Yo Quero Batman Cups

32oz of Delicious Dark Knight Beverages

When I was a kid, our kitchen cupboards were overflowing with collectible glasses decorated with all of my favorite characters. We had glasses with Ronald McDonald and his friends, the Burger King and his pals, plus ones with characters from Star Wars, Star Trek, Looney Tunes, the Muppets, the Superfriends, the cast of Happy Days… just so many great glasses.

And, as we now know, the art on those glasses were created with paint that contained unsafe levels of lead. Partially because of this (but mostly to save on manufacturing costs), many fast food chains switched from offering painted glasses to collectible plastic cups. One of those was Taco Bell’s 1989 line of Batman cups.

It’s hard to explain how big Bat-Mania was in 1989. Other than the Superman films, films based on comic book characters were few and far between. Prior to the release of Tim Burton’s Batman, the character was thought of by most as “campy” thanks to the television show from the 1960s. Burton’s film seemed dark with an A-list cast including Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Bassinger. Prior to the film’s release, Batman shirts flooded stores (and flea markets) and toy manufacturers couldn’t wait for Christmas to arrive.

Taco Bell’s line of Batman cups were a hot commodity, even if they were relatively easy to acquire. As far as collectible cups go, the designs did not offer a lot of variance. All four cups were purple, blue, and black. The four cups were nicknamed “Batman”, “Batmobile”, “Batwing”, and “Gotham City”. Each cup also featured the Batman logo, a short paragraph about the cup, and Batman in one of four poses.

While I’ve never been a huge fan of comic books or super hero flicks, it was impossible not to get swept up by the fever pitch surrounding 1989’s Batman. The Summer Batman was released I was working at a pizza restaurant right next to Taco Bell. My friends and I ate Taco Bell multiple times a week and had duplicates of every one of those Batman cups. Not only were we into Batman, but we also loved Dr. Pepper — a winning combination for sure!

Unlike those lead-slathered drinking glasses from the early 80s, plastic Batman cups rarely command more than five bucks. Occasionally as I unpack old tubs of toys I’ll find Batman cups full of other bits and bobs.

(Not Bob the Goon, of course.)

With each successive Batman film, the public lost a little more interest and collectibles were a little less desirable. I don’t remember people being quite so excited by the time Val Kilmer or George Clooney had taken their spot behind the cowl, but in the summer of 1989, cars lined up around Taco Bell to grab a fourth meal complete with a 32oz drink in a Batman cup.