Sunday, June 02, 2013

Tutlings

HEAR YE, CITIZENS OF MODERN THEBES!  
YOUR BELOVED MONARCH HAS RETURNED!
ON YOUR KNEES, HELOTS!




Or he will return when the new1960s TV Batman Heroclix set comes out.  This set is the first and only chance to get figures for the "Special Guest Villains" who appeared only on the show and never in comic books.  There's been no word on who's in the set yet, but I guarantee it'll have a King Tut figure, or mine name ain't Amenophis Tufik.  Because what's the point of doing such a set without King Tut, one of the series' most memorable guest-stars?




"*sniff*  I am truly touched.  Really, just ask anyone."


In a show where everyone started at "over the top" and went from there, Victor Buono's variegated and deluded King Tut outdid them all.  Sure, the other supercriminals were vivid portrayals, but Buono's King Tut was larger than life.  Even in his quieter moments (which never lasted more than 40 seconds) he was like an A-bomb that had been dropped on the set.

I have no doubt that when the time came to tear down the Batman sets, they just brought in Victor Buono in his King Tut costume and said, "Okay, Vic, baby, stop holding back! Really let loose this time!"


"The set has been struck as if by the devastating hand of Ra, all-seeing god of the sun.  
Now, sweep up the shards and bring me some potato salad."


Nobody, and I mean nobody, got away with as much as Victor Buono did.  And the character of King Tut gave him the opportunity. Although some other criminals (such as the Joker or the Riddler) were clearly emotionally unusual people, King Tut was the only one who was in fact STARK RAVING MAD and Victor Buono took full advantage of it.  



There is no way she got paid enough for that.


To this day when I watch the show, it's still hard for me to comprehend that Professor William Omaha McElroy and King Tut are the same person, even when I see Buono go from one to the other in the same scene.  

But Tut deserves worshippers, loyal subjects, and royal retainers!  Bring on the Tutlings, courtesy of Israeli illustrator Aviv Irzcovitz:







5 comments:

jim said...

Long Love Tut, the Magnificent!!!

SallyP said...

Oh King Tut. One of my favorite Bat villains. I was SO crushed when I found out that he wasn't in the books...because he SHOULD BE!

Nathan Hall said...

Tut-tut, Sally. The comics have Maxie Zeus in a very similar role. Sure, he's Greek, but Victor Buono was hardly a boy queen. If age doesn't matter, neither should geography.

Randy Jackson said...

This likely doesn't make logical sense to anyone but me, but now I'm missing Mojo Jojo.

Anonymous said...

And of course that's the lovely Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) nuzzling up to King Tut in the first picture. She deserves her own Clix!