Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Final Suit Riddler figure from Kenner

Once again, this figure came out a while back but I'm only just getting around to reviewing it now. There's been such an avalanche of Schumacher Batman figures coming out it's difficult to keep up with it all.

When I finished reviewing the Batman Forever figures from McFarlane earlier this year, I said at the time I hoped they'd do something else and sure enough they have.

It's not the Panther suit but I can live with that. Instead they've made the white suit (or Final Suit as it's labelled) Riddler figure sporting his look from the end of the film.

I guess this was an easy one of them to do. The body looks to be the same as the original Riddler - only now in a pearlescent white with little bits of glitter inside. The head sculpt is new and although it's not the best work McFarlane have done, it's a step up from their first Riddler figure.

The green cane with the skull completes the look nicely. You get two extra hands which is cool but I would have loved a little throne to sit him on. Oh well.

Hopefully we might see one more Forever figure before the middle of 2026 when McFarlane loses the DC licence.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Val Kilmer Batman figure from Beast Kingdom

So I finally got both the Schumacher Batman figures from Beast Kingdom. I covered the George Clooney one over at 1997batman.com

I'd actually say that one was slightly better than this Val Kilmer one. The sculpt isn't too bad but the weirdly large gaps at the top of the legs let it down for me. As does the decision to go with a dark grey rather than metallic blue metal finish.

Still it is nice to have something at this scale and the accessories are neat. Hopefully the Riddler figure (which isn't out yet but the prototype looks great) will look good alongside it.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Riddler figure from McFarlane

As with most of the Batman Forever McFarlane line, this Riddler figure is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it is super posable which is great because it means you can put the figure in pretty much every one of those crazy poses Jim Carrey did for the promotional photoshoots for the film.

But super poseable also means you need to have tons of joints. And joins are difficult to paint over. So there are large sections (down the side of the legs, the shoulders, the kneecaps) where the questions marks just stop.

I think McFarlane could have solved this somewhat by having a few less questions marks. That would have made these gaps seem less obvious. But anyway, it is what it is.

The face is decent but nothing to write home about. Again, everything after the Uma Thurman Poison Ivy figure feels like a tiny step down.

I still mostly recommend this figure. It's great to have it in my collection but I am more excited for that Beast Kingdom figure that is hopefully coming out later in the year.

Also excited to say we are getting an extra figure to this line that was recently announced - a white suit Riddler that looks to have a completely new head sculpt. Hopefully this will be out in time for the 30th anniversary this Summer.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Two Face figure from McFarlane

So now we come to my favourite figure of the McFarlane Batman Forever line - Two Face.

Although it's not a perfect likeness to Tommy Lee Jones it's got a great expressive face and I love that they've done the coin flipping in his hand.

The costume is well captured. Sure there's a couple of bits of silver paint missing but they aren't huge. It will only take me a few minutes with a chrome pen to put the three metal bits on the glove and a steel toe cap on the right shoe.

The only real blunder is that the figures has no guns! I believe that this is a recent edict by DC Comics that action figures based on their characters (even those ones made for adult collectors) should not have any guns. As a result you're going to have to find your own weapons for this figure.

My suggestion however is to make a tiny newspaper to put in his hand. Here's the link to the jpeg / pdf.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Robin figure from McFarlane

Apologies for taking so long to getting around to reviewing this figure. I actually took SO long that news just hit McFarlane will be losing the DC license next year (it's going back to Mattel - read more about that here).

Anyway, on to the figure itself. This is a nice figure. I'm a big fan of the costume in this movie. I love that it takes most of its cues from the Tim Drake comic book suit. 

Some stuff they've done well. I love that they've kept the interior of the cape yellow (lots of other toy versions skip over that). The head sculpt is good too. I don't know if it's up there with McFarlane's Poison Ivy but it's a solid representation of Chris O'Donnell. I was quite surprised that this is a completely different head sculpt from the Batman & Robin one.

I love that it comes with extra hands. I don't know why it has hands for grasping things - maybe the makers are expecting us to borrow some of the gadgets like the batarang and grapnel launcher from the Batman figure. But I do enjoy the pointing finger and open palm hand. It means you can give the character a bit more personality when you pose them. These McFarlane figures are so flexible they deserve to be put in good poses.

On to the bad, the colours of the suit are kind of flat and matt. Not the muted metallic tones that the movie version had. That's a shame. I have seen people do good custom paint jobs but I don't know that I have the skill to tackle this one.

All in all, a solid start to the Batman Forever line.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Old Housekeeper (Alfred) figure from Mars Toys

Honestly I don't know if I've ever been so excited about a figure before. It sounds crazy but I've seen a lot of Batman, Robin, Two-Face, Riddler, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson figures.

But this figure from Mars Toys is something pretty rare - an Alfred Pennyworth figure specifically based on Michael Gough. I know Mattel did one a while back and McFarlane are including one with the Forever Batmobile - but they were 6 inch scale this is 1/6 scale and it's exquisitely detailed and furnished.

I can't really fault it. The thing that made me HAVE to buy it is of course the silver tray with the food that Alfred offers Dick when he shows up on his motorcycle. What an amazing touch.

I hope Mars Toys do more  - a Kilmer Bruce Wayne? A Chris O'Donnell Robin in leather jacket?

I see they are doing a Two-Face next year but I already got the TruboToyz one. Who knows? I may have to sell that and get the Mars version.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - White Suit Riddler figure from Funko Pop

Pleased to say that the 85th Anniversary of the Batman character has meant that Funko have released some new Schumacher movie figures. We've got a white suit Riddler and a cloaked Poison Ivy.

Very surprised they've made these considering they are new sculpts. The last Batman Forever figures they released were some cheaply made, hydro-dipped versions of the original Riddler and Two-Face.

As usual Funko have done a good job at capturing the details. The cane has the little skull on the end, the suit is shiny, the hair is pinky and flipped up. Love it but surely we need a Chris O'Donnell figure. Maybe that will come next year for the 85th Anniversary of the Robin character???

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Robin figure from Hot Toys

So I know this is a little late. I was really on the fence about picking up the Hot Toys Batman Forever figures. I'm a huge fan of vintage figures but don't tend to buy too many "new" figures. The price point of them is really high (around £175) and for a long time I felt like there was no way I could afford either of them.

Recently I got a job upgrade and the price lowered slightly on eBay so I decided to bite the bullet and get one. I'm glad I did because these are really special figures. The finish on them is spectacular as is the attention to detail. As I say in the video, this is the closest you'll get to having a tiny Chris O'Donnell in your hands.

As some have pointed out, it's not perfect. The shade of red they chose doesn't seem to match the on-screen costume (it was admittedly difficult to figure out exactly what it should be given in the film it is usually lit with strong coloured lighting).

But on the whole it is great. The other issue is the poseability. The promo shots of this have the figure in all the cool poses from the film but the reality is that the suit really bends in awkward ways when you move the arm or legs out of their default positions. It doesn't both me much as I rarely pose figure but might be a consideration for others.

News: McFarlane reveals close up look at Batman Forever figures in poster

McFarlane Toys have released this cool poster showing off the new Batman Forever wave of figures in more details.

Obviously it's based on the classic John Alvin poster which is really neat. I will say doing this makes it stick out even more that they didn't do a Chase Meridian figure. I've had a think about why they chose not to do her. I wonder if it's possibly because - unlike all the actors in the Batman & Robin line - Nicole didn't have a figure back in 1995 so has no pre-existing contract to base a figure off her character? Another reason is maybe that they didn't think people would be interested in the character.

Anyway, the other things to notice. We finally have a close up look at Robin, Riddler and Two-Face's facial sculpts.

• Robin looks really close to the one from the Batman & Robin line (except obviously for the mask). I liked that sculpt on that figure so I'm happy to see it return. The colour of Robin's suit is quite a bright red and doesn't really have the metallic look the movie suit had. Still it looks great. Interestingly the collar looks to be plastic but the cape looks to be a yellow fabric on the inside.

• The Riddler looks not bad. I don't love the face sculpt but it is recognisably Jim Carrey. The teeth seem really big but maybe it will grow on me. I feel the ab crunch is going to look a bit weird on this figure because there's no details on the costume to hide it.

• Two-Face is - for me - the weakest of the bunch. Don't get me wrong, the detail is great but I'm just not getting Tommy Lee Jones. The head seems quite chunky. Maybe it's one of those things where if you see it from the side or at an angle it'll look better. I can't quite tell from the way the pictures are blended but it looks like he'll have a coin in his hand.

Of course, in the background we have the Nightmare Bat (which will be the Build-a-Figure part - ie. you'll get a bit with each of the main four figures and can put it together once you have all four). Can't see too much detail on this but it looks solid. My only concern is that the figure's head will be fixed. I'd love if it could move so you can stand him face to face with Batman (and recreate that deleted shot from the film).

The other thing to note is that the Batman figure doesn't appear to have a plastic cape - it looks cloth. I assumed it would have a plastic one so it was different from the one from the Ultimate Batman set however as someone pointed out to me if McFarlane do a Forever Batmobile the figure will need to fit inside it - so it will need a flexible cape.

And that brings me to the final bit of news - well rumour - this list of forthcoming McFarlane figures has been leaked. It mentions two Forever Batmobiles. One with Alfred - I'd assume an exclusive Michael Gough figure. And one that's listed as GITD - which I think stands for Glow In The Dark. Exciting to see if this is true.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Val Kilmer Batman figure from McFarlane

Merry Christmas everyone!

In a bit of Christmas kindness, a fan of www.1995batman.com reached out to me on Instagram and asked if I would be interested in the Val Kilmer figure from the recently released McFarlane Ultimate Batman Collection - a six figure set of all the most recent movie Batman actors.

I can't thank the guy enough for sending it to me. 

This is a really great figure and hopefully it will be released as a solo figure soon as part of a Batman Forever line.

It really captures the likeness of Val and the sonar suit. All the details are there, right down to the gold belt buckle. I particularly love that they've captured the metallic blue silver colour (something the vintage figures never really did).

Being a fan of vintage figures I wasn't aware how good articulation had gotten. The an crunch and should joints in particular are really well done. As is the flexible "pants" that allow the figure to look good as a statue and be able to be put in tons of poses.

One thing to note is that this figure has a cloth cape. When the solo figure comes out it may not. The solo George Clooney figure changed the cape to be a plastic one. So if you're like me an love cloth capes, get this one.

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 - 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. 

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Batwing vehicle from Kenner

This week we're looking at the Batwing from Kenner. One of four vehicles made for the film (not including the Triple Action Vehicle that I still have yet to get my hands on).

It nicely mirrors the movie in that the wings can be removed and it turn into a Batsub. Further still the cockpit can be removed and is it's own mini vehicle. 

Another stellar effort from Kenner who were notorious at finding extra fun features in vehicles.

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Hydro Claw Robin figure from Kenner

I've reviewed a lot of Batman Forever over the last few years but Hydro Claw Robin holds a particulaly special place in my heart. This was the first Batman Forever figure I ever bought back in 1995 having just watched the film. I loved the figure then and I still love it now. 

The suit is really nicely detailed and I love the addition of the gold bandolier. It strays quite far from the movie suit but feels like it would fit really nicely with the Batman Sonar suit. 

The reversal of the green and black elements (gloves and boots) also works really well too and helps give the suit a darker look. If only it came with a cape this would be a great figure (and in fairness it's no trouble to nick a cape from another figure). 

This was a definite shelf warmer back in the day but it's still worth picking up (even today). EBay is awash with them so there's excuse not to get one too. 

Batman Forever Merchandise Review - Street Biker Robin figure from Kenner

And now for one of the strangest figures in the Batman Forever line - the Street Biker Robin figure. This came out in the first wave of figures and I remember it sitting on the toy shelves while the other ones slowly sold out. It was a regular feature in bargain bins in late 95. 

I can see what they were going for - Chris O'Donnell's version of Robin did have a fancy motorbike and helmet but this looks nothing like the get up he wears in the film. This looks like some gang member from a 70s Neal Adams Batman comic.

Despite disliking it as a kid, I'm fascinated by it now. Mostly I'm curious what Kenner were thinking making a Robin figure without a mask, without a costume. I have a theory that I'll share with you at the end of the video. Enjoy.