17 April 2012

Onscreen History of Toyman and Other Toy-Themed Villains



The Toyman, Winslow Schott, first appeared in Action Comics #64 in 1943 using toy themed devices to perpetrate his crimes. He has since plagued Superman with his antics and has spawned a few imitators along the way.



Toyman made his onscreen debut in the 1966 series, The New Adventures of Superman in which he even teamed up with the other diabolical men from APE. This first onscreen version was somewhat visually similar to the comic book version, looking mostly like a man himself.


 Of course, the Dollman showed up just a couple years later on the Adventures of Batman and Robin.


Over 10 years later, the high pitched Toyman would return as a member of Luthor's Legion of Doom on the Challenge of the Super Friends series. Having received quite a makeover, TM looked a lot more like a jester as he was modeled after comics second Toyman, Jack (B?) Nimball.



In 1980, another Toyman appeared on the Ruby-Spears Plastic Man series. Similar in appearance to the Jack Nimball version of the character, this man-toys wore a jesters outfit, but also needed to be wound up to operate.



The late '80s live-action Superboy series introduced a villain named Nick Knack with a proclivity toward Hawaiian shirts and toys - and this was before John Lasseter was a household name.



Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman introduced a pair of Toymen with the first, Winslow P. Schott appearing in the Christmas episode Seasons Greedings.


In a later L&C episode, Toy Story, another Toyman AKA Harold Kripstlywas busted by Supes after abducting kids.



Superman: The Animated Series reimagined Toyman as basically a mannequin toy.


The creepy Toyman crossed over to the world of Static Shock in Toys in the Hood.




Toyman returned several times during the run of Justice League and Justice League Unlimited in which he nearly killed Superman and eventually joined Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society.


The Batman introduced a wannabe Toyman named Toymaker Cosmo Krank in the 2006 episode Cash for Toys.


Toyman next appeared in the animated movie, Superman: Doomsday.

No tears were shed when this creepy pedo version of Toyman was done in by the Superman clone.




The Batman's 5th season finally introduced the real Toyman, albeit briefly, though this version was modeled after the Plastic Man incarnation rather than one of the comic book takes. 




In 2008, another Toyman variant was introduced in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode Invasion of the Secret Santas. This time, the villain Fun Haus sought to employ the Grinch's scheme of robbing homes on Christmas.


Once again, the real Toyman would later appear during the show's final season once the way was paved fro the Man of Steel and his rogues to appear along side Batman. This classic take on Toyman paid homage to the character's first appearance in the pages of Action.




Toymaker Winslow Schott became a  recurring baddie obsessed with taking down Green Arrow beginning in Smallville's 8th season.



Recently, the newest take on the Toyman, Hiro Okamura helped to save the day in Superman Batman: Public Enemies. The child prodigy built a Superman Batman Rocket that took out the approaching asteroid earning himself a date with Power Girl. 

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