Like most of Kenner's best work, he captures the spirit and much of the color of his TV counterpart without being an exact match. The smug, toothy grin is there, and so is the tie, the hat, and the pocket square - but the coat is, for some reason, open with a visible belt. It looks a bit more dynamic, which is good for a 4 1/2-inch scale figure with only 5 joints.
The stylized sculpt shows that Kenner was working hard to make a figure that, at least, looked amazing in the packaging and was pretty fun to play with. He can swing his legs forward and could sit in some vehicles - something Hasbro and other companies are not as good at these days - plus he can hold his gear. It is not merely impressive, but it's quite a feat for this skinny green guy to hold a giant question mark that can shoot its green rocket with quite a punch. I'm so used to modern toys that I forgot just how far this thing can go - it's really impressive.
His cane fits in his hand just fine. Like most accessories of the era, it's molded in green and isn't quite the color-match of the TV show, no doubt to keep costs down. He can hold it easily, and given the amount of personality sculpted into his hands, I'm impressed. The right one has the index finger pointing, as if to say "Stop me if you've heard this one" along with his goofy, wide grin. His left hand has an extended pinky, which is perfect to give him an air of refinement over some of the other (shall we say) less classy villains. He prides himself in being smart - and if you recall that one episode, not yet rich. These subtle details really paint a picture with an action figure without having to pack in extra articulation or gear. Everything is right there in the little plastic man, which is almost a tiny animated maquette when compared to later and modern toys. Super articulation is nice, but it fails to give you quite as much personality right out of the box. Or, for that matter, in the box.
This is a good one. If you're still collecting these, or are looking to start an older line, I'd strongly recommend picking this one up. I would love to see if Hasbro or Mattel or somebody could look at these old figures - even slightly preposed ones like these - and make a new kid line for just about any brand. Not everybody needs to be posed at attention, or super-articulated - sometimes you can make a figure a lot of fun just by sculpting in some personality, and The Riddler had it in spades.
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