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Friday, February 10, 2017

Batman Classic TV Series Action Figures

Mattel finally got the license to create action figures of the 1960s, live-action adventures of the Caped Crusader with its Batman Classic TV Series collection in 2013. Batgirl and a Batcave accessories set followed in 2015. These 6-inch-tall action figures tap into the days when kids, and many an adult, were glued to their televisions watching the landmark ABC television show “Batman,” starring a collection of veteran actors. I saw it in afternoon reruns when I was a kid in the 70's.


For the adult collector, like me, it’s a glorious nostalgic trip with the first series of figures starring actor Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler and actor Adam West as Bob Kane’s famed superhero.

Lets start off with Batman:

Figure profile: The debonair millionaire Bruce Wayne may seem like your average cool cat, but you would be wrong. With the flip of a Shakespeare head, it’s to the batcave. Gotham City is filled with a rogue’s gallery of criminals eager to unmask Batman, but they are always thwarted by the Caped Crusader’s clever ways.

Accessories: Dressed in his famed dark-blue-and-grey costume and unique cowl (remember the white lines for eyebrows?) specific to the TV show, Batman gets 20 points of articulation, yellow utility belt and a cloth cape.

The likeness of Adam West is a plus and adds to the appearance of this figure. Batman also comes with a pegged display base with "Pow" molded into it. The figure also includes a 5 inch by 3.25 inch wide collectors card.

Robin:

Holy Non Sequiturs, Batman!

Figure profile: Dick Grayson, teen-age ward of Millionaire Bruce Wayne, is also secretly Robin the Boy Wonder, Batman's trusty comrade, best friend, and sidekick! When not fighting crime, Batman helps his young chum in his studies such as Algebra and obscure foreign languages.

Accessories: Robin, wearing a domino mask and dressed in a red tunic with green shorts, has 20 points of articulation, a utility belt and a yellow cloth cape. He also has a display base and collectors card

In the TV show Burt Ward actually wore a flesh colored leotard rather than bare his legs, this is represented in the figure having darker colored legs. It should have been a shade lighter instead of darker, but I'm not one to complain.



Batgirl:

Figure profile: Who's that fiercely-fighting peacekeeper in purple? Why, that's Batgirl! When criminals are up to no good, Barbara Gordon is ready to bring them to justice. With the push of the secret Batgirl Room Instant Re-Transformer, she rotates her bedroom wall to reveal her costume and suits up for a tantalizing transformation. Using her instincts and intellect, she can get herself out of the stickiest situations and even, quite literally, unbound. Holy show-ups, that Batgirl!

Accessories: Batgirl is dressed in her purple and yellow leotard and cowl, her utility belt is molded on, and she sports a purple cloth cape with a yellow lining. The cape being two pieces of cloth doesn't drape and is permanently splayed out behind her. She has a display stand and backdrop/trading card.

Can't have super-heroes with out some super-villains and Batman has a quite colorful rogues gallery of super-villains!



The Joker:

Figure profile: Who is the impractical joker with a key to crime? With a maniacal laugh, a twisted sense of humor, and penchant for setting cunning traps, the Joker is one of Batman's most notoriously fiendish foes. But when it comes to putting an end to the Joker's crime sprees, Batman knows firsthand that the Joker's jokes are never very funny... in the end.

Accessories:: Aside from the display base and collectors card the Joker figure has no accessories. He can point with his finger though!

Cesar Romero's likeness is well represented in this figure. As the story goes he was so famous for his mustache that he refused to shave it off for the role, so it was just painted over with white clown grease paint in the hopes that no one would notice... We did, but didn't care! Anyway the figure has the mustache too!

The Riddler:

What does a turkey do when he flies upside down? *

Figure profile: The Riddler - you fiend! The confounding, clever criminal known as the Riddler is Batman and Robin's trickiest villain. Sending enigmatic clues to the Dynamic Duo, the Riddler subsequently leads them into an inevitable trap, but never fear - the Batman always outwits the mysterious madman!

Accessories: No accessories except the base which says KAPOW! and the standard trading card...

¡dn sǝןqqob ǝɥ *

The Penguin:

Figure profile: That feathered fiend the Penguin is at it again! But never trust a red herring, if something seems fishy, the monocle-wearing mayhem-maker will have something to do with it. With tricky umbrella weapons, this greedy, cold-blooded villain gives the Batman a run for his money!

Accessories: Penguin comes with an umbrella, with which he can point menacingly at other action figures. He also has a standard display base and trading card/background.

Catwoman:

Figure profile: This cunning cat is always top dog! Catwoman is the most purrsistent cat burglar in Gotham City - with the purrfect crime to get Batman in her claws before her afternoon cat nap. Conniving and clever, she develops her evil plans in her cat lair, with a terrible trio of tabby thugs in tow,isn't she just the cat's meow?!

Accessories: Its a shame no accessories were included with Catwoman... I gave her the Kaleidoscope house figures' cat! The cat needs a name though, if you want to suggest a name for her please comment below. Oh yeah, Catwoman comes with a trading card and display stand like all the other figures.


The line is now dead, but I didn't get them when they first came out. But this Christmas my family gave me a Batmobile and the Batcave set. Of course I took it from there and got everything I could get my hands on! The first thing I set about doing was creating a Batcave for the figures to live in.



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