#43: DC Comics Multiverse - Jim Gordon Batman

Remember when Batman "died" but thanks to Lazarus pit-like chemicals was healed but lost his memory, and Jim Gordon took over as Batman for a while? Those were crazy times. But Scott Snyder is one of my favorite Batman writers, and it was an interesting spin. While the mech suit is probably more well known (and I think will be un upcoming build-a-figure), Gordon ran around outside of it fairly often, so it's cool to get a figure of this costume. Also, it's a rare instance of Batman using a gun and having it make sense. There's an alternate unmasked head, featuring an oddly un-stached face. Yeah, Jim Gordon shaved his trademark mustache while filling the Batman role. Now I really want a figure of a Batman with a mustache.

#117: Batman - Batman

This figure made me bleed. I was trying to swap hands, and when I was putting the hand back on, my fingers slipped and the gauntlet scallops cut me. I'm pretty sure this is the first time an action figure has drawn blood from me. Anyway, this is the 1989 Batman figure that Mattel should have given us. Instead, NECA did. This was originally released with a NES game inspired paint scheme, presumably as a way to skirt licensing issues. But they found a way around that by releasing it as a Toys R Us exclusive that can be bundled with a Blu-ray release of the movie. This is a very nice looking Batman, with a great Michael Keaton lower face likeness. The cowl is even a separate piece of plastic covering the head. It's fairly well articulated, although the elbows both seem to be stuck on mine. Batman has two sets of hands, one in fists, and the other to hold his accessories: the grapnel gun and the batarang. I don't know what Mattel's thinking in only releasing a 1989 Batman in the smaller scale was, but since they didn't release one in a larger scale, NECA was good enough to step in and fill that niche.

#55: DC Comics Multiverse ('89 Batman) - Batman

It's been a while since Mattel announced that they had rights to the older Batman and Superman movies, so we've been waiting a while for them to do anything with them. Finally, they're putting out figures, but they are unfortunately in the smaller scale rather than the six inch scale I think most people were hoping for. But it's Michael Keaton as the Tim Burton version of Batman. Despite Mattel's buffoonery, that's something I want a toy of. Overall, it's a nice looking take on Batman. In the first film, his chest armor had a more organic, muscular look, while in the second film it had a purely armored look, and this toy seems to be somewhere in the middle. I'm not sure what's up with that. I dig that the cape hangs in front of the shoulders, although it does hinder the arm articulation somewhat. This would have been mitigated if the arms had shoulder swivels, but they don't.

Batman's sole accessory is his grapnel gun, which is made of a soft plastic and was warped by the packaging. I don't think that thing will shoot straight. Despite my complaints, it's still a cool picture, although I really wish Mattel would release a six inch scale Michael Keaton Batman.

#97: Batman - Ice Cannon Mr. Freeze

So when I went to that toy show a couple weeks ago, I saw some DC Super Heroes figures that were priced higher than I was willing to pay, including Mr. Freeze. Now, I don't want the current Batman Legacy release because I think the color scheme is pretty garish. So I checked on Ebay and found this guy for a reasonable price. What I realized after the auction had ended was that I had bid on the wrong figure. I was looking for the DC Super Heroes Mr. Freeze, but by not paying close enough attention, I had actually bid on the earlier release from the Batman line. Truly, there is a lesson there to not be so distracted by a low price that you don't realize you're not bidding on exactly the toy you want.

The main reason I wanted the DCSH version is due to its improved articulation. This version has no elbow, wrist, or ankle articulation, and the hips and knees are only swivels. Aside from articulation gripes, this is actually a pretty cool figure. One cool piece of articulation is that when you swivel the waist, the head swivels with it beneath the dome. That's a really cool way to have the head be poseable without removing the dome. Also, that huge gun? It squirts water. Yeah, an action feature. In this case, it doesn't really interfere with the aesthetics of the toy, because the hose is well integrated into the design.

Now that I have this Mr. Freeze in my collection, I probably won't be willing to shell out for the DCSH version, but if they re-release him again with a decent color scheme, I may end up with a replacement. For now, it's always good to have another member of Batman's rogues gallery.

#58: Hot Wheels '66 Batmobile

I know that some people shop at grocery stores with surprisingly good selections of toys, including action figures and the sorts of things that I collect. My local grocery stores tend not to carry things I'd want to buy, although I did buy an Optimus Prime and Megatron two pack last December at my usual grocery store. Today, I made my second toy purchase from a grocery store.

There was a display box of Hot Wheel cars on a shelf, and this was in front and immediately caught my attention with the Batman logo on the card. I have heard that Hot Wheels collectors are among the most dedicated, and I would assume that a Batmobile would be a hot item for them, so I guess they haven't started checking out this grocery store for their Hot Wheels fix. Counting myself lucky, I took it.

When I was young, I had a lot of Hot Wheels, Matchbox cars, and the like. Most of the toys I collect these days reflect the toys I was into back then, but I haven't really been on any nostalgia trip for Hot Wheels. Because of this, the Batmobile will only have my Spam racing car for company.

Anyway, this is a cool little car. It's the Batmobile that Adam West drove, which will always have a fond spot in my memory. According to the Hot Wheels wiki, there have been previous versions of this, with more paint apps on the car. It does kind of look plain on the front end without them, but I'm not too broken up about it. My only real complaint is that the red stripe along the right side of the car is a little misaligned. I'll just have the other side face forward. I'm not hip to the world of Hot Wheels collecting, so I don't know if this is a rare car or not. Either way, I'm glad I found it, even if I didn't even know it existed until I saw it.