DC Collectibles: Batman the Animated Series Joker

When the Batman: the Animated Series line was announced by DC Collectibles I was intrigued but wary. I love the cartoon and think it’s the best representation of a moving Batman that has ever been done, but as I was a bit older when it aired, it wasn’t the type of “childhood defining” cartoon it is for others. Many used DC Universe Classics as a default B:TAS line, but it wasn’t the same. I’m more comic over cartoon, so it wasn’t something I needed out of DCUC. But the the buzz and hype hit hard when DCC showed off pictures of screen-accurate, poseable figures from both Batman: the Animated Series and the New Adventures of Batman and Robin.

Now, the wariness comes in on the quality control aspect. DC Collectibles — and DC Direct from which it sprung — has often been troubled by quality control issues. While many have been lucky, there had been enough complaints about those clear pegs they use breaking to warrant a bit of hesitation. So it wasn’t a surprise when the smaller joints necessary on the very stylized figures combined with those bad-luck breakages started popping up. Thankfully and admirably, DCC stepped up their game and began working immediately to correct those issues, even replacing many figures for free with apologies.

Once I had assurances that the QC issues were being minimized, I felt more confident in buying a figure or so to test the waters. Just because I didn’t have the huge nostalgia for the show that others have doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of toys, cartoons, DC and all the stuff in-between, so I was looking forward to adding a handful of core characters to my collection. All of this lined up perfectly with the release of the Joker, who is the must-have villain of any respectable Batman collection.

I am happy to report that my Joker feels rock-solid, and I doubt I could break him if I tossed him against the wall. No, I’m not doing it, not even for science, but there was nothing stuck, stiff, or wibbly-wobbly about him when I popped him out of the plastic.

Just from a surface visual appraisal, this Joker looks like he stepped right out of a cel. That’s cel with one “L” as in animation cell, but add a second L and it works also. From those narrow eyes to that wide manic grin and the natty-as-heck purple suit with flowered lapel, you can almost hear Mark Hamill’s pitch-perfect cackle perforating those ruby-red lips. Like most characters, the Joker received a bit of a stylistic redesign when they switched to the New Adventures shows, but I prefer the original version and have no need for another version. This is the definitive animated Joker. Bold words, but true.

From an articulation standpoint, he does what he does well enough. While I’m an articulation whore and will take what I can get when it doesn’t degrade aesthetic value, I can understand the elimination of certain points that I would otherwise like to have. These figures are aiming for a certain silhouette and a balance has to be upheld for it to work.

He has a ball-jointed neck that gives doesn’t give him much up-and-down but gives him a nice head-tilt that makes him look even more like a lunatic than usual. A cocked head really amps up the personality on figures.

He has a standard shoulder joint without a bicep cut mated with a swivel-hinge elbow that allows him a better range while keeping the lines of his jacket free of unsightly cuts. While he doesn’t get a tremendous amount of range in his elbows, they are functional. His wrists are jointed and hinged, and they pop out easily for the alternate hands.

He has no torso articulation, but his waist cut allows full 360 degrees. He has the hip hinge of the DC Universe-styled figures, but without the mid-thigh cut, so he won’t be turning his leg. I do wish that they had managed a swivel-hinge for the knee but from an aesthetics point of view (I have to keep reminding myself) it does look cleaner.

But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s see what Robo has to say about it!

His single jointed knee is followed up by just a cut joint at his ankle. This will make certain poses awkward, but again, the contours are clean and give him that unbroken animated look while still maintaining a high level of poseability.

Joker came with several accessories and alternate hands for holding them. He comes with a freshly burgled necklace, a comb, a clear helmet, an ice pick, and a telescope. Now, it’s been a few years since I’ve seen the cartoon, so while I know these are all episode-specific accessories, I couldn’t for the life of me tell you from which specific episodes or how they were relevant. But the fact that they were included is cool enough. How many figures come with a comb? Right… just the Fonz. The Fonz and Joker. Which means the Fonz fell in poisonous chemicals and came out as the Joker. And now your world makes sense.

On the negative side, while the ice pick is useable enough, he can’t really hold the telescope close to his eye, and the comb only comes kind of close to his head. A little more give in his elbow and these could have worked better, but as is they’re neat curios that don’t do much.

He also comes with a stand if you don’t trust those tiny feet to keep him upright on your shelf for more than two minutes — and you really shouldn’t. The stand features a tiny animation turnaround of the Joker on it.

Barring minor articulation quibbles that just come from being a picky dude who likes to move his toys around a lot, this is a nice Joker to have in your collection if you’re a fan of the character and the cartoon.

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