JOKER
BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)
One of the greatest things to come out of the 90s (aside from yours truly) is Batman: The Animated Series. The series is, in my opinion, the definitive take on Batman and his supporting cast. Since the series aired in the early 90s, it played a decent role in shaping my interests in all this comic stuff. So, it should come as no surprise that I ended up with a decent sized collection of the tie-in figures prodiuced by Kenner around the time of the show. Today, I’ll be looking at Batman’s #1 foe (other than guns and living parents) the Joker. And this isn’t just any Joker, no no. This is Mark Hammil’s Joker, the very best kind of Joker!
THE FIGURE ITSELF
Joker was part of the first series of Batman: The Animated Series figures. He stands about 5 inches tall and features 5 points of articulation. He’s based on Joker’s basic appearance in the show, specifically his “old school” look, which is the design from the initial run of the show. The figure featured an all new 
sculpt, although parts of it would see re-use on later Joker figures. It’s an alright approximation of his look on the show, though it’s not quite spot on. He seems to be a bit too squat for the character, but otherwise, he looks decent. The paintwork is fairly basic, in fact he’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, but what’s there is well applied, with little instance of slop or bleed over. The palate seems a bit off, though. The purple seems a little too pale, the yellow seems too dark, and, the biggest issue, his skin tone has an odd green tint to it. Joker was accessorized with an odd water shooting backpack with a gas mask attached. You know, like the one he had all those times on the show….
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Joker was a later addition to my collection. When I was growing up, the version in the trench coat from Mask of the Phantasm was my basic Joker, as this one had long been gone from stores. A few years ago, I tracked one down at a small toy store near me. He’s a decent figure, and he compliments the rest of the Kenner line fairly nicely.
