Batman (2003 toy line)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 2003, Mattel won the rights from Hasbro to produce characters from Batman stories, Superman stories, and the animated Justice League/Justice League Unlimited animated show. Their first attempt at a comic-style toy line was in 2003 and lasted until summer 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
These 6" figures featured around ten points of articulation: swivel neck, waist, gloves and hips, hinged knees, and ball jointed shoulders. The only exceptions are the Robin figure, which lost waist articulation, and the Superman figure who was released in a two-pack with Batman and had new hinged elbows and ankles.
[edit] History
The line was released in comic stores in April 2003 and at mass market retailers in September 2003. The shipment for each wave included: Batman (re-released in later waves), a sidekick (either Robin or Nightwing), a villain, and three variants.
Collectors praised Zipline Batman (the regular version) and the three initial villains: Joker, Mr. Freeze and Killer Croc, though some collectors found that the villains were the hardest to find figures and that the variants were plentiful.
[edit] Overseas Exclusives
In 2005, Mattel shipped the final two villains, Bane and Scarecrow, along with new Batman figures over seas. Mattel attempted plans to ship them to specialty retailers, but the idea never panned out. Fans were mostly disappointed because these figures (Bane, Scarecrow, Attack Armor Batman and Batsignal Batman) had much higher articulation than earlier figures, and Batsignal Batman came with a detailed, functional Batsignal that was not accessible to US collectors.
[edit] Revival/DC Superheroes
Starting after Christmas, Mattel shipped one of the overseas Batsignal Batman (though without the Bat Signal accessory), Bane, Scarecrow and the previously hard to find Killer Croc to mass market stores, though they were retooled. Batman had the accessories that came with the SDCC '03 Batman, a rubber cape (from the SDCC '04 exclusive), and a new paint application, Bane had open hands and some variant figures came with Osito, his teddy bear, Killer Croc came with a new head, paint job and no tail, and Scarcrow no longer featured his action feature.
The DC Superheroes line (thus far) features only Superman and Batman characters and focuses on villains and secondary characters rather than variations of the main character. The only figure that was initialy shipped overseas and never re-shipped under the DC Superheroes tagline was Attack Armor Batman. Early waves of figures came with comic books featuring the character they came with, yet due to shipping costs and complications (Mattel is near the West Coast, DC Comics is on the East Coast), Mattel has since switched to Cardboard dioramas.
[edit] SDCC Exclusives
The line had two San Diego Comic Con exclusives: one in 2003 and one in 2004.
[edit] 2003
The figure was based on the art of Neal Adams. This figure was a retooled Zipline Batman with a new belt, a thicker cape (blue on the outside and black on the inside), a Silver Age accurate paint application, and three accessories: a Batarang, Grapple Gun, and handcuffs.
[edit] 2004
This exclusive figure featured Batman in the act of removing his cowl and had two chase variants. The figure featured new arms and head and was painted to match Zipline Batman. The first variant was Batman with a fully removed cowl. The second was a battle damaged version of that figure. All three figures had a black rubber cape.
