MattyCollector finally updated the status on its Young Justice Miss Martian / Superboy 2-pack pre-order, marking their "once in a lifetime" promotion as being canceled. While Mattel has declined to release any numbers, the thermometer looks like the orders may have been at 75% of the target needed to enter production.

Given MattyCollector's long history of cancellation threats to drum up orders, many had viewed the extension as yet another scare tactic. However, Mattel has indeed made an example of poor Superboy and Miss Martian by canceling production and will now be refunding the paid pre-orders.

This is a dark day for collectors and Young Justice fans. While I can't say that the news is all that surprising, given that US$20+ failed for Young Justice at retail which made this 2-pack's US$50 price tag an even tougher sell, the cancellation still hits incredibly hard. As of now, the entire season 1 roster will be permanently incomplete. And it should never have come to this. Mattel badly botched the line on so many levels from character/outfit selection to configurations and price points. Mattel's monumental failure stands in stark contrast to the Emmy-winning Young Justice cartoon's success. In fact, it's downright baffling how Mattel was unable to turn a profit from the toy line for a hit property.

While these figures may be forever gone and never to be offered again, Mattel has mentioned the possibility of incorporating Young Justice characters into their other 6-inch lines (meaning we may yet get a Miss Martian and properly attired Superboy?). Personally, I'm not sure why they couldn't have just incorporated these figures into said lines instead of running a special pre-order but I imagine it comes down to the slight style difference seen in the Young Justice line.