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Monday, March 4, 2019

Super Powers Batcave Command Center

Earlier, a Super Powers Batcave diorama was created on an Ultarama display system. Today, a Kenner Batcave Command Center playset has been modified into a Super Powers Batcave!

Kenner originally envisioned spin-off toylines from the Super Powers Collection featuring such characters as Batman. Conceptual artwork does survive from that time which shows that a playset for the batcave was at least designed on paper. This Batcave looks amazing, but would have probably been too expensive to produce at the time. The Kenner Batcave Command Center was never part of the Super Powers Collection and a Batcave playset for the Super Powers Collection most likely wouldn't have looked anything like it.


The Kenner Batcave Command center playset has been released in a variety of versions since it was first released 1992 as part of Kenner's Batman Returns Collection. The playset was originally intended to be part the Dark Knight Collection, a short lived toyline based on the 1989 Batman movie, starring Micheal Keaton. Shortly before Batman was released, a company called Toy Biz had taken the license to produce DC Comics toys away from Kenner, but by 1991 Kenner had wrested it back. Kenner played catch-up by quickly releasing the Dark Knight Collection. However, by the time the Batcave playset was ready for production , Batman Returns was in theaters and the Dark Knight Collection had been replaced with the new Batman Returns Collection.


Looking over the set, all the features of the original movie are there: break-away skylights, a zipline for saving Vicki Vale from the Joker, a feature allowing Bruce Wayne to hang upside down, the Batcave computer and monitoring station, the costume vault, and finally the Axis Chemical Factory! The set was later rebranded for Batman the Animated series, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, the New Batman Adventures, Batman Beyond, and finally Mask of the Phantasm! It has to be one of the, if not the most reused Kenner playsets of all time! The version used for this display is for Batman the Animated Series.


The only thing changed on the playset is the application of different decals to the Command Center monitors and on the costume vault door. Since the swinging garage door piece, needed to block off the Wayne Manor side, is missing, a backdrop is being used in its place.

The crime lab is just some pieces left over from the first diorama effort, most which were just re-scaled papercrafts from AFTDownloads. The T-Rex is from a cheap Jurassic Park like knock-off playset found at Wal-Mart. The Joker card and giant penny can be found at Iron-Cow Productions or in my earlier post.



Download the image below for Super Powers themed replacement stickers:



Share your thoughts on the Super Powers Batcave Command Center playset in the comment section below!

13 comments:

  1. we have the Two-Face / Riddler one and the later Mr. Freeze one... got them at yard sales... cool post

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    1. I bought this one at Wal-Mart way back when it first came out. I found it recently in a shed.

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  2. Cool playset. Didn't realize it had been released so many times, but the play value is fantastic.

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    1. Those dies and molds cost big bucks and Kenner needed to get the most out of an investment in them! Many of the Kenner playsets were reused in a variety of different ways, even if the toyline was cancelled before it could be released! If the molds and tooling had been made, a playset could be re-branded and released in another toyline! Look for a future post in the next month or so on just such a playset!

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    2. What's odd was the final release (?) of the Batcave Command Center was under Mattel! After they got the DC license they could just take Hasbro/Kenner molds because that's how licenses work it seems.

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  3. Great job on this!It's easier piecing things together from other toy lines to create what you want as opposed to buying something ,predetermined.More fun,too!BTW-That Kid Co. T Rex Is solid!

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    1. Out of all the dinos I have bought or seen... Including the expensive Jurassic Park ones (old and new), this one seems to scale just right... And he is green too! I'm thinking of painting the red injuries green too...

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  4. Awesome work. Cannot wait to get started myself again. Hopefully this month.

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    1. Thanks! I can't wait to see what your new adventures are going to be.

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  5. Any sizing hints on making copies of the Super Powers replacement decals ?

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    1. The image should already be sized properly just print it out on standard sized sticker paper.

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  6. Where did you find the sti ker sheet? I've been looking for the original (tan) command center decals for forever.

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  7. Gosh, its been so long I can't remember. It was most likely on a forum somewhere. I know it included sticker sheet for all the variations of playset.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave your thoughts on this adventure.

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