Sunday, July 27, 2014

Toy Examination: They DID this??

Hello again lovelies, welcome back. This post will only cover one toy, but my is it worth it. So sit back, relax and adjust your spectacles, we're going on a magical mystery, one of rushed products and botched film ideas!



There's something about this product that should set off a bit of a red flag. What's that you say? No, say it louder! Thats exactly right! Robin WASN'T in Batman Returns.  Nor was his ridiculously oversized grapple launcher. What you're looking at is allegedly a screw-up of legendary proportions.




Legend has it that Kenner caught wind of Robin potentially being in Batman Returns, and that the studio had brought in Marlon Wayans (half of the duo behind Major Payne, Scary Movie) to portray him. Kenner jumped the gun, wanting to capitalize on it. However, they did not have any design sketches of the character, unlike Batman, Catwoman and Penguin. So, they simply borrowed Robin's look from the comics. Here's where the urban legend gets a little....extreme. Batman Returns comes to theaters before the toy hits the shelves. Robin was nowhere to be seen, yet Kenner still had oh so many Robin figures somewhat bearing Marlon Wayans likeness! What were they to do? Oh, right. Hastily change Robin's skin color to represent the comic version better and slap an accessory with him. Ouch. Now, this story has yet to be confirmed, but to lend credence to the tale Robin does appear to have a bit of a "box" haircut (as was popular in the 90s) but other than that there's no way to prove it. The story does, however, get a little bit more ridiculous. As in, Kenner didn't stop.




Jet....Foil...they, the toy company who so wrongly assumed this character would be in the movie to begin with...give him a vehicle??? *sigh* oh well. Once the damage is done I suppose following through is the best option. Still, they couldn't have made up a better name than Jet Foil? What does that even mean? I know I've been harsh on this figure and his multitude of accessories but to be fair its actually a really well made toy, and a pretty well painted one at that, screw up or not. Although its totally out of place in this line, I'd definitely recommend trying to track Robin down. Jet Foil is at your own risk.

No comments:

Post a Comment