#49: Batman Classic TV Series - Batman & Robin

The classic 60s Batman TV series seems to be undergoing a bit of a revival lately. With a new comic series based on the show, as well as a new toy line, can a long awaited home media release of the series be far behind? I certainly hope so, but for now, we're here to talk toys. At long last, we finally have Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin. This set is the only way to get Robin, so it was a no brainer to get it rather than missing out on half of the dynamic duo. They are basically DCUC figures, but with more realistic proportions. So no big surprises here. Unfortunately, Mattel cannot resist "exciting" posing in packages, leading poor Robin to deal with a case of seriously bent legs. And for some reason, there are ridiculously large paper tags affixed to the capes. What gives? Hasbro releases figures with soft goods all the time, and they never have big stupid tags attached. Oh well, a snip of the scissors will take care of that. For accessories, Batman has a batarang. And of course, there is the display base...

This is probably one of the best, if not the best, display bases that has been created for an action figure. One of the trademarks of the Batman series was the scenes of Batman and Robin climbing up the side of a building, which was accomplished by the actors walking along a floor designed to look like a building and turning the camera on its side. That's exactly what this base represents. What's really cool is that not only can you lay it out flat on the shelf as if it were the actors shooting a scene, but you can also mount it on the wall as if Batman and Robin were actually climbing the side of a building. There is fortunately a rope included, which can be tied to the base. Frequently guest stars would appear on the show by popping out of the window to express shock or have some sort of conversation with Batman and Robin as they were climbing. That can be replicated with the base, which has windows that can be opened. They are perhaps a bit narrow, but it is a cool feature. Both of the figures have bendable wires in their capes so that they can be posed as if they were falling down due to gravity.

I'm hoping the rest of the figures from the line have more neutral positions in the packaging to avoid being bent out of shape before they are even opened. Since they are getting all the major villains out of the way with this first series, I wonder if there will be any more figures in the future. I'll be bummed if they don't make a Batgirl figure, that's for sure.