Mattel at San Diego Comic Con 2022

Travels

Mattel at San Diego Comic Con 2022

May 1, 2023 By Joshua Ching

When coming up with something to say for this post, I just realized I was never really into toys from Mattel, or at least I don’t remember being into anything that they represented. I know two of their big brands are Barbie and Hot Wheels. Obviously, I was never into Barbie since I’m a dude, and I never really got into Hot Wheels because playing with toy cars just didn’t interest me. Another brand I know that’s big for them is Masters of the Universe, and while I do remember watching episodes of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power on USA’s Cartoon Express they just didn’t have a lasting effect on me. I remember I had a He-Man figure, but I’m pretty sure it was gift from somebody who thought I might like them and not something I specifically asked my mom for.

I’m not going to lie, after seeing what Mattel had at Comic Con, I’m still not really into any of the toys they’re putting out. While they did have a lot of cool stuff, as an adult collector they just didn’t have anything that I would want for myself. But while they didn’t have anything I would want for myself, they did have a lot of cool stuff on display which is why I’m writing this post.

Masters of the Universe

In case you haven’t figured it out by my intro, Mattel was really pushing their Masters of the Universe stuff.

To kill two birds with one stone they had this life-sized statue of Skeletor setup made out of MEGA Bloks, another toy line that they own.

The centerpiece of Mattel’s Masters of the Universe activation had to be this giant battle scene that focused around the Three Towers/Eternia playset

Here’s what’s going on the other side of the Three Towers/Eternia playset battle.

Here’s the Mega Construx Castle Grayskull.

Along with the Mega Construx Snake Mountain set. The whole purple and green color scheme with this set gives me a Joker vibe and makes me think of Lego’s Joker Manor set even though Joker Manor looks nothing like this.

Little Prince Adam and He-Man figures which come in their own little Mega Blok Castle Grayskulls.

Hot Wheels

Hot Wheels is one of Mattel’s more well-known brand, and so they were well represented at Comic Con. With walls and walls of Hot Wheels on display.

Among the walls of Hot Wheels was a section just filled with Hot Wheels based on Mario Kart.

This section of the wall stood out to me because it was filled different variations of famous movie cars.

Another section that stood out because it was filled with various vehicles from pop culture. At a glance I can see the Turtle Van, the Pizza Planet Truck, and the Supra from the first Fast and the Furious.

A Hot Wheels based on KITT from Knight Rider.

A special Pink Gold Mario Kart Princess Peach. Mattel was actually selling these at the convention and they were going quick. I tried to get one on Saturday, the convention had to have been open for only 5 minutes at that point, but they were already gone by the time I got there.

A little Ghost Rider motorcycle figure.

Jurassic Park

Looking back at these Jurassic Park toys, they bring back memories from when I was a kid and the original Jurassic Park came out and the toy line that came with it. I really remember that whoever designed the toy line obviously did not see the movie. The original Jurassic Park toy line was pretty much a rip-off of G.I. Joe. If I remember correctly they had figures named after Wayne Knight and Jeff Goldblum’s characters and I’m like 99% certain they also had 1 based off of the lawyer guy who tried hiding from the T-Rex in the bathroom, but those figures looked nothing like their movie counterparts.

Speaking of the guy on the toilet, here’s a recreation of that with toys.

Here’s a massive diorama they had setup showcasing the various figures and sets from the Jurassic Park line.

Taking a closer look it’s obvious these are from the newer movies.

Here are some pieces from the Super Colossal line. Super Colossal isn’t just a name for this line it’s an accurate description for what they are. These things are like 3 feet long.

Here’s a throwback to the T-Rex from the original Jurassic Park movie.

WWE

I really didn’t expect Mattel to have an WWE action figures as part of their Comic Con activation. I’ve been to conventions where they had wrestlers both former and current making appearances, and wrestling is essentially just live-action theater, but it just seemed a bit out of place, and also Mattel has so many other properties and toylines they could have been promoting. Although I’m guessing WWE wanted some attention and Mattel had to indulge them for it.

I remember getting into it back in middle school when they started airing Smackdown on network TV which was around the mid/end of WWE’s (then the WWF) Attitude era. At the time I got into it mostly because it was something to watch on Thursday nights. I remember watching it through high school, but when I got to college I just didn’t have the time. At this point in my life I really don’t have much interest it anymore. Occasionally I might look up a few videos on YouTube or Wikipedia a few things just to see what storylines are going on or see who their big names are, but that’s really it for me now. Most of the wrestlers that got me into it when I was younger are gone. They have either moved onto other promotions, retired or they died. But even though I don’t have much interest in it a huge part of Mattel’s activation was devoted towards WWE action figures so I needed to give them some attention.

Here’s a diorama setup depicting a backstage brawl made up of toys from Mattel’s Wrekkin’ line. As I said earlier I’m not that familiar with most of WWE’s current roster but right off the bat I can tell you I recognize figures of The Rock, John Cena, Rey Mysterio Jr., the Undertaker, Becky Lynch, Shawn Michaels, Rikishi, and Sherri Martel over there in the back.

Here’s the WWE Ultimate Edition WCW Monday Nitro Entrance Stage. I’m a bit surprised they actually have this. While WWE did put in some effort to revive the ECW brand, on the other hand I feel other than a few small references WWE is pretty much trying to forget that WCW existed.