90s Cartoon Toys and Memorabilia: The Collector's Map

Many 1990s cartoon collectibles grew from comic books and studio series rather than from toy lines. Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men: The Animated Series lead here, with Kenner and Toy Biz figures from the decade and licensed lines made since. Start with one show, learn its original wave, then decide between originals and newer releases.

Which 90s cartoons have collectible toys?

The table lists every 1990s show we track, sorted by first air date. Linked shows have their own guide; the rest are listed so you can see the decade as a whole and will get guides in later batches.

How is 90s collecting different from the 80s?

The 80s lines were often designed together with their shows. Two of the biggest 90s shows started from comics instead: Batman: The Animated Series adapted DC Comics’ Batman, and X-Men: The Animated Series adapted Marvel’s mutant team. The figures came from toy companies holding the comic licenses, Kenner for Batman and Toy Biz for the X-Men.

That changes how the lines are dated. Toy Biz’s X-Men figures started in 1991, a year before the cartoon premiered on Fox Kids in October 1992, so an early X-Men figure is not a tie-in to the show at all. Kenner’s Batman figures, by contrast, were made for the animated series that began on Fox Kids in September 1992.

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• Batman animated (Kenner)Browse →
• X-Men (Toy Biz)Browse →
• Gargoyles (Kenner)Browse →

What has been made since the originals?

Both shows came back to toy shelves long after their first runs. The X-Men story continued in X-Men ’97, which premiered on Disney+ on March 20, 2024 and picks up where the 1992 series ended. Batman: The Animated Series has had several licensed lines from different makers since the Kenner era.

A newer licensed figure is the easier gift and is often closer to the cartoon’s look. An original Kenner or Toy Biz figure is the collector’s choice, and it is the one to check against a wave list before buying.

Which other 90s shows are on our list?

The era table above already lists the shows we plan to cover next. A few groups stand out, each with its own collectors.

• The Disney afternoon shows. TaleSpin opened with a Disney Channel preview on May 5, 1990, and Darkwing Duck with a sneak preview on March 31, 1991. The Disney Afternoon syndicated block, launched on September 10, 1990, paired TaleSpin with DuckTales, Rescue Rangers and Gummi Bears; Darkwing Duck joined in the 1991 to 1992 season.
• Comic-book and action shows. Spider-Man premiered on Fox Kids on November 19, 1994, and Gargoyles, from Walt Disney Television Animation, on October 24, 1994. Kenner made a Gargoyles figure line in 1995.
• Comedy and prime time. Rugrats started on Nickelodeon on August 11, 1991, Animaniacs on Fox Kids on September 13, 1993, and Futurama on Fox on March 28, 1999.
• Transformers, continued. Beast Wars: Transformers, from Mainframe Entertainment, began in 1996.

Each will get a guide once we can confirm its toy lines and what collectors look for, show by show.

Other 90s memorabilia worth knowing

Figures are only part of the decade. Production cels from 90s series also turn up for sale; our animation cels guide explains how to tell a production cel from a sericel or a print, and when studios moved from cels to digital color. For the school-day side of collecting, see our lunch boxes guide.

The shows in this section

Each show below has its own guide to the original toy line, what a complete figure includes and the licensed lines made since. For the decade before, see our 1980s cartoon memorabilia guide.