Card of the Day: 1992 Topps Stadium Club Batman Returns #1

Card of the Day: 1966 Topps Batman – The Riddler #36

THE BATMAN – Main Trailer

The Batman – DC FanDome Teaser

Celeb Rookie: Robert Pattinson a.k.a. The Batman

In order to follow the DC Comics movies today you almost need a diagram.  They started out like the Marvel films.  One taking place before or after another.  But apparently that format wasn’t working for them.  Instead of one movie depending on the next, they’ve changed things up.  Now they want to give key characters their own series of movies before they do anymore team-up stuff.  Little to no acknowledgment will be given to those previous team-up movies format.  I believe this new format started with 2018’s Aquaman.  Some actors will continue to play those characters under this new format, while others will be recast and rebooted.  In short, you need to know what’s going on behind the scenes in order to recognize what is and is not connected to each other.

One of those iconic characters getting a reboot is Batman.  I enjoyed Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, and Justice League.  I wish we could’ve seen more of that version of Batman.  He seemed to have quite a rich history to him.  It would’ve been nice to know the story behind that beat-up Robin suit in the Batcave.  All we can do is take what we know from the comics and apply it to what might have happened to that Robin.

Actor Robert Pattinson will take over the title role in the Matt Reeves directed film simply called The Batman.  It will take place during the 90’s.  Other confirmed characters include Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), Riddler (Paul Dano), and Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright).  More will soon follow.

Robert Pattinson has starred in a number of films.  Portraying Cedric Diggory in two of the Harry Potter movies, and Edward Cullen in the Twilight series are what’s given him the most notoriety.  The Batman will be his biggest role yet.  Whenever a new actor is announced that they’ll be playing Batman, almost instantly they’re hit with an unbelievable amount of backlash.  I’m one of those people who waits to see the final product before making any judgments.

In 2005, Artbox created a trading card product for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  This is the first film where Robert Pattinson plays Cedric Diggory.  Within this set he has a handful of different cards.  His base card and autograph are what I like to classify as his key rookies.  You’ll find the base card fairly easily, but the autograph isn’t something that appears often.

Batman Turns 80 – Here’s His Rookie Card

Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, Batman made his debut to the world in Detective Comics issue #27.  The date on the cover states “May 1939”, but it was actually released in March of that year.

2019 marks Batman’s 80th anniversary.  For the last 80 years Batman has been fighting one evil-doer after another in order to keep Gotham City safe.  Despite being introduced to fans in 1939, it took until 1966 for Batman to receive what I like to call his “rookie card”.

Thanks to the success of the Adam West and Burt Ward Batman television series, fans saw multiple card sets released in 1966.  Topps issued five different sets all based on the campy Batman show.  The first is the 1966 Topps Batman Black Bat set.  It consists of 55-cards, and the artwork is done by Norman Saunders.  Saunders is best known for working on the 1962 Topps Mars Attacks set.  Card #1 simply features “The Batman”.  They call it the Black Bat set because the picture’s caption is inside a black bat.  Other sets released that same year include the Blue Bat, Red Bat, The Riddler Back, and The Bat Laffs.  Like most vintage cards, condition is everything.  The value of this card can range anywhere from hundreds of dollars to thousands based in it’s condition.

Batman will always remain one of my favorite superheros.  I was first introduced to him while watching reruns of the old show from the 1960’s.  Then I discovered Tim Burton’s Batman starring Michael Keaton.  That movie is ingrained into my mind.  I prefer my Batman to be much more serious than campy.  Growing up, I had tons of action figures.  The first one I remember getting was of Batman from the 1989 Toy Biz DC Heroes line.

Today’s fans know Batman as a very serious character.  Thanks to comics such as Batman: Year One, The Killing Joke, and The Dark Knight Returns, those days of camp are fairly over.  Tim Burton’s films also helped, along with Batman: The Animated Series.

I wish this card had a more serious tone to it.  This image reminds me of what I look like on the opening night of the National Sports Collectors Convention.  Batman just looks way too happy.

On a side note, wouldn’t it be neat to see Michael Keaton return as Batman?  It could be a follow-up to Batman Returns.  Even though Batman Returns had two sequels – Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, other than Michael Gough playing Alfred Pennyworth you don’t see a lot of connections to the original two films.  Going back like this worked for the Halloween franchise last year.  With all of the reboots and restarts DC Comics films are currently going through, its not that far of a stretch for it to happen.

In case you were wondering, Robin’s “rookie card” is #2 in the Black Bat set.  Lots of famous characters from Batman’s Rogues Gallery have rookie cards in here.

Card of the Day: George Clooney 1997 Fleer/Skybox Batman And Robin Auto

Card of the Day: Liam Neeson 2005 Topps Batman Begins Auto

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – Official Final Trailer

I’m really hoping this movie comes out well.  They might be pushing the envelope with so many new characters being introduced at once.  Plus the second trailer exposed so much.  Lets hope everything plays out and they’ve left some surprises.

“Pin-Up” of the Week: Batman 2015 Pop! Pins

I know this isn’t sports related, but its just too cool.  Funko’s line of Pop! vinyl figures have grown in popularity over the years.  Comic-Con and Loot Crate exclusives can command serious money on the secondary market.  Starting last fall they began making pins based on some of their most popular figures.  They aren’t rare, and can easily be purchased for a couple of bucks.

Funko needs to make more sports figures.  They have some, but not a lot.  Characters from television and movies seem to get the Pop! treatment more often.  The San Francisco Giants had a Toy Story Pop! figure they gave away in 2014.  I’d like to see more teams give out exclusive Pop! figures as stadium giveaways.  The most valuable sports themed Pop! figure I believe is the Seattle Seahawks Freddy Funko one that was available during San Diego Comic-Con last year.  I could be wrong though.  Those can sell for $100-$135.  Sometimes prototypes can find their way out and go for a lot too.