Jada Nano Metalfigs- Batman the Animated

I was caught by surprise this past weekend by these 1.75" die-cast figurines by Jada Toys! Among the different character themes covering Suicide Squad, Batman v Superman, and others, this Batman is officially the animated Justice League Batman, but that's essentially Batman the Animated with Kevin Conroy doing the voice work. Check out the video:

Yes, that Hot Wheels Batmobile is from another animated version of the Caped Crusader, Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Be sure to check out my Super Fun Hot Wheels Blog!

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Batman: Gotham Adventures #3 (Aug. 1998)

The 18th episode of Batman: The Animated Series featured the voice acting of recently departed star of  the beloved '66 Batman TV series, Adam West. Airing in November of 1992, the actor voiced the character of the Simon Trent, a washed up TV actor who portrayed crime fighter Gray Ghost, idolized by a young Bruce Wayne. Ultimately, Trent must don his costume to save Batman, becoming a hero and reviving public interest in the character, and replenishing Trent's career and finances.

Batman: Gotham Adventures #3 from August of '98 doesn't tell the story from the '92 Animated Series episode, but instead of an imaginative boy obsessed with Batman, who must come to the rescue of the Caped Crusader and his team mates during a bank heist by Scarecrow. When the villain sets off a sonic pitch that makes all fear Batman, including himself, young Justin slips Batman a Gray Ghost outfit kept in the boy's backpack with his action figures, breaking the spell of fear. Now vindicated, Justin is hailed as a hero, and his mother comes to better appreciate the boy's fascination with Batman.

I love the cover of this issue, Batman and Gray ghost drawn as packaged action figures, a concept repeated later by other artists. Sorting some comics this weekend after West passed away, I came across this issue, reminding me of the late actor's connection to Batman: The Animated Series, like one final goodbye from my childhood hero. Watching the syndicated reruns as a boy in the '70s, the camp was lost on me, seeing only the colorful adventures of my favorite heroes, the Dynamic Duo. I'm sure I can speak for Bubba & Chunky B when I say that while I was a big fan of multiple incarnations of the character, Adam West was my first Batman.

RIP Adam West

Sept. 19th, 1928 - June 9th, 2017

The Batman Adventures Annual #2 1995: Demons

After demolishing a building in Gotham, late working citizens within among the casualties, R'as Al Ghul and his men locate an ancient Mayan tablet the villain had searched over two centuries for. Batman attempts to apprehend R'as, but is beaten unconscious and left among the rubble. Escaping with his life, Batman finds his way to the high rise condominium of occult expert Jason Blood, who'd helped Police Commissioner Gordon solve the tarot murder case. 

Blood's experience in the supernatural led the Dark Knight Detective to him, where the famed demonologist recant the tale of his first battle against fellow immortal R'as Al Ghul for possession of the Mayan tablet. The two are abruptly interrupted by Talia, who tranquilizes them so her father's evil scheme to release the pestilent demon Haahk upon mankind will not be foiled!

Finally alone with the tablet, R'as summons the dreaded Haahk from the depths of Hell, who promptly kills the henchmen present. R'as can barely control the demon under possession of the profane tablet, who reluctantly agrees heed the villain's bidding.

When Batman and Jason Blood finally recover from the tranquilizer and race to the scene, Haahk grabs Blood, who begins to rot from the pestilent demon's grip! Batman quickly recites the chant that transforms Blood into Etrigan, the demon bonded to him centuries ago by Merlin the Wizard: "Change, Change, O' Form of Man- Rise the Demon Etrigan!" Together, Batman and Etrigan attack Haahk ...!

 While Etrigan exuberantly blasts away at Haahk, Batman seizes the Mayan tablet from R'as, stopping him from banishing both the demons back to Hell. Hurt by the Dark Knight's attack on her father, Talia slaps her beloved, who says nothing, charging off to assist Etrigan...

After Etrigan uses the tablet to banish Haahk, the demon snaps the evil relic in two, knowing that while his alter ego would have treasured it's rarity, the danger it poses to mankind is far too great.

This spectacular annual ends as Jason Blood revives from his transformation, questioning the whereabouts of Talia, who escaped with her father. When Batman laments in dealing with her hurt feelings the next time their paths cross, Jason Blood offers, "We each have our own demons." A panel at the bottom pays tribute Jack Kirby, the legendary comic artist and author who created Etrigan back in 1972. Artists Bruce Timm and Glen Murakami adopt elements of Kirby's unique style in several panels throughout this issue- undoubtedly making it a special treat for author Paul Dini, as well as us fans of a certain vintage!   

Happy Hallowe'en! 

Thanks For Reading!

DC COMICS PRESENTS: BATMAN ADVENTURES #1

Picked up this unexpected 100-page spectacular of DC Comics Presents: Batman Adventures #1 last Wednesday at my local comic shop! This is a really collection of reprints from Batman Adventures #2 and 27, Batman: Gotham Adventures #2 and 4, and short from Adventures In the DC Universe #3, but fun nonetheless! The giants of Batman the Animated are all here, including artists Bruce Timm, Ty Templeton, Rick Burchett, Mike Parobeck, and writers Kelley Puckett and Paul Dini. My favorite story was "Survivor Syndrome", about another vengeance driven vigilante dons the cowl in bitter memory of his murdered wife, whom Batman takes under his wing to temper the fallen athlete's anger. Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Two-Face also make appearances- great stuff!

With Batman's 75th Anniversary in full swing, the more popular treatments of the character are being celebrated again, including our beloved Animated version. BTATB's own Bubbashelby gave us a peek at a couple of DC Collectible's forthcoming action figures in the Animated style back in February, and I recently picked up their Summer Fall Portfolio 2014-15, which gave a nice clean shot of things to come...

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Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1

Picked up this GREAT Batman Adventures Holiday Special #1 for a buck quite some time ago, and was delighted by what I read when I finally got a moment to read it. The cover alone was worth the price of admission! It's dated Jan. 1995, but wonder if it came out in Dec. of '94. I already have February 2014 issues from Marvel and DC!

Things start off right in the first story "Jolly Ol' St. Nicholas" when Barbara Gordon stumbles into Officers Montoya and Bullock undercover at Mayfield department store. On the lookout for a robbery suspect that's been plaguing the establishment, Bullock makes a hilariously bad Santa, and Barbara decides to stick around in case they need any help from Batgirl!

Sure enough, the slippery thief turns out to be the shapeshifting Clayface, caught red handed by Barbara Gordon, who required the assist from officers Montoya and Bullock. Love that Batgirl- she sometimes gets in over her head, but what a brave soul!

"The Harley & The Ivy" finds Bruce Wayne captive of two of Batman's mischievous rogues, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, who drugged the billionaire bachelor with tainted lipstick. A whirlwind shopping trip ensues, Wayne helpless and drugged, a victim of their every whim.

Wayne manages to get away long enough to muster his self control and don the cowl, giving chase after the fugitive females. After a rough and tumble of two against one, Batman finally captures them with a Christmas tree- a glittering fascination to the Jewish Harley, and humiliating trap to Poison Ivy, self-proclaimed defender of plant life.

"White Christmas" is essentially a retelling of Mr. Freeze's origins, told around his escape from Arkham during the holiday season. Long incarcerated without incident, Mr. Freeze's disappearance perplexes the Dark Knight, doubly curious about the sudden blizzard that's swept over Gotham on Christmas Eve.

After a struggle in the snow, Batman corners the cold criminal, sudden pity interrupting his assault. When asked why he would terrorize the town for the holiday, the sullen man points to the grave of his late wife. The once brilliant inventor encapsulated his wife's body in a cryogenic state to buy her time in the fight against terminal cancer, but lost her due to a a corporate intervention, and became the dread Mr. Freeze in the struggle when exposed to his own super coolant. "We were married ten years ago on a snowy Christmas Eve. Nora loved the snow." the villain tenderly recalled, "I thought it... sad there should be none this year. And I wouldn't want my Nora to be sad tonight." 

In "...What are you doing on New Years Eve?!" the tag team pencilling duo Kevin Altieri and Butch Lukic take Bruce Timm's dark deco style to another level, their urban crowd scenes particularly impressive. They also inked it pretty heavily, making the drawings really constrasty. 

Joker takes to the air waves to invite Batman to a New Year's Eve of destruction, unaware that Batman is onto his plan to sonically stun the crowd he's gathered in Gotham Square! The Clown Prince of Crime corners the Dark Knight at gunpoint, but gets his bell rung instead! Awesome!

This was an outstanding holiday special I'd recommend to any Batman: The Animated fan! Bruce Timm worked a great deal on this, handling the cover duties, pencilling /inking/coloring the Batgirl/Clayface story, and sharing writing duties with author Paul Dini on a couple as well. See more info on DCwikia.Com! The original inked drawing by Bruce Timm, found at ComicArtFans.Com:

Thanks For Reading & Happy Holidays!

Mission Masters Mountain Pursuit Batman

I'm not exactly sure where this strange, green Batman came from. He was found loose in an old tote of toys I decided to sell awhile back, but whatever disdain I had for him before was replaced with curiosity and enthusiasm, now that I'm a toy enthusiast and official staff member of Batman the Animated Toys Blog  :D   It looked familiar to me upon rediscovering it because I had just bought Kenner & Hasbro Mission Masters Glider Strike & Knight Assault Batman toys from the same New Adventures series not long before! So I did some hunting and found it was a Mission Masters 3 Mountain Pursuit Batman.  All the multicolored Batman figures from the animated TV show that used to bore me now delight me for some odd reason. I love them!

Initially appearing to be some type of scuba dive wetsuit, it soon became apparent that it was in fact rappelling gear strapped to his left shoulder and chest. Mountain Pursuit Batman is equipped with a pick-axe and grapple gun, so that makes sense. The grapple gun on mine doesn't fire, but it sounds as though a spring might be encased within the barrel. Some of the other figures in this line share the hooked left hand sculpt.

I went stark raving mad for the Batman: The Brave & The Bold toys in 2011, which share a lot of similarities with these figures: simple articulation, a cloth cape in this instance, somewhat ridiculously oversized accessories, and fun, exaggerated  characters. Like the Brave & The Bold toys, there are several outrageous incarnations of Batman throughout the Animated line, in a delightfully absurd assortment of inappropriate colors. Again, what bored me before I now love   :D

Oddly enough, I happen to have a few other Batman figures with green paint, so I guess that makes this a collection of sorts. This probably has a lot to do with my fascination/obsession with Batman as Green Lantern, and to the ever-elusive, highly valued DC Direct figure of the said character (which I finally scored last Labor Day weekend for the unheard of price of $14.99!).  For your pleasure, I present my burgeoning collection of Green Batmen:

Batman: The Brave & The Bold Deluxe Skyshot Batman, Mission Masters Mountain Pursuit Batman, EXP Camo Tech Batman, &  Justice League Unlimited Batman (Tech Suit Variant w/gas mask).

This is a great toy I'd reccomend to any Batman the Animated fan! Like I've said before though, in this age of environmentalism, green is the new black!

(originally posted at The Super-DuperToyBox, Sept. 8th, 2011)

*Visit the database of Batman: The Animated Series toys at Legions of Gotham!

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The Batman & Robin Adventures #3

I've managed to find some more Batman & Robin Adventures in the dollar comics bins, including this well worn copy of issue #3, A Christmas Riddle! Just in time for the holidays!  In addition to the fun art, I'm pleased that all of these I've found were well read: some kid read this two dozen times, loaned it to a friend, who loaned it to a friend... it was really enjoyed, then enjoyed again by me  :D

During the yearly holiday festivities at Gotham City's exclusive Peregrinator Club, an appearance by Father Christmas turns out to be one Edward Nygma in disguise, who literally holds his wealthy audience captive! Insisting that Batman must be wealthy to afford his war on crime, the Riddler begins to call out names of Gotham's patriarchs, listing aloud the reasons why each might be the one which wields the gauntlet of the Dark Knight. Television reporter Summer Gleeson gets caught in the fray, Nygma now given a live media platform on which to expose & humiliate his arch enemy & his teen sidekick!

Picking up the news in the Batmobile, Batman quickly realizes that while a couple good guesses were made, Nygma doesn't really know the identity of the caped crusaders, and that his very public stunt is merely cover for the real crime- stealing the club's treasured pair of gold Mayan statues!

The Dynamic Duo nab Riddler's henchmen robbing priceless statues, and confront the Riddler in the club's ballroom, where cornered, he detonates a bomb planted in the giant Christmas tree! Batman & Robin are forced to let Riddler escape with one of the statues in order to save the trapped patrons.

Slipping through Commissioner Gordon's line of officers surrounding the Peregrinator Club dressed in swat gear, Nygma commandeers a paddy wagon for his getaway. But the Dynamic Duo hitch a ride atop the stolen vehicle, and Nygma runs it off a bridge in the struggle, crashing into the icy lake with Batman while the Boy Wonder leaps onto shore. "It's not fair", the defeated villain coughs as Batman pulls him and one of the gold Mayan statues to the surface.

In the epilogue, Bruce Wayne & his young ward survey the club's damage, and the young billionaire is asked if he will finally accept the invitation to join in light of his generous donation toward the building's repair. Straightening an oil painting on the wall of his father & former member Thomas Wayne, Bruce declines, adding that while his father wanted him to become a Peregrinator, he never was the club-joining type   :)

***Merry Christmas to my partners in blogging BubbaShelby & ChunkyB, and to all of our readers here at Batman the Animated Toys!***

-Colin, the Boyish Wonder

The Batman & Robin Aventures #9

The Batman & Robin Adventures was a DC Comics title that ran from 1995-1997, set in the continuity & style of the popular animated series. From 1992-1995 it had been The Batman Adventures until the television series Batman: The Animated Series was re-branded The Adventures of Batman and Robin. There were twenty-five issues, two annuals, and two specials. I picked up this ragged issue in the dollar bin at a local comics retailer, having never read one of these upbeat, kid-friendly little books. I mean, who could resist that cover with Batgirl flying into action?? Any of you kids ever have any of these?

Taking courses in criminal toxicology, Barbara Gordon returns from her locker to find the nightwatchmen tranquilized on the lobby floor. With the police five minutes away, she decides Batgirl may be needed before it's too late!

As it turns out, Barbara's professor, Dr. Fazil (now Mr. Siddiq), was formerly employed/enslaved by Ra's Al Ghul, and Talia was sent to retrieve the renowned disease & immunity expert after his sudden disappearance.

Talia proceeds to give the younger, less experienced Babs a scathing beat down, and while laying in the closet floor of the laboratory she spots a can of bromide powder. Remembering a childhood chemistry lesson, she also grabs a container of denzenel on the way downstairs, in pursuit of Talia & her hostage. Her confidence is regained in the knowledge that together these are the ingredients to a form of tear gas, which puts Talia down as the Gotham police arrive onto the scene.

Pulling Mr. Siddiq to safety, Babs loses his kidnapper- never having learned Talia's name nor her intent. Writing in her journal that night, Barbara recalls what Talia said during their confrontation, about it taking more than a costume to make a warrior. Talia was right about that, Barbara noted, adding that "it takes courage & brains, too."   :)

*Writer: Ty Templeton

*Pencils: Brandon Kruse

See my post on the New 52 Bagirl #1 at The Super-DuperToyBox!

Kenner Turbo Glider Robin

There are several words I could use to describe this Kenner Turbo Glider Robin from the Batman Animated series, and they are all synonymous with AWESOME! I couldn't think of a better action figure for my inaugural post on this blog than Robin. He's one of my favorite characters from the Batman mythos:  a symbol of my boyish pluck and youthful enthusiasm. They don't call me Boy Wonder for nothin', Kids  :D

I got this one for south of ten clams on account of his mangled backing card- I'm gonna open him anyway, so I didn't care. Robin has a cloth cape, which is right up my alley, and check out that yellow glider! Really cool!

This figure is a Series 1, released in 1992. The head is a new sculpt, but the body is a repaint of the Batman Returns Robin released by Kenner only a year earlier. Later on Robin would receive a body stylized more like the animated character- The "Crimefighter Robin" figure, styled after Tim Drake, would be released after the show was rebooted as Batman: The New Adventures.

The yellow glider with Robin's trademark "R" on top has so much eye appeal- I had to have it when I discovered it existed! The insignia is a factory applied decal, mine relatively well placed in the molded oval depression atop the wing. A red chest plate clips onto Robin's torso, and to my surprise, he can stand uptight with the entire apparatus attached.

The packaging advertises that the missiles can be "dropped"- in reality a manual affair, released by pressing the exposed pegs down from atop the glider. It works  :)  Robin can hold the two hand controls while flying his glider over Gotham City.

And now for your viewing pleasure, from my own Super-DuperToyBox YouTube channel:  A Moment of Zen with The Boy Wonder  :D

Big Thanks to Chunky B and BubbaShelby for appointing me membership to Batman the Animated Toys Blog!

*Visit Batman the Animated Figure Archive!
*Come play with me at The Super-DuperToyBox!