Returns of the Batman Die Cast

Not too long ago I featured the Batmobiles that flew across the screen in the original 89' Batman and 92' Batman Returns with a promise to show more of the Returns Vehicles. So with out a moments delay here are the other die cast that make up the Batman Returns Vehicles.

First up the Bat Jet Ski Boat, don't look at me, that's what they called it, I would have just called it a Bat-Hydrofoil or something.



This boat that looks more like a submarine made it's appearance towards the end of the movie, when Batman was jet ski boating through the sewers of Gotham to the Penguin's hide out.



Next out of the gate is the Batmissile, which is really a different configuration of the Batmobile. Who didn't think it was cool when the Batmobile ejected it's fenders and reconfigured it's wheels to form this sleeker version to get through the tight alleyways of Gotham? The only thing that bugged me was what happened to the fenders, or what was left of them? Did Alfred have to go pick them up?



Finally the villains ride. A huge Duck. I believe this was supposed to have been taken from what was left of the old abandoned zoo that Penguin lived under. I always got a kick out of the scene where Penguin returns to his hide out and this thing sort of six wheel drives out of the water and up a ramp, just looked funny to me.



So there we have it the Die cast vehicles of Batman Returns! Jet Ski Boats, Missiles, and Duck, oh my!

Batman vs. the Joker

Since I have all the Batman die cast out for dusting and cleaning, here's a fun little figurine two pack released at the time of the 1989 Batman film. It included a little bonus collector card that had the cover of the Movie adptaion on it and of course our hero and the villain from the film.



This has to be the closest Jack Nicholson likeness on a toy from that time, at least that I remember. The Toy Biz figure sure didn't look like him. These solid little die cast figurines are about 2 and half inches height and compliment other DC Comics Superhero figurines that Ertl produced at the time. These other figurines where more in the style of their comic likenesses though.



I might need to touch up Jack's nose a bit, see what happens when you don't store your toys properly. I have one other Batman in the same pose which I belive came packaged with one of the Ertl Batmobiles. I thought these multi packs were really a sweet deal at the time.

89' and 92' Ertl Batmobiles

The 89' Batmobile is loved by some and hated by others, I really think it's a design that you either love or hate, I'm not sure it's something that can grow on you (I could be wrong). Also if you have kept up with the blog you know I'm a fan of this style of Batmobile. I loved the look of this car when it first flashed across the screen!



These are the two that Ertl released for the original movie, yellow bat symbol, and the second movie Batman Returns with the Silver/white bat symbol. I remember thinking what a clever way to tie into the movie with out releasing the same car color scheme. The movie was a much colder setting, being Gotham in winter, and the marketing came off that way as well. So it makes sense that they would also switch up colors on the cars.




Now in the movie the Batmobile was basically the same, and neither one sported a logo on the car. The "Returns" Batmobile did do the split trick where the first movie car was just the standard Batmobile. It was to be assumed that the car could do all this stuff in both movies, just wasn't neccessary to show in the first one. Another cool little difference is that the first little Batmobile is coated in a thick high gloss paint, that tends to obscure some of the details. The second go at the car was a matte finish that shows more of the details. I probably like the second car for this alone, but the first is another one of those "brings back memories" toys so I like it just as much.



The Cars are the same mold, die cast with the plastic bottom. They did change the legal information on the bottom of each from movie to movie along with the packaging. The size of these are about three to four inches in length and about and inch and a half in height. The first movie only produced a Batmobile and Joker Van at this size, the Batman Returns movie ended up with a few other vehicles at this scale, coming soon to a blog near you! That would be here...

BTAS: Batmobile

This is one of my most favorite of Batmobile designs. It just looks like this heavy, hard hitting tank of a car. You can really see where Bruce Timm and crew took their influences from the 1930's art deco and other Bat properties and rolled them into this monster.

This Batmobile represents the simple, clean style of Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS) and was produced by Ertl. About three inches in length and the same basic construction as a standard Hotwheels die cast car, this is one Batmobile to be reckoned with.

What's your favorite Superhero ride? Like Hulk's Copter, the Captain America Vette, or dig Aquaman's Seahorse? Chime in with your favs.