FW Presents: Those Wonderful Toys Ep. 9

In a shameless plug for their NEW JLUCast, Chris and Cindy talk about their favorite figures from Mattel’s Justice League and Justice League Unlimited toy line!

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Clip credits:

“Toyland” by Doris Day

Audio clips from Batman (1989) from Justice League and Justice League Unlimited

23 responses to “FW Presents: Those Wonderful Toys Ep. 9

  1. The first series made Hawkgirl one of my favorite characters. As much as I enjoyed her story arc with the Thanagarian invasion, however, I didn’t like the place it left her in Justice League Unlimited. For one thing, I hated that they got rid of her classic outfit in exchange for pink yoga pants and no helmet.

    1. Yeah, I honestly kept waiting for her to go back to her classic costume during the course of JLU, but she never did. I guess it makes sense, her not wanting to remind the citizens of the world “Hey, remember when we tried to make your world into an interplanetary freeway?”, but I definitely missed the visual of her classic look.

      Chris

  2. Nice pick for Vigilante, who gets extra coolness points because he’s voiced by Nathan Fillion!

    Nice pick for Ultra-Humanite too. I pretty sure I have him in a box somewhere in our basement. I liked him because they managed to keep the George Perez-designed costume but bulked him up so that he was as big as Grodd.

    One of my personal favorites of the toy line was Aztek, the Ferro Lad of the Justice League.

  3. I’m really looking forward to the new series. Glad to hear some original Vigilante talk. Although it wasn’t on JLU, I think my favorite animated Vigilante moment was when he showed up to sing on Brave & the Bold.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMaYVfm4cEE

    You made me recall the “Vigilante: City Lights, Prairie Justice” miniseries from years ago. Any story where a cowboy battles an evil ventriloquist dummy is right up my alley. I am now going to have to search for that one.

    1. “Gray and Blue….gray and blue…”

      I LOVE that song.

      I passed on that Vig mini-series at the time due to the art. I picked it up in the $1 a few years back though. Still haven’t read it, again, due to the art (and it’s James Robinson during the Starman era!), but I will. LOVE the covers! Saw the trade at the local Ollie’s in that big DC lot too. Dirt cheap.

      Chris

    2. Can I offer an old-man-comic-collector tip? If you’re interested in reading more Vigilante-vs-The Dummy goodness, I might recommend DC’s old reprint book, Wanted #3 (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Wanted_Vol_1_3). It might feature the first battle between the two and might have been an influence on that Vigilante mini-series. It has some really great art by Mort Meskin too. I’ve seen it in a couple of comic stores for less than $3. It’s a great bargain considering the issue also has Golden Age stories of Hawkman and Dr. Fate.

        1. Was Starman’s wand made by Laser Mego too?

          Dang, there’s a good reason I don’t have a 3D Printer. My house would be filled with tons of stuff that my short attention span would force me to make. Just now I was figuring out how to make a Heroclix-sized version of Vigilante…

  4. Oh man this is everything I want in a podcast! Chris and Cindy, toy talk, and Justice League! (the last toys I ever collected)

    “I like 40s and 50s pin-up girls.” Another thing me and Cindy agree on!

    Yeah Chris, that Vigilante figure is killer. I was AMAZED how deep into the bench the JLU line went–just look at the figures you guys mentioned–Vigilante, Demon, Ultra Humanite. As a kid, would you have ever dreamed of toys of those characters, let alone ones so true to their comic book versions?

    I hope there is more JLU toy talk as the show progresses!

    BTW, finally really listened to the lyrics of the opening tune. Weird stuff.

    1. Coming soon to the Fire and Water Podcast Network: Pin-Up Talk with Cindy and Rob!

      JLU really was a dream toyline come true. I doubt it will ever be surpassed for sheer number of DC characters in one scale and style.

      Yeah, “Toyland” was on an old Doris Day Christmas Album my Mom had. It’s very melancholy, saying “Once you’re grown up, life sucks, and you can’t play with these things any more.” Of course I use it ironically, because I’m essentially flipping that song the bird!

      Chris

  5. Congrats and Kudos, to Chris and Cindy,

    So glad Cindy could drop by. I hope you get to see her soon. 😉

    When The JLU cast was announced, it immediately cost me money. I had both series’ on my ‘puter, cut from various Youtube videos, but when I heard that first commercial, I was inspired, and finally pulled the trigger on the sets.

    Speaking of pulling the trigger, I was through the barn roof when you claimed Vig as the number 1 figure. It is the only JLU figure I own, but as a life long Vigilante marauder, I had to have it, and got one off E-Bay a number of years ago, and sits above my desk. I finally found a case for it, because I got tired of losing and refinding the revolver.

    My only complaints about the figure are that he should have a pair of matching revolvers.

    Also the coloring, though I know they’re trying to be correct to the show, not the comic. White pants on a cowboy make no sense, and as you show in your Mego custom, should be faded blue jeans, naturally. The other one, and DC goes back and forth on this, I’ve always felt that Vig should wear a tan or light brown hat. Most of the Meskin strips from the 40s have that coloring, though most modern appearances have it as white. If you remember the World’s Finest appearances in the 70s Dollar Comics by Gray Morrow, the tan hat was restored.

    Not picks, though, and it doesn’t take away from the figure, or the excellent portrayal in the cartoon-especially when he gives the aliens both barrels after promising to consider surrender.

    Can’t wait for the podcast, and for the first time in an index cast, I’m going to watch each episode as you post your coverage. I’m sure to enjoy it.

        1. Sorry we cost you money Gord. Hear that Amazon? We’re making you money!

          I had no idea about your Vigilante facebook page! I have already liked it, even before responding here! Fantastic!

          Yeah, I like the faded blue jeans look better. I will admit I like the white hat over the tan, just because I’m a Lone Ranger fan as well, and I go by Clayton Moore’s look for my Ranger.

          Thanks for listening! JLUCast will be here before you know it!

          Chris

  6. JLU was one of those toylines where I wanted to be a completist and just couldn’t keep up with how the figures were released: the first ones (in JLU packaging) were released in 3-packs and then it was singles and other multi-packs. Then, some figures released as singles came with accessories while the same figures in the multi-packs didn’t (Booster Gold being a good example). Eventually, I quit trying and the figures I didn’t give to my daughter went into a bin.

    Eventually, I made an exception and dipped into JLU figures one final time with the 3-pack of JLU-styled Superfriends. Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, and Samurai are proudly displayed in my apartment.

    1. Yeah, those Super Friends figures are great. And I get the frustration. And I remember the price hike on these. You used to get a 3 pack for $10, and then it suddenly doubled at retail. It was nuts. That and the distribution of figures differing from multi-packs to singles kept me from being a completist on the line as well.

      Chris

  7. I was really surprised at your choices, as I had no idea as to the extent of the characters that had had toys made of them! I expect I will listen to the JLU Cast, even though I have not seen much of this show. As with Rob and Shag on the Who’s Who show, I enjoy hearing the Franklins’ delight and fond memories!
    However, based on the clips you played, I was kind of disappointed. I wanted Etrigan to have an (Olde) English accent. And Thanagarian English, should have a certain foreign-ness to it, don’t you think?

    1. Well, based on the casting of Maria Canals, when we do see other Thanagarians, they are all voiced by Hispanic/Latino actors. So they do give them a unique vocal flavor vs. the rest of the cast. I thought it was pretty clever, plus you get great actors in there like Hector Elizondo!

      Chris

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