As part of the celebration for reaching 250,000 Facebook fans, DC Collectibles has opened its vaults to showcase some prototyped but never developed figures from the past. What's more, DC's asking for your input to see which figures out of the bunch you'd like to see made the most. If any get made at all.

Toy production is a fickle thing, and many times, the concepts and prototypes teased at events like Toy Fair never see the light of day. Whether it's due to a lack of interest at retail, unexpected production costs, or the dissolution of a line dwindling in sales, there are probably just as many ideas collecting dust in a manufacturer's studio as there are actual releases on your shelves. It's rare to get a glimpse into what could have been, but DC Collectibles has given a tiny peek inside its vaults.

 

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First up, we've got the Ame-Comi Mary Marvel statue. The design isn't quite as outrageous as some of the statues in this series that were actually produced, but Mary definitely has some flourishes in her style that make her wholly unique to this alternate anime-esque DCU.

Mary actually made her debut back in 2012, but was never seen again, even with the relative digital comic hit, Ame-Comi Girls just kicking off. A lot of characters got a shot in this line, from Wonder Woman to Brainiac and even White Canary, but fate was just not on Mary Marvel's side.

 

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Though statues of a handful of DC Universe Online characters were created and sold (designed by Jim Lee), poseable figures based on the MMORPG (and also designed by Jim Lee) never made it to market. Hell, these figures even had an actual in-store date, and were supposed to arrive on shelves in March of 2012. We even reported on it.

For whatever reason, DC Direct just let the figures slip into oblivion. Wonder if it had anything to do with 2011's big comic event that hit the big reset button on the universe, and DC wanting to focus on the new and improved characters, not these more classically designed heroes and villains?

 

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Black Manta here was intended to be the next in a line of busts in the DC Super-Villains line, along with the likes of Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, and the Joker.

It's not really clear why Black Manta didn't make it into production, but based on the recent announcement of Deathstroke as the next bust in this line, we're going to guess it's because Black Manta can't really be considered a Bat-villain. Maybe if Aquaman was as popular as DC wanted him to be, things would be different for his main nemesis. It's a nice bust. It's just that it's hard to care about Black Manta enough to drop $60+ on a statue of him.

 

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In recent years, 3 3/4-inch figures have become more and more popular at retail, and as such, among collectors. The lower price points and space-saving size certainly don't hurt, even if the figures aren't quite as detailed and poseable as their 6-inch brethren.

While DC Collectibles has been pumping out New 52 figures at a steady pace, they've mostly all been at the 1/12 scale. Though a smaller line of figures based on the New 52 would have been nice, say two or three years ago, now it almost feels like a moot point. That is, if the rumored fallout from Convergence is indeed another reset button.

 

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Finally, we have this line of Batman figures based on the cover to Detective Comics #241. That issue's cover depicted Batman donning that pink suit above, while the rest of the suits sat on mannequins in the background of the Batcave. One would assume this would be a box set, as we can't really imagine these being sold on their own. Based on the art of Sheldon Moldoff, the figures actually have a pretty unique style, even beyond the color prism paint apps.

That said, you're looking at a $50-80 box set of figures here, and that might just be too high a price to give these a feasible (read: profitable) production run.

You can cast your vote over on DC Collectible's website, and hope that whatever wins will actually get made.

 

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