Posted By Dan Greenfield on Oct 3, 2014 | 1 comment

It’s here! The Batman ’66 figure I’ve been waiting for — PINK COWL BATMAN! Plus! Pagliacci Clown Suit Joker!

A couple weeks ago, I sized up Boxing Batman and Riddler for your plastic pugilistic enjoyment. Now, we’ve got two more from Figures Toy Company‘s really fun Batman ’66 variants/exclusives wave!

(This pair is part of an onslaught of new DC figures the company has just put out. We have more reviews to come but check out this week’s looks at Aquaman, Shazam! and Green Arrow, as well as the rest of Superman Series 1.)

Let’s get right to it!

Pink Cowl Batman

This is the big one.

I know it’s a simple thing, but if Figures Toy Company stopped doing Batman’66 variant figures right here, I would be perfectly content.

The two-part Mad Hatter episode The Contaminated Cowl/The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul was a series highlight when I was a kid precisely because of the pink cowl. To L’il Dan it seemed dangerous and exciting: “Batman’s mask is contaminated! That could kill him!” But of course it was also awesomely colorful and strange that it just seemed kinda extraordinary.

Boy I can’t wait for better screen grabs!

As a grown-up, of course, it’s just plain hilarious. FTC didn’t have to do much to make this one but what they did was enough to elevate this entire line to a whole new level of plastic Batmania.

When Mad Hatter is released, I just don’t know how I’m gonna be able to handle it.

To the Green Derby!

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Pagliacci Clown Suit Joker

FTC’s Batman ’66 variant/exclusive wave includes three Jokers — Pagliacci Clown Suit Joker, one in a softball outfit from the same episode, and one in a gray suit from a Season 3 ep.

The most interesting one is easily Pagliacci Joker from The Joker is Wild/Batman is Riled — which was not only Cesar Romero’s series debut but also was based on The Joker’s Utility Belt from Batman #73 in 1952 — but which was reprinted in Batman #176, which came out right around the time the show was getting into production.

Taking a look at the figure — which is a Toycade exclusive — I’m again struck by how dead-on FTC’s Cesar Romero Joker likeness is. It’s one of the best of the Batman ’66 line, if not the best. So seeing him in the operatic clown suit is a hoot.

The outfit is fairly accurate but here’s the thing: Romero’s outfit may actually have been off-white instead of pale pink. It’s hard to tell on the older, washed-out video we’ve become accustomed to. The answer will likely come when the DVDs and Blu-rays come out later this year.

No matter: It’s a great outfit and when all is said and done, only a Surfing Joker would likely top it.

Quibble time: I would have LOVED it if the figure came with a detachable mask or a variant head with this mask … especially since the Internet is convinced it’s homaged in The Dark Knight. Also: I’d really like to get my hands on a scale Joker’s Utility Belt!