Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Riddler and Two-Face figures from Spin Master

Here's the second part of my look at the Spin Master figures - this time looking at the Riddler and Two-Face. 

Like the Batman and Robin ones, these are just repaints of the old Kenner molds with some very slight changes and no accessories. 

There's some good points - such as the Riddler now having the "Box" on the TV screen strapped to his chest and Two-Face's suit being split round the back as well as the front. But they aren't really enough to justify buying the figures again if you already own the originals. 

One notable difference to Two-Face is the gun is removed. I assume this is a decision made to avoid controversy. Guns are being removed from lots of DC toys at the moment. Even the recent McFarlane figure didn't come with one.

It's a shame they didn't do a little more extra sculpting. The burned side of Two-Face's face could have easily been redone to make it more in line with the movie.

All in all, the Spin Masters figures were a little disappointing. I'd give them a skip unless you're a super fan like me. Shame they didn't do something a little more innovative and fresh with the licence.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Bat-Signal Blaster toy from Kenner

As you can tell from this video, I'm a little more excited about the box artwork than I am for the actual toy. 

And apologies, I got a little carried away when I said Batman "doesn't have a gadget like this in the film" - it's obviously based on the grapnel gun he uses in the opening bank heist to winch the vault back into place.

I was too old to get any of this branded dress up stuff at the time. I was 11 when the film came out. It's kind of nice to go back and pick it up now. I was very surprised that the thing is built more for a full size adult hand than it is a kids.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Batmobile vehicle from Spin Master

Although it's meant to be exclusive to Target Stores in the US I have my hands of the Spin Master "Retro Collection" Batman Forever Batmobile. I found them being sold on Amazon UK and initially they said it would ship in June! Thankfully that turned out to be false and my order got moved up to the end of January.

It's pretty surreal to see. They really have designed this to be almost indistinguishable from the original Kenner version. There are a number of changes though. It doesn't light up (but it you have some blue LED lights yu can stick them inside) and doesn't fire a missile out the front.

However, the car is much more accurate to the film. It has the headlights, the correct bonnet and the canopy slides forward. The latter is a great update as that always frustrated me about the old Kenner one that just had a hinge.

You do get a bonus figure which is nice but it's not a great representation of the Sonar Suit.

Still for £20 there's very little I can complain about. It would have been nice to get a new mold but I get that these figures are beloved by the 30/40 year old parents who will be buying them for their kids.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Triple Action Vehicle Set from Kenner

I can't tell you how long I've waited to find this pretty rare vehicle set for the Batman Forever toy line. It's the last bit of the Kenner toy line - not counting the role play sets like the Combat Utility Belt - that I needed.

One slipped through my fingers on eBay three years ago and I've only ever seen about 3 or 4 for sale in my whole life. I don't know if they just weren't sold over here in the UK or they came so late in the toy line's shelf life that not many were sold/made.

Anyway, I had one shipped from the US which was expensive but it was definitely worth the cost. Bless the seller, he included a few Batman Returns Statues inside the package as a bonus. I think he thought I was nuts paying so much for shipping.

This is a really clever toy that allows you to recreate all 3 (or 4) vehicles from the film. Kudos to the designers at Kenner for thinking this up. 

You just know they knew that kids would "frankenstein" their own crazy vehicles with wings and wheels.

News: Spin Master to release NEW Batman Forever figures in January 2025

Well, this took everyone by surprise. Toy manufacturer Spin Master has just announced they're releasing Batman Forever figures in January 2025.

The news broke quite strangely over the last few days. There was no big announcement. It all started when people in Malaysia started posting images of a Batman Forever batmobile that was on toy shelves over there. It turns out they were shipped slightly early over there.

The internet became obsessed with finding out answers and eventually the VP of Spin Master did this interview with Screen Rant to explain that 1) yes, these are Spin Master products and 2) they will be on shelves exclusively at Target Stores in the US in January 2025.

No word on if these will go to other territories but I think they will.

Anyway Spin Master have released these promotional images which show Batman, Robin and Two-Face on card as well as the Batmobile (with exclusive Batman figure). The promo poster for the line also shows the Riddler too but no sign of what his card will look like.

As I'm sure you've noticed these are almost identical to the old Kenner figures from back in the day. It looks like Spin Master is reproducing the exact same 5 inch molds with some small tweaks. Two-Face for instance has lost the gun that was fixed in one hand. Robin has the movie accurate Robin symbol now. And they've tried to make Batman closer to his panther suit appearance.

The Batman figure (both the exclusive figure that comes with the Batmobile and the single figure) look like they are based on Blast Cape Batman (without the cape missile accessory).

The Robin figure is based on Hydro Claw Robin (without the scuba backpack).

And Two-Face is based on the original Two-Face (without the cannon and coin he came with).

I could be wrong but all three figures look like they have much more articulation in the shoulder that the original figures so their arms can go out to the side, not just up and down.

The Batmobile looks to be the same as the original Kenner one just without the light up feature and missile at the front. It also has a sliding canopy which is much better that the original where the canopy had a hinge at the front.

All the figures have quite a vibrant colourful look and are different enough that they'll look good alongside the original Kenner ones. I'm a little sad Spin Master didn't create their own sculpts - the 3.75 in figure they did for Batman Returns last year was an outstanding original mold. I also don't know they picked the best Kenner molds. I feel Night Flight Batman was the best match to the Sonar Suit and Skyboard Robin was the better, more accurate Robin figure.

Anyway, I'll definitely be picking these up when I can get them. Let me know if you will be and what you're hoping Spin Master will do next - the VP mentions in the interview that more will be revealed soon!

Batman Forever Merchandise Review: Tide Racer Robin figure from Kenner

Well, this is it! The final Kenner figure I needed to get.

Tide Racer Robin is a Target Exclusive figure and a repaint of Hydro Claw Robin. If you liked that figure, you might like this variant. 

Don't worry my reviews will continue. I've looked ahead and won't be going anywhere for the foreseeable future. Still lots of vintage merchandise to review as well as new stuff like Hot Toys and McFarlane.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Riddler and Two Face figures from Kenner

Given that Riddler and Two Face are partners in crime in Batman Forever, it makes sense that Kenner made a double pack of figures.

These are basically just repaints of existing figures. The Riddler has a new head sculpt but other than that they aren't any different.

Two Face comes with a gold gun accessory that annoyingly my one is missing. It's based on the gun he uses to blow up the gas line and bury Batman in the subway.

These are definitely good value and perfect if you just want the most movie accurate versions of the two villains.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Solar Shield Batman figure from Kenner

If there's one thing everyone remembers about Batman, it's that he needs the sun for power.

Wait, no that's the other guy.

Oh well, as was often the case with 90s Kenner figures they went with an absolutely bonkers concept because:-

1) it sounded cool and 

2) made for a great figure.

This is Solar Shield Batman, one of the wave 2 figures. It come with some enormous wings and a crossbow (?) for his hand.

The material on the cape is particularly neat. They could have gone with just black but the metallic blue really makes it stand out. 

It took me a long while to track this one down. Glad I have it because there's nothing quite like it. Get one if you can.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Bruce Wayne Target Variant by Kenner

Towards the end of Kenner's toyline Target (the US store) asked them to make a few exclusive repainted figures.

One of these was this variant of the Transforming Bruce Wayne figure. A straightforward repaint.

Decked out in metallic green and gold. It's a really nice colour scheme - maybe even better than the original flat blue and red.

However I'm not sure they needed to make Bruce Wayne's hair dark red. I'm sure they could have recoloured some other part of his body. Maybe given him a new coloured top or trousers.

Anyway, I love this figure. As I say in the video it might be my favourite Batman figure ever!

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Dick Grayson figure from Kenner

Now we come to one of the most experimental figures in the Batman Forever line - the transforming Dick Grayson figure.

I remember having this one as a kid. I really liked the Dick Grayson character in the film and I love figures that have the ability to change. So this was a must buy.

First up the negatives, I was always disappointed the figure didn't have some dramatically different costume underneath. I always loved it when you had a figure in their casual clothes and got to suit them up. I get the reasoning but it sort of defeats the object of being a transforming figure if he's already wearing a sort of Robin costume underneath his Robin costume.

Secondly the colour changing mask on Robin was always a bit temperamental. It's a neat idea but the reality is your figure will usually just have a grey outline most of the time rather than looking like a fresh faced Chris O'Donnell.

I remember sometimes I'd try to change it without the aid of water. I had this has heater in the room where I placed with my toys and I remember melting my original figure by leaving him too long near the heat.

That said, I still like the figure and still have fond memories of it. Even with it's flaws I still find it fun and it reminds me of Kenner's constant desire to make some of the most innovative, playful figures of the 90s.

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 - 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 - 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 - Batarang Batman figure from Kenner

I'm getting pretty close now to having a complete set of the Batman Forever Kenner figures. This one took a while to track down. Had to get a boxed version as you don't see many loose ones about. It's also a bit of a nightmare to search for being that it's called 'Batarang Batman'. Wish they'd have come up with a more unique title there Kenner.

Anyway, the figure itself is kind of neat. The transculent green on the arms and legs add a dash of vibrant colour and I've got to give the designer points for not doing just another backpack/missile accessory. The twisting Batarang is kind of cool and works well for knocking over bad guy figures. As I say in the video I'm sure this is borrowed from the Scarecrow figures from the BTAS and Legend of the Dark Knight lines.

This is definitely one of the better figures in the Batman Forever line. The only thing that lets it down a bit is the flat purple chest.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - 3 Tier Batcave playset from Kenner

I had more or less resigned myself to never owning this massive Batcave playset. It rarely ever pops up on eBay and when it does it goes for astronomical prices. I lucked out last year when a seller contacted me and asked if I wanted to buy his one for £50. It was an absolute no brainer to say "yes".

It is a great playset and I am glad it's now in my collection. The main selling point is it's size. The thing is HUGE but fortunately it is let down by it's rickety and wobbly nature. I can't help but love the sturdier, smaller, more packed Wayne Manor Compound a little bit more.

If you can find one it's worth getting. If nothing else it gives you somewhere to hang your Batwing.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Wayne Manor Batcave Compound from Kenner

I make a pretty bold claim in this week's review but I'm going to stick by it. This IS one of the best playsets of all time. 

It's technically a repaint of the Wayne Manor Compound from Kenner's Batman Returns toy line but it works much better for Batman Forever. You can recreate the section of the film where Two Face and Riddler break into Wayne Manor and blow up the batcave. 

Okay so it doesn't totally look like the exterior/interior of Wayne Manor as it appeared in Batman Forever and they've just recoloured Axis Chemicals green to represent Claw Island but it's still a really fun set offering a lot of variety. I don't blame Kenner for bringing this out 5-6 times.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Batmobile vehicle by Kenner

Okay this week we're looking at the Kenner's Batmobile for Batman Forever - an essential purchase if ever there was. 

It's nice, chunky and attempts light up inner part that was featured in the film. I wish it was a little brighter and bluer but I'm glad Kenner tried. Weirdly they didn't do the same thing for Batman & Robin's Batmobile. I could nitpick the wobbly fins too but I'm not going to. 

External link: Toy Armada with Aaron Archer

This week I thought it would be a good idea to highlight this great podcast called The Toy Armada. The show is hosted by "Protoman" and features Aaron Archer as its co-host.

Aaron was a toy designer at Kenner and Hasbro for many years starting in 1995 and has some great insights and behind the scenes stories. This episode he covers his work on Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Give it a listen and subscribe for more episodes.