Thursday, April 21, 2011

Justice League Superman & Batman Variants


I had already missed the last waves of Mattel Justice League figures that included the Man of Steel & the Dark Knight Detective when I suddenly took interest in these toys recently- sure you can get them still- eBay has a ton. But I thought I would look for a couple of the more uncommon versions of these top-tier heroes.

*Justice League Superman (Black & Red Variant)
Before Mattel put these under the Justice League Unlimited banner, you got these. They all came with stands that interlocked to spell Justice League, and even came with a nifty collector card. This guy is from 2003- found him for five bucks on someones Amazon store. I LOVE this... you can find one hundred million of the more conventional red/blue/yellow JLU Supes on eBay, which unlike this guy, have articulated elbows & knees- but I thought this one was more unique.























The collector card he came with a lenticular card that shows not just two, but three images when held at different veiwing angles- very cool! Why isn't Mattel giving us any of this now, you ask? Well because of the cost of doing business has GONE UP, Friends. And according to a very interesting article by Jon Edwards at Action Figure Insider, your action figures should really cost even more than they do, factoring in demand, production costs, and inflation. And don't forget- these guys ARE IN BUSINESS TO MAKE MONEY. Just a fact.


And now a group shot with some other Superman figures in my collection... from left to right:
DC Direct New Frontier Superman, Mattel Brave & The Bold Superman, DC Direct Super Friends Superman (Mattel Justice League Superman in front of), DC Direct History of the DC Universe Superman, & Mattel DC Universe Classics Superman.


*Justice League Unlimited Batman (Tech Suit Variant w/gas mask)
Like Superman, I wanted a Batman variant for my odd little group of JLUs. From 2004, one of the earlier from this series, I found him for an even better price than my variant Superman. And the green, black, and silver appealed to my odd sense of aesthetic. VERY happy to find this guy :D He also came with a Green Arrow collector card, but nothing special compared to the Superman card above- additionally, I thought I was gonna score a JLU Green Arrow for cheap, but the Amazon seller I purchased it from e-mailed back saying they didn't have it! You win some, you lose some...

I'll admit that it's hilarious how many variants there are of Batman in the world of toys, especially in the toy lines after the animated  TV shows (I'm looking at YOU, Kenner). While I used to have no interest in that, there ARE occasions when it will turn my head, more specifically when the color green is utilized...

You see, I have had a strange obsession for "Batman as a Green Lantern" for months due to the ever-elusive, highly valued DC Direct figure of the said character. I have been outbid every time, and I refuse to pay what most shops are asking for it. Pictured above are EXP Camo Tech Batman, JLU Gas Mask variant Batman, and Deluxe SkyShot Batman.

These are a couple of FUN action figures I was pleased to find...



Take Care and Keep it FUN!

3 comments:

  1. Believe it or not when these were released I could only find the variant Supermans and Batmans on the shelves, it took me longer to find the regular versions.

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  2. i DO believe you- often times this is the case. while i got these cheap after some searching, they were fewer in number- i found that odd

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  3. I only remember seeing the variants on the pegs when these came out.

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