Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s. These action figures, inspired by the character's appearance in comics and serials, were created by DC Comics and manufactured by various toy companies. These figures were made of various materials such as wood, tin, and plastic. They were typically between 6 and 8 inches in height and featured movable joints that allowed them to be posed in various positions.
Early year The first Batman action figures were lead figurines of Batman and Robin. These were then given away as carnival prizes at local fairs during the 1940s.
Marx The Marx Toy Company produced the first pose-able Batman action figure in the mid-1960s. It was about 4" tall (10 cm) and came with a multitude of accessories including cuffs, batarangs, and a fire extinguisher. Very few remain in existence, and they have been described as the "holy grail" for vintage Batman toy collectors.
Ideal's Captain Action In 1966, the Ideal Toy Company launched a line of superhero action figures called Captain Action in response to Hasbro's popular G.I. Joe line, which followed the standard action figure scale of 12". The Captain Action figure came dressed with a cloth superhero costume, hat, ray gun, and a sword, ready for kids to enjoy. Parents could also buy additional superhero costumes that were sold separately, and kids could take Captain Action's costume off and replace it with one of several superhero costumes based on famous comic book characters.The TOP 13 CAPTAIN ACTION Sets and Collectibles by Dan Greenfield at 13thdimension.com. Dec 7, 2024
Also in 1966, the ABC Television Network launched a live-action Batman TV series. Because of Batman's growing success in the mid-'60s, a Batman costume was included in Captain Action's arsenal. This Batman costume was detailed with a horizontally striped cape as well as a black and gold chest emblem (the costume set was available with both metal and decal chest emblems). Batman's accessories included a blue Batarang, a flashlight, and a drill, which could all be attached to the figure's utility belt.Captain Action Toy at thephantom.fan.
In 1967, Ideal released a partner figure for Captain Action, his youthful sidekick, "Action Boy". Ideal Toy's released only three costumes for Action Boy to change into, one of them being Robin, Batman's sidekick.
Mego's World's Greatest Superheroes! In 1972, the Mego Corporation made a landmark deal and secured the licenses to create toys for both National Periodical Publications (later DC Comics) and Marvel Comics.Bonavita, John. Mego Action Figure Toys, Revised, & Expanded 3rd Edition. Schiffer Publishing, 2001, p. 19. Similar to Ideal Toy's Captain Action line, these figures featured removable cloth costumes, unlike the Captain Action line, the costumes came with the figure instead of being sold separately. The bodies were a smaller 8" size and the heads and clothing were interchangeable.Bonavita, John. Mego Action Figure Toys, Revised, & Expanded 3rd Edition. Schiffer Publishing, 2001, p. 14-15. During this time period, Mego released the first comprehensive line of DC and Marvel character action figures and coined the term "World's Greatest Super Heroes!" to umbrella the name for all the figures released in this line.Holcomb, Benjamin. Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007, p. 16. The popularity of this line of 8" figures created the standard scale for the 1970s and featured many Batman characters, including Batman, Robin, Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler, and the Joker.
The earliest Batman and Robin figures had removable masks, but these were easily lost. Mego found that it was less expensive to create a new sculpt for Batman with a molded on a mask and paint the mask onto Robin.Holcomb, Benjamin. Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007, p. 27, 35, 37. Mego was a true pioneer in action figure development, responsible for creating the first carded action figure (for S. S. Kresge's),Bonavita, John. Mego Action Figure Toys, Revised, & Expanded 3rd Edition. Schiffer Publishing, 2001, p. 23. The first exclusive figures (Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson for Montgomery Ward's)Holcomb, Benjamin. Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007, p. 18, 27, 35, 139-143 . and expanded their line to include the 1966 Batman TV series-style Batmobile, the Batcycle. and the Batcopter, as well as playsets for Batman characters such as the Batcave and the Wayne Foundation.Holcomb, Benjamin. Mego 8" Super-Heroes: World's Greatest Toys!. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007, p. 34, 148, 218, 219. Mego Batman figures were offered from 1972 until 1983.
Mego/Kenner transition Realizing the success of the 8" line of figures, and always thinking of ways to reduce costs of production, Mego Corp. released a smaller plastic line of action toys called "Comic Action Heroes!" in 1975 that had the costumes molded onto the figure, thus eliminating the extra cost of creating the suits. The Comic Action Heroes were the first all-plastic smaller scale action figures. The line featured Batman, Robin, The Joker, and The Penguin as well as other DC Comics characters. Later, in 1979, Mego re-released the line under the new name Pocket Super Heroes, a name that would return more than 20 years later as part of DC Direct's superhero line of figures (see below). After Mego made the fatal mistake of not securing the licensing for Star Wars products, Kenner Products scooped up the licensing and banked on success for the next 30 years. The figures they made were also smaller and all plastic, thus creating a new standard size and style for the action figure.
Super Powers Collection
In 1984, after Mego's demise, the Kenner toy company was granted the rights to produce DC Comics character all-plastic dolls in 5" scale, and soon after, the Super Powers Collection. Each figure, as the name implies, had a secret superpower that would trigger when the figure's arms or legs were squeezed. Kenner produced 3 different Super Powers lines.
During its time on the market, the Super Powers Collection released action figures of Batman, Robin, The Joker, The Penguin, and Mr. Freeze, as well as several other DC Comics characters. Toy shelves also reserved space for a 1980s comic book styled Batmobile and a Batcopter that would later be reproduced in black & gold for The Dark Knight Collection of 1990 (see Kenner Film Figures). Production of all Super Powers Collection figures ended before rumored Batman character figures such as Catwoman and Man-Bat could be produced.
Toy Biz DC Super Heroes & Pacipa's Super Amigos Since Kenner had stopped production of DC Comics character figures in 1986 when the Super Powers line folded, DC Comics granted the license to the up-and-coming toy company, Toy Biz, in 1989. Toy Biz first produced figures for the Batman tie-in, then released other DC Comics character figures under the name DC Comics Super Heroes, a name that would later be used again by different toy companies (see below). The Flash TV series character received a tie-in figure from Toy Biz as well.
Also in 1989, the South American toy company Pacipa bought old Super Powers molds to create a line of DC Comics character figures called "Super Amigos". Exclusive to South America, all of the figures were reproductions of Super Powers figures, but made with low-quality plastic and poor paint jobs. This collection also gave way to a Riddler action figure in the form of a repainted Green Lantern base sculpt. A rare piece, this figure is highly sought after by collectors.Super Powers o Super Amigos – Historia de sus figuras at bechitaybechito.com
Back in the US, the Toy Biz line brought some new figures to the shelves not previously featured in the Super Powers line including Two-Face and the Riddler. Like Pacipa's Super Amigos, the figures featured low-quality plastic, and the majority was slightly retooled reproductions of the Super Powers line from Kenner. Although the Batman brand of figures seemed to be initially popular in sales, the others were not as successful. DC Comics noticed the poor quality of the figures and cancelled the license, returning it to Kenner.
Kidz Biz / Bikin Foreign Releases A foreign release based on the Batman 1989 film was an 8" Batman figure in Australia by Kidz Biz and in Belgium by Bikin. These figures featured real clothing with removable plastic accessories, similar in style to the Mego figures that debuted nearly two decades earlier.
Film figures
Batman The same year that Toy Biz won and lost the rights to produce DC Comics figures, Kenner regained the rights and produced a line of Batman figures. Released in 1990, these were the first DC Comics figures produced by Kenner in four years.
Kenner's Dark Knight Collection consisted of several versions of Batman, set apart only by different paint jobs and unique accessories. A Quick-Change Bruce Wayne figure and two versions of the Joker made up the rest of the figures. The Dark Knight Collection also boasted several vehicles including a Batmobile and Turbo Batwing as well as role playing toys. Some items were inexplicitly reused from past Kenner lines such as RoboCop and the Ultra Police, SilverHawks, and Police Academy. Others, such as the Batcave Command Center and Jokermobile, were shown in the Kenner Action Toy Guide but postponed for future Batman lines.Action Figures - Movies - The Dark Knight Collection BatmanYTB.com. Retrieved February 6, 2008.
Batman Returns When the feature film Batman Returns hit theaters in 1992, Kenner renamed their toyline Batman Returns. This new line included several versions of the same Batman figure sculpt as seen in the previous Dark Knight Collection line. The film's villains, Catwoman and Penguin, received their own figures. Catwoman received a new sculpt, but the Penguin figure was a repainted sculpt from Kenner's Super Power's line.
At the same time Batman Returns hit theaters, Tim Drake became the newest Robin in Batman comics. Because of Robin's rejuvenated popularity, a new Robin figure which featured a sculpt based on the newest comic book design was introduced in the Batman Returns line, though Drake did not appear in the film.
Batman Forever In 1995, Batman Forever was released featuring Val Kilmer as the Dark Knight. Breaking away from the repetitive base sculpt of the previous two collections, Kenner produced Batman Forever figures using a wider range of fresh sculpts.
Target later released their own series of exclusive Batman Forever action figures as well. These were simply repainted figures from the original line, and they came on a newly styled card.
Batman & Robin For the 1997 release of Batman & Robin, the final Batman film of the '90s, Kenner released the Batman & Robin figure line. Unlike previous lines, the Batman & Robin line featured several versions of the film's villains, not just heroes. Kenner also released several hero/villain 2-packs and 12" figures.
Batman Gets Animated
Batman: The Animated Series Shortly after the 1992 premiere of Batman: The Animated Series, Kenner produced a line of figures based on the series. Like the previous two Batman movie lines, the first few lines of figures included several versions of Batman, and also included multiple versions of Robin and new villains including Clayface, Scarecrow, Poison Ivy, and others.
In 1993, another Batman film was released, an animated feature film called Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Kenner produced Mask of the Phantasm figures using old Batman: T.A.S. molds and only a few new sculpts such as Jet Pack Joker and Phantasm.
As time went by, Kenner's Batman: T.A.S. line began losing steam, so Kenner retooled some of their figures, releasing Batman: T.A.S.: Crime Squad. This line had several Batman variations, but only included one Robin figure and no villain figures.