Kenner Batman: The Animated Series Joker Kenner, 1994
Day #443: July 16, 2012
Joker also known as "Machine Gun Joker"
The Adventures of Batman & Robin Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. 61145 No. 63859 Manufacturer:Kenner Includes:Dynamite, machine gun Action Feature:n/a Retail:$5.99 Availability: ca. 1997 Other: The best Joker maquette you'll ever buy
I made it a point to keep my Batman: The Animated Series collection thin by trying not to double-up on characters, but with The Joker I failed pretty miserably. Pogo Joker? A Joker redesign? A Joker in a hat and trenchcoat with a machine gun? How could I not buy these? Action figures in the 1990s were so cheap where, in many cases, it was hard to say no, and this was one of those cases.
Based on the earlier designs of the character in the series, Mr. J has his psychotic grin under a hat and coat, which partially restricts his leg movement. His arms move freely, as does his head. Oddly, this figure has no action features, nor do his accessories. This is really uncommon for this line as most figures had some sort of launching projectile, flapping arms, or otherwise spring-loaded gimmick to appeal to the kids. This one is basically just a traditional Kenner-style action figure with a couple of simple accessories and a magnificent sculpt. I'm sure Mattel of 2012 could do a better job, but Kenner of 1997 did such a nice job where I'd have to think twice about upgrading should Mattel ever pursue this particular animated series for new, larger figures. (Well, OK, if they did DCUC scale I'd be in.) As it is, it's simple and looks great.
Looking back on it, I'm surprised how collector-friendly this figure really was. He can't sit in a vehicle, has no action features, and has two, feature-free accessories. The machine gun is a silver machine gun-- big, simple, menacing. The red dynamite has an unpainted giant Joker face on it, a nice touch if ever there was one. Painted accessories would have been nice, but such things were virtually unheard of in the 1990s outside of McFarlane, the occasional lightsaber, and some of Playmates' Star Trek phasers. We got one-color accessories, and dammit, we liked it that way!
As a figure that doesn't really do anything, it sure looks great. The coat is pretty plain, you can see a belt and some buttons but there's little sculpted detail. It matches the TV show nicely.
I like this figure bunches, and it's basically worth about five bucks. How can you go wrong for five bucks? New DC animated figures aren't that cheap any more, so getting an old one might be perfect for your toy lovin' budget.
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