To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Batman: The Animated Series, here's a quick rundown of the best DC Collectibles figures based on BTAS and the follow-up series The New Batman Adventures. Oh, and I'm ranking every episode of Batman: The Animated Series later this week as well so stay tuned for that!
#10 Gordon (Batman: The Animated Series
DC Collectibles paid close attention to his bulk and clothing and we get a really accurate representation of how the Commish looked on the show. Bullock, meanwhile, has a little too much eyeliner. While the gruff detective is a nice-looking accent piece for the Gordon figure I think they made him look like a hybrid of BTAS and TNBA models rather than truly capturing his BTAS design. FULL REVIEW
#9 Killer Croc (The New Batman Adventures)
Croc is big, every detail is painted with precision, and he comes with some excellent accessories. One accessory is a whole other character! That's right, you get Baby Doll as well as a roasted chicken, a ball, and a baby bottle. Croc is an outstanding value even if the Batman: The Animated Series design (and voice actor) is far superior.
#8 Ra's al Ghul (Batman: The Animated Series)
The Demon's Head is not only a quality sculpt, but he comes with a stiff cape that means I don't need to use a plastic stand to keep him upright. Talia is an excellent figure as well and looks terrific displayed at her father's side.
#7 Poison Ivy (The New Batman Adventures)
I prefer the Batman: The Animated Series look as opposed to the nymph-like TNBA design, but this figure is absolutely identical to how she appeared on the latter program. She's easy to articulate into some great poses and comes with some colorful chemistry-set accessories as well.
#6 The Joker (The New Batman Adventures)
The Batman: The Animated Series Joker figure (regular and Christmas with the Joker variant) is probably the weakest of the entire line. I'm really looking forward to the revamped Expressions Pack version, as it appears to have fixed a lot of problems with the face sculpt. In the meantime though we have the mime-like TNBA figure who is the spitting image of that series' take on the Clown Prince of Crime. And he comes with the hyenas too! You'd think those were sold with Harley, but no. Definitely display the pets with Harley, though. It looks fantastic that way.
#5 Roxy Rocket (The New Batman Adventures)
Transparent visor? Check. Weird Buck Rogers pistol? Check. Free-moving belt? Check. Big ol' wrench? Check. Excellent sculpt and paint job? Check. Rocket? Triple check.
#4 Legends of the Dark Knight 3-Pack (The New Batman Adventures)
The Batman Beyond 3-pack was disappointing since McGinnis' wings turned out to be utter junk and not worth displaying, but every figure included with this set resembles its animated counterpart brilliantly. They look exceptional when displayed together as well. FULL REVIEW
#3 Clayface (The New Batman Adventures)
Incredibly expressive and quite large, but also about $10 bucks more than your average BTAS figure. He's worth the price, however, with a plethora of shape-shifting swapables including a second head sculpt so you can go for a neutral look or an agonizing scream.
#2 Man-Bat (Batman: The Animated Series)
Extraordinary design and impressive size for the money you spend. While Clayface comes with a premium price-tag DC actually made Man-Bat available at the same price as tiny figures like Catwoman or Poison Ivy. Look at him, he's huge. His accessories (pill bottles, cassette tape) suck, but you don't need accessories for Man-Bat. Hang him with some fishing line for a cool monster-in-flight effect. Or don't. He comes with two sets of wings so you can do grounded or airborne! FULL REVIEW
#1 The Creeper (The New Batman Adventures)
Not who you were expecting? Creeper's look is 100% accurate to his appearance in the cartoon. Really an amazing piece of sculpting and excellent paintwork. DC Collectibles also did a stellar job of picking accessories that we instantly recognize from the episode and really want to incorporate into the display. Best of all, since Creeper isn't an A-lister, his figure isn't in high demand. This means you can find him on eBay or Amazon for cheap. I bought mine for $13 on eBay.
