Batman: Fighting The Frozen is the new line of Page Punchers from McFarlane Toys. It features new versions of the Bat Family and includes an exclusive comic telling the story in which they’re introduced.
You’ve gotta love those folk at McFarlane Toys. They may specialize in making toys based on comic characters but that doesn’t stop them if they have a cool idea for a version of licensed superhero that hasn’t appeared in a comic yet – they just commission a comic that features their vision!
The Page Puncher action figure line in particular has celebrated the two areas that Todd McFarlane had a hand in revolutionizing, as one of the founders of Image Comics and McFarlane Toys. Each action figure released in the line includes a reprint of the original comic from which the character, or version of the character, appeared. That’s particularly handy if you’re a newcomer to comics or if you’re particularly taken with a character but are unfamiliar with the story source.
For the Batman: Fighting The Frozen toy line, you’ll be forgiven for fearing that you’ve missed some issues in your Batman collection of comics. Fear not. These ancient, tribal-looking interpretations of Batman, Batgirl and Robin are taken from the exclusive comic featured with each action figure.
The plot details are as follows:
Theorizing absolute zero experimentation would slow the disease afflicting his wife NORA, MR. FREEZE™ and his beloved bride are accidentally thrust 16,000 years into the past. Seeking to return to their proper century, the frigid fiend attempts to recreate the unintentional circumstances of his time-manipulation experiment, callously unleashing a deadly new ice age upon the surrounding lands.
ROBIN™, a brave young warrior from a neighboring tribe, pleads for aide from BATMAN™, the noble leader of the BAT-CLAN. Recognizing the existential threat to their peoples, BATMAN, ROBIN and the stoic BATGIRL™ forge an alliance to stop the criminal king of cold!
So that counts for the inclusion of Mr. Freeze decked out in a decidedly modern suit. The date of his travel through time is historically significant. With the last glacial ice lasting between 115,000 and 11,700 years ago, it’s been recently theorised after a significant archaeological dig in Idaho that the first Americans arrived in the Pacific Northwest – you guessed it – 16,000 years ago. So how will Mr. Freeze’s accidental arrival threaten the future of this important era in human history?
The writer of the comic is Rex Ogle who has contributed to DC comics in the past, and it’s illustrated by Travis Mercer, also a DC stalwart including some work most recently on Kid Flash. Colours are by Andrew Dalhouse who’s worked for a number of publishers including DC.
There’s no doubting how awesome these versions of the characters are, particularly the fierce barbarian style Batman, and Robin looking as if he’s descended from Genghis Khan’s army. I also love that chunky, formidable-looking Mr Freeze and the native American inspired Batgirl. As well as the exclusive comic, each figure comes with weapon accessories, a stand, and a cover art card with biography on the reverse.
These radical interpretations are a great way to explore the elasticity of the iconography of classic characters. Usually a toy line is created after the version has been tested in comic form. Looking at the results I’d say that the Batman: Fighting The Frozen Page Puncher toy line is a successful experiment in a toy-design-first approach. It will be interesting to see if leads to further new never-seen-before interpretations.
Batman: Fighting The Frozen Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Mr. Freeze are available to order from McFarlane Toys.
Product details:
- Incredibly detailed 7” scale figure
- Designed with Ultra Articulation with up to 22 moving parts for full range of posing and play
- Batman is based on the exclusive included comic designed by McFarlane Toys
- Included is a collectible comic featuring what the figure is based on, as well as a collectible art card with comic artwork on the front, and character biography on the back
- Batman figure includes two axes and base
- Robin includes a spear, knife and base
- Batgirl includes two axes, grappling hook and base
- Mr. Freeze includes back pack freeze ray and base
Images and Press Release Courtesy of McFarlane Toys