Superman fans were scratching their heads at the first wave of Funko Pops! for DC Studios' first hit movie in the new DCU due to one strange inclusion. The Hammer of Borovia, who has a limited part in the film, had his own spot in the lineup, while Ultraman, a key villain, was relegated to the Hammer's 1/6 Chase figure.
At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), The Direct spoke with Jason Bischoff, Vice President for Licensing and Business Development at Funko. He revealed why they chose Ultraman as the Chase figure instead of giving him his own spot in the lineup.
Bischoff said that "often you're making stuff 12, 14, sometimes 16 months in advance," and the team at Warner Bros. "didn't necessarily know that they would be merchandising those two things at the same time." This meant that the Funko team "had to be careful and mindful of what was embargoed."
Funko's Bischoff also commented on why they decided to introduce the new rarity stickers and tiers to their collections, revealing that fans "wanted[ed] us to embrace some of that rarity with a bit more of a premium touch," which they did, something that also allowed them to monitor piracy better.
Below is the full conversation between The Direct's Russ Milheim and Funko's Jason Bischoff at SDCC 2025.
Why Ultraman Was the Chase in the Superman Funko Pop Line
"We Had to Be Careful and Mindful of What Was Embargoed."
Those who watched Superman will know that the Hammer of Boravia turns out to actually be Ultraman under all that armor (who happens to be a cloned Superman himself). Despite Ultraman being the more important character, the Hammer of Boravia is the one who got the main Funko Pop! treatment for the film, with Ultraman being designated the 1/6 chance chase figure.
- The Direct: "I'm very curious about the selection process when it comes to, and this might be outside of you... When I looked at the Superman line, I was a little like, oh, that's interesting, that with the Hammer of Boravia, he is in the main line, and then Ultraman is the chase. And I would have thought it would be flipped. So what is the process in deciding, okay, these are how the chases are gonna work and how they're designated?"
Jason Bischoff: So, we have a wonderful merch team that handles a lot of that stuff. I will tell you I sit in with them on almost every single partner call. Warner Bros. is one of my main partner accounts. And really, it's no more complicated than, you know, when you make collectibles, often you're making stuff 12, 14, sometimes 16 months in advance of when things may be coming out, right?
And so you work with what you have, both in terms of assets and information. And I would tell you on the Hammer of Boravia and Ultraman specifically at that time, our friends over at Warners were figuring out, well, what's going to be out there in the world in advance of the film, and they didn't necessarily know that they would be merchandising those two things at the same time.
So, we had to be careful and mindful of what was embargoed. Not embargoed, The Hammer [was] not embargoed because it was sort of the first piece of those puzzles, right? And then Ultraman was the second. And so we just wanted to honor kind of that roll of identity in what we reflected in the line. That's why Ultraman is the chase.
The Future of Funko Fun Days
"This Year Was an Experiment."
- The Direct: "I want to ask about Funko Fun Days, which a lot of people were, I don't think disappointed is the right word, but just shocked that it wasn't at Comic-Con this year and that you did it ahead of time in Los Angeles. Is that, you think, a permanent direction for that event, or is there a return to San Diego in the cards? You can't confirm, but like, is the intention to maybe come back to San Diego, or is that an official shift for that program?"
Jason Bischoff: I would say this year was an experiment. And the great news is, that fans really loved, kind of the alchemical results, certainly some learnings, but more like practical learnings. Like, people really didn't love the heat, but they really loved the program. They really loved the exclusives. They loved what was happening in the building.
So, it's more of, how do we embrace what worked? I think location is TBD. We always want to be mindful of what's most intuitive for fans, because fans come first. But yeah, folks really love Quest for the Grail. Let's make sure that we just keep doing more of that sort of fan-rewarding, fan-facing stuff.
Why They Introduced Those Rarity Stickers for Funko Pops
They Wanted to Add "A Bit More of a Premium Touch."
- The Direct: "You guys introduced the rarity stickers recently. What sparked that change? And just in that introduction, because Funko, for so long, has been known as the premium, like exclusive, kind of chasing collectibles and rarity. So what sparked that initiative to be like, we want to actually structure this?"
Bischoff: Good question, so a couple of different things. I would say you can kind of kill two birds with one stone, or in this case, maybe three birds. So first and foremost, from a trend perspective, you're dead on, right? To me, and this is just my words, but like, we wear the crown for a reason. We always want to be on the forefront of collecting and meet collectors where they're at.
So, it's fans first. And fans were telling us for a while, through social listening, and obviously in direct events like [SDCC], they wanted us to embrace some of that rarity with a bit more of a premium touch. And so that's kind of what sparked the initial idea. There are other elements baked into it, where we were saying, Hey, we are seeing a gradation of rarity working really, really well in our digital pop series. Can we translate that same nomenclature into a formal taxonomy? Maybe expand upon it? So, we did that.
And then there's also the anti-piracy elements of it, right, where we just want to be careful, mindful of what's out there in market and make sure our stuff is not only perceptively premium, but is legitimately backed up by technologies that prove that. And so the premium sticker stickering system is powered by Octane Five, and so you'll be able to hit that QR code and make sure your pop the one that you bought, the one that you maybe brought on the great market is a real one.
Where Funko Is at With Nintendo & Jason Bischoff's White Whale
"We Are Constantly Knocking on That Door..."
- The Direct: "Where are we at with Nintendo?"
Jason Bischoff: Nintendo is one that we absolutely hear regularly from fans, something that we are constantly knocking on that door. And, you know, we'll see if they open, right? But for now, no lack of interest, but they are a highly chased business. And we're aspirational and hope to find them on the other side of that door sometime.
- The Direct: "What is the white whale that you are chasing, in terms of what you want Funko to still get access to?
Bischoff: Okay, so my personal white whale, honestly is more depth of characters. Like, I'm a huge DC Comics guy, big Ghostbusters guy, Back to the Future, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, right? So my white whales are just the really deep cuts that might take a minute or two, you know, to get to like that might, I mean, we've done that before... But I'm like, I want to see a Superman 1 Million, Superman Prime, comic from 15 years ago kind of stuff.
- The Direct: "Yeah, now you're gonna laugh at this question, but I was obviously happy that the Spinosaurus finally got a Funko around. Sick world. Yes, we talked about. We did. We did. Now, will you guys go back and do Jurassic Park 3?"
Bischoff: I can neither confirm nor deny, but what I would tell you is, we did pivot in our Jurassic series this year. All dinos, none of the human characters. People really love the Dinos. Dinos are working. I know you're a Spino guy. Keep that hope alive. We have not seen him since Camp Cretaceous? So, just stay tuned.
For more Funko coverage, be sure to check out The Direct's interviews with the Funko Fusion team last year at SDCC and a rundown of the company's booth in 2024.
