together.

Like I said elsewhere, I’d like to get another Spin Master Supergirl and put her among the 4-inch Heroes Unite figures I noodle with on my work desk while working (or cough killing time cough), so as to have her next to Superman as they…team-up against the new Deathstroke or my Cyborg Superman custom or…whatever the heck I want 'em to team-up against. The imagination works wonders and then some.

@moro

space is what it is, and my collection is already pretty big.

Well pard, tell you what:

I’ll look after your Kenner Super Powers stuff, which will allow your more space and then-

moro crosses his arms, smiles and says “No.”

Dang! Credit for thinking outside the box, though?

moro thinks for a moment and says “Eh, sure.” to which I smile and say “Alright!” to

@moro

Collecting has changed. I can’t say I know what it was like 20 years ago

Ah, gather around my friend and I shall tell you of when Toys R Us, Tower Records, Suncoast Motion Picture Company, Sam Goody, Kay-Bee Toys and more dotted the collecting landscape in 2003. 'Twas a golden age, 'twas.

@moro

Apologies for not quoting you on each point.

Eh, no worries. You’re good.

@moro

Personally, I’m mullet/ponytail neutral .

I’ve honestly called it a mullet, despite the fact that technically, it really isn’t one.

Speaking of long hair Superman, here’s a dandy piece from 2008:

After Kenner’s Power Flight Superman, the DCUC long hair Superman is my fav’rit figural representation of that look.

[moro]

@DC89

My bad. I didn’t mean to offend. I didn’t know that this was a thing in the Superman fandom.

Oh my gosh… did I come across as offended? Heck no @DC89! Never from you . It’s not a “thing” to get offended over at all. When I said I’m neutral on it, I meant just that. I tend to focus more on the S and the cape when it comes to Supes’ appearance.

His hair? Maybe I’d like to see him go bald and grow a beard like yours truly .

[moro]

@Vroom

my fav’rit figural representation of that look.

This piece from Hallmark.