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DC Collectibles- Batman The Animated Series: The Joker
I feel like one of the most polarizing questions one can ask of the comic fandom could be who the best Joker in popular media is and for the most part I do not think there is a wrong answer. While I appreciate all of his iterations, including parts of Jared Leto’s most recent take, my favorite will always be from Batman the Animated Series. With an iconic voice provided by Mark Hamill, character depth and development that can only be sussed out over multiple episode arcs and a really amusing balance between silly and psychotic it’s not difficult to see why he is among the most popular and my personal favorite. I would also put this version above the New Batman Adventures that featured a more simplistic design, even though they are practically the same.
This particular release was based on, and includes accessories from, the BTAS episode titled “The Last Laugh” leading to a rather odd collection of items that made me want to revisit the episode to see how they all connect, which is to say very loosely. I will say that DCCs approach to these releases, tying them to one particular episode, is curious. Sure it is nice to have accessories, but you would think that throughout BTAS there would be more Joker specific stuff available that is superior to a telescope (that he can’t hold), an odd clear helmet (that doesn’t really fit) and a comb (that he can’t use). That small complaint aside the figure sculpt is fantastic and looks like he is right out of the animation cell, but also leads to a rather large trade off on the scope of usable articulation. Don’t get me wrong, as a toy collector I am always in favor of more articulation over form, but it would be wrong to not recognize that these figures are so stylized that it hinders the possibility and overall look. Again, not a deal breaker for me, but some people may prefer a cleaner look with less articulation.
Pros: Amazing sculpt that is right out of the show and has accessories and extra hands to (sort of) hold them with.
Cons: Articulation is somewhat unusable given stylized look, an odd choice of accessories included.
