Class of Bootleg	Class 2 - Duplicated and Modified
Class Notes:	Copyrighted images and line name, duplicated and modified molds
Bootleg Source:	Kenner Batman and Robin toys
Bootleg Rating:	(Four out of five stars)
Sightings:	California
Vintage:	1999

Every once in a while you'll get a bootleg that makes no pretense about duping the Batman line. No hiding behind cutesy names like Space Flyman or even Bat Hero. A bootleg that proclaims

"Hey! We're knocking off the Dark Knight, and, by God, we're going to make a fool of ourselves doing it!"

Well, this particular Batman bootleg fits that claim completely.

From the first, you can see that the Batman name and logo are prominently displayed along the front of this boxed set. There are product shots of the enclosed toys in the corners - like the logo, they've been swiped from the movie Batman and Robin. The photogaphic artwork (detaliled below), however, is all taken from the Batman Forever movie.

And speaking of quality, let's take a closer look at the product shots.

At left is a detail of the Robin image. Note the photo of Batman he's been superimposed over.

At right is the Batman image. This gives us a bit more to snicker at. First note the Bat-Signal lifted from the Batman Forever art. This one almost makes sense in the context of the package design.

Under the product shot, however, is the first clue as to just how strange this bootleg is. Now, I know I'm not the world's greatest speller or typist, but just check out this blurb:

This is on the front of the package! In huge type!

Even funnier is that, just below this mangled english, is the Bootlegger's Logo!. Shown at right, it's a shield and flame with a "SH" in the center. There are no other clues to what this might mean on the package. Just this little symbol. Glad someone was proud enough of thier work to "sign" it, though.

Moving to the back of the package (detailed at left), wee see the mixture of "Forever" and "and Robin" continues.

In fact, each side of teh box is dedicated to a different film. Starting on the right, we have artwork that was lifted from the back of the first wave of Kenner Batman and Robin figures. Oddly, the Mr. Freeze character was not included, although Bane, Ivy, Batgirl, Two Robins, and Batman are all shown.

Along the bottom right are the bootleg logo again, various child safety warnings and logos, and the "Made in China" tag.

The left hand side of the package is dominated by a huge image from Batman Forever (the same image cut to pieces for the box front), the "Batman and Robin" logo, and the "Batman" name-logo.

Along left edge of the photo is a bunch of text lifted from the "Batman and Robin" storyline. Sort of. I can't really explain how wacky this text is, so here's a big photo of it:

Finally, let's take a look at the toys themselves. They are copied from Kenner molds, and stand about 4" high. The colors have been changed from the orignals, and they now, obviously, come in a boxed set that Kenner never envisioned.

Each figure has his own compartment in a vac-formed white plastic tray, and comes complete with all their weapons and accessories, now cast in bright, colorful, completely inaccurate colors.

But the best part of these toys is that they have more articulation than their legal counterparts!

Yes, the bootleg Batman and Robin have had their molds modified so they'd actually be fun to play with....if they weren't made of incredibly brittle plastic that is.

The photos of the figures themselves (above) give away the secrets of the extra articulation. The shoulder hinges are now ball-joints, allowing for a wide range of motion. And the figures now have elbows and knees! As a result, these figures have a full nine points of articulation, compared to Kenner's five.

This doesn't mean that this bootleg set is better than the Kenner one, of course. But, like the earlier Bat Knight set, the bootleggers have come up with a packaging concept and level of movement that just maybe Kenner should have thought of first.