Origins is…in a weird spot right now. Mattel has committing to “finishing the Vintage line” through Mattel Creations. Right now, the crux of their mass retail offerings are centered on 3 areas: ”Fan Favorites” (reissues), Cartoon Collection, and Turtles of Grayskull.
We’ll see what the Creations show this week reveals. My hope is that MotU, as a franchise, is in the midst of a reorganization. 2021 and 22 saw a LOT of push for the brand, but I’m not sure how well the response was. The Netflix show fizzled out fairly quickly, Masterverse brought competition, and Origins was severely hindered by some MAJOR pegwarmers.
My observation was that the BuzzOff/Sorceress/Jitsu Origins wave REALLY bogged down stores, with Rulers of the Sun, in general, being more of a liability than asset (I’m sure you can easily go out and find Pigmans out there). The vehicles haven’t been sterling sellers, Ollies (last I was there) had PILES of Windraiders, Landsharks, and both flavors of Cats. That said, Origins still seems to have strong online support (though I’m not at physical stores that actually carry the line to gauge any response there), and it’s harder for me to get Origins for retail than it is Masterverse.
Hopefully, Cartoon Collection will juice sales and support through the year. Retail (at least around here) seemed to skip the 2023 “Snake era”, so I’m hoping it meant some of the those languishing 2022 figures finally processed out. Fan Favorites has potential, there are A LOT of older figures (Roboto, Scareglow, Man-E-Faces, Fisto, Hordak, Faker) that would probably be welcome by the market.
And Turtles of Grayskull has been just so damn fun. I’m hoping this portends other cross overs in this style. I DO have to be prepared to skip some of the deluxe figures given Walmart’s involvement With some.
I don’t mind online sales at this point, simply because my local retail venue (a SINGLE Walmart) has cut back so far, if I had stuck with them, I frankly wouldn’t have gotten ANYTHING last year. BBTS, despite slightly higher pricing, has been a godsend for MOTU. Because Origins seems to have a strong resale market at the moment (despite reruns that SHOULD HAVE brought prices down on some figures).