Hot Toys just released a sneak preview image and already caused some ripples in the toy collecting community. 1st of all, they introduced the Joker in Original Costume, with a poorly sculpted head. Then, their sculpting improved and in the 2nd release, Bank Robber Joker, we get a fairly movie accurate version of the head sculpt. Of course, if you were a hardcore collector, you would've bought both versions. The 1st to get the costume that Heath Ledger appeared in most of the time in the movie, and the 2nd to get the accurate headsculpt. Then, HT decides, Okay, let's release him in the original costume again, with an accurate headsculpt.

Hmmm...

Is there such a thing as integrity from the Manufacturer...? Should collectors who bought the 1st two versions feel cheated / shortchanged that their "investments" have gone down the drain. I think most serious toy collectors would feel more or less, sore about the whole situation. Then again, we do not know how much this new version will cost (adding a word "deluxe" behind the series almost automatically mean higher cost mind you), and how the headsculpt will look like exactly (though it would be safe to presume that it would be kick ass like BRJ's). Rumour has it that people are already dumping their 1st versions on ebay!

To be honest, why so serious? I am actually looking foward to it. I mean... I've held out for both the 1st release and even Bank Robber Joker and I'd love to see what HT has to offer. I wonder if I would feel sore if I've already bought both the 2 versions released. After collecting for so long, I know that if the product does not 100% satisfy you (weighing the quality and cost), then you should not buy it. For me, version 1 head really sucked, and so I didn't buy it. Version 2 was really tempting, and if I bought it, I would probably be very happy even if the newest version is going to be better.