For some of us, our first recollection of Batman was from the 1966 ABC series Batman. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. But some may not know that the first Batman appeared on the scene back in 1939! Detective Comics #27 introduced Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Later in 1940, Robin was introduced as the "The Boy Wonder". Robin was a young boy that performed with a circus act called the "Flying Graysons". However, Robin (Dick Grayson), watched a mafia boss kill his parents. He was taken in by Bruce Wayne (Batman) as his legal guardian. Soon Dick Grayson became Robin, Batman's sidekick.
In the 1960's, Hasbro's G.I. Joe figure line dominated a large portion of the genre. Ideal Toy Company introduced an action hero called Captain Action (original name was Captain Magic). Captain Action looked like a cross from an police officer and a action hero. He came equipped with a ray gun, sword, hat and costume. Consumers could purchase additional costumes so that kids could change the identity of their super hero doll. These included Batman, Aquaman, The Lone Ranger, Superman, Captain America, Sgt. Fury, The Phantom and Flash Gordon. In 1967, the Ideal Toy Company introduced the next line of costumes that included: Robin, Spiderman, Tonto, Buck Rogers and The Green Hornet.
I for one have always been a fan of the Batman genre. I am old enough to remember the quirky and sort of psychedelic ABC series: Batman. It starred Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The Batman costume was detailed with a horizontally striped cape as well as a black and gold chest emblem (the costume set was available with both metal and decal chest emblems). Batman's accessories included a blue Batarang, flash light, and drill which could attach to the utility belt. Memorabilia from this era of Batman can be worth literally thousands of dollars. A recent auction held in Brisbane Australia sold a Batman utility belt for close to $15000. Any Batman figures from this era could be worth hundreds of dollars.
In the early 1970's, The Mego Corporation agreed to create action figures for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. The action heroes were smaller (8" vs. 12" Ideal Toy) versus the Ideal Toy company's Captain Action. But instead of buying separate costumes, each figure came with it own unique costume. The heads and clothing were interchangeable from figure to figure. When Mego released it first line of DC and Marvel heroes, they were given the umbrella logo "Worlds Greatest Super Heroes".
Mego expanded their product line to include the 1966 Batman television series which included the Batmobile, the Batcopter, the Batcycle and other play sets like the Batcave and Wayne Enterprises.
When the first Batman figures came out they had removable masks. These masks were easily lost. Mego decided that it would be less expensive to have a Batman figure with a molded mask on it. Robin would have a painted mask on its figure.
During the 1970's, Mego would release additional action figures for the Batman line. This included The Joker, The Penguin, The Riddler and Catwoman. They also released exclusive figures like Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson for Montgomery Wards.
