THE RIDDLER

BATMAN: THE CLASSIC TV SERIES (MATTEL)

Okay, so let’s play a little game called “this makes Ethan feel old.”  In prep for writing today’s review of a Mattel Batman ’66 figure, I went back through the archives to see what other Mattel Batman ’66 figures I’d already reviewed, and discovered I’ve reviewed three.  The only one from the standard releases was the Catwoman figure I reviewed just over a month into the site, when she was a brand-new figure…over a decade ago.  My retro throwback reviews are now of items released the same year I started the site.  For reference, if I were reviewing a figure at the start of this site that were as old then as this figure is now, I’d have been looking at a figure from 2002.  That would be a figure that predates Mattel having the DC license.  Oh boy am I getting side tracked here.  Okay, so, yeah, let’s embrace the throwback and look at the 1966 Batman, which, amongst other things, really invigorated Batman’s rogues gallery.  Frank Gorshin’s turn as The Riddler in particular took the character from just one of the pack to one of the heavy hitters, and remains one of the show’s stand out villains.  Here’s an action figure of him!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Riddler was released in Series 1 of Mattel’s Batman: Classic TV Series line, alongside a standard Batman and the Penguin.  They hit in the late-summer/early-fall of 2013, right as all the ’66 licensing started hitting in full force.  The figure stands right at 6 inches tall and he has 23 points of articulation.  The line as a whole was a bit under-sized compared to other offerings, with it being closer to a true 1/12 scale than anything else Mattel offered, which made these guys all at least a half-inch shorter than all of the DCUC figures, and also so very much scrawnier.  Like, I know Gorshin was a skinny guy, but I feel this is excessive, to almost cartoonish levels, especially around the legs and hips.  The head sculpt doesn’t look *unlike* Gorshin, but neither is it a spot on likeness.  It’s certainly on the weaker end for this line, and I honestly get Matthew Lillard vibes off of it.  I think part of it’s the expression seeming too reserved for Gorshin; he brought a manic energy to the character that doesn’t really feel like it’s captured here.  It’s also kind of soft on the detailing.  The body, aside from it’s odd proportions, does at least get a little more detailing, especially with the wrinkles on the suit, which do at least set him apart from the painted on suits of the main DC line at the time.  His paint work was largely pretty basic, with the only notable shift being the accenting on his suit, which keeps it from being too much of a stretch of the same colors.  He was packed with a display stand with “Ka-Pow” written on it, as well as a card with part of the batcave on one side, and an illustration of the Riddler on the other.  Unfortunately, the Riddler illustration is landscape orientation, and the spot in the stand that holds the card only works for portrait orientation, so…not so much working for that set-up.  And, that’s all he got for extras.  No hat, or cane, or alternate unmasked head.  Not even some sound effects.  It’s exceedingly light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was very, very excited for this line, and Gorshin’s Riddler in particular was very high on my list.  I went to the trouble of pre-ordering him and everything, and got him when he was brand new.  He’s actually in one of the last batches of figures I bought before new stuff was getting reviewed on the site as “new stuff.”  This line always so very greatly disappointed me.  I wanted to love it, but I couldn’t, and Riddler is kind of one of the worst offenders.  Ultimately, looking back on him, he’s fine, but not really any better than I’d remembered him being.