Here we go… it’s the last figure from Mattel’s first wave of 1966 Batman figures. I saved The Riddler for last because he’s probably my least favorite of all the villains from that TV series. I don’t hate him, but for whatever reason, I just didn’t dig him as much as Joker and Penguin, or even King Tut and Egghead. I think I just found his riddles too damn annoying. Anyway, Mattel’s figure is based off Frank Gorshin in the role, so let’s take a look at how he turned out…

We’ve seen this packaging on no less than four occasions already, so there’s no point in gassing on about any more. Robin’s dopey quote is new and the back of the card has a little blurb about the character and some artwork that is specific to this figure. Suffice it to say that I really like the presentation that Mattel went with here. It’s fun and it captures the wacky spirit of the show.

The Riddler is certainly the simplest figure in this wave. You get a lean buck cast in green plastic with purple paint for the gloves and belt. Oh yeah, there’s also a bunch of question marks stamped on him. That’s not a complaint against the figure, rather just a commentary on the costume we’re dealing with here. Mattel did a good enough job for what they had to work with.

I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the likeness here, but I’m not really sure why. For a mass market, $15 figure, I think the portrait is perfectly fine, albeit a little soft. Sure, we’ve seen better in even smaller scales, but it’s certainly not terrible. The eyes could have been set a little deeper behind the mask, and maybe Mattel could have gone with a more jovial and less angry expression, but I’m still pretty happy with what we got.

Riddler features all the standard DCUC style of articulation. The arms have ball jointed shoulders, hinged elbows, and swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs have the usual DCUC joints, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the knees and ankles. He can swivel at the waist, he has an ab crunch in the torso and a ball jointed neck. Oddly enough, the ball joint in the neck doesn’t allow for much more than just side to side movement.

Naturally, Riddler also comes with the collector card and stand. Riddler’s stand says “Ka-Pow!!!” I’m still digging the artwork on these collector cards a lot and the fact that they double as a backdrop for the stand is cool. They are also each one frame of a complete panoramic view of the Batmobile in the Batcave…

Yep, it’s a great idea, but you really can’t see the backdrops with the figures on the stand, so it probably could have been executed better.

And that wraps up the first wave of Mattel’s 1966 Batman figures. I really enjoy these figures, probably enough so that I will pick up the Batman & Robin two-pack just to get Robin. I’m also still waiting for the Catwoman figure, which I have on pre-order. Word is that Mattel has signed a merchandising deal with Yvonne Craig, so I’m really hoping that a Batgirl figure might be coming down the pike as well. I would certainly buy a second wave of these, especially if they rounded out the Rogue’s Gallery of the series.