2014 San Diego Comic Con :: 75 Years of Batman

So it only took me until I'm almost 40, but I finally got to my first San Diego Comic Con! And I gotta tell 'ya, it is everything it is cracked up to be. Fun, amazing, crazy, packed, insane, awesome...but enough about me HAW HAW!

Here I am with my 'Professional' badge because I am a pro, baby! More on the project that got me there in the future; today I am going to show you some pics from the Warner Brothers/DC Comics Batman movie display!

But first - after all these years on this digital playground, I finally met Dork Hordak himself, Reis! Meeting Reis in person was definitely one of the Con highlights! And I have to say, he's taller in person than he looks online.

Now on to the Bat-stuff!

Yes sir, that is the one and (probably not) only Ben Affleck Bat Cowl!

The thing looks great. The tiny ears are a nice change of pace, and it has a leathery texture, unlike all the shiny rubber cowls of movies past.

Upon entering the convention center, I made a B-Line straight for the Batman display, and I wasn't dissapointed  to find this beauty rotating around in a glass case.

Also on display were masks from movies past, including Bane's re-breather or whatever this mask did for him besides mess up his voice.

Cowls cowls and more cowls!

Here's the statue of Batman from the end of The Dark Knight Rises.

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman goggles. It's a testament to Nolan's 'realism' that these things did not look fake up close. They look like they could actually function, and not like a simple prop.

A couple of Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman masks, the Riddler's...whatever...and Penguin's mayoral campaign button.

Christian Bale's Batsuit...

...and a couple of his cowls.

All the Joker Goon masks from the epic opening bank robbery sequence in The Dark Knight.

And last but not least for today...Michael Keaton's Batman costume. He is pretty short.

Well, that's it for today's post. Stay Tuned for more from the 2014 San Diego Comic Con!

Upcoming Imaginext Bane Battle Sled from Fisher-Price

Fisher-Price's DC Superheroes Imaginext line-up consistently slips new product out to market with little to no advanced warning; and that's a good thing. It's fun to be surprised from time to time.

Case in point, this upcoming Bane Battle Sled figure and vehicle set. Currently listed online at Smyths in the UK, this Bane and Battle Sled has been confirmed for US (and presumably 'everywhere Fisher-Price Imaginext toys are sold') via FP's Facebook Page (according to the AFI thread I discovered this on.)

The Battle Sled looks great and is a nice unique vehicle - not a re-paint. I admit the vehicle might be nothing but a 'maybe I'll buy it eventually and maybe not' since I already have a Bane figure, but the Venom attachment on Bane himself makes this set an absolute 'must-have.'

No word yet on a US release date, but count on Toyriffic to keep you posted!

Break Bats a Little Longer...

...longer with Big Red!

This is Bane as imagined in 'The Batman' cartoon of a few years back. This was never my favorite version of Bane, in fact this was always my second least favorite version. My least favorite version being from the *coughchoke* movie Batman and Robin. Although I admit, a movie accurate action figure of that Bane would be kind of neat. Oh, the paradox!

The toy is nice though - bulky and huge, he's a formidable foe for any Batman! And the design isn't half bad, especially if you forget that in The Batman he started out as a scrawny guy in a gimp costume before bulking out and turning red...long before Red Hulk ever hit the scene.

Bane has the 'action feature' of raising his arms and smashing them back down when you push his torso back. Not too shabby, and at least he doesn't have some sort of handle or armature sticking out of him to do so.

I AM SUNBUUUURNED!

I do like the venom tubing on this guy - more than most Bane designs, this stuff pumps all over his body. The translucent rubber it is made of really makes for a nice effect in person.

All in all, this Bane is worth tracking down for your collection of bat villains, especially now that The Dark Knight Rises has brought a little more respect to the character.

I Am (tiny) BANE!

"I am CUUUTE!"

Everyone remembers Bane breaking Batman's back, but do you remember when he busted both of Killer Croc's arms? I think that was the same time Robin had to escape by jumping into the sewer outflow, much like Commissioner Gordon did in TDKR.

"I will break...sniff snif...wind?!?! Ewww Batfarts!"

Imaginext Bane is currently available as part of a Gotham City Jail playset and a Paddy Wagon playset.

I don't really care too much about (or have the room for, or want to spend my toy budget on) the larger Imaginext playsets or vehicles, but I had to have Bane. So I went ahead and bought him off one of those eBay sellers in Hong Kong that sell (presumably) factory-seconds for super cheap. I found an auction for Bane, Joker and a pilot Batman for $4.99 with free shipping. I figured I could stand to gamble with five bucks (I've always wondered about those sellers anyways but never really trusted the whole situation,) and figured this was a good experiment to see what I ended up with.

First off, Bane is a great figure. Although he's nothing more than a standard Imaginext figure with painted-on details, those details really make the toy pop. He even has the Venom-to-brain mechanism on the back of his head!

Bane's Jail Playset release is supposed to have glow-in-the-dark (or glow under a black-light) veins, and here is where my figure falls into the 'Factory-Second' category. You can see slight yellow veins over his body but the 'paint' appears not to have been properly applied. They don't glow and I don't have a black-light to test them but I assume they wouldn't show well under it anyways.

And that's fine, the faint veins are kind of cool actually, and the figure is otherwise solid (I've seen worse QC on figures on the shelves.) Joker and pilot Batman were fine too, so my five dollar investment was well worth it.

I should also add that the shipping from Hong Kong was surprisingly fast. I think they may have employed a sky-hook.

Now that I have Bane, I think I'll dub this helmeted Batman that I've had for a while Azrael-Batman (aka AzBats!) The nineties never looked so cute!

Upcoming Lego Batman themed sets revealed!

Most news out of the San Diego Comic Con this year has done little to excite me.

Then, suddenly...THIS!

LEGO HARLEEN QUINZEL!!!!!!

OMFGHKJHIOTVOVBHIVYVOVYVYOVYAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Based on the other reveals thus far, I have to assume they are making an Arkham Asylum (or Arkham City) themed set (see Joker in prison garb below and hooded Robin!)

Also upcoming, The Dark Knight Rises themed Lego sets (see movie based Jim Gordon and Bane above!) and a new Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, Penguin and even AQUAMAN (or is that AquaBieber hahahaahhaha ahem.)

These all look wonderfully wonderful and I will probably buy many of them, or I may not, depending on the sets they come with...but rest assured I WILL BUY A LEGO HARLEEN QUINZEL SO FAST!!!!!

Oh yeah, as expected there are also new Batman variants with each set (I can only assume the winter Bat above comes with the Mr. Freeze set.)

Pics via fbtb on Flickr

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Battle for Gotham City

When I saw the Target exclusive 'Battle for Gotham City' set of five The Dark Knight Rises action figures at The Batcave Toyroom, I knew I HAD to have it for Catwoman alone.

Although I scoured the local Targets and even put out an APB to my sister, a regular Targetaholic, I couldn't find the set anywhere near me. Thankfully The Batcave Toyroom's John (haha that sounds dirty) is awesome and offered to go back to his Target, where he found a set and even gifted it to me free of charge! Whatta guy!

See, dolly lovers aren't so bad after all ;)

The standout figure of the set is of course Catwoman. Anne Hathaway's Selina Kyle is well represented here in appx. 4" of plastic. I am surprised however that they went with her 'ears down' look, as she looks less like a Catwoman in this version.

It also remains to be seen if this is set is the only way one can get their hands on this scale's Catwoman, but she has yet to appear in any other wave, so I bet it is. Especially since all the day-glo Batmen and dullsville Banes are likely to prevent this series from seeing a second wave.

That said, for the $21.99 asking price, this is a good set and worth the money. Read on:

In addition to Catwoman, you get four other figures in this set, so each figure comes to about $4.40 pre tax. That's a steal in today's market, although if you are an articulationazi (of which I am not,) you probably still feel slighted by the lack of articulation in these figures regardless of price.

Stealth Vision Batman is a neat figure for a Bat variant. His costume is acceptable as a comic variant and not gaudy or ridiculous. He also comes with two bladed weapons that actually look like they'd be more at home with Catwoman.

Ninja Bruce Wayne is also included. This figure saw release around Batman Begins I believe (at least in the 5" scale anyways,) so you may already have it. I don't, and it's a good representation of Bale as Bruce, so it's ok with me. Also, I suppose you could do a head swap with the Batman in this set and have a maskless version, which would be fun to have in this scale.

We've seen this Batman before as well, but I have a silvery variant so this all black version is also new to me. Not a spectacular figure, but for $4.40 I would not have a problem grabbing this set. Batman has a phaser type accessory that I believe showed up in a trailer for The Dark Knight Rises, but I won't know what it 'does' until I see the film.

Bane should be a great figure - he's definitely new and unique and movie accurate, but he's just bland.  I know his color palette and costume design are partially responsible for that fact, but he's also limited in his paint apps and details and therefore does little for me except excite me because I have a Tom Hardy Bane, probably the only one I will own until all the TDKR toys hit clearance (or the flea market.)

Here's the back of the set. Even in the professional shots, Bane looks uber-dull.

'They call me Bruce.'

'Boogie fever!'

The set comes with a nice diorama background showing the Gotham sewers, skyline and alleyways. Nice illustration, and if I was still a kid who played with my toys, or if I displayed in this sort of manner, I would certainly have kept it.

Of course when you have a Bane and a Batman you have to do the 'I will BREAK YOU!' pose.

Back to Catwoman. The costume's 'fabric' variations are well represented - her body suit is textured and her belt compartments look metallic whilst her boots and gloves are shiny.

The goggles are cool and the limited paint apps work for Catwoman; with red lips and blue lights on her night vision specs.

I would have still preferred the goggles up for the 'cat ears' look, but I won't complain. I never expected a Catwoman in this scale at all, and I am fine that it came to us in a Target exclusive set. Had it been a Walmart exclusive, I probably would have been pissed, because I can never find those.

Is it July 20th yet?

HUGE thanks again to John of Batcave Toyroom fame for this set!

Catwoman Purrrsday :: Dark Knight Rises Catwoman Action Figure

This 'Battle for Gotham City' action figure set is already hitting Target shelves (thanks for the heads up, Batcave Toyroom!) and, not surprisingly, eBay.

While I was planning on passing on these 4" Dark Knight Rises toys, I simply MUST have that Anne Hathaway Catwoman in this scale!

I can only assume that in true Mattel and Target exclusive fashion she's only available in this set (time will tell I suppose.) I'll keep y'all posted if/when I find one!

Comic Book Zen :: Bane Springed? Sprung? Sprang!

Fisher-Price Imaginext Bane!

I can't wait to get my hands on this cute little Fisher-Price Imaginext Bane figure, which comes with the Gotham City Jail playset due out later this year.

Still no word on a Imaginext Batgirl or an Imaginext Wonder Woman or any other female Imaginext figure beyond Catwoman, but I still hold out hope.

Comic Book Zen :: Everything Old is New Again

Full page ad for Batman: Vengeance of Bane found in The Adventures of Superman 498 Jan. 1993.

Proof of 'Venom' infused Bane in The Dark Knight Rises?

I'm sure I'm not the first to notice this, but I haven't heard anyone mention it in internet land yet, so it came as a bit of a surprise when I did spot the obvious clue in the following image the other day...

Check out the back of Bane's neck: A surgical scar running all the way up his neck, from under his vest to under his headgear!

The scar is there in all the pics of Bane. Now that I've spotted it, it stands out like a sore...super-soldier medical procedure.

See, there it is again!

I was already sure that the vest plays a role in the transmission of 'venom' to Bane's brain/spine/muscles, but seeing this 'scar' cinches it for me. Of course an exposed tube is just stupid; Nolan et al would certainly have made the 'venom' transmission tubing internal.

It also ... SPOILER ...


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...would help explain why Bane said that removing his mask would be 'extremely painful' in the prologue. Because it's connected to a tube in his spine!

I'm convinced, Bane will pump 'venom' in The Dark Knight Rises!