Oven Mits?

[generic]

I don't remember having the gloves as a kid on my Batman or Robin. I'm pretty sure they were lost almost instantly. At the time, I don't think it ever occurred to me that my Batman and Robin were missing their gloves.

[SeattleEd]

As a kid, the gloves would come off my T1 Robin. A pain when I would take him with me on road trips and visits only to end up losing one glove. Took the other one off to match the other hand.
I still think the glove/mitts have some kitsch nostalgia feel for the time but definitely not for now. My Dark Knight Batman is the only one that has as set.

[Earth 2 Chris]

They were the first things lost or damaged. Then they stickers. Then the belts. The boots usually survived somehow...

Chris

[generic]

They were the first things lost or damaged. Then they stickers. Then the belts. The boots usually survived somehow...

Chris

For me, the boots split before the belts broke. Of my original WGSH figures, I only have my original Captain America (with split boots) and my original Robin with just his shorts and Batman's belt.

[david_b]

As a kid I didn't even notice or care they were mits.

To me they were just gloves

I think it's only as an adult a lot of people notice and care about things like that.

As much as most of us didn't like 'em (they were terrible for wall-climbing with the Batrope..), you have to admit that they 'complete the look', flashy enough with the nylon capes or plastic belts..

Imagine the RC Batman with just painted hands, perhaps a GA-type sewn wrist covering. Just wouldn't look as good, the mitts provide a nice shiney balance to the overall figure (ie, like Robin's cape, nylon vest, plastic belt on Robin,..).

So as far as style goes, along with early tooling and expensive production costs, they were the best idea at the time..

Spiderman didn't have any cape or shiny vest so the subdued painted hand route was stylishly better.

david_b

[david_b]

How do you expect our guys to get burning hot pans of baked goods out of their superhero ovens without them?!?!

Actually the best answer yet..

[MegomanJess]

You just didn't realize you had the exclusive Cook and Serve Batman.

[Richard J. Fowlks]

It's just the sort of absurdity that keeps me interested in them. If toys of my youth were well articulated, expertly sculpted, superbly manufactured pieces of art, I wouldn't have appreciated it then, and I wouldn't have such a fascination with how wonky they are now...

[drmego]

I also find it strange that MEGO production never made a running change
like they did with the painted mask Batman over the RC one - especially
when they switched from type 1 to type 2 - to replace the oven mitts
with colored hands and gauntlets similiar to Green Arrow.

Production is not a constant process - Hong Kong used to shut down
for Lunar New Year too - before starting a new year's production the
change could have been implemented.

I wonder if MEGO got feedback from their clients - the buyers for the
retailers to keep the look the same? It wouldn't have been important
enough for anyone to make note of it .