Mattel or Jakks? Who is better? And why?

I never had any interest in wrestling figures until Mattel.
They never looked good enough imo

I'm glad that the poll had allowances for people who might favor one but not mind the other.

I voted Mattel but don't mind Jakks much at all.

Jakks scans were generally of a better quality. They were typically more consistent. This isn't saying that Mattel makes poor work, but I get the feeling they maybe have too many cooks. Jakks feasibly looks as though one artist does cleanup and refinement. Mattel's figures run the gamut from intensely detailed such as Neville to simplistic and cartoonish like basic 24 AJ or Elite 28 John Cena. The hair is usually the most disparate.

Jakks paint application on tights and tattoos, when compared to Mattel, are found lacking. However, they were fine for the time. A figure which blew me away at the time was RA Shannon Moore. It doesn't seem as special now.

Mattel's scale is generally close or correct, the body part choices are largely on point, and the sheer number of sculpted pieces in their catalog is impressive. These are things that of course win them points. Not a single Jakks John Morrison had fuzzy boots for example. But Mattel did.

Mattel made wrestling toys that were up to industry standard. Jakks always seemed kind of behind the curve. Like Ruthless Aggression figures which would've been better suited ten years before their actual time. Considering Marvel Legends were out around that time, RA seemed downright primitive.

Oh, try posting this in the Jakks board as well to see how different the answers might be. I don't imagine that there are too many loyalists left, but who knows?

Jakks often times had great scans and won on the accessory department, meaning you were never short on tables, ladders, chairs, and everything in between, they had a lot of cloth props when required (Brutus Beefcake's jacket and some of HBK's entrance gear are examples that spring to mind) and they did a wide variety in their classics line from well knowns like Hogan and Bret Hart to obscurities like Bastion Booger, Adam Bomb, and even Shockmaster.

Their failings are the lack of accuracy with body types (Doink was as ripped as Triple H for starters) and inaccurate scale. The articulation was lacking even for the time period.

Mattel has been a godsend when it comes to proper deco, scale and paying attention to body sculpt (Earthquake wasn't as fat as Yokozuna and Doink has his rotund sculpt) and for the Elites, we get accessories that match, even if some are one and done props like Papa Shango's staff or Bossman's ball and chain. In fact I think it's fair to say almost every Flashback Elite trumps their Jakks counterpart, at least of the ones that are made thus far.

Mattel's shortcomings are the use of plastic clothes when needed, citing budgetary reasons, and the Divas I feel aren't as articulated as they should be. Their scans aren't as spot on as some of Jakks' were, but in all fairness Jakks did get a little too real at times.

Between the two, I feel Mattel put more love in the line than Jakks, even with their few flaws. Bill is a fan, and he and his crew are as passionate as we are, even with budgetary restrictions. They've listened to fans just as much, probably more than Jakks, and honestly I feel Mattel is superior in terms of figures, but Jakks can do some mean accessories which work well with Mattel (I use my Jakks Screwjob HBK entrance gear on my E19 Michaels and it's a perfect fit)

Jakks best effort > Mattels best effort.

Jakks were just lazy, so many of their figures went under the radar and could have been better. I guess you could say that Mattel has a better general standard of quality upheld. Mattel's average is better than Jakks' average. But I'll stand by Jakks best effort being better than Mattel's. One of my biggest problem's with mattel are that many of the heads flat out suck, and Jakks also had a library of characters that Mattel will never replicate.

Jakks was better at the time because Mattel didn't make wrestling figures and it was years ago, so of course Mattel are better in comparison.
Times have changed

Hasbro for life but Mattel is the runner up. Early/goofy Jakks I like, there's a charm in the garbage that they are. The later Jakks though, I dunno, everyone seems like they've been stung by bees. I never liked them.

Well, I started collecting when Jakks was the main company making wresting figures, so while now I know they're not the best, I still appreciate them for what they are and for sentimental value.

But Mattel all the way, though.

Mattel is better in the scale and detail department. Maybe better in the turnaround time for a new character to debut and get a figure out for them.

Jakks is/was better on face scans/sculpts. Mattel doesn't suck at it by any means, however they don't hit nearly as many home runs for accuracy . Another thing Jakks was great at would be quality control for me. I never had any out of the package problems like i have had with Mattel since late 2013.In Mattels defense ,they are getting better about it as of late '15.

The other criteria is a 50/50 split. Roster depth. Jakks has a bigger roster of characters in RA/DA form. And a much bigger one in terms of Classics/Legends. However ,the flipside is that we never had a Jakks Savage, Steamboat or Von Erich, who are must haves for a Classic or Legends themed line. Of course ,i doubt Mattel would/could ever do a Sunny or Chris Beniot for instance.......so its really a wash. And there are plenty of RA era guys I'm sure Mattel would have no use to make at any point, but Jakks never got to make a Daniel Bryan, Sheamus, Del Rio, or technically, even a Ziggler. So thats a wash too.

Ultimately Mattel edges Jakks out....the detailing and scaling (although I've noticed they're slipping in that last one lately) get the nod. I do ,however, feel that it doesn't discount what Jakks accomplished. They really did lay the frame work for Mattel to expand upon, and when Jakks were on their game, they were great. I feel a lot of us who were Jakks collectors until the switchover to Mattel, probably had a bad taste for Jakks in our mouth due to the way Jakks business practices mangled the last quarter of WWE releases. Then, for the five or six of us who tried to give them a chance when they got TNA.....well it didn't take long to see where that was going. But none of those final years should obscure what they did and how well they did do it before. Mattel is doing fine now,and the better of the two. I'm just saying they aren't better by the wide margin a lot of people seem to think they are.

The last time this topic was done, the Jakks hate was strong. Have our opinions softened? What is going on? Are we out of the Honeymoon phase with Mattel? I am legitimately intrigued.

I've never been one to bag on Jakks, they changed the wrestling figure viz with lots if innovation. Even if the product wasn't so good, Jakks embraced a rapid release system that centered around reuseablen bucks and repaints with the Ruthless line. What do you know? Mattel copies that exact formula to this day. It works, Mattel knows it, and your stacked collections and satisfaction with quick releases owe it all to Jakks.