Back in 2000, DC Direct (the toy- and statue-producing division of DC Comics/Warner Bros.) planned to make toys based on the classic comic series, which originally came out in 1985-86. I was associate editor at ToyFare magazine at the time (in 2000, not 1985), and we were so excited about these toys that we arranged with DCD to debut them on the cover. Things were going great...until they weren't. The writer, Alan Moore, had a falling-out with DC over royalties, and as a result pulled his support of the action figure line and the 15th anniversary hardcover. Even though he didn't own the characters (and they were mostly based on older DC/Charlton characters anyway), DC -- for some strange reason that I can't understand to this day -- decided to cancel both projects. Our Watchmen cover (too late to be changed) became a "toys you'll never own" cover, coincidentally tied in to a feature we already had in that issue. As a result, they became some of the most high-profile cancelled action figures ever not made, right below the rocket-firing Boba Fett, which became missile-locked after a kid choked on a Battlestar Galactica ship's projectile.

Needless to say, fans were sad about not getting toys inspired by such a legendary comic book, especially since they looked like they would have been some of the best figures DC Direct had put out yet; DC even put out a Watchmen 20th-anniversary hardcover five years later, but still no toys. Now with the movie's imminent release, collectors will be getting a line of figures based on the film's main characters, and even comic purists will want to own them. Alan Moore is still not involved, but artist Dave Gibbons was apparently game for whatever back in 2000, and the movie seems to be a dream come true for him. And while the new action figures look pretty damn awesome -- two of them were sculpted by the legendary Tim Bruckner -- here's hoping that they put out those original comic-style figures soon after.