The Batman The Never Was

[Earth 2 Chris]

I first found the Toy Biz Batman figures at Family Dollar of all places! I knew they were coming from an American Entertainment catalog I had, and I think a clip on CNN about the hype surrounding the movie. But to find them at a "dollar" store first was odd. But then when I saw them, the very unrefined plastic look of them made them fit right in with the "cheapie" toys usually found at such places. It didn't matter, I really dug them for what they were, and since I had decided to start collecting super hero action figures in 1988, this was my first chance to score new figures at retail.

I think the Kenner Dark Knight Collection toys started appearing in 1990, so Toy Biz really only had the license for a year and some change. But for a brief time, both Kenner and Toy Biz were still shipping product simultaneously. I passed on Toy Biz's Batcycle and Joker Cycle because I liked the Kenner ones better, even though they were just a quickie redos of Robocop motorcycles. All the initial vehicles in the Dark Knight collection were reworked from some other line, including Robocop, Silverhawks, and of course Super Powers with the black Batcopter. Kenner also reused the SP Joker body for the initial Sky Escape Joker, and you can tell their Keaton Batman also owes a bit to his SP predecessor, despite being an all-new sculpt.





My one regret for the Toy Biz line was that I never did get that Joker Van. I passed it up at a Big Lots and never saw it again at retail.



Chris

[Bruce Banner]

I remember buying that Batrope/belt figure in the UK.
That was probably one of the only Burton movie related items I ever bought, along with a die-cast Batmobile.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Wow, I had no idea this existed! This is what Toy Biz was trying to sell us on the cards and all the promotional material (like the mini-WB catalog given away in theaters). The card back even has a Frank Miller Dark Knight Returns swipe!

chris

[comicmike]

The Brazilian version by Estrela looks so cool!

http://megomuseum.com/community/showthread.php?83692-Very-cool-black-super-powers-batman-Brazilian-figure&highlight=Batman+estrela

https://www.superpowerswiki.com/wiki/estrela-brazil/

https://m.ebay.com/itm/SEALED-BLACK-BATMAN-ESTRELA-BRAZIL-SUPER-POWERS-UNIQUE-IN-THE-WORLD-/283100014446?nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2349624.m43663.l10137

Superpowerswiki: " The “Black” Batman

In 1989 when Tim Burton’s Batman film was hitting the US, as well as the “Gold Card” Toy Biz Batman action figure line, in Brazil Estrela released a similar style action figure to the US Toy Biz line but simply recycled (and repainted) the Estrela Batman from Super Powers. This resulted in an action figure with the Super Powers Batman sculpt, but Toy Biz color scheme and packaging style. While it’s not technically “Super Powers” in the way it was packaged and sold, since the figure itself is technically a repainted Super Powers Batman, it seems worth including in this list."

[Earth 2 Chris]

When Toy Biz stopped copying the Super Powers line, the series went straight to bootleg aesthetic. Just look at the wave 2 figures. Yeesh.

Chris

[hedrap]

And made a pile with it, didn't Toybiz save Marvel?

Yes and no. Revlon/Perelman was close to liquidation where DC wanted to by the Marvel core in bankruptcy court. So in that context, Arad and Perlmutter's gamble to overtake the company kept the Marvel Universe intact. But, the licensing - Toy Biz, co-owner of Marvel, was "paying" for the rights - was straightup laundering. They kept Marvel slave to Toy Biz, flooded the market with figures at half the cost and sold/reworked whatever media rights they could. Classic pillage and plunder.

For as much credit Arad gets for saving Marvel, Saban/Fox Kids deserves as much. Without Spidey and X-Men animated, Marvel would have become a DC sub-brand.

[PNGwynne]

I knew it was before Returns came out as the line only had Bats and the Joker in the line. Short time for Toybiz, they moved on to Marvel pretty quickly after that.

And made a pile with it, didn't Toybiz save Marvel?

[PNGwynne]

I have all that '90s Kenner stuff in storage, it's probably worth a buck-fifty.

[thunderbolt]

Kenner had stuff on shelves in early 1991, so it must have been less than two years total. I remember I was in college and seeing the big display at Eaton's.

I knew it was before Returns came out as the line only had Bats and the Joker in the line. Short time for Toybiz, they moved on to Marvel pretty quickly after that.

[palitoy]

How long did Toybiz hold the DC rights? Seems like it was pretty short and Kenner jumped right back into Batman.

Kenner had stuff on shelves in early 1991, so it must have been less than two years total. I remember I was in college and seeing the big display at Eaton's.

[thunderbolt]

How long did Toybiz hold the DC rights? Seems like it was pretty short and Kenner jumped right back into Batman.

[palitoy]

It's hard to really pinpoint what Mego would have done because the limitations on children's advertising were changed around the time of Mego's demise.

That means that Mego themselves may have divested themselves of an over reliance on licensing and made their own properties (Of which we know that Transformers would have been one). I'd love to see what 80s Mego would have looked like, it may not have been to our exact liking.

[hedrap]

He would have been on a short list for certain.

It's amazing when you really think it through. By '88, Star Wars had cooled off and nobody realized superheroes were about to enter its second media golden age. Marvel was so weak by this point, Mego would have gotten the licensing wholesale and been lined up to buy the company years before Toy Biz! At this stage, WB would have been fine with co-licensing, as nobody wanted DC, so WGSH would have returned in full bloom.

So what's the scale for Elseworlds 90's WGSH?

[palitoy]

That's the greatest What If: What If Mego survived '82? Have to believe Marty would have gotten the '89 license

He would have been on a short list for certain.

[hedrap]

It's a bit mind blowing to think a nobody company out of Montreal had the license to the summer's biggest movie and one of the best selling action figures premises of the 90s but yep!

That's the greatest What If: What If Mego survived '82? Have to believe Marty would have gotten the '89 license