Batman TNBA Penguin Action Figure by Mattel

When Mattel took over the Batman license (and by proxy the Batman Animated license) one of the things they did right was releasing this Batman: The New Batman Adventures styled Penguin.

The original Batman Animated Penguin was based on the Danny DeVito Penguin from Tim Burton's Batman Returns, and pretty much no one will argue the merits of that Penguin design. So when Batman TNBA streamlined and classic-ized Penguin for the 'toon, it was a welcome return to the Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot we all knew and loved. When Mattel made an action figure of him it was a surprise and a welcome addition to the Batman Animated action figure ranks.

Penguin came simply with an unopened umbrella. No flashy shooty twirly neon umbrellas for this stylish old bean!

I had originally avoided the first Batman Animated Penguin action figure entirely, opting only to add this guy to my collection when he was released as a single carded figure (he first appeared in a TRU exclusive four pack that I never saw at retail.) But years later I did add the original Penguin to my collection, only because I found him for really cheap still in package. I've left him in package still to this day, but may have to finally bust him out and stand him up against this guy. Nostalgia has me liking the first version more today  than I did when the cartoon first aired, but I still like this Penguin and his classic styling the most.

Bendy Harley Quinn by NJ Croce :: Harley Qwednesday

After receiving the 66 Batman Bendy set by NJ Croce for Christmas last year, I started paying a little closer attention to the company and their bendable bat related offerings. I was overjoyed when I discovered the next series in their Batman themed collection was The New Batman Adventures, and even MORE excited to learn Harley Quinn was part of the first wave of figures available in the series!

Knowing how much we love Harley Quinn here at Toyriffic, NJ Croce was kind enough to send us a sample bendy Harley Quinn figure, and she's absolutely retro-gorgeous on card.

It's a shame I had to open her for this review. The card is nice heavy stock and is reminiscent of the Kenner action figures released when The New Batman Adventures was on air in the late nineties, and the black and red colors perfectly compliment Harley Quinn's costume.

The cardback is equally beautiful. Simple but effective, it includes a brief character bio along with images of all the characters available in this series. Notice how Harley makes an appearance in wave one, and the Joker doesn't! Mr. J isn't going to be happy about that! In fact, Harley is the ONLy villain in series 1. That's pretty incredible and quite a testament to the girl's popularity.

Thankfully we do get the teaser 'stay tuned for more' which has me excited for more villains to come. Obviously we'll probably see The Joker next, and Poison Ivy and Catwoman are both shoe-ins for early inclusion, but if anyone is asking my opinion I say a bendy Clayface would be pretty darn great.

The Harley Quinn figure is a bendy-beautiful representation of her Bruce Timm animated design. Of course the cartoon designs are very simplified so they aren't difficult to translate into this rubbery format, but it is nice to see the costume components, color transition lines and diamond elements sculpted and not simply painted on/color transitions.

I have to say it feels odd (in a good way) to get this figure new in 2015. I know Harley is at the height of her popularity these days, but most of the toys bearing her grinning visage are either completely different takes on her classic costume or are stylized in some fashion, or both (ie Funko POPs). Even figures like the Imaginext Harley Quinn, while wearing her iconic costume, are stylized to represent that toyline's running design aesthetic.

This figure, so perfectly representing Harley's TNBA appearances, as well as the retro packaging, seem like something that should have been hanging around on toystore shelves back in 1997.

Her thin limbs allow her to bend nicely. If I had the bendy TNBA (or the inevitable bendy TNBA Joker for that matter) I might be tempted to wrap Harley around them in a death (or love) grip accordingly.

The New Batman Adventure single carded bendy figures available now are Batman, Robin, Harley Quinn, and Batgirl. Available as part of a five figure set are Alfred and Commissioner Gordon (along with Batman, Robin, and Batgirl). Order online or look for these at your favorite novelty toy store.

"Later skaters!"

The New Batman Adventures Battle Damaged Batgirl

Originally part of a Toys R Us exclusive four pack, this TNBA (The New Batman Adventures) Batgirl action figure features 'battle damage' paint applications to re-create her in a post-tussle condition. Missed opportunity: Alfred with sewing kit action figure!

Unfortunately she also has some real world scrapes too! Or a cold sore - who you been kissin, Babsy?

I did not pick this set up when it was at retail. It included a battle damaged Batman, battle damaged Robin, and battle damaged Catwoman - but since I had already picked up the Catwoman and Battle Damaged Batman two pack at the time, I didn't want so many redundancies. So finding her at the flea market for a dollar a couple weekends back was a deal I couldn't pass on, scrapes or no scrapes!

I really like this design of the animated Batgirl - these few figures came out right after Mattel acquired the license. The previous Hasbro versions didn't look as close to her animated counterparts as they could have, and Mattel did a good job with the subtle contra-posto stance in this sculpt. Great figure, (see, I can say nice things about Mattel sometimes!) and while I would prefer her to have a normal 'clean' costume, I'm almost positive that they did not release one at general retail with this sculpt. I recall a silver (?!?!) version in another four pack, and of course this one - a normal costume may have been released with the 'Rise of Sun-Tzu' video game but I'm not positive, and that wouldn't have helped me at the time because I didn't have whatever game system the game was made for then anyways.

Whatever the case may be, I have Batgirl now and that's good news in my book!

Poisunday Ivy :: Personal Space

From New Batman Adventures #30

Jeepers Creeper

Head on over to the collaborative and not-updated-often-enough blog Batman the Animated Toys to see my recently acquired Creeper action figure from The New Batman Adventures!