Better Class Of Toyline (Official: Movie Masters Thread)

[mikey1974]

continuing Series 1...

Gotham City Thug:

this figure actually came with FIVE different CSE pieces(some have said there's a SIXTH mask,but i'm not sure if that was ever proven?)...depending on which figure you got...some were more plentiful than others,with the mask the Joker wore initially being really hard to find...i myself managed 4 of them,never found the 5th one...

these were packed 4 to a case, 2 X Batman,1 X Joker,1 X Thug...there was also a "Chase" figure inserted into random cases,where one of the Batman's was replaced with an "Unmasked" figure...

came with the same CSE - a bat-mask...

it was the best of times...we had cool,larger than ever before Batman movie figures with lots of articulation and detailing....for many,though,it was the WORST of times...upon initial release,Mattel underestimated demand,and they were SUPER har to find...indeed,many stores only got in 1 or 2 cases of these...Heath Ledger's death involved the speculator's,buying up every Joker figure they could find and selling them on Ebay for $80+...THEN,to make things worse,TRU decided to do an internal recall of the figures,due to complaints about "toxic fumes" building up in the packaging...it was crazy! during what should've been the peak selling season for these things,as hype for the movie built,they were nowhere to be found...

 

[mikey1974]

PART 2 -THE SMELL OF FEAR.

it was early July,weeks away from the movie's premier,and Series 2 landed in our laps,seemingly hitting Wal-Mart's first...funny,because quite a few of these stores didn't even get Series ONE in yet! (due to the scalping and the recall)...

Series 2 was basically a Batman Begins series,starting off with the Begins version of Batman himself...

the did screw up this figure a bit,as his forearm gauntlets were put on reversed...and the figure was actually SMALLER than TDK version (considering in the movie it was suppossed to be the other way around)...still,though,it was the best "Begins" figure of Bats Mattel has given us...

CSE was a full-size Batarang...

Scarecrow:

definitely one of the nicer figures of the whole line...

CSE was a small Scarecrow mask...

 

[mikey1974]

Series 2 also had a "Chase" figure - a "Demon" version of Batman glimpsed by Crane in Batman Begins....

CSE was the Batarang again...

the case breakdown for Series 2 was 2 X Batman,1 X Scarecrow,1 X Joker (who was rereleased due to the shortages) ,and random cases having one of the Batman's replaced with the Chase version...interestingly,all the packaging now had these "airholes" punched in down the sides of the blisters - i assume to alleviate the "toxic fumes" buildup...

we waited for news of Series 3...but never got it...other than some cryptic comments by Mattel of possible doing Two-Face,nothing else was known...indeed,Mattel spent the next few months pumping out as many figures as they could, and by the fall Movie Masters actually started pegwarming...Joker's and Batman's were all over,Thug's were actually getting hard to find! there was also a Batman variation released int othis craziness,now posed in a "Kicking Stance" in the package:

and with a glossy overcoat put on the black parts of his armor...

the Unmasked "Chase" would also be rereleased with these variations...

there were also two TRU exclusive packs released,first Batman vs The Joker in summer:

and Begins Batman vs Scarecow in the fall:

these were the exact figure as the single release versions (though Joker was missing his knife) ,just without the CSE...but it was another way to get the figures into consumer's hands....indeed,by Winter 2008,these were everywhere...but we still waited to hear about NEW stuff! we both be rewarded and frustrated by what was to come...

 

[mikey1974]

PART 3 : SURPRISES!

while we waited for more news,we got a couple new items that came out...

during the summer of 2008,there was a TRU-exclusive 12" Batman figure released...

while not "officially" labelled asa Movie Masters figure,it used the exact same sculpt as the smaller version...

though it had considerably less articulation than the 6" figure...

there was also a "Chase" figure released for it,again also the Unmasked version...

with a $35- $40 price tag,these didn't sell well,and i still see them on clearance today...

we also got a GREAT surprise,which arrived just in time for Christmas - a Movie Masters Bat-Pod!

it was a Target-exclusive,and we groaned,but fortunately they seemed to have ordered enough and most everyone who wanted one got one...

and,again,we waited for news about the figures...Mattle did leak that a 'Series 3' was coming in January,consisting of a Sonar Batman and Scarecrow in suit,so anticipation began to rise again...

oh,the pain we were in for!

 

[mikey1974]

PART 4: WHERE'S MY DAMN TOYS!?

so,in winter 2008 we heard,and saw, the next MM line-up's:

Series 3:Final Battle Batman & Arkham Asylum Scarecrow
Series 4: Bank robbery Joker,Two-Face,& Harvey Dent "Chase" figure
Series 5: Survival Suit Bruce Wayne and Interrogation Joker

..and all of these would be placed into rotating case packings after the initial releases,ensuring lots of figures all year long ....

so January came...and Series 3 didn't...the March came,when Series 4 was supposed to come out,and still no Series 3,much less Series 4...we bagan to panic...speculation ran wild that,unable to get stores to carry them,the entire line was cancelled...it was not a good time...the only info that came out was there would be an announcement at SDCC about the future of Movie Masters...

into this renewed chaos,a second TRU-exclusive surfaced - this time the Joker:

this guy also had 2 variations - he either came with a knife or a playing card..reports were that in a case of four,it was 3 X Playing Card,1 X Knife...but i don't know if that was ever officially confirmed...

again,not OFFICIALLY a Movie Master,but re-used the 6" Joker body,painted brighter,with a new head,and a metal chain instead of a plastic one...

so,July came and at SDCC w got the news we expected - TDK Movie Masters would be mattycollector.com exclusives,starting with the Bank Robbery Joker figure in October of 2009,to be followed by a figure every month,ending with Two-Face in April....

we groaned,and sure enough the price was $20 a figure...add in shipping,and you were paying $28 a figure...for something we paid $12 at retail! this was the point many people jumped off at....indeed,upon his October 15th release,the figure would still be available a month later...but at least it came out...

this figure started the trend with MM's of reusing older bodies,and just adding new heads and sometimes parts to them...

came with a CSE piece of a reissued Joker Robbery Mask (and they dropped the Evidence Baggies from the packaging)...

 

[mikey1974]

so ,November 2009 rolled around,and guess what?! no Survival Suit Bruce Wayne! we feared the end had finally come,but for whatever reason - still unknown,they pushed him back a month to December 15th (and the whole line back a month,ending with Two-Face now in May instead of April)...

he came with only the second accessory in the whole line - a removable ski-mask...

his CSE was a larger version of said- rubber mask...

an interesting thing happened during this time - Mattel announced that The Dark Knight Movie Master's were coming back to retail! indeed,based upon "stellar sales" ,they would become a TRU-exclusive,starting in late-spring of 2010...the Joker as Thug figure wouldn't be included,but the remaining 6 matty.com exclusive would...people audibly groaned,as now they had a choice - buy it online,and pay over double,but be guaranteed a figure - or get it at retail,for considerably less,but take the chance of not finding a figure you wanted,and by the time it was released it would be sold out online already...

gotta love Mattel!

 

[mikey1974]

after the November fiasco,they all came out like clockwork...January 2010 brought Harvey Dent...

a good figure,but i'm still not convinced it looks like Eckhardt...

his CSE was his coin,unscarred...and actually real metal,not plastic...

February brought Jail Cell Joker,just labelled as 'The Joker' on the package..

he's the only one to use mostly new parts,except for the legs/shoes...

he didn't come with any CSE,but rather the last accessory for the line - a rocket-launcher...

 

[mikey1974]

March gave us the first of the 'Series 3' figures,initailly set for release in January 2009 - Final Battle Batman,now just labelled ' Batman':

again,a re-use..indeed,this is exactly a TDK Batman figure,just with painted on sonar eyes,costume tears,and some dirt...

his CSE is a re-issued Batarang...

Arkham Asylum Scarecrow came in April (now just labelled 'Scarecrow'):

again,a kitbash...

CSE was a reused Scarecrow mask...

 

[mikey1974]

PART 5 : THE END HAS COME...

an interesting thing happened in April...TRU's started getting the exclusive figures promised them,BEFORE originally scheduled...indeed,they started getting them in a full month before the May 15th release of Two-Face online...and Two-Face was included in the cases! i know this made soem people really pissed off - even more so when some stores honored the clearance prices,and people were getting them for $5 a pop...

chaos Mattel,even to the end...Mr. J would be proud...

on May 15th,2010,the last The Dark Knight Movie Masters figure went on sale - Two-Face...

they actually kind of saved the best for last,as other than needing more black on his burned side,he's painted and sculpted pretty damned good...

his CSE is his coin,clean on one side,scarred on the other...

and with this,the end has come...nothing else is planned for TDK Movie Master's...there was a cryptic message ofa "Trenchcoat Jim Gordon" coming at some point,but that turned out to be false (or cancelled?)...

ironically enough,we should've been optimistic ,as these are flooding TRU's all over the country,in numbers i haven't seen in well over a year and a half...but we knew ahead of time that two-Face was the last,so there is no bright,silver lining to the future of this line...it's dead,Jim....are only hope at this point would be if they continue it with Batman 3 figures,but we're a good 2 years away from them...indeed,the line started with such promise,and such high hopes,ended in a whimper,not even wanted by most collector's and kids...the Dark Knight,and his gallery of rogue's and allies deserved better...

The Dark Knight Movie Masters - May 1st,2008 - May 15th,2010

14 six-inch figures, 3 twelve-inch figures, 2 box-sets,and 1 vehicle

R.I.P.

 

[sabetoonth]

*is reminsising the first time he tried to get them he found TDK Bats and Joker, last on the pegs* took the last of my spending money for that day, but it was worth it

 

[ManInTheNarrows]

That was damn cool Mikey. Thank you for that. I have all of my loose MM's on a shelf above my computer so that i can look up at them and enjoy them for everything they gave me. All the heart ache and at the same time joy especially when i found those damn chase figures. Whatever it may be lets try to keep this thread alive, because something tells me Mattel has something up their sleeve and i dont think its disappointment. I honestly believe they finally figured out how to go about this line.

Oh yeah Mikey, where did you get those cool accessories? The revolver for Two-Face, and the handguns for the thug and bank robber joker? I've been on ebay looking and looking but cant seem to find any small weapon accessories. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And thanks again man that was way cool.

Hey Sabetoonth where is the speech man lol.

 

[mikey1974]

Two-Face's pistol is from a Sin City "Goldie" figure....they made the revolver smaller,fo a woman to use,which ironically enough mad it just the right size for 'Face...

the guns for the bank robbers,i honeslty am not sure what they were from...found them in a bag of old ,junk toy pieces about 2 years ago....could be from anything....

i can honestly say i got lucky with this line....founf=d TDK Bats,Joker,and Thug all at the same TRU on may 1st...found BB Bats,Scarecrow,and Chase Demon Bats all at the same Wal-Mart in ealry July...and found Two-Face,SS Bruce,Dent,and Jail Cell Joker all in the saem TRU in April...just had to pick up the stragglers here and there...i actually didn't find the Chase Unmasked Bats until October of 2009...

 

[sabetoonth]

i was going to wait for the thread to maybe die lol, ill get to work on it XD to be honest you sjut reminded me, ive been busy with other stuff to occupy my time while my oldest sister is making choices that should have her right to make ehr own choicesrevoked like a driver's license AND SHES 33!!!! thats the frustrating part! but ill work on it lol

 

[mikey1974]

i really wish they'd just make one,last lineup...even if they went the super-cheap route and just re-used what's already there...

Bruce Wayne - super simple,i made mine using all Mattel parts...

Scarecrow - make him in his TDK suit,dark,dirty brown with a light brown shirt...

Survival Suit Wayne - remove all the straps and belt,give it a paintjob where you see all those inside parts and such,before he spraypainted it black....

Harvey Dent - he wore several suits throughout the film,make a different deco...

Hong Kong Batman - TDK figure,remove the cape,put a backpack on him..i'm sure there's some figure in the Mattel line-up they can kitbash a close-enough looking backpack from...

 

[WarrenPeace2012]

That was awesome Mikey, a nice summary of the life and death of The Dark Knight/Batman Begins movie masters. I really wish they made a R'as though. I felt that he seriously got the shaft in this line. Here's hoping that Mattel wises up and Makes some Batman-Batman & Robin movie masters to keep us busy until Batman 3.

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

nice collection:

I still have to shell out some loot and hunt down the MM Batpod, Cowl-less Bats, Fear Toxin Bats and Joker as GCT

 

[Team Andino]

Great review Mickey, I'm still on the hunt for a mask less Batman as well

 

[ManInTheNarrows]

Thanks for the info on the revolver dude. And i think you and me both were probably the only two people that didnt have a hard time finding these figures.

I was also able to snatch up a whole set on May 1st, 2008 at my local toys R us. I remember rounding the corner and there they were in all of there glory. A whole section devoted to The Dark Knight. Mostly a bunch of ****** 5 inch figures and then below that... the awesome Movie Masters were waiting there for me. I snagged the only Joker, x2 dark knight batman, x1 Thug and get this, no joke x3 Unmasked Batman !!! Im guessing the stockboys didnt know how rare the unmasked was and decided to take the other jokers and only leave 1. I honestly could not believe how lucky i had been. And not aother single Batman collector in sight. It was a glorious day.

Come wave 2 i was also able to snag the entire wave plus Demon Chase at a local Wal-mart. Although i had to go out every night when the freight came out. But it worked and out of 6 cases they had only 1 had the Demon Chase. I also got extrememly lucky in November during the Thanksgiving weekend, Mattel decided to send out Dark Knight 4 way shippers to wal-marts. One side had tumblers, the other two packs, the other small vehicles and the other Movie Masters!!!! I drove to 6 wal-marts on thanksgiving morning and came up with 8 count em 8 Demon Chase MM's. I honestly could not believe it.

And of course i ordered all of the newer series on mattycollector.com just incase and then i was also able to pick up two complete sets at my local toys r us. So all in all i would say i have plenty of great times with this line. And again Mikey i think we were a couple of really lucky guys with this line because we both have heard the horror stories.

 

[mikey1974]

i started hitting stores around here about 3 - 4 days before the official release...i remember hearing that some TRU's in Chaicago,and even some Wal-Mart's were putting them out early (hell,i even think some guys on here posted pics of theirs a few days early)...

i had no luck,so i prepared for the 1st...i was lucky enough to have the day off of work (not planned,i either have Thursday or Wednesday off during the week, they switch back and forth,i got lucky)...hit 2 Wal-Mart's here,no dice...just those crappy 5" deluxe figures with the light up ****... hit a WM in Wilkes-Barre,again,nothing....decided to try TRU there,got there about 10 minutes early,and saw 5 guys waiting for the doors to open...

i have to admit,i was anxious...when the doors opened,they ran...to the Hot Wheels aisle...i ran to the rest of the toys,and found NOTHING! i looked all over that store,and saw nothing...i was dejected,but knew there was another TRU about 20 minutes up the interstate...as i was leaving a chick asked me if i needed help...i said,"what the hell!" ,and told her i was looking for TDK stuff..she led me to a side aisle near the front of the store,a place i would NEVER have thought to look,and they were unpacking and filling the pegs with Incredible hulk,Indiana Jones,and TDK toys...most of the display was 5" figures,but right at the end,2 pegs set aside for Movie Masters! 3 Batman's,1 thug,and 1 Joker on the peg...so i grabbed all 3...found out at the register that the chick who showed me where they were grabbed a set for herself,and they only go in 2 cases - the *****! she had a nice rack,though,so all was forgiven...

timing and luck was everything,as i would not see another Batman or Joker til July,and not another Thug til the fall...

 

[sabetoonth]

i grabbed all mine myself, cept for my Scarecrow, my sister got me that for christmas

 

[WarrenPeace2012]

And i think you and me both were probably the only two people that didnt have a hard time finding these figures.

And me! I found these guys pretty easily too. The only one I had to go out of my way to find was a second unmasked Batman for my MOC collection. There aren't too many scalpers in my area, so far I've only seen like one, so it's easy to go in and take my pick.t:

 

[WarrenPeace2012]

the *****! she had a nice rack,though,so all was forgiven...

Ha! Thats hillarious!t:

 

[mikey1974]

it's true,though! i was going to complain,about an employee taking figures from the cases,before customers could buy them...but i got distracted...

 

[mikey1974]

i kinda forgot,what a crazy year 2008 was for movie toys!

Iron Man
Indiana Jones
The Incredible Hulk
The Dark Knight
Kung-Fu Panda
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Hellboy II : The Golden Army

...were all on the pegs,from April to late June...i certainly didn't buy them all,but i had more than my share...

the ultimate irony for me was,i really only bought (and plan to buy) figures from 2 movies this summer -

Iron Man 2 ( which involved replacing the 2008 figures i got rid of when i thought the line went exclusively to 4")

The Dark Knight ( of course,Movie Masters)

it was quite the sense of Deja Vu driving around to TRU this past month and picking up Movie Masters....hell,one day it was nice,sunny,80 degrees,and i was like "This is EXACTLY what it was like when i picked them up the first time...and the same store,too!"

 

[Rumpy Bulge Dubz]

it's true,though! i was going to complain,about an employee taking figures from the cases,before customers could buy them...but i got distracted...

I'm almost positive that's not against company policy