Tech Deck Dudes were little finger skaters (literally, these guys are severed fingers with feet and sometimes arms. You can tell by looking at the backs of their heads, you can always see a fingernail) and oftentimes they were parodies of existing pop cultural icons. Which was definitely the case when Tech Deck released 'Adam' who is without a doubt Batman.
Adam was released with a skateboard and a snowboard. Little magnets on his feet helped him cling to either board.
Tech Deck released a lot of parodies and homages in their Dudes line over the years, from Ghostbusters to Hellboy to Xena and all points in between. However Adam must have pushed DC too far, for as quickly as he was released he disappeared from shelves and any mention of him by Tech Deck also disappeared (at the time there was an official Tech Deck website and they literally removed all mention of him.) Additionally, the name 'Adam' was suddenly given to a zombie Dude.
I've always imagined Tech Deck received a 'cease and desist' from DC/Warner Bros. ala that lawyer in the Simpsons. However I'm amazed the Batman 'parody' they made was seemingly the only one that caused them any grief, as they continued for years producing Dudes of inarguable pop culture iconography (hell, they even produced a Dude of The Dude from The Big Lebowski!) Fortunately I bought one when I did (a little secret: I purchased TWO and still have one MOC!) because these guys never show up on eBay or in my second hand hunts. I don't know how many made it to retail, but people who have them must not let loose of them very often!
Thanks. Now you've posted yet another obscure thing that I want for no discernible reason - other than it's awesome and ridiculous (and DC-themed) at the same time. It's always a fun visual journey visiting this blog. :P
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