15 Weirdest Ever Batman Movie Tie-In Toys

Batman is a cultural icon. Since 1939, he has consistently been one of the most popular characters in comics, being considered one of the Big Three of DC (along with Superman and Wonder Woman,) crossing and blurring lines between comics, animation, books, movies, and merchandise.

So much merchandise.

Thousands of companies have licenced the rights to Batman from DC to create merchandise, especially since the 1989 Batman movie took over that summer and saw the distinctive yellow and black bat symbol on just about anything possible.

Batman and his world is a natural outlet for toys. The concept, the costumes, the gadgets, the vehicles...all of the things that make Batman who and what he is easily transfer over to toys and games. Some of them have been fantastic - realistic depictions of the World's Greatest Detective that truly capture the essence of Batman.

Others... not so much.

It is inevitable that with so many marketing opportunities, some companies turn out products that make you stop, scratch your head, and wonder what the hell the design team was thinking. Simply having a Bat-logo on the package doesn't equate to a cool, interesting, or even fun toy or game.

But when there's money to be made, companies will try anything. These are some of the strangest Batman tie-in toys ever produced.

Batman and Robin tried. It really did. Unfortunately, it ended up being the death of the movie franchise for quite some time.

Toy companies were never afraid about...stretching, is the word, one guesses...the limits of how toys connected to the movies. Usually, the movie was just a jumping-off point to make endless remolds of the same few toys with different accessories thrown in.

Which is not unlike the multiple cover variant, shiny, glossy, hologram, pop out comic book covers of the '90s, when you think about it.

This figure from the Batman and Robin era is a perfect example. Despite having absolutely no connection to anything that was in the film, this figure hung on pegboards across the world.

So, it appears the theory here is that Batman was supposed to hop on this rip-off of the Green Goblin's glider and fly into battle. Maybe Bruce Wayne had the balance to kneel on this thing, but most couldn't. It wouldn't be a '90s toy without a big-ass missile that fired (the red thing that looks like Aquaman's trident) out of the the Ionic Blaster.

Bruce also appears to have given up any semblance of stealth in his shiny blue with purple highlights costume.

At least the bonus ring was kinda cool.