Random Toy Pic: Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Hearts of Men?

The shadow knows!

I was digging through some older Batman stuff  that's been boxed up in the garage for a while and came across one of my all time favorites. I couldn't resist taking this shadow picture of him - such crisp sharp lines!

In case you're wondering who this gentleman is...


Crimson Patrol Batman, from the 2006 'The Batman' toyline.

They didn't go full Azreal with this one, as it's simply Batman in CalTrans orange under that helmet (slow for the cone zone!) but still, what an awesome homage! I remember being shocked when I saw this guy on the shelf, I couldn't believe The Batman line was referencing the Knightfall storyline.

The Batman EXP Crimson Patrol Batman aka Azrael :: A 'Toyriffic Classic' Post

While we're on the subject of Azraels that aren't billed as Azrael, let's take another look at this Azrael homage from The Batman EXP toyline, which originally appeared on Toyriffic December 19th 2008:


This figure was released in 2006 in conjunction with 'The Batman,' the Saturday morning Batman cartoon show airing at the time. He was billed as Crimson Patrol Batman, but we all know who was really under the cowl...


Okay, so it's Batman again. But there's no doubt what character inspired this figure. I love it when a toy design shows a true love and understanding of a character's history. If you're going to dress Batman in orange longjohns (and the toy execs just love it when you do) at least find a comic book where the guy actually did so and run with that idea. Brilliant!


Azrael was packaged with the mask and wings separated and a little obscured, so if you didn't know what you were looking at or if you didn't look closely enough you would have assumed it was just another red-orange Batman action figure. And since this toyline was mainly aimed at kids, I'm sure tons of them got this figure and had no idea of it's Batman comic-book significance.

'The Batman' was a good cartoon, and the toyline had it's share of hits. Of them all, Crimson Patrol Batman was one of the best. A cool 'Easter egg' for fans to discover...and one instance when I didn't wince upon seeing a day-glo Batman on the toy aisle shelves.

Attack Wing Batman (aka Azrael)

I recently discussed Mattel's 2014 'Evergreen' Batman line and it's shift from the larger 5ish inch scale to around 3.75 inches. Amazingly I was able to find Azrael right away while shopping at Target last week. Apparently these are hitting pretty heavy now, as Target resets their toy aisles after Christmas. There was only one Azrael, so he might be short packed, but only time will tell if he's hard to find or not. My guess is that he won't be, and anyone who really wants one will be able to get one at retail easily enough.

Anyways, Azrael is really a great looking figure! Here he is posed next to Batman and Robin from the infamous Infinite Heroes line of a few years back. The scale isn't a perfect match, but it sort of is considering the fact that Azrael is all armor. He should be a bit bigger than the tights clad Batman.

If there is anything 'bad' about this Azrael and this smaller scale Batman action figure line, it is that it will invariably be compared to Infinite Heroes and many fanboys are going to deride it for that fact alone. I admit there are a lot of similarities, especially with figures like Superman and the standard Batman, but Azrael has enough going on in his sculpt and design to make him stand out against his blander compatriots. And he was only $6.99 at Target, so the line is clearly the more economical of all Mattel's current offerings.

But gripes aside, this really is a great stylized version of Jean-Paul Valley in his hardcore nineties Batman costume!

Here's what the packaging looks like. 'Azrael' isn't mentioned anywhere on the packaging. His official title is 'Action Wing Batman.' I'm okay with that. No modern kid needs to be burdened with all that convoluted backstory! But us collectors know who this is, and that's good enough. In fact, I really don't care what you call a Batman variant as long as the Batman variant makes sense or is in some way relevant to a storyline or the character's history. It is refreshing that AzBats made the cut so early in the line before the inevitable Street Luge Batman!

The cardbacks on this line are a lot of fun. I love the cartoon/comic panels, and the pics of other figures in the line. I might get that Robin if I see him, his accessory actually looks pretty neat!

Speaking of accessories, Azrael's accessory is pretty lame. An axe and a body-cuff...?!?! Ugh. The less said about this drawer-fodder the better.

Azrael (or Attack Wing Batman) has nine points of articulation, which appears standard across the board for this line. Neck, shoulders, knees, elbows, hips. All swivel - no ball joints. But Azrael ain't doing any Yoga in that outfit anyways, right?

The sculpting details are really nice, and I think this stylized cartoony look really works for Azrael. My only real regret is that he isn't in the previous larger scale, since I have a handful of nice figures in that scale already.

Thankfully he fits right in with the Infinite Heroes figures I already have. As much as people loved to hate Infinite Heroes, it really did have some great figures. I think this new line is going to have a few good ones too, and a few dogs as well. You'll just have to buy what you like and leave the rest!

The 1990s. Oh how I don't miss you (but kind of do)!

Upcoming Batman Action Figure Wants!

Mattel's basic 'evergreen' Batman line (Batman, Killer Croc, Joker) appears to have permanently shrunk from around 5" to around 3.75" in 2014, and the new smaller line will include an Azrael Batman!

Dubbed Action Wing Batman, this is the gaudy ridiculous literal killer Batman from the nineties you either love or love to hate.

Personally, I'm a sucker for Azrael Batman (see here, here, and here) and while I wish this figure was in the same scale as the handful of figures I 've already picked up in this style are in, I'll be hunting this one down for sure!

Azrael Batman will also be available in red and yellow in this seven figure set:

I can't say that I'll be getting this set, unless I get it as a birthday present this November or something. I don't really want everyone here - If I could cherry pick, I'd only get Azrael, maybe Robin...

...and Clayface. I like the extra gaping maw in his chest. Nice touch!

Deathstroke looks kind of cool, but I have a few good versions of Deathstroke and don't really care for the character enough to need to add more at this juncture.

Green Arrow is pretty cool in this style too. I do wish these were all available in the 6" size, but it is easier to build up a large set at this smaller scale, and hopefully they take advantage of the size and release some keen  newplaysets and vehicles!

It's AzBout Time!

I've owned this AzBats for a couple years now, but am only now blogging about him!

I believe Azrael Batman here was the last DCUC figure I actively pursued until the recent slew of cool Batman Unlimited figures like the Batman of Zur Ehn Arrh and The Dark Knight Returns Batman.

I'm surprised I ever did find this guy to be honest - After months and months of this toy being in the 'marketplace' and me wishing to find it like a normal person, you know, at a store!!!! and seeing all the cool kids find it and blog about it before me, I finally procured a DCUC AzBats from an actual honest to goodness retail establishment! For an honest to goodness retail price!

The left leg was of course wonky in package, something that is always expected from Mattel, but otherwise the figure looked fine on the shelf...exceptional actually...dare I say...flawless...until I got it home and looked much closer at the belt.

THE DAMN THING IS ON UPSIDE-DOWN! I know he's a Bat-imposter, but he's not Batzarro fer cryin' out loud!!!

Dammit Mattel, can't you get ANYTHING right? Bad enough his gauntlet/scallops/bat-thingamajig-wrist-whatevers are wrong and were wrong from the point of design forward yet no one caught the problem, but now my AzBats is dropping smoke pellets and flash-bang grenades and his Ritalin all over the street every time he swigs through Gotham because his stupid utility belt pouches are UPSIDE-FREAKIN-DOWN!

Whatever. He is very cool nonetheless and I am glad to have him in my collection.

AzBats is a great looking figure and the first blue/grey 'almost final iteration' AzBats action figure ever as far as I am aware.

A repainted two-pack version was around for a while, but I never saw it at retail. Apparently it later ended up at discount stores like Ross for super cheap too - I also did not find it there either! I'd love to have found AzBats in his FINAL final iteration and maybe with his belt on correct too, and for CHEAP, but you can't have everything I suppose. I'll stay content with the blue/grey version of this costume.

The two pack re-paint re-release also came with a Bruce batman with some battle damage...

Methinks Batman in a wheelchair would have been more apropos:

Catwoman Purrrsday :: I'm dreaming of a white Catwoman

During the 'Contagion' storyline,  Catwoman donned a white snow-camo suit to head for the mountains and help Robin and Azrael find a cure for a deadly virus wreaking havoc in Gotham City.

Because...comic books.

With less than a week to go until Christmas, it seemed appropriate to glance at a few covers from the Contagion run that included Catwoman in this get-up.

Not everyone shares Selina's concern for stealth. Azreal says 'Screw subterfuge, I'm goin' in orange and ON FIRE!'

Robin also heads to the snow sans camouflage (not to mention full sleeves,) proving that Catwoman is really the only sensible member of the team. It's amazing the mission succeeded at all.

I'm pretty sure it snows a lot in Gotham City too, so the white camouflage actually makes a lot of sense, and other than the inexplicable boomerang designs on the boots it looks pretty good!

I Am (tiny) BANE!

"I am CUUUTE!"

Everyone remembers Bane breaking Batman's back, but do you remember when he busted both of Killer Croc's arms? I think that was the same time Robin had to escape by jumping into the sewer outflow, much like Commissioner Gordon did in TDKR.

"I will break...sniff snif...wind?!?! Ewww Batfarts!"

Imaginext Bane is currently available as part of a Gotham City Jail playset and a Paddy Wagon playset.

I don't really care too much about (or have the room for, or want to spend my toy budget on) the larger Imaginext playsets or vehicles, but I had to have Bane. So I went ahead and bought him off one of those eBay sellers in Hong Kong that sell (presumably) factory-seconds for super cheap. I found an auction for Bane, Joker and a pilot Batman for $4.99 with free shipping. I figured I could stand to gamble with five bucks (I've always wondered about those sellers anyways but never really trusted the whole situation,) and figured this was a good experiment to see what I ended up with.

First off, Bane is a great figure. Although he's nothing more than a standard Imaginext figure with painted-on details, those details really make the toy pop. He even has the Venom-to-brain mechanism on the back of his head!

Bane's Jail Playset release is supposed to have glow-in-the-dark (or glow under a black-light) veins, and here is where my figure falls into the 'Factory-Second' category. You can see slight yellow veins over his body but the 'paint' appears not to have been properly applied. They don't glow and I don't have a black-light to test them but I assume they wouldn't show well under it anyways.

And that's fine, the faint veins are kind of cool actually, and the figure is otherwise solid (I've seen worse QC on figures on the shelves.) Joker and pilot Batman were fine too, so my five dollar investment was well worth it.

I should also add that the shipping from Hong Kong was surprisingly fast. I think they may have employed a sky-hook.

Now that I have Bane, I think I'll dub this helmeted Batman that I've had for a while Azrael-Batman (aka AzBats!) The nineties never looked so cute!

They say it's your Smurfday, well it's my Smurfday too yeah!

I recently mentioned to Reis of Geek Orthodox that I still hadn't gotten a Gargamel and Azrael set from the recent Jakks Pacific Smurf figure releases.

In response, Reis bombed me with a ton of Smurfs and even a mushroom house! But most importantly, he included Gargamel and Azrael!

These guys are insanely out of scale to, well, anything and everything - including each other! But they are very on-model to their cartoon counterparts, so who's complaining?

Papa Smurf was also included in the batch Reis sent me! Yay! It's like getting Optimus Prime and Megatron in one set; I've got both faction leaders now!

Reis sent me so many Smurfs, in fact, that I just had to share the wealth. My youngest daughter already had the mushroom house shown on the right, so of course I gave the mushroom house that Reis gave me (on the left,) to my older daughter.

I think the one Reis sent me was Papa's house. The one on the right is Smurfette's.

Reis also sent a Smurfette and a Tracker Smurf. I already had Tracker, so I gave each daughter one, and since my youngest already had Smurfette the oldest got the spare. Gotta keep things fair ;)

At about the same time I was drowning in Reis' Smurf bomb, Leon of Open the Toy sent me an email asking to keep my eyes peeled for any Smurfs I could find for him, because he was having trouble finding them in Singapore.

I decided that he would love all those extra Smurfs more than we could here, so I packed what was left and shipped them overseas! The Smurfs look very happy in their new home too!

Thanks again to Reis who started this whole Smurf exchange. Sharing makes me feel all Smurfy inside.

Azrael as it Gets

The comic world is a-buzz with the recent news that the brainwashed avenging angel, Azreal, shall soon return:



AZRAEL: DEATH’S DARK KNIGHT #1
Written by Fabian Nicieza
Art by Frazer Irving
Cover by Guillem March

He was a husband and a father. A brother and a friend. A cop and a dark knight. But he had all that taken away. And in return, he was given a suit of sorrows, a quest for redemption and a new name. He is Azrael, avenging angel for the Order of Purity and a new protector for Gotham City's troubled times. But who will protect the citizens from him?

Guest-starring Robin, Nightwing, Talia and the League of Assassins, this miniseries runs alongside BATTLE FOR THE COWL and features the dramatic presence of a strangely familiar, troubled hero with two things on his mind: crazed vengeance for the wrongs he has suffered and salvation for the sins he continues to commit!

On sale March 18 • 1 of 3 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US

It appears a new guy will be sporting the Az-duds this time around, and not the original Jean-Paul Valley. Jean-Paul was killed off a few years ago, so of course it only makes sense that they'd have a new guy - it's not like they can resurrect the dead! Duh!

This upcoming Azrael storyline, along with all that has been going on and continues to occur in Batman comics of late, sounds like a mash-up of the Death of Superman/Rise of the Supermen sagas with the Knightfall/ Knightquest/ Knightlight/ Knightmoves/ Knightrider sagas in order to create one big comic book uber-exstravawonder-ganza-oktoberfest!

I don't know if I have the patience or the energy to follow along very closely this time around, but DC comics had me by the short hairs in the nineties when they broke Batman and replaced him with crazy upstart Azrael.

So take a walk with me down memory lane back to the early nineties. Dust off your flannel, pause the VCR, flip your mullet and pop in a Nirvana cassette as we look at a couple earlier Azrael incarnations.

These two AzBat figures were released by Kenner around 1994 or 1995, and represent Azrael as he altered and evolved Batman's costume through those Knight(insert own joke here) storylines I previously mentioned.

Azrael first started fighting crime as Batman in the standard costume worn by Bruce Wayne, and slowly began adding weapons and shoulder pads and shiny paint until he got to this one...

...which seemed to suit him well, so he stuck with it for awhile. This costume did have some cool features, like a spotlight at the collar to blind criminals...

...and shuriken firing gauntlets with bladed fingers.

I always thought the garter-utility-belt was a nice touch too.

As Azrael slipped deeper into madness and obsession, his costume took on a much more robotic look, borrowing more design cues from his original Order of St. Dumas costume.

If I remember the story correctly, I think this costume was still sporting a black/blue/grey color scheme until the Batmobile, with Azrael in it, exploded. He emerged from the wreckage in red/orange and black and stuck with it for maybe one or two issues until Bruce returned and brung the smack-down. I don't know if that's exactly how it went, but it sounds silly enough to be true.

The costume still has the spotlight and the bad-ass gauntlets, but now the cowl is much more helmet-like and the wings are...well...insane.

Each figure came with a firing weapon, which is appropriate for AzBats. This one shoots a flame engulfed missile...

...and this one shoots a batarang like disk.

Here are the weapons and their projectiles together in case you find these guys at a garage sale and want to be sure you get all the pieces.



Each figure in this series, called Legends of Batman, also came with a cool SkyBox trading card with great painted images and brief bios. (Click the pic for a larger image.)

Okay kids, hop in the mini-van. It's time to get back to 2008 (what's left of it that is,) but before you go...