An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually marketed toward boys and adult collectors. The term was coined by Hasbro in 1964 to market G.I. Joe to boys.
Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books produced by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the supervillain Joker, debuting in its 8th episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn #1. Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte.
Bruce Walter Timm is an American artist, animator, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for contributing to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably as the head producer behind Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), Batman Beyond (1999–2001), Justice League (2001–2004), and Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006).
The DC Comics character Batman has been adapted into various media including film, radio, television, and video games, as well as numerous merchandising items. The Batman franchise has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
The Super Powers Collection was a line of action figures based on DC Comics superheroes and supervillains that was created by Kenner Products in the 1980s.
Batman action figures have been produced since the 1940s. These action figures, inspired by the character's appearance in comics and serials, were created by DC Comics and manufactured by various toy companies. These figures were made of various materials such as wood, tin, and plastic. They were typically between 6 and 8 inches in height and featured movable joints that allowed them to be posed in various positions.
Lego Batman is a discontinued theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2006, based on the superhero character Batman, under license from DC Comics. The sets feature vehicles, characters and scenes from the comics and films. The inspirations for the design of these vary widely. For example, the Batmobile retains its basic sleek shape and prominent fins from the Tim Burton films, whereas the "Bat-Tank" seems to be based on the tank-like Batmobile in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The theme was relaunched in early 2012 as part of the Lego DC Universe Superheroes line, which is a sub-theme of the Lego Super Heroes line. In total there were 17 sets, almost all of them including Batman.
DC Superheroes is a collection of action figures originally produced by Mattel in early 2006. It is divided into three different lines - the Justice League Unlimited toyline, with figures based on the animated Justice League Unlimited series; the S3: Select Sculpt Series, featuring more comic-accurate figures in the 6" scale; and a 12" figure line. The S3 line is further divided into two lines - one featuring Batman, and the other featuring Superman. Series 1 of the S3 line began shipping just after Christmas 2005 to Wal-Mart and began arriving in retailers like Target and Toys "R" Us approximately one month later. The figures have characteristics similar to the competing Marvel Legends line in terms of detailed sculpting, articulation, and including a comic book or diorama with each figure.
DC Universe Classics is an action figure toyline, a sub-line of the DC Universe toy brand manufactured by Mattel. They were 6-inch scale figures based on the fictional characters owned by DC Comics. The entire line was sculpted by the Four Horsemen Studios, and was first available for sale in 2008. The "DC Classics" line ceased to be sold at retail in 2012 with wave 20. The series then became an online-and-convention exclusive line. It was announced in late 2014 that the line would end with a final series of six figures celebrating the history of the line.
The Imaginext System is a brand of role-playing, adventure toys designed for kids 3 or older made by Mattel, as part of their Fisher-Price brand.
DC Universe: Justice League Unlimited Fan Collection is an action figure line based on the highly popular Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Though it was based on the show(s), the line has continued well beyond it, and has been re-branded in 2008, as a Target exclusive. Mattel announced in February 2011 that the line would come to an end later in the year with the final figures being released on the Mattel website including the final two three-packs, a seven-pack as well as the three exclusive Con three-packs being made available to the public.
DC Universe is a toy brand manufactured by Mattel. It has five sub-lines – Classics, Fighting Figures, Giants of Justice, Infinite Heroes, and the reintegrated Justice League Unlimited line.
Movie Masters is an action figure toyline from Mattel based on popular movie franchises, most notably DC Comics. The line has featured characters from the films Superman, Avatar, The Dark Knight trilogy, Green Lantern, and Man of Steel. Figures in the line are sculpted by Four Horsemen Studios, who also sculpted figures for Mattel's DC Superheroes and DC Universe Classics lines.
Cryptozoic Entertainment is an American publisher of board and card games, trading cards and collectibles based on both licensed and original intellectual properties. The company is well known for its "Cerberus Engine Game", the catch name for its series of deck-building games. Cryptozoic's first game was based on DC Comics characters, having been released in 2012. The Cerberus engine is utilized in various games; all Cerberus games are compatible with each other, allowing gamers to intermix different decks and characters from different universes.
Diamond Select Toys was founded in 1999 by sister company Diamond Comics Distributors to create collectibles for adult collectors, and has since licensed a variety of pop culture properties, including Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, Ghostbusters, Halo, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Indiana Jones, Battlestar Galactica, 24, The Muppets and Back to the Future. While they have made collectibles in numerous product categories, including action figures, plush, banks, busts, statues and prop replicas, many of their licensed properties are released in the form of Minimates mini-figures.
Sideshow Collectibles is an American specialty manufacturer of movie, film, television and collectible action figures, statues, and high end pieces. Sideshow's licenses include Star Wars, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Lord of the Rings, Disney, Harry Potter, Masters of the Universe, Pokémon, Dragon Ball Z, Street Fighter, Game of Thrones, and Star Trek.
Batman: Arkham is a series of action-adventure video games based on the DC Comics character Batman, developed by Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montréal, and published originally by Eidos Interactive and currently by Warner Bros. Games. The franchise consists of four main installments and an upcoming spin-off, along with four smaller titles for mobile devices, a virtual reality game, tie-in comic books, and an animated film. The continuity established by the games is often referred to as the Arkhamverse.
DC Comics Bombshells refers to a line of figurines released by DC Collectibles depicting DC Comics superheroines in a retro 1940s look based on designs by Ant Lucia. The line has further expanded to encompass variant covers of DC Comics and licensed memorabilia such as art prints, T-shirts, mugs and their own ongoing comic book.
