Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Blast Mr Freeze figure from Kenner

Back to the Kenner reviews with this early Mr Freeze figure. I'm fairly certain this was the first Mr Freeze figure they put out for the movie toy line. As you can see it's a long way from what Arnie ended up looking like in the finished film and is likely based on some early concept art.

I don't know about you but I actually prefer this to what we got in the film. It's very reminiscent of the blue suit he wore in the Animated Series and has similar red goggles.

I'm also a total sucker for transculent figures and this one has see through arms and torso which admittedly makes no sense but is still and awesome look.

I'm not totally sold on the weird blaster. It's kind of flimsy but I do like the rocket boosters. Very cool that you can put them either on his legs or back.

If you're not fussed about figures looking completely accurate to the movie I recommend this one.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Mr Freeze bust from Quick

Apologies, took November off but I hope you checked out the Knight Force Ninjas Power Kick figure on my YouTube channel.

Anyway, this week we've got a really interesting piece of Batman & Robin merch that I'd never seen until few weeks ago when I picked it up on eBay.

This Mr Freeze bust was a give away with fast food meals at Quick - a French equivalent of McDonald's.

It's a decent sculpt but not much paint work. And I guess it's fun that they tried to include a squirting water feature to make it more playable. I'm particularly amused by the instruction on the accompanying leaflet to pop the head off on put it on your finger!

I haven't see this before but I'm definitely keeping my eye out for the Batman one now. Shame they didn't do a Poison Ivy or Bane.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Blast Wing Batman figure from Kenner

Given that Batman & Robin came out only 2 years after Batman Forever it's not surprising Kenner cut a few corners to have all the figures ready. Here's another example of a figure from the Batman Forever toy line that was repainted and head swapped.

Much like the original figure, it's okay but I feel there's better figures put there with spring out wings. Mech Wing Batman for the BTAS figure was one of the best. This one feels a little underwhelming. Coupled with the gun/spear that doesn't fire. I don't know, it feels a little cheap. Get it if you want.

Note: this is not to be confused with Deluxe Blast Wing Batman. Totally different figure.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Robin and Ivy 2 Pack from Kenner

Given all the heroes and villains in Batman & Robin, it should come as no surprise that Kenner made a plethora of two-pack figure sets.

This week I'm looking at Evil Entrapment  Poison Ivy and Night Hunter Robin. 

The Robin is pretty standard. It benefits from a metallic red all over but the accessory is a dud. 

The Poison Ivy figure is great though. Love the green transculent bits and the Little Shop of Horrors-esque Venus fly trap is greaf. I kind of wish they did more Ivy figures - Uma Thurman had 4-5 costume changes throughout the film.

Anyway, this set is worth getting for the Ivy figure. Get it if you can.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Blade Batman figure from Kenner

With Batman & Robin coming out only two years after Batman Forever, Kenner were under pressure to get the figures made in time for the film's release. The timeline for designing, producing, and shipping out figures is usually a minimum of 18 months. So Kenner had to be smart, and one of the advantages they had was that they could repaint a few from the Batman Forever line.

Ice Blade Batman is one such example. A minor repaint and head replacement. I really liked this figure in the Forever line but this version feels like a bit of a downgrade. First off, there's no translucent elements to the figure. Secondly there's the weird purple and yellow colour scheme.

All in all I think this is one for just the diehard Kenner fans who want every figure.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Board Robin figure from Kenner

Following on from the Hover Board Batman figure, we have it's counterpart - Ice Board Robin. This is the one Robin figure that does a decent representation of the first costume Chris O'Donnell wears in the film with the dark blue suit and the red bird symbol on his chest. 

He comes with a little hover board that you can stick him on. Not a fan of that but the staff he comes with is pretty neat. You can split it in two and use one bit as a missile while the other spins on Robin's wrist. Very clever little accessory and it quite possible it was inspired by the Tim Drake Robin in the comics who also used a staff weapon.

As I always say if you just want the figures that look like they do in the film this is one of the ones to get.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Hover Attack Batman figure from Kenner

Now this is a figure a lot of people had. This was one of the first figures to come out and together with Heat Scan Batman I feel was the default action figure for a lot of kids. Batman is presented in virtually all black (as he is in the film - well it's blue in the film but looks black most of the time). There's just a little bit of silver on the emblem on his chest which is something I like. I always thought Clooney's suit needed another little bit of colour to make it pop.

The figure comes without a cape but with a hoverboard backpack and giant blades. I'm disappointed about the lack of cape but the sculpt is otherwise pretty good.

I need to do a bit of research but apparently this toy concept comes from an early draft of the script which would see Batman and Robin have their capes transform into hoverboards and pursue Mr Freeze. I guess this got altered to them using ice skates and sky surfing with those rocket doors.