Toybox REVIEW: DC Collectibles "Batman: The Animated Series" Robin

Joining the Joker as part of wave two of DC Collectibles new range of figures based on Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures is the Boy Wonder himself, Robin! More specifically, the original Dick Grayson variety. Although Robin made regular appearances in the first half of B:TAS, he really came into his own in the later half - at which point the show became titled The Adventures of Batman & Robin. Just how much of the show falls under this banner is up for debate - production wise there are only two seasons (with the second using this name) but the DVD releases split it up into three, with only the third using that name. Either way it doesn't really make a whole lot of difference, because this line isn't acknowledging the name or logo change anyway. I can kind of understand since it isn't a major difference like the huge change between Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, but it would have been nice to get it acknowledged somewhere.

Toybox REVIEW: DC Collectibles "Batman: The Animated Series" Joker

There have been many different popular interpretations of the Joker in television and film over the years - Caesar Romero in the Adam West Batman series, Jack Nicholson in Tim Burton's 1989 movie, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, and a variety of different animated versions voiced by different actors. But when asked which of all of these versions is the best, it's fair to say that most fans will agree on the DC Animated Universe version voiced by Mark Hamill. Appearing in Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures all the way up into Batman Beyond and Justice League, Hamill's Joker has even reached a new audience in the form of the Arkham series video games. So when DC Collectibles revealed they would be doing a new line of animated series figures based on Bruce Timm's iconic designs, it's unsurprising that the Joker was quickly among the planned lineup.

However not being in the first wave of figures seems to have worked to the Joker's advantage, as after numerous reports of bad quality control and breakages DC Collectibles postponed the release of wave two in order to tweak them in light of these issues. About time considering how infamous breakable their lines are, but still definitely a good move on DCC's part. So with the wave two figures finally upon us, what we should be seeing here is a Clown Prince of Crime figure far more suited to it's "collectible" status and accompanying price tag.