Robins of Toyriffic Past :: Robin Week Concludes

All good things must end, including Robin Week. But if you haven't had enough of that red, green and yellow kid's stuff, check out a sampling of  Toyriffic's past Robin posts!

Batman Returns Tim Drake Robin.


DCUC Robin and DCUC predecessor 6" Batman line Robin.



Toybiz Robin.

The New Batman Adventures Robin.


Redbird by Corgi.

Teen Titans Red X Robins.



DC Infinite Heroes Earth 2 Robin (with DCIH Tim Drake Robin.)

Three cheers for the original kid sideckick!

Bandai Teen Titans Robin Variants :: Robin Week

I wasn't paying any attention to the Teen Titans cartoon or toyline when it was originally released. That's not entirely true - I did pick up a Speedy off the shelves. Otherwise I didn't bother with the Bandai toyline until I started finding them at the flea market and thrift stores years later. Scale is all over the place, and some of the sculpts are pretty off-model, but it was a fun line with a lot of different hero and villain characters released.

In fact, some of the figures saw multiple releases, and variations as the toys evolved and tried to get closer to their cartoon counterparts.

I believe this version of Robin, with a larger anime head, was the first sculpt released. I found this guy at the flea market a couple weeks ago and his paint is a little rough, but he's still a fun figure to have around.

I believe this version of the Teen Titan Robin, with the smaller, more 'animated' head, came later. This guy belongs to my oldest daughter - we've had him for a few years and she doesn't play with him anymore, so he now resides in my collection. For safe-keeping, of course!

Having no emotional connection to the cartoon these figures are based on, I can't say I have a preference for one over the other. They are both fun and uniquely stylized versions of Robin, and that's cool enough for me!

Sheng Yuan BootLEGO Red Robin :: Robin Week

The primary reason I nabbed the most recent batch of Sheng Yuan bootLEGO minifigures was in order to get my hands on this Red Robin minifigure!

Red Robin first appeared in the background of the Kingdom Come storyline, and was an older Dick Grayson operating in a future of out-of-control younger superheroes. Eventually Tim Drake took on the Red Robin costume and codename in modern comicbook continuity to differentiate himself from Damian Wayne's Robin.

LEGO has not made an official Red Robin minifigure, and I can't imagine that they ever will. Thus far this minifigure is a Sheng Yuan exclusive. And a really cool one at that!

Red Robin comes with two bo staffs. He also came with a stand and a little 'symbol' build (not pictured.) Sheng Yuan continues to hit these things out of the park with character selection you will likely never see from LEGO themselves and quality that approaches LEGO level. Not to mention prices at pennies on the dollar!

Red Robin: YUM! indeed!

Disc Attack Robin :: Robin Week

Yesterday we looked at Mattel's 'evergreen' Batman toyline's 4" Tech Glider Robin - today we take a look at the 6" scale predecessor line's Disc Attack Robin.

This Robin was the second to be released in the 6" line. It is obviously based on the Arkham City video game Robin, which makes this guy Tim Drake in disguise.

Mostly the same sculpt as the 6" Strike Shield Robin, Disc Attack Robin has a unique head sculpt that includes a non-removable hood.

Robin also has a plastic cape, which was an interesting choice as Strike Shield Robin had a cloth cape. This plastic cape is easily wrinkled/crinkled and probably wouldn't stand up long to kid's play.

Disc Attack Robin, as his name implies, came with a disc-launcher accessory. It is pretty lame so I didn't bother to photograph it. Disc Attack Robin came out at the end of the 6" line, so he was a little tough to find at retail. I'm glad I did, because even though I lament not getting Strike Shield Robin, between the two Robins released in this line Disc Attack Robin is the better Robin in my humble opinion.

Tech Glider Robin :: Robin Week

Robin Week continues with Tech Glider Robin by Mattel:

Tech Glider Robin comes from the 4" Batman 'evergreen' action figure line mostly warming the pegs right now. The toyline has just been re-branded as 'Batman Unlimited,' and this Robin has been repackaged with a robot hawk, which looks to be a better accessory than the forgettable glider this guy came with (not pictured, because it's pretty lame.)

I like to think of this Robin as Dick Grayson, but I suppose an argument could be made that this guy is Tim Drake.

This particular Robin's sculpt is a shrunken down and re-colored version of the 6" Batman Power Attack Strike Shield Robin, which I regret not having picked up at retail before the 6" line was cancelled and the 4" line took over. But I only saw that one on the shelves once, and had no idea I'd never see it again.

At least I have the figure in this smaller size and more classic color scheme, as I do like the cartoony style of these figures.

Holy Second Banana, Batman: It's Robin Week!

It's Robin Week here at Toyriffic!

Why?

I suppose it is timely. The Flying Graysons (most notably John and Mary, Dick Grayson's parents) made their television debut on Gotham last week.

And of course Damian Wayne is back - alive and well (and super-powered) - in the pages of Batman and Robin.

It is also rumored (but not officially reported yet) that Jena Malone will be playing Carrie Kelley in the upcoming Batman V Superman movie.

But mostly it's because I like Robin, and have a backlog of Robins to post, and...hey, I don't have to explain myself to you people!

So anyways, today's Robin is Damian Wayne pre-death-and-resurrection. In LEGO form:

This Damian Wayne LEGO minifigure is part of the LEGO Joker's Steamroller (set number 76013) that also includes LEGO Batgirl.

Thus far this LEGO minifigure is the only Damian Wayne Robin I have in my collection. Damian has mostly only appeared in toy form to date in DC Collectible action figure lines, so it was nice to get him in an official LEGO set. I'm not sure how much his death slowed down his merchandising, but I expect now that he's back as a member of the living there will be more mass market representations of him in toy form.

Stay tuned for more Robins all this week!