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There are many reasons for this. Sometimes the company goes under; sometimes production costs prove too expensive; sometimes behind-the-scenes politicking kills the deal. Here are eight notable toylines that never got the full treatment they deserved.
8) The Goon
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7) Magma C.O.R.P.S.
2005 saw the Four Horsemen, sculptors of Mattel's Masters of the Universe Classics, producing their own line of action figures for the very first time, creating their own concept and bringing it to life in toy form entirely on their own accord. The result was the very cool Magma C.O.R.P.S., whose first figure, Commander Argus, debuted at the San Diego Comic Con. A whole line was planned, as well as animation and other tie-in material, but it all ended too fast: with the exception of the Commander, none of the other characters were ever made. This cleared the way for the Four Horseman's future projects such as FANtastic Exclusive, but it's still disappointing that their full concept line was never released.
6) Avatar: The Last Airbender
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Now that you're back, join me in bemoaning the insanely disappointing action figures produced by Mattel, who in their infinite wisdom decided that no one would possibly want to buy toys of girls from a show full of smart, developed, interesting and strong female characters. Instead, enjoy multiple awful Aang and Zuko variants. If any Mattel executives are wondering why this line didn't do well, and why it died long before the show did, maybe take one of those workplace courses on equal opportunity and think really, really hard.
5) Carnage Dinosaurs
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Called "Carnage," it was a line of realistic, well-articulated dinosaur figures. After decades of hollow rubber dinosaurs from Imperial or dinosaurs that with extra parts (like Dino Riders), a company was finally offering straight-up articulated dinosaurs. The first wave included such favorites as Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, and Triceratops. And to be fair, the line technically made it to a second wave, which featured two more dinosaurs, but the figures were produced in limited numbers and poorly distributed, and many collectors never even knew they existed. After Resaurus went under, another company bought some of the molds and produced them under the name "Dinosaur Kings" for the Discovery Channel -- but again, these are hard to find.
4) Transformers: War For Cybertron
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So, where are they? Mixed in with the 2010 Transformers Generations line, for no good reason that anyone can fathom. Collectors are crying out for a full line of these excellent character designs, but instead have to pick them from the first few waves of a different line. It's rumored Hasbro has plans for a more focused toy line for the game's sequel, Fall of Cybertron.
3) Adult Swim
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No line illustrates this better than Palisades' extremely short-lived Adult Swim toys. Produced in sets of two with an abundance of accessories, the action figures mixed major and minor characters so that collectors could acquire the more important characters across the line along with fan favorites. Instead of getting Harvey Birdman immediately, collectors could get his crazed boss Phil Ken Sebben and the Bear. Aqua Teen fans could buy one of the Hunger Force, Shake, as well as villain Monster Moth Man, and (theoretically) buy the others later on. The only problem is the line ended before you can say "Number 1 in the Hood, Gee" -- which means we'll never have an entire Aqua Teen Hunger Force, nor a Carl for them to annoy. It means we have the Bear, but no Harvey Birdman! Instead, we have a random mixture of characters who, without their surrounding players, don't really fit anywhere. That's really sad.
2) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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Future figures, including April, Shredder and a Foot Soldier, were shown at conventions, but only April was ever released. The line ended without seeing any of the other great characters sculpted in their original form, and we weep.
1) Sesame Street
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The plans for this line were amazing: each series included a mixture of well-known characters with minor-but-still-loved individuals, each packaged with a letter or number amongst other accessories, and a part of Sesame Street as a base. When the whole line was collected, you would have had a diorama of the entire Sesame Street as well as all of the numbers and letters.
But when Palisades died, so did the line, and all that was ever released was the exclusive Super Grover, complete with his telephone box and his disguise. It's a gorgeous action figure, amazingly sculpted and fun to play with -- it exemplifies the ingenuity that went into Palisades' action figures. No other company has stepped up to the plate to take on their unique and divine vision of this property, and we're all worse off for it.
Tags: Adult Swim, Avatar, Cartoon Toys, Dooooooooomed, Sesame Street, The Goon, The Last Airbender, TMNT, Transformers, War for Cybertron, Wishful Thinking
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