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.

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!

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!

Hey, Mr.Postman!

Something came in the mail for me today! What do you think it is?? Why, it was a  toy of course, Kids... a Mattel ShadowTek Hawkman, to be exact :D

I scored a few of these last week on eBay, Hawkman arriving first today. These action figure from The Batman animated television show appealed to my playful side with their exaggerated, but simplified style. This one is from 2007, and though I'd never seen the show, I love the way they made these- particularly the Batman figure which first caught my eye. The show ran for five seasons from 2004-2008 on Kids WB, actor Robert Patrick performing the voice for Hawkman. The show didn' follow the continuity of  Bruce Timm's Batman: The Animated Series from 90's, or the comics, instead telling the story of a young Bruce Wayne starting his crime fighting career.

Hawkman's wings each snap together onto a slotted peg on his back, which only confounded me for a minute, afterwhich they stayed securely in place. Upon further inspection, I must say they look a lot like chocolate angel wings due to their brown, waxy appearance :D I'm unsure if grey would've been a better color, as I've seen that look somewhat flat on other Hawkman figures... perhaps a sharper sculpt?

This is a great toy! The chest emblem, winged mask, and red mace are so cool! It's hilarious and FUN, like a toy should be :D I had a ball taking pictures of this guy!

*Hawkman at Wikipedia!

*Hawkman at ComicVine.Com!