Batman YTB | The Dark Knight Collection, Kenner, Batman, 1989, 1990




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The Dark Knight Collection, Kenner, Batman, 1989, 1990
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The Dark Knight Collection (Action Figures)

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1989 was clearly a big year for Batman with a highly popular movie bringing fans into theatres across the world. To capitalize on this, Toy Biz produced a small series of Batman action figures and related merchandise. This flame of popularity continued to burn the following year when Kenner bought the rights to the Batman franchise. In attempt to make up for what little had been done by Toy Biz, Kenner introduced The Dark Knight Collection to fans. It was widely considered an exceptional toy line with lots of diverse figures and vehicles, all of which featured broodingly metallic color tones as well as innovative accessories. While minimizing articulation, in comparison to the Toy Biz collection, these figures showcased greater likeness to their real-life counterparts of Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson as well as stronger durability and a less primitive look overall.

A Dark Knight Collection TV commercial. The Dark Knight Collection is notable for setting numerous standards in the Batman action figure world, such as the basic five points of articulation, "Deluxe" figures, and coinciding roleplay accessories. Perhaps the most notable, however, would be the variant concept, which continues to this day in perhaps a more drastic manner. Every Batman figure was simply a retooled version of the popular design used in 1984's Super Powers Collection and would again be used for the following movie line in 1992. In fact, repainted versions of the SPC sculpt can be spotted in some early catalog photos. This is perhaps one of its only major downfalls; out of about twenty figures, only two Jokers were produced, with the rest being variations of Batman. And while the line featured many new vehicle designs, some were actually retools from previous Kenner lines like RoboCop and the Ultra Police and SilverHawks.

Kenner Action Catalogs, which typically came with large vehicles and playsets, revealed what could have been for the second series of The Dark Knight Collection. While the Batcave Command Center, Gotham Dragster, and Jokermobile didn't make it to shelves in fall of 1991, many of them were retooled to be included in later Batman collections like Batman: The Animated Series. Nevertheless, The Dark Knight Collection dazzled many young fans with its dark yet exciting array of figures, vehicles, and accessories and set Batman figure standards for many years to come.

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT Collection. It's BATMAN like you've never seen him before! These BATMAN figures have unique devices for fighting different types of crime.

 
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See Also

DC Superheroes - Toy Biz
Super Powers Collection
The Dark Knight Collection
Batman Returns
World Of Batman 


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