Bat-buckaroo

The Return of Bruce Wayne comic series seemed a bit anticlimactic to me (like so many other things that DC does), but it was fun to imagine Bruce Wayne, i.e., Batman in so many different period costumes.

DC Direct has capitalized once again on my obvious need to own nearly every Batman figure and obscure variation by releasing a four figure set which includes this cowboy version of the Dark Knight.



I had a hard time deciding on just one of these figures, and truth be told, I may just end up with one. Of them all, it was a close tie between the "Witch Hunter" and the "Wild West" figure.



Obviously though the cowboy version of Bruce Wayne won out, and I'm very happy with it. The sculpt is excellent, and the paint is really nice. Even if I don't buy a second... or third... or fourth figure from this set, I'm happy with this one.

Batman Arkham Asylum -- Armored Version

A while back I'd put up a little review of Batman from the first DC Direct series of Batman: Arkham Asylum figures, and to be honest, I wasn't entirely pleased with it.

It had problems, which mostly had to do with inconsistent paint quality, but I'm really pleased to say that the second Batman figure from Series 2, that features an armor costume, is much better.

It's entirely possible that I got lucky this time and was unlucky last time, but just about everything is as close to perfect with this figure as I'd ever want.

Well... there is one weird little problem, and we'll get it out of the way right up front: the horns on his cowl are different sizes. I looked a few different figures over actually, and they each had the same problem, so I'm assuming that it's a running error.



But it's not a deal breaker with this figure, and I'm still giving it a thumbs up.

I like it because the sculpt is great, the paint job is really nice, and the overall build quality is very good. The thing is rock solid actually... not the most exciting and articulated figure, but a good looking display piece just the same.



Other figures from this second wave are actually pretty nice looking as well. Bane is a huge chunk of plastic that looks really fantastic. Poison Ivy is good, but could use a slightly more detailed paint job, so she isn't great, and if you're a big fan of Zsasz (I'm really not), you'll dig that figure as well.

Kinder Surprise Beach Ghost

Probably the weirdest and most amusing thing to come from the giant Kinder Surprise egg, was this tiny toy of a snorkeling ghost riding a sea turtle.



There's a lot going on with this toy. The concept of a ghost is one thing, and then if you toss the whole turtle riding thing in there you get something entirely different. But the best part is that the ghost actually changes color in the sunlight. Truly weird.

Kinder Surprise Hourglass

I've seen a lot of weird candy toys over the years, but one thing that I can't understand is why something like an hourglass with a picture of a cat on it is considered fun.




I mean honestly... I've gotten a lot of silly things packed in boxes, or eggs, or whatever, but I'm not sure how a kid is supposed to get excited about this.

Kinder Surprise Car

This is pretty much the reason why I love Kinder Surprise toys. The little yellow egg comes full of random parts, and you snap them all together to make a funny little car. Absolutely brilliant.

Kinder Surprise Alien (#2)

Not exactly my favorite little alien and spaceship toy from this Kinder Surprise set, but it's still kind of cool.




Again, the fun thing about these toys is how you can link a bunch of them together... and it almost makes me want to track down the entire set.

Kinder Surprise Alien (#1)

I'm always going to be fond of an alien and spaceship toy, so this Kinder Surprise is obviously a winner in my book.




I like the idea of a small weird alien that you can put inside of a funny little ship, but what makes this toy really fun is that you can link a bunch of them together.

Kinder Surprise Cat

Two Kinder eggs out of seven ended up containing this toy cat...



Which sort of sucks really, because the whole point of the thing is that you break it into pieces and reconnect it to other animals to create strange mixed up creatures.



I did not get any other animals this time around, so there won't be any cat-gators, or cat-dogs, or cat-fish hybrids. Perhaps it's a good thing though. With Kinder Surprise eggs being illegal in the US, because they're supposedly a choking hazard, I'd hate to add the moral dilemma that comes from splicing toy animals as well.

Full Of Surprises

Kinder Surprise eggs have long been outlawed in the US, but are still a big hit in Europe. Recently a friend brought me this giant and somewhat weird looking egg character that holds seven Kinder Surprise eggs inside.




Over the next few days I'll be taking a look at some of the prizes that were in each of the eggs, and maybe we can try to determine just what it is that makes Kinder Surprises so dangerous to US children.