It's got nothing to do with DC Comics or their product output for them.
Hot Toys lacks good faith with pretty much every non-Disney license. That's a problem. I don't care if it's Batman Returns, Arkham Joker, their alleged 1/4 Police Shootout Terminator, 60s Batmobile, Platoon Elias, or Prometheus, the way they handle them sucks. Ichabod Crane JUST came out after years of nothing. They run around like a chicken with it's head cut off, putting up teasers at random. By the time they make good on it (if they do), it leaves you wondering why they bothered letting us in on the license at the time they did. Not even the most die hard Hot Toys apologist can deny that their marketing decisions are random at best. It's been that way for a couple of years now.
I've got no problem with AOU Cap, none at all. He's bound to happen because *gasp*, a brand new movie featuring him is coming out. I may even buy one eventually since I haven't gotten a Captain America figure. Putting it up now though? It's ridiculous. There's still 4+ months until Avengers 2 hits. Stealth Cap JUST came out. The U.S. hasn't even received Stealth Suit or the Roger combo. Yet here we are, ANOTHER release hot off the hype of when it was teased at that show last month. Saying it's "too soon" is an understatement. It makes people that have been waiting YEARS for something get a little antsy, and rightfully so. Iron Man and the Avengers and even Star Wars DON'T NEED to be hyped or teased to increase interest. You don't need to post a teaser of all the Avengers characters bases to say "hey loyal customers, we're doing them all". It's a given now. That type of marketing should be geared towards their niche licenses. The ones that people claim aren't as popular as Marvel, the ones that need to be marketed.
Now, I realize they're sitting on a ton of licenses, more than your average toy company even has. Hot Toys, along with Lego, probably have the most diverse offerings from line to line and that's impressive. Schedules, approvals, and contracts can be an issue, **** happens, most people get that. NOBODY has a gun to their head when it comes to their own announcements, teasers and reveals though (unless the companies that give them the license don't want the the beans being spilled yet). They decide that, and they're one of the worst I've seen. Their communication is awful, even without the language barrier. Not just on the marketing side of it, but even when you question them about quality control (ED-209 is the best example. They knew the first one went to **** with the rubber. People told them for years. Then when the new ED prototype popped up, people were vocal "no rubber, please no rubber". Then it goes up for order and for a solid year, customers say "please, no rubber, it's not rubber is it? Do we have a plastic dome? Then BAM, rubber, deteriorating dome). Atleast these other companies will let you know what's up, all Hot Toys knows is "coming soon".
Three years man, three years. In those three years, people told themselves "well maybe after all the Avengers are made", then "maybe after Coulson is made", then "maybe after all the Iron Man 3 figures are made", then "all the marks", then "after wave 2". Well, now we're back to a new Avengers movie and all they have to show for their effort is a barebones prototype and "sorry, those figures we said are coming out years ago, well, we have no plans for them yet". It's bull. Not just for Returns but any license or announcement or figure they've put up on their facebook page. If Arkham Joker isn't close to being ready and isn't close to being approved, don't ****ing tease him for a "2013 line up!", only to not make good on it for 2 years (or worse, show Arkham Batman, a figure that was further back in development at the time of the teasers , first). They're obnoxious when it comes to this. Issues with your Prometheus license? Don't put that teaser up and DEFINITELY don't tease the prototypes until you're sure you can have them out within a year. Not sure you're going to be able to pull off Charles Xavier die to Fox and licensing issues? Don't advertise it at multiple shows! Oh, you pulled a half assed 1/4 Arnold Terminator mock up out of your butts to compete with Enterbay? How about actually producing it before Boba Fett, Iron Man and baby frickin' Groot?
