Four Horsemen, Please Make “Gotham Alley” Adventure Sets
After last week’s posts wishing that Mattel would create “Adventure Sets” for the Masters of the Universe Classics line (first post, second post) I thought I’d approach the “Adventure Set” concept from another angle, this time pleading directly to the Four Horsemen (website, Twitter) for superhero-inspired sets that would work with either DC Universe Classics or Marvel Legends action figures.
This new series of accessory sets was revolutionary in that it required extensive creative input on the part of the child. Each adventure set was based on a story that was told in a comic book included with the set. The outfit and equipment contained in the set comprised the elements of the story.
What are “Adventure Sets?”
Inspired by the action figure outfit sets of of the seventies (see “The Death of Action Figure Outfit Sets”), “Adventure Sets” are designed as part playset and part accessory set. The idea is to expand the play options of existing toys by giving kids (or collectors!) new bits to use with older toys. All of the “Gotham Alley” set ideass listed below are specifically imagined to work with characters that work in the shadows. Batman Daredevil, and Punisher would all make excellent figures to use with any of these sets.
Crime Scene
The key piece to the “Gotham Alley” series, the Crime Scene adventure set features an alley, walls for either side of the display, and an assortment of trash, garbage, and even a couple of dead bodies. Faint chalk outlines show that this alley sees a lot of the wrong sort of action. The idea is to give the following sets a key component to snap onto, allowing kids to build out an entire alley playset where heroes can go after villains.
The ambitious approach would be to include one hired goon action figure with each set; a series of toys using a common body and a variety of heads and accessories to make each one different. Tampo printed designs on the t-shirts would help make each thug unique, but this would also add a ridiculous amount of money to the cost of the toy.
Alley Mouth
The “front” of the alley, this connects to one end of the Crime Scene set and leads us into the dark shadows of our adventure set. This set includes the street, the corners of the buildings that connect to the main set, and even a beaten and abandoned car to give the street some interest. The set works on its own, of course, but is way more fun if you connect it to our opening set.
The included thug with this set would have to be an arms dealer since that lets us use the abandoned car as a makeshift drop with a case of illegal weapons hidden in the trunk. Illegal weapons always make an alley scene more exciting, right?
Alley Door
If we’re going to have an opening into the alley then we need a cap to close it off. That’s where Alley Door comes into play. And this will work on its own, but it is far cooler once attached to Crime Scene to put an end to the alley and give us a door where any manner of evil things can happen.
In addition to the necessary diorama parts this comes with a number of different signs so you can decide exactly what’s happening behind the door. There’s also night vision goggles for our action figure hero, a hearing device (think of one of those old school mic guns like spy shows used to have), and even a ratty old trench coat and some scrap newspapers in case we want to hide our hero in the alley.
View from Above
Snap-on extensions push the wall height of the Crime Scene set up, giving action figures a great place to perch and look down at the action in the alley. This set includes one extension for each wall, a couple of ladders/fire escape pieces that give figures a way up and down the walls, and even a bit of line to hang a villain by his feet and force him to talk.
This, like the Crime Scene set, demonstrates that my vision for these “Gotham Alley” sets is more about diorama construction than pushing play options like my Masters of the Universe Classics adventure set ideas did. My reasoning for this is that there are so many superhero comics out there that I doubt any of us need story ideas. We need playsets/settings!
Unlikely to Happen
A project like this would be an expensive and complicated undertaking, especially if each set included a thug action figure. But it’s free to dream, and I know that one thing really lacking when it comes to 6-inch scale action figures is a selection of great diorama/playset pieces so if I’m gonna dream then it’s going to be of something I could use with my Batman action figures.
I’m not even 100% sure if I would actually go after these if the idea ever became a reality. I’m far more likely to spend my money on any of the Masters of the Universe Classics adventure sets that I described last week (first post, second post), but I can’t help but think that if “Gotham Alley” sets ever happened I would be right there ready to support the project.
Related articles
- Review – Masters of the Universe Classics Snake Men (battlegrip.com)
- Reading – 1978 Reimagined (battlegrip.com)
- Spotted Online – Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Action Figure Photos (battlegrip.com)
