Hey, Mr. Postman!

I'm looking for toys on a regular basis, and while I do okay on the street level, there are some things I find on the internet that I either can't find, missed the initial release of, or get a better deal on used. It's only been a month since the last time I received toys in the mail, and since then there has been no shortage of fun stuff to buy locally, but what can I say- I love toys  :D

*Power Attack Total Destruction Batmobile
Like I said in my last post, I liked the aesthetics of the Blast Lane Batmobile, but returned it as I felt it was lacking any real action features. I scored this Total Destruction Batmobile for about $14.00 w/free shipping from an Amazon seller, six dollars less than the Blast Lane version, and with a better cockpit and two action features. Justice is mine!

*Brave & The Bold Scuba Batman and Stealth Strike Knight Battle Batman

How many versions of the Brave & The Bold Batman do you need? Apparently two more   :D  Mattel moved away from the B&TB title after the animated show was cancelled, and released a few more figures as the Stealth Strike series.  There was another Scuba Batman released in the Stealth Strike series alongside this Knight Battle Batman, but I wanted the original B&TB Scuba Bats. These were about fifteen bucks combined w/free shipping- got the Knight Battle for about four dollars less than original retail, and Scuba Bats for about three bucks more than original retail, so I came out okay since there was no shipping or tax.

*Brave & The Bold Blue Beetle w/Cosmic Crawler
This was hard to find used in good condition, and while I didn't get a stellar deal on him, it was better than the $40.00 price tag on all the boxed ones I saw. I paid about twenty-four bucks for him, shipping included, which I can live with considering how great a toy it is. I like Ted Kord as Blue Beetle, but I LOVE the Jaimie Reyes Blue Beetle! Part of the appeal of the Batman: The Brave & The Bold show was the supporting cast, Jaimie being one of my favorites. You will be seeing more of the Cosmic Crawler soon!

More Later- Make It FUN!

Power Attack Blast Lane Batmobile

I picked up this Blast Lane Batmobile, having passed on the previous Power Attack series Batmobile due to it's outrageous retail price tag of thirty bucks, but when I saw this one for twenty bucks a couple weeks ago, I took it for a spin. I loved its black & red color scheme, sports racer/formula car chassis, and bat-faced grill.

There's little paint on this, but it's in the right places: in the grill's "eyes", vents behind the cockpit, and over the sculpted bat symbol on the tail, complimenting the red canopy and wheel spokes. The tires are a hard plastic, but are textured nicely to look like rubber. The front cannons sculpted in grey look cool, but would have been more fun with a couple firing missiles. It's a pretty good overall sculpt and nice-looking design. It's simple, but they had to hit that price point, which the previous Power Attack Batmobile didn't really do- I saw that first one on sale several times. What that first Batmobile had however, was action features, including  a projectile and battering ram function. For some this won't be important, and though it's not always a deal breaker, I do like an action feature on a toy like this. And the in-motion photo on the back of the packaging combined with the toy's "blast lane" title seemed to imply some type of mechanized movement, but never really claimed any, clearly.

Another thing about this toy that bored me, aside from it's lack of action features, was the empty shell of a cockpit- void of any steering wheel, and nearly bereft of any sculptural detail. I wasn't aware of this at time of purchase due to the hazy red canopy, and while Batmen fits in the seat well enough, there's nothing to really anchor him.

Still, this Batmobile makes a nice display piece, and looks cool with the Power Attack Batman & Robin, a version of the Dynamic Duo I really liked...

5" Justice League Batman with my Brave & The Bold Batmobile and Power Attack Batman with Blast Lane Batmobile- the two cars have a great deal in common, including that classic red & black color scheme popularized by the 1966 TV Batmobile...

5" Justice League Batman with Brave & The Bold Batmobile, Power Attack Batman with Blast Lane Batmobile, and Imaginext Batman & Batmobile- another Batmobile that takes aesthetic cues from the '66 TV Batmobile...

While there was a great deal to admire about this Batmobile and I loved photographing it, I repackaged and returned it when I was finished. True, my B&TB Batmobile has no action features, but the details are superior and I scored it for five bucks less. In the end, I really wanted the Blast Lane Batmobile to do more, and when I found the previous Power Attack "Total Destruction" Batmobile on sale for less, I opted for it instead. More about that later, but first, one more shot of this great looking Batmobile    :D

More Later Make It FUN!

Weekend Toy Shopping

I found some things I'd been looking for this weekend, and a couple I really wasn't looking for. Some new action figures have surprised me recently, and I'm finally starting to see a few I've been waiting for. New waves of Marvel Legends and Marvel Universe have been hard to come by around here in the last year or so, but DC Direct (now DC Collectibles) seem to be released on time and properly distributed. I've also seen a flush of Mattel DC action figures appear over winter. I'm unsure why such popular toys are distributed so unevenly, but I can't really complain- I have more action figures than I have time to photograph...

*Marvel Legends Archangel

I was surprised to stumble onto one of these at an out-of-the-way TRU in a neighboring county! I've been really picky about the character selection in the latest Marvel Legends, but found an X-Force Wolverine I liked awhile back. Archangel was the other one I was really waiting to spot. I'd been getting Legends at Target for less, but I gladly paid $20.00 for this beautiful figure. Check out a review of this figure at a favorite blog of mine, Joint Junkie!

*Playskool Heroes single-bagged Spider-Man & Hulk
I haven't bought any of the great 2-packs of these, but discovered bagged singles of these Playskool Heroes mini-figures. I picked up a Spidey and Hulk, as they are each childhood favorites of which I collect. They just seem to go together like peas & carrots.

*Hasbro Marvel Universe Nighthawk
What can I say? I love Marvel Universe, and am always on the lookout for new releases, which seem to be slow to trickle out. I've been picking up the occasional 80's l issue of the Defenders from the dollar comics bin in the last year or so, and was surprised and delighted by this character's appearance in the line. That's what has been so great about this 3 3/4" line- the wide array of characters. I'm now on the lookout for Jubilee, Blastaar, Nova, Hercules, and Angel!

*DC Collectibles New 52 Justice League Green Arrow

I actually picked this up 3 weekends ago, but am just now getting around to showing him off. I loved the other New 52 Justice League figures I picked up this winter, and I've just discovered there will be a Martian Manhunter released in his new outfit this summer- excellent. Some other 2-packs will be released, one including Flash & Vibe, and the other Wonder Woman & Katana. I wish we could have a 2-pack with just Vibe & Katana, though, as I've been reading their recent, initial issues. I've been getting these Justice League singles for twenty bucks each- they look great, and Ollie here is a standout!

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Batman Unlimited Dark Knight

I found this Batman Batman Unlimited Dark Knight figure last Monday at Target. Now I've said a lot of the new DCUCs just hadn't interested me due to Mattel's refusal to give us any accessories or base, but I did love the Penguin from this series. Like that figure, this Dark Knight Batman has a more unique buck, using the arms and legs from Mattel's MOTU figures. This works well emulating Frank Miller's bulky rendering of Gotham's middle-aged guardian, called out to bring justice to streets overtaken by crime. Miller's Dark Knight Returns  was the book that highlighted my fascination with comics during my teens. I'm unsure how many times I read it, but I was obsessed with it for awhile. The humanity of the story made it so real, and the depictions of government, authority figures, politics, and the like were sweetly cynical. Batman is the anti-hero almost- a wanted vigilante that uses extreme violence to intimidate, injure, and sometimes kill to stop Gotham's criminals. I later got the same feeling reading Neil Gaiman's The Watchmen just three or four years ago, unaware I would really get back into comics and start this blog just a year or so later. These weren't happy books, but they are probably two of my all-time favorites. 

 This figure was a must-get for me, and Mattel did an inventive job cobbling him together with the MOTU limbs and lots of newly sculpted parts. He looks like a DCUC, but is noticeably larger, like the Batman in Dark Knight Returns- wide chest insignia, heavily pouched utility belt, short ears, and square jaw/clenched teeth.

I'd been curious about the MOTU articulation, and it's a little different than the DCUCs in it's hinge/swivel combo at the hips. It doesn't have quite the range, but it works very well- the shorts are a more rubbery plastic that can flex to accommodate leg positioning. He has bicep, and wrist swivels, hinged ankles, and a ball-jointed head that's pretty expressive as well. His hinged abdomen and swivel waist help this bulky figure out with posing, and though he doesn't have rocker joints on his hinged ankles, the swivels at his boot tops promote balanced posing. DC Direct/DC Collectibles has released a Dark Knight Batman two or three times, but I'm happy with this Mattel version.

Batman appears to have a new cape on this sculpt, which has a heavy, leathery look to it I really like. And unlike some of the other recent Mattel Batmen, we at least get a batarang, which looks like the character's weapons in the book- a crescent with scallops on the underside. His boot soles have combat tread, furrowed cowl and subtle paint apps on the grey bodysuit round out the details on this great action figure homage to Frank Miller's unique art in Dark Knight Returns.

The scenes of Miller's Batman leaping over the Gotham skyline exhilarated me as a teenager, and his murdering of the Joker in the Tunnel of Love at the amusement park haunted me! To this day, all other Batman books before and after are measured by Frank Miller's apocalyptic vision of the Dark Knight Detective. I've heard he is shortpacked in this wave, and have only seen him once. I'd love to see a Carrie Kelly Robin in this series, but I seriously doubt Mattel will make one. I like the New 52 Batman Mattel recently released, but have been turned off by the lack of accessories, and spotted an Injustice Batmen from this series when I found the Dark Knight Batman- they both looked good too, but I have resisted so far. Pick this one up if you see him.

Batman Unlimited Dark Knight with my Legacy Edition Golden Age Batman and my DCUC All-Star Batman...

More Later-Make It FUN!

Justice League Superman & Batman

In continuation of my last post on the new 5" Justice League figures, I present the New 52 Superman & Batman. I hadn't originally intended to pick up yet another Batman in the Brave & The Bold style, but liked his classic color scheme so much that I went ahead and grabbed him while getting the other three characters. I was certain, however, that I'd be picking up this fun little New 52 Superman...

Again, these don't have any articulation beyond what we saw in the Brave & The Bold figures- swivel head, waist, arms and legs, the latter restricted by the posterior sculpt, and hinged elbows. They don't need it because little kids don't pose their action figures- they play with them. The colors are bright and cheerful on this Man of Steel, styled after Jim Lee's New 52 Superman- a design I like. While I somewhat miss the hexagonal accessory slots prominent in the original B&TB line, caped figures benefit from their omission- no hole punched in the cape. Superman can now have the family shield emblazoned across the back of his cape!

This is a great looking Superman- the New 52 S shield is tamped neatly on his chest, which has armor lines running throughout like Jim Lee's redesign of the iconic suit. Mattel also squared off the boot tops, pointed his cuffs, and stamped a shield on top the belt buckle to update the character. And like the Green Lantern from this line, Superman has a collared neck, only visible when his head is turned. Mine has a slight chip in the chin, but it's not too visible in person. While this is a only a redeco of the previous B&TB Supermen, he may be my favorite.

BubbaShelby confirmed that the Flash from this series came with a re-purposed Justice League Unlimited accessory that Red Tornado also had, as did the Green Lantern share the same construct as the JLU Parasite. I'm certain this strange device came from a JLU Superman, but I can't seem to find confirmation of this on the internet. I've said in the last post that while I can appreciate the cleaner appearance without the heaxagonal Snap & Attack accessory feature that defined the Brave & The Bold Line, I feel some of the play value has been removed, so why bother giving me this chunk of gray plastic that has no mutual context with this New 52 Superman. It's only a reminder of Mattel's recent refusal to give us much in the way of accessories. I should mail it to them. But I digress- I love this little Superman as much as my other two.

Justice League Superman with Brave & The Bold Total Armor series Steel Power Superman and Kryptonite Collision Superman. I love having a few variants of any character, within a single series or across multiple toy lines and manufacturers...

Batman is the same figure as all the basic variants in the Brave & The Bold line, of which I have many, but he's so cool I had to have another. I didn't have a black & grey B&TB figure, nor a New 52 styled Batman, so I picked him up with Superman & the others. He has the best accessory of these new Justice League figures, a simple batarang with a handle to slip over his hand. I love the B&TB styling of this Batman- I loved the show, and the toy line is perhaps my favorite. The guest characters and their subsequent action figures like Blue Beetle, the Atom, Green Arrow and Plastic Man were really great, and Aquaman was hilarious!

Justice League Batman with Brave & The Bold Total Armor series Batman from the Kryptonite Collision battle pack and Stealth Strike series Gear Up Batman...   

This new Batman has no hole in the back of his cape like the previous line, the hexagonal accessory plugs removed from his body, which I found handy for plugging in Gear Up Batman's saber. As I've said before, once I got past their aesthetic as a kid's toy, I didn't really mind the socket holes in the B&TB figures- they were what the were, made for play.  Still, it's kinda nice to have a n example without to appreciate. I have some really fun B&TB Batmen I should open and post on, and in fact just found two more I liked!   :D

I have fourteen Batmen from the Brave & The Bold line, and will soon be adding two more, but am always on the lookout for more! Take a look at the last photo on my post from Nov.11th, 2011 to see a few from my collection.

And finally, Green Lantern and Flash with Superman and Batman, all the latest single carded 5" Justice League members available at Target. The card backer does show a Lex Luthor I'd be interested in, but he was nowhere in sight. Since getting these last weekend, I've seen the boxed set which also includes Cyborg, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman, but I have a Brave & the Bold Aquaman I love already, Batman didn't come with a Batarang, and it was a little more than I wanted to spend on these right now. These were the four are the one's I cared most about and are a lot of fun!

More Later- Make It FUN!