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.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Deluxe Glacier Battle Robin figure from Kenner

Looking at one of the Deluxe Robin figures this week based on the airboat-thingy that Chris O'Donnell pilots towards the end of the film. 

Like all the Robin costumes this is based on the Nightwing outfit from the comic books. I think the silver and blue lools pretty great and the cloth cape - a rarity for this line - is a nice touch. 

I particularly love that the vehicle has two modes and you can (admittedly awkwardly) put two figures on the vehicle. All in all a pretty great figure.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Collectable discs from Kelloggs

Quick break from action figures this week to have a look at a weird cereal tie-in with Batman & Robin - these foam discs. At first glance I thought these were Pogs but given there's no hard plastic "slammer" I think they're just a novel alternative to trading cards. These are really easy to find on eBay. Get them if you really want but don't expect them to be a future family heirloom.

Toys: Mr Freeze figure photography

Shout out to Dwayne Pinkney who sent over these brilliant photographs he's taken of all the Mr Freeze figures from the Batman & Robin Kenner toyline.

Please feel free to email me at jackthursbyedit [at] gmail [dot] com if you have any images you want me to share here.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Mr Freeze Bazooka figure from Kenner

This week we're looking at the main Mr Freeze figure from Kenner. Kenner made quite a few versions of Freeze for the toyline (I've got some cool photos to show next week). However many of the figures were based on concept art and didn't reflect what the suit looked like in the film. They also put red goggles on a couple of the figures making it hard to recognise it as being Arnold Schwarzenegger.

This silvery figure is as close as we get to what the suit looked like in the actual film. I'd love it more if it was chrome and had a translucent blue on the light up parts of the suit but it's fine... I guess.

The face sculpt is really good. It's clearly Schwarzenegger's face and isn't a generic face like the Uma Thurman Poison Ivy figure. I do feel the figure needed just one more paint colour. Having just two paint colours feels really cheap and bargain basement.

The missile again is good but not particularly close to the one he has in the film. Would have loved if they could have done some sort of diamond weapon using some clear plastic. 

Anyway, you want a vaguely screen accurate Mr Freeze this is the one to get.

Podcast round-up: Batminute & All Star Superfan podcasts

I've been so snowed under with other work this year that I completely forgot to post here the multiple podcasts I've guested on.

First up I returned to the Batminute podcast with Niall McGowan and Jonfen Parker earlier this year talking about three minutes of the 1997 Batman & Robin movie. The toyetic sections covered was the bit when the heroes turn up in their silver suits and ice vehicles while Gotham freezes. 

Here's the links:-

https://thebatminute.com/bat-minute-robin-minute-103-artificial-arnie-a-with-neil-rickatson-1

https://thebatminute.com/bat-minute-robin-minute-104-rollin-with-my-homies-with-neil-rickatson

https://thebatminute.com/bat-minute-robin-minute-105-doin-up-my-coil-with-neil-rickatson

I was also invited onto a special (non-Superman related) episode of the All Star Superfan Podcast with Rob O'Connor and Alan Burke to talk about all the previous Batman movies before dissecting the latest Matt Reeves' movie The Batman. More than a few juicy stories got spilled here, not least the time I was an extra on the set of Batman Begins. 

Here's the link:-

https://allstarsuperfan.podbean.com/e/adventures-in-the-dc-universe-the-batman-spoiler-review/

Both these podcasts are very much worth your time (even the episodes where I'm not guesting) and are well worth subscribing to or catching up with.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Poison Ivy figure from Funko Pop

Okay let's take a break from the Kenner reviews and take a look at something else this week. 

A couple of years ago Funko did a great set of Batman villain figures based on the Burton and Schumacher movies. Having bought the Riddler and Two-Face figures I cooled on getting the ones for Batman & Robin. One of the things that put me off was that they priced the Poison Ivy figure at £25 rather than the usual £10 price they retail for. I don't know why this was - maybe they felt they wouldn't sell as many because the character isn't as popular as the others.

Anyway it recently came down in price to £10 so I snapped it up. It's pretty fun and as always with Funko there's a real attention to detail. All the little bits of the costume are present and correct as are the colours. 

If you like this character/movie and you like Funko Pops there's never been a better time to pick this up.