Batman’s teenage side kick shares the
distinction of not only being part of the original four WGSH but
to have never been cut from the WGSH lineup (unlike
Aquaman.)
Just a few of the different items Mego produced for Robin, courtesy
of the very generous Scott Arendsen. Scott sets Mego boy wonder items as high priority and it shows.
Robin popped up frequently in other Mego series as well; of note
are the
Pocket Heroes ,
Twelve Inch Heroes ,
Bend N Flex and
Comic Action Heroes lines.
The Boy Wonder comes with green oven mitts, rubber booties, green
briefs, and a head sculpt that harkens back to the sixties. Robin
in the early seventies was more of a young adult but Mego went for
the classic look, probably because the DC style guide artwork hadn’t
been updated. Whatever the reason, Robin is one of the most beloved
WGSH ever created.
In 1977, Mego released Robin’s team of crime fighting buddies,
The Teen Titans but alas, he was
a head taller than them.
First edition Robins is known as the Removable Mask Robin because
you could actually remove his mask! Batman
had a similar feature in the first run. Mego ran with this
for a brief time and later went with a painted on mask. The mask
itself is fragile and easily lost, so it is very hard to find in
today’s collector market. Imitations and frauds abound when you’re
talking about Robin masks so be careful when purchasing.
This side-by-side comparison illustrates just how yellow the Yellow
sleeves and shorts are for the very first version of Mego Robin.
There is a argument as to whether this is an error by Mego or
a chemical process caused by the green dye used in early Robins.
It is possible to have a RM Robin with green sleeves and shorts
but an RM Robin must be on a Type 1 body with an early cloth belt.
RM Robin came in a sold box (Very rare!), first issue Window box
(
Captain America appears on the header with no copyright info)
and Kresge cards (which we actually have a photo of).
Here is another very good piece of evidence with respect to the "Green turning yellow" argument. Note the pit stains on this RM Robin; note the slow transition to yellow. Mego Forum member Heath credits this to heat and humidity.
Accessory
Even though he was packed 4 to a case, Robin ranks as the most difficult and expensive solid boxed figure to acquire on the secondary market. The combination of both the figure and package being so uncommon along with the character’s popularity seem to make him tougher to find than Aquaman, who was only packed two per case.
This Type-1 Robin box shows 3 panels on the side and Captain America
in the masthead. The artwork for the
back of the box has been traced to an issue of Batman, for more
information click on Mego
Comic Book Origins.
This is a later-issue Robin box as evidenced by theType 2 body
and the presence of Shazam in the masthead.
The interesting variant on this later-issue box is the presence
of the TM logo below Robin’s name.
This is the first Robin available on a Kresge card, as evidenced
by the header (featuring only the four original WGSH) and the presence
of a removable Mask. It’s a shame but the masks often broke in the
packaging, a fact that perhaps influenced the move to a painted
mask. It seems that Robin made the move quicker than Batman. (Photo
is courtesy of Tom)
Another example of A Kresge card containing a catalog, which seemed
to occur for a brief period. Note the header change and the
figure now has a painted mask. Another Kresge variant (featuring
Captain America in the header) also exists.
One of the last issue Kresge carded Robins (as evidenced by
Green Arrow in the header) is courtesy of Scott Arendsen
A nice example of the US 1976 edition and the US 1977 edition Robin
card (Provided by Troy Maynus) Robin Cards. One of the nice things
about the character being run for so long is the ability to find
him on a nice US card for a decent price.
On the right is a Harbert (Italy) carded Robin, the artwork is
from the 1979 series. Note the graying head that is quite common.
The Palitoy UK
Robin Card is one of the easier Palitoy cards to find.
Here is a Canadian carded Parkdale Novelty Robin. The big difference
in this card is the bilingual (English and French) nature of the
packaging. Parkdale was the first to release Robin in Canada but
Grand Toys followed up with their own packaging in 1979 when they
gained they became the sole distributor for Mego in Canada. This
version of Robin card turns up frequently and often in very good
condition because a number of warehoused cards made their way into
the secondary market in the 1980’s. Collection of Scott C Adams.
Take that Riddler! Robin was
featured in the US and UK releases of the
Mego Fist Fighters line.
Robin is by far the most difficult of the Palitoy fist fighters to
find mint on card. This carded example is courtesy of Gary MacGuire.
The Ultra Rare Lili Ledy (Mexico) boxed Robin courtesy of
Foreign Mego. Mexican Robin came with the red boots pictured
and sometimes hard green booties similar to his US counterpart.
The Ultra Rare BASA (Peru) boxed Robin is the first we’ve come across. Although many loose examples exist of Robin, this is actually the first glimpse of the packaging. .
The side of the box is very similiar to US edition packaging utilizing the same artwork.
The back of the box is completely unique and chooses to showcase all three of the heroes available in Peru (although there are more 8″ characters such as Six Million Dollar Man). Note that Superman’s artwork is the one that differs from his Mego packaging.
The loose figure is quite a variation from his US counterpart from his boots to his “gloves”.
- 1974 Introduction
- Group Shot
- Variations
- Accessory Check
- COSTUME VARIATIONS
- Solid Box
- Window Boxes
- Kresge Cards
- 1976 Card
- 1977 Card
- 1979 Card
- French Card
- Harbert Italy Card
- Parkdale Card
- Palitoy UK Card
- Fist Fighter
- Lili Ledy
- BASA
- Collect Them All!
- 12 Inch Figures
- Bendies
- Comic Action Heroes
- Elastic Heroes
- Pocket Heroes
