Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Batman vs The Riddler from Kenner

Sad to say we're really close to finishing the Kenner toyline. Only a few figures left. Even though these are only repaint I thought they were pretty interesting figures to cover.

The Movie Collection was a line of three 2-pack figures that were released in 1997 that packaged a Batman figure with one of the villains from Batman (1989), Batman Returns and Batman Forever.

For this they brought out the molds of Batman (Guardians of Gotham) and The Talking Riddler and gave them new paint colours. 

Unfortunately the colours aren't particularly revolutionary. And there's no fun missiles or backpacks. Still it's nice to have a couple more figures for the collection.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Night Flight Batman figure from Kenner

These last few Kenner figures are getting harder and harder to find. Took me quite a while to find this one.

Night Flight Batman came from later in the toyline and is a little hard to come by. It's a cool figure though. It's got a great colour scheme. Black and copper red and the wing backpack is really neat. The little slide at the bottom makes the wings pop up and a bat mask/visor come down over Batman's head.

The only thing that lets it down is the accessory - a saw blade launcher that doesn't move.

One other notable thing about the figure is the suit is the most accurate version of the sonar suit in terms of sculpt. More so even than the Guardians of Gotham figure.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - T-Shirt in a Batmobile

It's always fun finding merchandise for Batman Forever that I've never seen before. After several years of doing this website I thought I knew pretty much everything that was made for the movie. Trust me, I own an awful lot of it now.

Anyway, it's a neat idea. Selling a t-shirt in a novelty case. That way you get a bonus thing to play with while you're wearing the shirt (which is great for kids). You could almost use it in place of the Kenner Batmobile - just think of how many figures you could fit in it - at least 7-8.

As mentioned in the video I have no idea why they chose to use the Jean Paul Valley bat symbol on the wheels. That's going to have to remain a mystery for now.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - The Unauthorized Batman Collectors Guide by Alan J Porter

Searching for all this Batman Forever stuff on eBay I frequently stumble across other items of interest. I was thrilled to find this random book that was made back in 1998 for people who were collecting Batman merchandise back then.

This was fascinating to look through and full of great photos of figures and comprehensive text. For someone like me, who loves 90s Batman, this was great to look through.

The back half of the book contains estimates of every item - books, toys, mugs, statues, duvet sets, posters and any other piece of merchandise out there.

On the one hand I'm jealous of how much cheaper it was to collect Batman merchandise in 1998. But I can't help but feel it would be much harder finding everything without 2023 eBay.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Audio Game from Parker Brothers

Turns out the board game - Battle at the Big Top - wasn't the only game that Parker Brothers put out. They also released this very fun audio game. 

Basically, you have a deck of cards and a coin and you just listen to the tape as it instructs you with a loose adaptation of the movie. 

The two sides of the tape (yep, it's a cassette tape) give you two adventures. One in Gotham City, one at Claw Island.

I've played it once with my wife and kid and we actually had a lot of fun. 

If YOU want to play a game yourself you're in luck. Because it's nearly Christmas I've decided to give you all a present. Not only have I recorded the cassette (apologies, it's a little wobbly in places), I've also made up some cards that you can print off so you can play along yourself. Merry Christmas.

 

Riddle Me This - What do you get for the man who has everything Batman Forever?

Very special video to post this week. Thank you to Nygmatech Archives for giving me an amazing gift.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Cosbaby Riddler and Two Face set from Hot Toys

In the last few years there's been quite a few NEW Batman Forever figures released which is awesome for a 27 year old movie that isn't - shall we say - universally beloved.

While we wait for the Hot Toys and Prime 1 Studio figures (the jury is still out if I can afford those eye watering prices) I'm happy to see these more affordable Cosbaby figures.

I know everyone is not a fan of these Japanese-style SD figures but I find them cute and fun. 

The Cosbaby line is smaller than the Funko Pop line but they are also more detailed. I particularly love the coin in Two Face's hand which looks like it's mid flip. And it is nice to have actual eyes rather than those giant white dots that Funko figures have.

I think the Batman and Robin set were a little more interesting with their metallic sheen but the Riddler and Two Face set are pretty cool too.

The price was about £40ish a year ago but it's coming down. If you scope around on eBay you might be able to find one of the sets for closer to £20.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Erasers from Noteworthy

Once again, I'm covering only the most essential of Batman Forever merchandise - the highly sought after eraser set from Noteworthy. Unfortunately I only have 3 of the 4 erasers but hopefully you enjoy the video.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - The Riddler Target Exclusive figure from Kenner

Didn't think I'd find any of these Exclusive figures that Kenner made for Target Stores in America but I lucked out finding one on eBay last week.

It's pretty much just a straightforward repaint of the original Riddler figure. No alterations whatsoever but the colours are kind of neat.

There's two more Target Exclusives I've got to track down - a transforming Batman/Bruce Wayne (in green instead of blue) and Tide Racer Robin (a repaint of Hydro Claw Robin with silver instead of gold).

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Deluxe Lightwing Batman figure from Kenner

This week, we're looking at the last Deluxe figure from Kenner's toyline. We're getting really close to finishing up all these Kenner figures.

This one is another light up figure. It boasts a nice yellow and red colour scheme. And has a Predator-esque missile that sits over Batman's right shoulder. This was designed by Aaron Archer of the Toy Armada podcast. It was one of the first figures he worked on after joining Kenner.

I like this one a lot. It's big, chunky, and bold. I love how the design of the backpack is drawn from the Batmobile and Batwing. And any figure that lights up is an automatic win for me. Wish Kenner did more of these.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Mystery Grab Bag

In this week's episode I'm covering... a bunch of random stuff related to Batman Forever. Enjoy!

P.S. if you want to see the Sugar Puffs board game in close up, click here: https://www.1995batman.com/2020/02/miscellaneous-content-sugar-puffs-corn.html?m=1

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Cosbaby Batman and Robin figures from Hot Toys

If you liked the recent Funko Pop Batman Forever figures you might also be interested in this twin set of figures from Hot Toys from their Cosbaby line. Urgh I hate that name.

Anyway, the advantage with this particular set is that you get a Chris O'Donnell Robin figure (come on Funko get on making one). The price is a little higher than Funkos but the detail is a little better too. You get more than just a simple mouth and white button eyes.

I'll hopefully be picking up the Riddler and Two Face set too. If the forthcoming 6" life like Hot Toys figures are out of your price range these are a decent silver prize.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Skyboard Robin figure from Kenner

If you're looking for just ONE Robin figure from the Batman Forever toyline this is the one you need to get. 

The strange scooter vehicle is pretty ropey but the figure is a solid representation of the suit Chris O'Donnell wears at the end of the film.

I wish they could have figured out a way of getting the black and yellow cape in there but I'll let them off. I guess at a push I could always take the cape off the Batman Returns Robin figure.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Movie Stickers from Topps

I've covered the Panini Sticker Album that was released in the UK on the site in the past but I also picked up a couple of boxes of the Topps stickers that came out in the US off eBay. 

Thankfully it did contain a full set of the main 88 stickers (though I still have a couple of chrome stickers outstanding - as well as the album itself).

There's a couple of interesting "Schumacher Cut" shots in here that's worth seeing (and that I've covered before) but otherwise no great shakes. Probably for die hard fans only.

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.