Tag: Batman

Why would a kid play with that?

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, to follow up on my last post….

I was once again wandering the toy aisle at the Target store. As I was walking through, a Green Lantern DC Multiverse action figure caught my eye. I believe it’s the one that is also made by McFarlane toys and is an action figure of the John Stewart Green Lantern. The first thought that shot through my head was: would a child even know who this character is? And if not, would they even play with it or want it? My immediate answer is No!

This leads me to several conclusions:

for this toy to sell to kids, the child would need to be:

  1. Reading a plethora of comic books. Because, I don’t even think this character is predominately in Justice League books or titles all the time. I admit I’m not really reading any current comics today because of a multitude of issues I have with current editorial decisions. Even if the action figure was of Hal Jordan, I would still have the same questions for the child.
  2. Coached heavily by his mother or father on the identity of said character because he/her parents were such a great fan of comic heroes and maybe watched Justice League in the early 2000s. This is a stretch. Or perhaps the child has somehow caught a streaming service with that 20 year old program.
  3. Possibly there’s a video game with John Stewart he played on a console or computer? I’m no expert on the video game appearances but I believe he was in InJustice and there was a Justice League game out 10-15 years ago. Again, this is merely speculative, as I question how would the child play the video game in the first place unless there was another driving force for the kid to play said game. I find those games are usually played by Comic Book Fans and not just the regular gamer. But what do I know….

So, with that, I looked to other toys and I come to the same big conclusion every time. These are only supported by adult collectors that know the history or have their own childhood memories of the properties.

It was on this trip, I found 3 new Hot Wheels deluxe Batmobiles (Super Friends version, Armored version from Batman and Batman Returns and the Penguinmobile-from the 1966 TV show when the Penguin stole and converted the Batmobile). I doubt any child know the back story to these vehicles. Perhaps I’m being cynical and children are much more aware of pop culture and know exactly what these things are. But to those that don’t, would a random child see said Batmobile and say “that’s cool, mom buy me this?”

Is the Toy Aisle just for adults or are kids still excited to visit it?

More to come for sure….

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Toys ….suck today!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, when I enter a Wal-mart or Target, the first place I go is the Toy aisles .

For the last few years, I’ve noticed that the aisles and shelves seem to be a bit thin. It’s quite common to find many pegs and spots just empty of product. We all know that Target stock is always scarce. Yet, now I see this at Walmarts. Why is this?

  1. Today’s toys are very rarely supported by an active TV shows or Comic Books. Yes, every freakin movie gets some kind of toy tie-in but half the time, I don’t think they do any target research to see if kids even want these toys. TV shows and Comic books allow for continued story telling and allows the property to stay in the kids minds for years. With the exception of Star Wars (which is an anomaly), no movie has support a toy line successfully more than 6 months after the movie is released. In the 80s, we had great toy lines He-man and Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe- TV shows. The 80s and 90s gave great Marvel and DC superhero toys – Comic Books. In the 90s, Batman: The Animated Series supported a figure line – TV show. Good Star Trek can give you a nice collector toy line, i.e. the 90s Playmates line – TV show. But today, we only have Star Wars – weak sequel movies – Jurassic Park / World toys – movie – and toys for the remake of Space Jam..
  2. Today’s toys are just too damn expensive. The average action figure price is $9.99. And if you go for the larger 6 inch figures, those go for $19.99 or more. What kid is spending their allowance on this? What parent is spending this to give their child the toy when asked? Honestly, they are not! These toy lines are supported solely on adult collectors. This is why that many of these big box stores are now putting toys in two spots in the stores. Some go in the Toy Aisle and some go in another section for collectibles. Can action figures be cheaper? I would exclaim why not! Hot Wheels have been less than .99 cents for 30 years. Not only do kids love cars, but you can buy dozens of these cars for only a few dollars more than an action figure. Even many nice car toys in the 1:64 scale can price from 3.99 to 7.99. Today, they have the RE-RELEASE of He-man and Masters of the Universe figures. Walmart price is $14.99. They were only $4.99 in 1982. And I remember that was expensive because Star Wars and G.I.Joe were about $2.99. Again, these aren’t toys, but adult collectibles.
  3. Today toys companies are run by morons. Outside of a few long term favorites like Hot Wheels, Barbie and the anomaly that is Star Wars, what action figure toy has been on the shelves for so long? None. What action play toy has been a staple of the Toy Aisle? None. Why hasn’t any toy company actually invested in creating a toy line that will stand the test of time? This is what Mattel did with He-man in the late 70s and early 80s. It was to be a competitor of Star Wars. Instead, these companies lazily rely on movie properties. They are willing to pay millions of dollars for licensing instead of creating a strong IP internally. Take Hasbro for example. They own the G.I.Joe brand solely. Yet, this company has constantly failed on making this toy line successful. It has always been plagued by short supply with the releases in 2007 and again in 2020. Why weren’t these figures filling pegs? Every figure sold would put full profit into their pocket. Instead, they continue to pump out Star Wars figures and pay the 50% to Lucasfilm. The same folks that run these companies clearly don’t research their market.
  4. Today toys can’t compete with video games. Bullshit, I say. I disagree with this statement that I constantly hear when I discuss these very topics. I see kids in the toy aisles wanting toys — like Legos, Action Figures, Nerf Guns and Barbie dolls. Children don’t invest all their time in just video games. Yet, you need to give them a good toy for a good price and they will sell. And the gravy on the steak would be the adult collectors who would buy them too. Yet, first these companies need to MAKE TOYS. Fill those pegs and work on distribution and market research.

Okay. Thats today’s thought on Toys. I could discuss this and these topics for hours.

To all those that want good toys…. Good hunting!

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Common Courtesy and Respect….

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, part of the community here is to share life experiences that may occur from day to day.   This is one of them…

I went to the local comic book store to pick up a comic book. I’ll be honest I once read and collected dozens of titles and acquired thousands of books over the past 30+ years.  Yet, now it’s down to just one title.  Yep!  Just one title. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero by Larry Hama. Why? I have every issue since #1 and its my most beloved series from childhood. Honestly, today’s comics just don’t interest me.  Not to say that I’m not still very interested in characters like Batman, Superman and Spider-man.  I’m just tired of the crappy writing by writers pushing a narrative of social justice than tell a good story.  That’s probably no news to you fine folks. 

So, as I was leaving the comic shop, my wife and I notice there’s a UPS truck blocking our car.   This UPS truck just parked behind 3 cars that were parked in front of the store.  I made a sly comment that “I guess we aren’t going anyway right now.”  We got in the car, turned on the air conditioning and sipped our Starbucks.  We waited. And we waited.  At this point 10-15 minutes has passed. So I step out and approach the UPS truck.  I say, “excuse me” and a woman pops out from the back and says, “yeah.”   I politely ask if she could “move her truck as she’s blocking us in and we’d (my wife and I) like to leave and go.”  This very large woman struggling with some large boxes replies, “Not right now I have all these boxes.”   I was just left stunned. She had no consideration for me or my time.  I quickly replied, “we’d like to leave, just move the truck please..”  She proceeded to ignore me and continue to load the boxes on a dolly.  I admit this lit my Irish temper and I quickly responded, “Thanks for your rudeness and being a b!#ch about it.”   Then, I said, I hope “you like complaints made on your behalf to UPS.”   I sat in the car, called UPS and left a complaint and detail of the situation while she took her time finishing making her delivery to the very same comic shop I just bought my comic.   (Not sure what the shop ordered to literally get about 27 large boxes?).   Then, get this … here’s the capper!  She gets in the truck and pulls in to the larger parking lot to the west of the storefront and just parks.   I was quick to pull up to her and yell, “you might get called in the boss’ office later.  You might want to find another job!”  There may have been some hand jesters and language. Again I blame my Irish temper.  She just looked at me like she did nothing wrong!

Now, let me defend myself here.  If the lady, had replied with, “Sure, give me a second. And actually stopped loading the boxes and moved the truck (literally pulling it forward or backward 10 feet), I would have said “thank you” and smiled while waving “have a good day!”   So, this individual has no awareness of common courtesy and respect for others.  This is something I see much more lately in the city.  Especially from professional services and businesses.  People tell me that doesn’t happen in small towns but perhaps I’m cynical and don’t believe it.  I feel people just want to be jerks and selfish.   Is there hope for society?  Is it time to just move to nowhere?   

Please reflect.  Realize there’s other people in the world and you’re not the only one occupying space and breathing the air.  We can all be nice to one another . Be kind and humble.   Thats my with for today.  🙂 

Take Care!

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Yep, I’ve grown up!

Posted on by CV Whitfield

When I was a kid, the Toys R Us theme song was my motto. I refused to grow up. Unlike the stereotype, I was not a child that wished to grow up any faster than normal. Yeah, I sometimes thought it would be cool not to have to answer to parents but I didn’t necessarily want to be an adult either. If there was a way a 12 year old could rent an apartment, fill the refrigerator full of New York Seltzer and ice cream sandwiches, I would have been just fine. Besides being too young to get a job and no way to pay for my life style, I think it would have been rad.

I was the kid that had anxiety for the next school year. That meant I was growing and getting older. Although there was some anticipation for new Star War movies, new G.I. Joe figures and new episodes of He-Man, I enjoyed just living in the moment. Another year could mean change and not always for the good. I was traumatized when the cable company removed my favorite channel for afternoon cartoons. I refused to leave my room when I learned Knight Rider was cancelled.

My friends made fun of me because I still played with my G.I.Joe action figures in the 8th Grade. I continued to buy toys through High School. Kenner Batman figures, Micro Machines and the occasional G.I. Joe. By then, I “collected” them instead of “played” with them. This “collecting” would continue into adulthood. I can’t even fathom how much money was spent on toys in the 90s and early 2000s. I had a compulsion. I didn’t need them but I “had” to have them. My kids hated me because I had better toys than they did. I used my children to get the Wal-mart guy to take pity on us and go into the back and pull cases of new stuff. My wife became addicted to collecting too.

Then, one day, I realized I couldn’t buy it all. Heck, I was having trouble buying any of it. Toys had put me into debt. I had to make some hard decisions. The entire garage and spare bedroom was full of boxes of my collection. I decided I would sell some of it off. Over the years, I sold more and more. Eventually, I didn’t have much left. I actually got burnt out. The new stuff at the store just didn’t excite me. I got tired of buying something just to put it in a box and not enjoy it. This year will see nearly all of those toys sold off. I’ve decided to keep the Star Wars figures and G.I. Joe figures I had as a kid (the old 80s stuff). But everything else, gone. And you know what? It feels good.

I guess I have grown up. It just took me an additional 20 years….


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World’s Finest: analysis.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, I wrote how history was different in the mid 90s and we had the awesome luck to have a Superman and Batman movie in 1995 with Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton. The geek world would have truly rejoiced if that had happened nearly 25 years ago.

Yet, I also want to point out that the movie back then would have been completely different than what we finally got in 2016. It would have been a positive and heroic journey – a team-up in every sense of the term. Back then, we wanted movies that inspired. Movies to look up to. We wanted reassurance that the world is still great – where good defeated evil. Our super-heroes were symbols of hope and perfection. They were role-models. We wished we could be like them. Superman was super because he didn’t represent the stereotypes but instead represented righteousness. The character taught us morals and ethics. Then, this changed….

Somehow, the studio (publisher too) in charge of our favorite characters (more specifically my favorite character: Superman) needed to be part of the modern status quo. He/Them is/are flawed. Superman needed to have inner demons. He needed to question everything and everyone around him. Johnathan Kent thought him he couldn’t trust anyone so why would anyone trust him, and vice versa. We got a Superman in the post 9/11 world (you know, where parents sue the Kents because Clark could have endangered lives when he actually saved them. No one blames the tire. Or the guys at the garage for putting faulty tires on the bus. The parents should be thankful instead they call him out. It’s not a positive scene anyway you look at it.) This is a world where Superman should be feared. A Superman with all due respect was not super. This disappointed fans. They even tried to force feed us hope stating his S was Kryptonian for the very word. (Not just a family crest but a perfect time for some moral lessons). Superman wasn’t there to save kittens from trees and stop jewel thieves. Instead he was running from his destiny. How’s that sending a message of hope? Oh well.

Batman was now introduced not as a dark, lone vigilante but an aging cynical man that feared Superman. Not only fear him, but to blame him for the rain of destruction on Metropolis or more specifically the Wayne Building in Metropolos (say what? That’s convenient). The entire point of Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman was for everyone (not just the characters in the film but the audience) to fear Superman. Why? Is it just the time we’re in today or does someone think that he’s more interesting as flawed, unpredictable, scary, powerful alien. In Superman II (1980), Superman battled General Zod (and his henchman). That Metropolis had its citizens cheering Superman, supporting the fight even though it was causing millions in property damage. Heck, they even tried to take on Zod when they thought Zod had killed him. In the new version, citizens of Metropolis are blaming Superman for bringing evil to our planet. They blame him for wrecking the city – they demand justice. They are inconvenienced. They have no loyalty. Everyone seems out for themselves. It’s a world where they demand security but forgot that it takes people to risk their lives for it. They forget how Superman is there to unite – to save them. Now, it’s politics and pointing fingers. We can’t just have simple heroes anymore. No. We must be skeptical. We must reject the ideology. We have lost faith in truth, justice and the American way!

The 1980s (filmatically) was an era of hope and positive community. The movies were fun. They made us laugh. They made us cry. They were great movies because we’re still talking about them to this day. I just feel like the post 2010 movies are more about dividing and trying to direct blame at our faults than working together to over come them. Maybe its just me but I felt we’ve definitely lost something not only in society, our culture, but our pop-culture too. I’m curious if anyone in 20 plus years will be still talking about Man of Steel or Justice League. They may be it wont be the same….

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Worlds Finest.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

So, let’s pretend that history was slightly different.

It’s 1990. The world has just experienced Batman as a big budget (and dark) movie masterpiece. Fans are rejoicing and dancing in the streets. We’ve not been this excited since …. well, I don’t know…. but its BIG!

The intelligent minds and businessmen at Warner Brothers green light a sequel. Duh. Who wouldn’t, right? So work begins immediately on the next chapter. They call it Batman Returns. (Not sure why this was the title since its not like he went anywhere. Maybe they could have called it Batman Strikes Back. Nah, what’s he striking back at? It’s not like he lost at the end of the first movie. Maybe, Batman Again! Yeah, we get Batman AGAIN! That’s kinda dumb. It’s the title that doesn’t so much refer to the movie itself but to the audience to tell us, “hey! Batman RETURNS!!! Go buy tickets!”) [back on topic] The movie starts production but there’s one tiny difference….

Batman saves Gotham again. Bruce Wayne finds a stray black cat and he thinks of Catwoman with one life left. We pan up to see the Bat Signal and Catwoman pop her head up. Then the clouds of the signal are broken by something zooming through them. We cut to the credits. After a couple minutes the credits are interrupted – fade in to Wayne Manner. The Batmobile blasts out of the Batcave. A blur of red and blue flies into the frame and block the Batmobile – which slams on the bat brakes! We cut back to the thing blocking Batman’s path – It’s SUPERMAN! Christopher Reeve’s Superman. His blue eyes look down at the Batmobile as the roof slides open to see Batman poking his head out. Wide shot of Superman and Batman. Superman speaks, “Batman – or should I say Bruce Wayne (x-ray vision folks) – I need your help in Metropolis. I’ve got a problem right up your alley. See, there’s this little problem with an old Kryptonian computer….” Cut back to the credits. Fade out.

The style is beyond its time. But don’t discard it. Let’s also move forward on the assumption Superman III never happened in 1983 (or the bad Superman IV: Quest for Peace in 1987). Because the original story plot for Superman III was meant to be a story about Brainiac but due to budget constraints and a studio that demanded Richard Pryor be in a Superman film, we got what we…got. Warner Bros. begins production on the next block buster super-hero movie for release in 1995. The title: WORLD’S FINEST: Superman & Batman. Today, you could have just stuck to World’s Finest, but in the 80/90s you had to put the characters in the title or no one would know it was a Superman and Batman movie.

1995. World’s Finest opens starring Christopher Reeve and Michael Keaton in a double bill, and the fans go crazy. The movie breaks records. It destroys the 1993 record for Jurassic Park. Revolutionary special effects from Industiral Light & Magic creates a marvoulous Brainaic. Batman works to hack into the system and manipulate the ex-Kyptonian computer program. And Superman flies in just at the right moment to fling Brainaic and his ship toward the Sun! It sets up for a new status quo for super-hero films. And the world rejoices!

Oh I wish that were the way things went. Fanboys have always dreamt of a Reeve/Keaton team-up. It would have been stunning….it would have been legendary!

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1989.

Posted on by CV Whitfield

If you had the privilege of living in 1989, then you experienced the very first massive Block Buster summer. Being a kid, it was geek overload. And it was a historic event that should be talked about more often.

First, this was the summer of sequels: Ghostbusters II, Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade, Back to the Future II, Star Trek V, Lethal Weapon II, License to Kill (Bond 16), Karate Kid III, Friday the 13th VIII, and Nightmare on Elm Street 5! That’s a lot of sequels for any year.

Not to mention, we got great movies like: Batman, Dead Poets Society, When Harry Met Sally, The Abyss, and yes, Weekend at Bernies! That’s not even the entire list. Just my favorites.

There was no internet. No social media. The only way to get a heads up on things was to read Starlog magazine or Variety. Sometimes you could watch TV and catch an episode of Entertainment Tonight. Lastly, word of mouth – maybe you had a friend that had a cousin who’s roommate was working as a grip on the film production. Sometimes, when I think back to that time, I’m surprised I found out about anything.

It was Starlog magazine and comic fanzine called Comic Scene where I first heard of the film Batman. Seeing that first image of Michael Keaton in the batsuit in front of the Batmobile, I was mesmerized. I remember just staring at it for hours (literally). I was just so happy and excited at the same time. This definitely was not the old TV series. I just wanted to talk about it so I drove to the local comic book store. (And in a small town, I don’t remember too many folks that were geeks like me).

I remember that the casting was not accepted by fans. Many really were worried that although it looked dark, it was going to be another campy version of Batman (the casting of Michael Keaton – who was considered a comedic actor). Now that I think about it. It wasn’t that much different than today. We still voiced opinions. We still griped. We still complained. Yet, the only difference was: it was you and 4 of your friends not a sea of millions of digital voices. I do recall that I was quite positive the movie was going to be everything we could want. It was going to be just as good as Superman (1978) – which was my favorite super-hero film of all time – then and now. (I understand that up till 1989, there wasn’t many of them. But still…)

That was a summer of sounds too. It felt like no matter where you went you heard the song On Our Own by Bobby Brown or Batdance by Prince. I know it sounds odd when I say, when I hear those songs even today, I’m transported back to 1989. My body is connected to that year. Even crazier, I feel like I can perceive the year, smell it, touch it. It’s hard to explain. Yet, I see specific moments – as if part of me is still there.

If the 1980s had to end on a bang, I would say it did. Technically, it was more like an explosion – a death start-like explosion!

(More 80s to come….)

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