Deluxe Arrow Blast Green Arrow!

Now let's get back to some of those wonderful Brave & The Bold toys by Mattel thatI love so much. I'm talking about the "Snap & Attack" Deluxe Arrow Blast Green Arrow today- a toy I've been dying to open! There are so many great things about these action figures, including their colorful, fun packaging- I appreciate how illustrative it is on the verso... It makes you want more Brave & The Bold toys, doesn't it? Yeah, that's the idea...

I love a toy with a projectile, especially one with some distance capabilities, and Green Arrow's wheel-mounted crossbow can really throw one. The whole "Snap & Attack" tagline for these toys refers to their accessory interchangeability- no matter what your opinion of the hexagonal accessory holes on these toys, the fact remains that it was a genius idea. A child is not going to care about the holes, but they will have fun popping all the different parts in and out of these, very fun toys- and that's who they were made for, Fanboy. That doesn't mean, however, you can't enjoy their great design and playability- I sure do  :D

And now a little demonstration of Green Arrow's archery prowess!

Lights! Camera! Action!

If you are a new visitor to The Super-DuperToyBox, be sure to click on my Batman: The Brave and The Bold tag to see all my posts of this favorite toy line of mine. They are made for play and FUN, like a toy SHOULD BE  :)

*Visit this GREAT Green Arrow page at ComicVine.Com! Good stuff, Kids!

ShadowTek Bane!

ShadowTek Bane is the last of these Mattel figures from The Batman animated television show I've bought... he was both a mild disappointment and a surprising joy upon his arrival from China...

As you saw in the video, I had not expected the smashing mechanism that severely limits the posing abilities of this eye-catching toy. Additionally, twisting at his torso pulls the seam at his shoulders apart- I'm not worried he will fall apart, but it's not cool. That said, the smashing feature is somewhat fun to play around with, and children would love this chunky, interactive toy. I purchased him loose for as low a price I could find, but I'm certain he came in a boxed set with a battle-injured Batman:

All complaints aside, I had a ball playing around with Bane, and it was worth the price of admission for the photos alone. He hardly resembles the Bane of DC Comics fame, but I like that about him...

With my EXP Ultimate Defender Batman...

...a picture I took while failing to get the shot I was looking for... kind of a happy accident... Hawkman sneaks in from behind while Batman and J'onn distract!

And finally, the whole gang: Hawkman, Martian Manhunter, Bane, Camo Tech Batman, Ultimate Defender Batman, and Firefly...

 In closing, pal BubbaShelby was nice enough to show me some very cool figures from this line that pad his personal collection- check out the links at his world-famous Toyriffic toy blog:
*Mail-Away Campbell's Batman! Incredible!
*The Ventriloquist and Scarface!
*Bubba's Firefly with different color than mine

More Mattel ShadowTek/EXP...

I've really been dragging my feet about posting the rest of these Mattel ShadowTek/EXP figures from The Batman animated show, so let's stop here and look at them for minute, m'kay?

*The Batman Extreme Power Camo Tech BatmanI love this! I used to find it annoying when they'd dress Batman in some color other than his traditional black, blue, or grey- now I like it, oddly enough... especially in green.  This goes back to my obsession with Batman as Green Lantern, which I (laughs) cannot explain. The power key is inserted into the weapon, which discharges the grapnel. Not nearly as cool nor as effective as the projectiles that the Brave & The Bold Series are outfitted with, unfortunately. Still, I enjoy the angular styling of these figures, and hey- they do have articulated knees. I like Batman's Endor fatigues here, though the hood of his cloak covers his face a bit much when pulled over his ears- check out his gnarly forearm blades/fins- KickAss!

*The Batman Extreme Power Ultimate Defender Batman

Again, some of the toys from this line after the animated TV series are "EXP" and some are called "ShadowTek". If you are doing a search for them check both to make sure you are getting the best deal. In my humble opinion, I feel this is one of the best looking Batman action figures ever made- yup, this "kiddie toy" version looks that cool/iconic/slick to me. I admire the way they styled The Batman's cowl here here with the big, slanted eye slits & short ears, but I have yet to get that weapon to do diddly-squat... it looks like it (laughs) should do something...

*The Batman ShadowTek Martian Manhunter!
Like Firefly and Hawkman from this series, Martian Manhunter is a ShadowTek, not an EXP. I scored him loose, and he seems somewhat rare among his fellows for whatever reason. His coloring is very subdued, olive tones for a J'onn J'onnz figure- you never see that, making him a standout among my Martian Manhunter toys. One of his pantslegs is longer than the other LOL!

It's hard to believe how few of these I've found out there, and most have been more expensive than I'm willing to justify, so I won't likely be getting a lot more of them. I'm not willing to go above what I'd pay for  the typical Brave & The Bold action figure (ten bucks or less), because in spite of their additional knee articulation they just aren't really better.

Total Armor Smashing Axe Batman

So I was in my local Wal-Mart the other night and saw some new Mattel Brave & The Bold Batman figures! I didn't buy one because I wasn't there for that, so I skipped it, but on the way home from a productive band rehearsal tonight, feeling good about life, and I stopped to see if the one I liked was still there. It was!  Hooray!!

I had become sidetracked from these wonderful and fun toys, and do actually have more I need to show you, but we'll take a look at the new kid on the block first. I bet BunkyChee would like this, seeing as he likes orange so much AND is the Reigning King of Batman Collections...

I just LOVE this guy! I've said before, I used to be slightly annoyed by all the absurd variations on Batman in the toy world, but now I like it. Can't a boy change his mind? They also had Electro Shield Batman, Spine Shocker Batman, and Shock Suit Batman. I paid $7.97 plus tax at Wal-Mart, and I just saw these are going for $9.99 on the Toys 'R Us website, by the way. It is almost always the case that Wal-Mart is selling Mattel toys for less than Target or Toys 'R Us- unfortunately not every line of Mattel toys gets distributed to Wal-Mart, and some of the Targets and Wal-Marts out in the county have none. As is the case, I always feel blessed when I find something I'm into. The also had the blue Brave & The Bold Ultra Armor Batmobile there for $19.97! Will someone please tell give me permission to go back and get one??

I have eight of the Batman figures from this series now, including a really cool Grapnel Claw Batman I haven't opened yet, and would probably (laughs) buy a couple more! I love these toys and have an entire shelf dedicated to them in the Toy Vault. Here's Smashing Axe Batman with Total Destruction Batman, Deluxe Sky Shot Batman, and Stealth Wing Batman.

An added note of interest: I was surprised to find the entirety of DC Universe Green Lantern Classics Wave Two  there at Wal-Mart, and they were under $15.00 each. Not bad! They looked great, and that Collect & Connect Stel figure is awesome, but I didn't go there to spend a hundred bucks, so...

More Later! Play NICE Together & Have FUN!

ShadowTek Firefly

I've shown you some of these Batman ShadowTek/EXP toys as they've come in the mail, but let's take a closer look at one of these FUN action figures...

*The Batman ShadowTek Firefly Like the Hawkman I showed you a few posts back, Firefly here is a ShadowTek, not an EXP. I got him cheap at $7.99 MOC, though I saw people asking for a lot more, so look around using ShadowTek and EXP as search words. I think he is one of the coolest of these with all his tubing, backpack, and removeable mask! Even better, when the lever is switched on the backpack, sparks can be seen in the transluscent lower section (see the video below)!

From Wikipedia:

"Firefly appears in The Batman voiced by Jason Marsden, which is perhaps his best-known appearance. In the series, he first appeared in "The Big Heat" as a mercenary and arsonist for hire. His weapons and paraphernalia include a heat ray, a battle suit, and a jetpack (which sounds like a fly when it is used). He was hired by GothCorp to attack its rivals, only to be defeated by Batman who left evidence that exposed Firefly's connection to GothCorp. He has appeared in the episodes "Fire and Ice" where he teamed up with Mr. Freeze. He joined Team Penguin in the episode "Team Penguin" along with Killer Croc, Killer Moth and Ragdoll. In "White Heat", Firefly gains a new partner and lover named Dr. Jane "Blaze" Blazedale and they both steal a phosphorus isotope to upgrade his battle suit. An accident causes the isotope to mutate Firefly into Phosphorus who acquires greater powers, but is also driven insane soon after his transformation."

More Later- Keep Having FUN With Your Life!

My Fan Art: Martian Manhunter

"Martian Manhunter" 2011
acrylic on paper, 14 x 20

Some of you may or may not know that I'm an artist here in the City of The Great Confluence. I've painted here for 14 years or so, and have done okay at this, last year selling over thirty paintings, my best year yet. When I was a kid in school, I dreamt of being a comic book artist, but those guys are just in a league above and beyond me- lightning fast and SUPER-talented! Still, I occasionally crank out an illustration of a favorite hero, and starting this blog last year reignited that unrealized dream.

I painted J'onn J'onnz in acrylic on paper a couple months ago, and while I won't likely receive any job offers from DC comics, it was a fun distraction from the type of art I more typically create nowadays. I'm currently working on another featuring Superman (as Nightwing) rescuing the bottled Kryptonian City of Kandor from Brainiac, which is shaping up to be pretty hilarious- Stay Tuned!

*The Idol-Head of Diabolu Martian Manhunter Blog!

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!

Proto Bat-Bot Video!

We have video! Watch me evolve :D
The Proto Bat-Bot in action! See lots of more photos of this wonderful toy on my previous post!

Keep Having FUN!

Hey, Mr. Postman!

Seems like everything I scored on eBay in the last 2 weeks came in at once! Kinda fun when that happens :D Let's take a look-see...

*The Batman Extreme Power Ultimate Defender Batman
Some of the toys from this line after the animated TV series are "EXP" and some are called "Shadow Tek". If you are doing a search for them check both to make sure you are getting the best deal. I admire the way they styled The Batman's cowl here here with the big, slanted eye slits & short ears.

*The Batman Extreme Power Camo Tech Batman
Need the Camo Tech, LOL! I can't describe how much I love this! I used to find it annoying when they'd dress Batman in some color other than his traditional black, blue, or grey- now I like it, oddly enough... especially in green. I think this goes back to my obsession with Batman as Green Lantern, which I (laughs) cannot explain.

*The Batman Shadow Tek Firefly
Like the Hawkman I showed you a few posts back, Firefly here is a Shadow Tek, not an EXP. I got him cheap at $7.99 MOC, though I saw people asking for a lot more, so look around using Shadow Tek and EXP as search words. I've been watching episodes of this show on YouBoob at night lately, and it's really been fun!

*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. I wanted a variant Superman to go with the JLUs I scored recently, and found him for five bucks on someones Amazon store. I LOVE this...

*Justice League Batman (Gas Mask Variant)

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

More Later- Keep Having FUN!