Welcome back to another Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar reveal. The countdown to Christmas continues and everyone is on the edge of their seats waiting for Swamp Thing to show up with his 8 flying reindeer. He had wings in the New 52 series, I don’t see why he couldn’t be accompanied by a few magical caribou once a year. He’d distribute presents in a much more efficient way than the traditional Santa. Anyway, obviously a great topic we can discuss another time.

If it feels colder than normal this evening it’s because Captain Cold emerged from behind door number #13.

The appearance of the Captain is extremely exciting. I bet kids around the world were just as excited in 2015 when the figure and snowball were originally released. I wish the large ice cannon (pictured below) was included in the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar as well.

Continue reading “The Captain Is In” →

We’re halfway through the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar and tonight we opened door #12. Swamp Thing hasn’t shown up yet but we did find another fun figure!

The Flash was behind door #12. His costume is similar to Batgirl, going with the red and white motif.

Flash showing up on the 12th deviates from the pattern I thought the calendar stuck to:1 figure followed by 3 doors of accessories, then 1 figure and so on. This might change how people guess when Swampy will arrive for the Swamp Thing giveaway. If you haven’t already, be sure to visit this post for more information, and to enter to win the Swamp Thing Christmas giveaway.

Continue reading “December 12th is for The Flash” →

This December 11th Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar item has inspired me to reevaluate the narrative within this calendar. Based on the illustration on the front of the box and the various weapons that have been revealed so far in the calendar, I assumed that once all doors were open and accessories were accounted for, the stage would be set for an epic Christmas battle between DC’s heroes & villains.

After our son found this hockey stick behind door #11, I’m not sure what to think. Maybe some of these DC heroes received the wrong memo regarding a Christmas battle? On the box, Cyborg is wielding the hockey stick. With an arsenal like his, I don’t think Cyborg would rely on a hockey stick while in battle. Swamp Thing would always be ready based on his skill set and powers (obviously) but dressed in Christmas lights makes me think he and Cyborg are the only DC heroes who are caught off guard in this winter wonderland scenario. I’d love to know what was going on before the melee occurred.

On the box, Swamp Thing reminds me of Dr. Sam Beckett from Quantum Leap–spontaneously forced within a precarious situation… dressed in Christmas lights, not at all prepared. Maybe Constantine summoned him. Meanwhile, Bat Girl & Batman are prepared for a fight with content expressions, oddly enough.

Are we overthinking this? 100%
It’s fun to ponder the decision making processes involved in making a product like the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar. I think this calendar is a case of putting the cart before the horse. I think it’s main function was to sell/use imaginext surplus inventory (figures and accessories) and then a thin narrative was built around the items and figures. Regardless, the narrative remains consistent at our house. Christmas calendar accessories are toothpicks and we will continue to remove them from our son’s mouth. Thank you for stopping by. We’ll see you tomorrow.

It’s Saturday the 10th and snow shoes have arrived just in time for the snow that dumped on our town Thursday night. We got about a foot of the white stuff here in South Dakota, helping to make the month feel even more like Christmas.

I believe the snow shoes go with the Flash figure because they don’t quite fit Batman and Riddler. I’m looking forward to seeing which door he appears from.

Since I knew Swamp Thing wasn’t going to show up today-based on the odds-I brought out Marvel’s Frog Man to give this post more green.

As you can see, Frog Man is a hit at our house. The snow shoes didn’t fit Frog Man either but he provided a good time none the less. It’s hard to believe that we’ve already opened 10 doors of the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar, and I’m surprised we’ve been able to keep up with all the posts this month. We’ve been thrilled to share in the fun and we look forward to another fun post tomorrow. If you haven’t already, be sure to comment on yesterdays post to enter to win the Christmas Swamp Thing giveaway. More details can be found on the post from December 9th.

It’s the 9th of December, I wonder when Swampy will come about,
A little boy has been stirring, hiding toys throughout the house,
We can no longer locate Batman, Riddler’s stuck in the Christmas tree,
Odds are we’ll find a figure tonight, let’s open a door and see!

A pattern is starting to emerge in the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar. For every figure that is revealed, it is separated by 3 doors of accessories. The odds were good that a figure would be behind door #9 and there was! I present to you, Canadian Batgirl. I thought this was a Captain Canuck figure when I first saw it.

I’m more excited about this Batgirl figure than the Christmas Batman from December 1st. Our son is having a blast running around introducing Batgril to his other toys. She’s getting along really well with his oversized rubber dinosaurs.

Continue reading “‘Twas the 9th Before Christmas” →

Tonight’s Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar reveal had us seeing double. By now it’s obvious that imaginext is using mostly leftover inventory for their calendar contents. But, I didn’t think they’d go so far as to provide the same item behind two different doors. There was a brief protest from our peanut gallery.

The drama begins.
It was a dark and snowy night. The evening seemed like any other calendar reveal night. We finished supper and our son took off running toward the calendar to see what was behind door #8. If only we could have prepared ourselves for the drama that was waiting for us. Our son slowly pulled open the rusted, squeaking door to find… A DUPLICATE BATARANG! Oh, the humanity.

Thats right, door #8 housed another Batarang to be used in Batman’s Batarang launcher. Below are detail photos.

Continue reading “Door #4 All Over Again” →

It’s December 7th and door #7 of the Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar has been unveiled. Swamp Thing is still a no show but that’s not going to stop us! ..it’s also buying me more time to gather awesome Swamp Thing items for the big giveaway.

Today the Riddler’s staff appeared from behind door #7 and it provided way more fun than I expected. It’s nice to have more accessories for both Batman and the Riddler. Although, I can’t say that all the accessories are still in one piece and don’t have various bite marks. Players gonna play.

Continue reading “New Staff But Still No Swamp Thing” →

If new handcuffs don’t help spread holiday cheer, I just don’t know what does.
Welcome back for the 6th installment of, What’s in that imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar? So far we’ve uncovered 2 figures (Christmas Batman, Christmas Riddler) & 3 accessories (Batarang, Batarang Launcher & snowball). Swamp Thing still hasn’t shown his beautiful muck-encrusted face but I have hope that it’ll be soon. When Swamp Thing finally does appear within the calendar, I’ll be holding a Christmas giveaway so stay tuned!
Until then… it’s door #6.

These baby blues were behind door #6 and unfortunately they don’t fit Christmas Batman or Riddler. Its hard to get excited about handcuffs when you can’t use them, so our son decided to add them to the Christmas tree. Pairing the handcuffs with a blue light was all his doing.

Continue reading “Day 6… Handcuffs” →

Day 5, and the search for Christmas themed Swamp Thing continues. I hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for swinging by for the December 5th Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar reveal. Let’s kick things off with a riddle.

If the end of the year is on 31 December, what is the end of Christmas?

Before I provide the answer, It’s only fitting that we see what’s behind door #5. As you’ve already guessed, it’s Christmas themed Riddler!

Continue reading “Day 5 Brings a Christmas Riddle” →

Thank you for stopping by for another Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar reveal. How many days will it be until Swamp Thing shows up in the calendar?
Our son is really getting the hang of opening the calendar doors and I’m now accustomed to tracking down the really fun accessories that are not safe for kids of his age range to play with. Everyone is having a blast. And, without further adieu I present to you, a Batman Batarang launcher.

This Christmas themed Batman weapon was behind door #4 and it consists of 2 pieces. The red Batarang is launched from the cannon when you press the red button.

A similar weapon accompanied imaginext’s Thunder Punch Batman figure, below.

With a push of a button, you too can be having minutes of fun. Our son had a good time watching the projectile fly across the room. The results are pictured below. Note: the yogurt is not product placement. JB wanted a snack for the big calendar reveal. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and enjoying their favorite snacks. Thank you, John

Welcome back for another Christmas calendar reveal. The December 2nd Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar item is a Batarang. As you can see, the bat horns are a bit chewed up. My son was excited to rip the Batarang from the calendar to give it a nibble. Needless to say, the DC Super Friends weapon/accessory will be stored in a safe place so it isn’t a choking hazard.

While we were playing with Batman and the Batarang, I noticed that it didn’t fit in Batman’s hand very well. So I jumped on the internet to see if this cool Batman choking hazard (joking) was previously released. Since Imaginext reused the Swamp Thing design for a Christmas figure, maybe they are using the calendar as a way to get rid of some of their unsold inventory. I’m speculating, but the same Batarang was released in 2014 for Imaginext’s series 1 DC Super Friends Blind Bags.

Although the 2nd Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar item wasn’t an exciting Christmas themed figure, I do have a really great Swamp Thing book to share with you!

The awesome Dallas Fantasy Fair preview book from 1991 arrived in the mail this week. The 16-page newsprint book features a portion of Rick Veitch’s cover to Swamp Thing #66, seen below.

Continue reading “December 2nd Reveal & the ‘91 Fantasy Fair” →

Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar – 2022

When I was a kid advent calendars were a fun way to countdown the days until Christmas. Most of the time they were filled with cheap chocolates that I would impatiently eat by the second week of December. Nowadays advent calendars are more unique and specialized than ever. If you’re a fan of Pop figures, Die Hard, Dolly Parton, booze, cigars, you name it–there’s an advent calendar for you. And, I found mine.

This 2022 Imaginext DC Super Friends Advent Calendar features Swamp Thing, along with 23 DC figures and/or accessories. The 24-piece calendar was released in September and I’ve been anxiously waiting for today (December 1st) to open the first calendar door with my son. Be sure to stop by rootsoftheswampthing.com everyday in December to see which figure or accessory shows up. I’m not sure when Swamp Thing will appear but when he does, I’ll have a fun Swamp Thing related giveaway to celebrate.

Before we get to the December 1st advent figure, below are some photos of Swamp Thing from the advent calendar packaging. Swamp Thing appears to be DC’s Christmas tree and he made his way on the front and back of the box.

If the advent Swamp Thing figure looks familiar, it’s because Imaginext released a similar figure in 2018 within the Batman & Swamp Thing figure set (left image, below). Christmas lights were added to the advent calendar version of Swampy. Swamp Thing’s eyes are yellow on the advent figure, while the 2018 Imaginext Swamp Thing has red eyes.

Continue reading “Swamp Thing’s Lights are Strung” →