CATWOMAN PROTOTYPE

This figure was making the rounds at some toy shows and in a few trade ads back in 1996, sometimes selling for a few hundred dollars!

But it has definitely been confirmed that it is not a Super Powers Prototype. According to sources working at Kenner, at no time was this version of Catwoman (from batman:Year One) in production, the comic that she was taken from was published in 1987, far enough after the Super Powers line's demise that it couldn't possibly have been considered before the line ended, and the designer of this Catwoman, David Mazzuchelli, has no knowledge of his design ever being considered for a figure (he would have received royalties or a design fee if his design had been used).

Female figure collector extraordinaire Sarah Dyer also believes this design was never used, and that's good enough for me any day. Also, at the time Catwoman was not that popular a character compared to Supergirl or Wonder Girl; certainly not popular enough to warrant only the second female in the entire line. Catwoman also had not appeared in the Super Powers cartoon, which had been up to this time a harbinger of most figures.

However, this is still a very nice piece, and the question remains: if not a Super Powers figure, is this still a genuine prototype? Well, that's where it begins to get a little more complicated. As far as most sources are concerned, this is at best a concept sculpt for either a new DC properties line (which had been considered post-Dark Knight line success) or just the prelim sculpt for the batman Returns Catwoman. Early in the film's development the costume for Catwoman was to have mirrored Mazzuchelli's design, but Tim Burton opted to go for a more patchwork look, necessitating toy redesigns. The picture at right is of the production sculpt that had been ready to go before the costume redesign. This figure was shown to buyers at pre-Toy Fair 1991, and was subsequently delayed to allow for the new details to be sculpted. The above prototype obviously uses parts from this preliminary version. The other option is that it is a very good custom figure made by a Hasbro/Kenner employee from the molds of the unreleased preliminary design.

Another figure wasn't so lucky as Catwoman; the Robin figure that came out with the batman Returns line was based on Marlon Wayans' Robin, who was cut at the last minute from the film. The sculpt was barely modified and painted "white", leaving the Robin with an anomalous high-top fade.

Special thanks go to Alex Bickmore (who has many prototypes) and Scott Parrish (who also has many prototypes), whose collections these figure are from, and who graciously went to the trouble to take these photos.