As well as the smaller 5 inch figures, Kenner also produced these larger 12 inch figures for the Batman & Robin movie that were aimed at a very young market. The Batgirl one feels like it was even maybe aimed at young girls who liked Barbie dolls.
I don't have complete or boxed versions of these but I felt there was enough to do a review.
I particularly wanted to show the custom Clooney figure at the end. It makes you realise that these weren't a million miles away from the high end 1/6 scale figures of today from Hot Toys and the like.
Kenner were some cheap and cheerful toy makers at times. There a lot of examples if you go looking where they repurposed some of their own figures and vehicles. The Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves line was a classic example - using
For Batman & Robin they repurposed this NightSphere vehicle from the Animated series which on the one hand was great as it's a really unique and fun vehicle incorporating a gyroscope that allows Batman to remain upright no matter what angle you flip him in.
The downside is that the Animated series has slightly smaller proportioned figures and the exclusive one they packaged for this iteration CANNOT FIT without some extraordinary jamming. Also the exclusive figure is basically just the Heat Scan Batman with some slightly yellower arms and legs. They could have done something a bit more unique if they wanted.
All in all, fun vehicle, useless figure. Just get the Animated version instead.
This week we're looking at the Ice Fortress playset from Kenner.
"But Mr Freeze didn't have an Ice Fortress in the film!", I hear you say. Fair point, but I always love Kenner when they go off script and invent new stuff that wasn't in whatever film they're adapting. They were great at that sort of thing and it always made for great story telling adventures as a kid.
There's not a whole lot to the set. It's primarily a few bits of translucent blue plastic that click together. There's a disc firing cannon in the middle, a couple of white cannons that fire green missiles and some swivelling guns too.
I do love that they included a new backpack and hand missile for Batman - anticipating that kids who buy the set will likely have other figures already.
I recognised the backpack thing from the Crime Squad Animated Series line (it even still has the logo on the picture on the front). The fire missile is from the Knightquest (aka Azrael) figure from the Legends of Batman line. Got to love how Kenner recycle things.
There's also some mines and grenades too (sorry, ice grenades and freeze mines). But to be honest, you'll probably lose them.
I don't mention in the review because it only got pointed out to me in the YouTube comments after posting. This whole playset is actually a complete lift of this Ice Station Zero playset from the 90s GI Joe Extreme line.
Now all the guns make sense.
Got to love it when Kenner dust something off and rebrands it for another toy line. This is not the first time I've spotted this. Famously their Robin Hood Prince of Thieves lines took bits of several other lines ranging from Return of the Jedi to Robocop!
As McFarlane Toys begins it's winding down making DC action figures (they will lose the licence in 2026 as it moves back to Mattel) it's not surprising they want to squeeze out some quick easy ones to make a little extra cash. Repaints of existing figures, re-uses of bits and pieces of existing figures.
It seems like a no-brainer to make an ice theme version of Batman & Robin - all they have to do is cast the same molds in a different sort of plastic. Initially I thought this was something they were only for the B&R movie line but it turns out there are lots of these "Frostbite editions" for their other comic book based Batman figures too.
Of the two, I really wanted to get the Robin figure as it sort of looks like the bit in the movie where he gets frozen. Sure the earlier figures had some clip on ice pieces which were a fun addition but I tend not to put those on him when he's in my cabinet.
As I say in the video these figures remind me of the old Star Wars: Power of the Force line from the 90s where they made translucent figures of Obi-Wan, Anakin and Yoda to make them look like force ghosts. Turns out these aren't quite as see through - there's a layer of "frosting" that's been added to the figure - which I guess is necessary as the internal workings are a little more on display than those earlier Star Wars figures.
I don't think these are necessarily an essential purchase but I'll take all the variations that McFarlane want to throw out.
I reviewed the (so-called) Ultimate Batman Forever figure from Kenner a few years back. It was a pretty large 15 inch action figure that had very limited movement and mostly served as a statue. Kenner, of course, made Ultimate figures for the Batman & Robin movie too - this time of both heroes.
The issues are mostly the same. The likeness is kind of wonky on both and they are posed dynamically. The cape is extremely see-through and the only moveable parts are the arms and waist. Still, they are kind of fun to put on a shelf and look great side by side. All in all, a non-essential purchase.
This figure and it's Batman counterpart might be some of the strangest figures of the Batman & Robin toyline. Rather than have a figure and a backpack, this one fuses the figure permanently into a mini plane. In fact, on closer inspection, you only get a head and torso.
As a kid I probably would have hated this and tried to pull the vehicle apart but as an adult I find it kind of novel. Kenner were trying to find new ways to make their action figures stand out and I can't blame them for that. Particularly when your toy line has over 40 figures!
One interesting note is that the figures are actually pretty accurate to the look and colours of the ice suits in that are used at the end of the movie (the Guardians of Gotham 2 pack are also pretty close).
I've done so many review videos I've sort of lost track what I've covered (hence the error in this video where I start comparing it to Rooftop Pursuit Batman figure which I bought ages age and assumed I already covered).
Anyway, Thermal Shield is a pretty fun figure. I like the big mask that flips down over his head and the sculpting on the figure itself is one of my favourites.
I don't know if the hole on Batman's head really is for the missile but it does make for a hilariously goofy look when you put it there.
While the Batman's Bathammer and Batgirl's Ice Cycle were more or less faithfully translated to toy form by Kenner, Robin's Batskiff (as it's sometimes dubbed) was translated twice and neither are particularly close to the size or shape of the vehicle.
First we had a small miniaturised red and black version that came with Deluxe Glacier Robin and now we have another larger version that comes with... no figure at all. In fact the box depicts Batman driving it, but clearly this is meant to be the Bat Skiff.
It's a much longer shape than it appeared on screen and the fan is much smaller but it's still a nice design. I wish they had picked a slightly shinier grey than the matt colour they went for.
Sadly, there are no light up features like it had on screen. Clearly all the money was put into making the Bathammer toy light up. It's not a complete loss though, the vehicle has a fun pull-out wings feature and best of all the missile is NOT another push button affair. We have a novel spinning blade wheel that fires out.
I think this feature was taken from an existing projectile feature that had been used a couple of years earlier in a Batman Forever role play toy called the AeroDisc Shooter.
Anyway, if you have the other vehicles, this one is a must. Otherwise what is Robin going to drive.
Back to the Kenner reviews with Attack Wing Robin. There some heavy Marvel influences on this one.
His helmet looks like Ant-Man. His wings looks like Archangel. And his suit looks like Spider-man. Who knows if that's intentional or not?
I actually really like the sculpt on this. I vener really noticed until now that although the paint work on the B&R figures is a bit lacklustre, the actually sculpts are really intricately detailed.
A lot of the time the Batman & Robin figure line looked a little cheap. Most of them only had a simple 2 colour scheme. Often a really garish bright colour and black. Thankfully Battle Board Batman bucks that trend and goes for a mix of cool blue and light purple. I think it works really well.
The sculpt is also a little different from the other Batman. There's some neat little details on the gloves in particular.
The actual accessory is something that Kenner did again and again. A hoverboard that clips onto Batman's feet and can also be stuck on his back. I'm less keen on that but on the whole I like this figure. Definitely one of the better ones.
Although I usually like my movie action figures to look like they did on screen, I also enjoy when a toy designer throws out the rule book and makes their own wild and crazy reinterpretation. The Batgirl Ice Strike Cycle is definitely one of the latter.
The figure is a predominantly light purple with a visor - worlds away from the look in the film. I really dig it though - it reminds me of the Batman vs Predator comic from the early 90s. Maybe that inspired the toy designer too.
The cycle itself is fairly close to the look of the film. It's missing the big bat symbol on the front and a few other details but it's close enough. I like that they've made it so the character can sit up properly and not have to lie down on top of the bike like so many other Kenner cycle (I'm looking at you Redbird Robin and Street Racer Batman). The wheel missile is a nice addition too. I didn't note it in the video but apparently you can take that missile launcher off and attach it to Batgirl.
No, I haven't lost my mind and decided to sell my collection. Don't worry. It's going nowhere.
I have though been in touch with a fellow Batman collector called Laurent.
He is very active on Instagram and is selling a TON of Batman merchandise - from the movies, cartoons, comics.
Most interesting to readers of this blog, he has a big collection of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin merchandise.
Here are a couple of photos below show some of what he has available. Some really rare pieces. He also has a lot of carded figures too. Check his Instagram page out here - give him and follow and maybe strike up a deal.
And here's some individual posts about some of the items for a closer look.
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