Hope Lives For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

1966 TV show type Bat-Items found on eBay, Collectibles, etc.

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Dan Greenfield
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Hope Lives For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by Dan Greenfield »

Hey, folks:

BIG UPDATE: After our earlier post, Funko let us know Wave 2 WILL BE coming!

CLICK HERE: https://13thdimension.com/funko-says-ba ... is-summer/

— Dan
jimpagett
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Re: Hopes Fade For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by jimpagett »

That is so disappointing. Guess I gotta start work'n on a custom Riddler.
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Keith Mayo
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Re: Hopes Fade For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by Keith Mayo »

So..................no Joker, no Riddler and no Penguin. Such a miss on Funko's part. Those figures would NOT be peg warmers. They should fire whoever it was that pushed for Bookworm and the chase Mr. Freeze.
"It's the very essence of our democracy". - Batman, S1 Ep 11
rickkrefft
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Re: Hopes Fade For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by rickkrefft »

Major let down. I hope Funko chokes on their stupid Pop figures.
I agree that Bookworm, Mr. Freeze and Tut should not have been in wave 1. At least if all we were gonna get was one wave we would of had all the important characters. Yes I like the minor ones too, but I consider them gravy. A line with these three and no Joker, Penguin or Riddler is just an eyesore. I think the guys that only collect Batman and Robin are the smart ones. They’ll never get disappointed because those two always get produced.
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Keith Mayo
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Re: Hopes Fade For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by Keith Mayo »

rickkrefft wrote: Sat Feb 17, 2018 10:19 am I think the guys that only collect Batman and Robin are the smart ones. They’ll never get disappointed because those two always get produced.
Part of the reason I only collect B&R.
Well, that - and finances.
"It's the very essence of our democracy". - Batman, S1 Ep 11
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BATWINGED HORNET
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Re: Hopes Fade For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by BATWINGED HORNET »

Biggest takeaway from the article:
For one thing, broader interest in the modern Batman ‘66 merchandising onslaught probably crested in 2016, the show’s 50th anniversary year. The company just may have been too late — and the line not unique enough — to appeal to many customers beyond the core ‘66 fan base.
I've believed this for some time. It was one thing to make some high end '66 products, such as the Hot Toys figures, or the Hot Wheels die cast vehicles, but for some reason, certain manufacturers got it into their heads that Batman '66 fans were all of some age or interest in every type of toy category (action figures in particular), when that's never been the case with a TV series that did not have a strong action figure association (based on the TV version) with it while first run on ABC. Even the first Batman figure--or Captain Action uniform (released as the show was a hit) was based on the comics, not the TV version.

Same with Aurora's Batman character model kits like the Penguin--the only one (of three) released while the TV series was on ABC--it bore next to no resemblance to Burgess Meredith, but the Carmine Infantino/Murphy Anderson illustrations of the period.

In North America, the most prominent merchandising vehicle for TV-based characters appeared to be the View-Master reels, the Bat-Laffs and movie trading cards, and the images supplied with the 3-D comic. Think about it: the original Star Trek was a lower rated TV series, but had more TV character-specific merchandising released while show was first run on NBC.

By the time the early 1970s rolled around and what I call "second generation" Batman fans discovered it in syndication, like the 60's, endless Barris Batmobile toys were produced in every imaginable variation, but for the characters, it was never based on the '66 series, including the Mego line--arguably the most famous Batman figures ever produced. With such near total lack of '66 figures, there was never any mass outcry for it in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, yet so many modern companies all jumped on what they thought would be a '66 gravy train aimed squarely at the older generation nostalgia market. From the short life of most of this modern merchandising, the gravy train did not deliver.

It should have been a no-brainer to avoid thinking a significant number fans of this TV series were interested in toys. Most just wanted the series on DVD/BluRay, and not much else, and I'll suggest that the next most desired Bat-TV merchandising would be a complete '66 soundtrack, but that's another story...
For another, Funko may have miscalculated by overloading Wave 1 with secondary villains like Mr. Freeze, Bookworm and King Tut. Clearly, the assumption was that fans would be so enthusiastic at the start, they’d be eager to snap up the whole line — leaving A-Listers like Joker, Penguin and Riddler to anchor a second wave. (There was also that juicy Green Hornet tease.)
Instead, it may well be that a general collecting public just wasn’t that interested in those second-tier bad guys, softening sales.
I was interested in the Funko line--thanks to the Green Hornet hints more than anything else--but one must wonder why they produced so many secondary villains for wave 1, and not add at least one of the "big four". Why would they choose the Wallach Mr. Freeze as a chase figure? Honestly, where is the source proving his version of Freeze was that popular, when he appeared in a terrible story at the very end of a troubled second season?
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vintagematt
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Re: Hope Lives For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by vintagematt »

Why are people sounding DIASAPOINTED? Isn't this confirmation of a wave 2? Or am I missing something?
"Batman told him a super funny joke. When the creature didn't laugh, that was proof!"
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AndyFish
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Re: Hope Lives For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by AndyFish »

Dan edited his original post which said the line was dead. The replies reflect that original post. When he got word it wasn't he changed his post but the replies remain the same.
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Scott Sebring
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Re: Hope Lives For Funko’s BATMAN ‘66 Line

Post by Scott Sebring »

Thread locked due to incorrect initial post. Updated news in other thread:
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=6134
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