Holy haul of Batstuff

Like a lot of children in the '60s, Mark Suplee was glued to the TV set and

Batman

.

He and his buddies loved anything to do with the Caped Crusader. In his Somerton neighborhood, the boys played with black-and-blue action figures. They raced toy Batmobiles. They washed their hair with shampoo that came in plastic bottles shaped like the Dynamic Duo.

Suplee's friends outgrew the fascination with all things Batman.

"I didn't," said the 45-year-old Dresher father of two and sales manager for a payroll company. Suplee wore a black T with the familiar logo of a silhouetted bat against a yellow ellipse.

While Batman is as popular as ever - The Dark Knight took in a record $158.3 million at the box office in its first weekend - Suplee likes the character more than most.

He has a Bat Cave, after all.

There in the finished basement of his colonial house, wooden shelves display a vast collection of memorabilia: Batman action figures, Batman mugs - and rugs - Batman posters, Batman snow globes, Batman PEZ dispensers, more then 3,000 items in all. That includes the Batman nightlight. And Batman trash can. And Lenox Batman figurine. And the Batman (and Robin) shampoo. And the Eggo waffle box with the Batman promo.

As the Boy Wonder would no doubt exclaim, Holy collectibles, Batman!

"It's grown greatly as he's gotten older," said Barb, 44, his wife of 14 years. "There's more stuff in the closet, stuff in the attic."

"Batman is just cool," he offered as explanation and perhaps defense of a pursuit that has consumed thousands of dollars.

Suplee, though, can't be all that obsessed. He waited until Friday afternoon to catch The Dark Knight, noting that he likes what he's seen of Christian Bale's take on the hero, though he thought the new movie turned out darker than he had expected. (For the record, George Clooney's rendition of the role got a thumbs down.)

Suplee finds appeal in the good-vs.-evil story, he said. Batman "has no superpowers," he said. "He's just a real person. . . . His parents are killed by criminals, and he wants to fight crime."

His collection, he said, connects him to his childhood. A favorite piece is a 1966 metal lunch box, just like one he had back in the day. "It reminds me of being a little kid," he said.

Nostalgia for childhood often drives the amassing of pop culture toys and such, according to Arnold T. Blumberg, curator of Geppi's Entertainment Museum in Baltimore and contributing writer to Toy Collector Magazine.

"People will always collect what they love," he said. "It sparks that sense of happiness."

The iconic Batman, who made his comic book debut in 1939, is one of the most popular superheroes out there, Blumberg said.

He also is a sought-after collectible. A search for Batman on eBay yesterday netted 23,834 items. Car decals were going for a few cents. Twelve comic book issues owned by creators Bob Kane or Frank Miller had a bid of $155,000.

On the silver screen, The Dark Knight's weekend take bested all others, including Spider-Man 3.

"He's satisfying in some way," Blumberg said of the billionaire-turned-crime buster. "He sets his own rules. He knows what he does is morally right."

Suplee would agree.

And so, "he'll eat the whole box of cereal to get the little figure," said Barb, who teased her husband about the money spent over the years on his hobby instead of, well, her pursuits. (Can you say, vacation?)

At the same time, the school aide admires her husband's passion and artistic talent. Suplee has spent hours meticulously hand-painting many of the models.

In reality, it's a love affair enabled by the whole family.

Barb remembers the couple's first date and the offer of a PEZ, from a Batman dispenser. "I thought, 'OK,' " she said, then added, "That's part of his charm."

His daughters - Amber, 11, and Cara, 9 - adore the collection, which they've grown up with and know not to touch. Among the autographed photos of actors from the '60s TV series (including Adam West) are two framed pictures of the masked man, each rendered in crayon by the Suplee girls.

A ceramic trivet with Batman decorations that Suplee made as a child began it all. By 1990, he got serious after happening upon a collectibles show in New York. He had caught the fever.

It helped that he "had a real job," Barb added.

He stalks action figures at Toys R Us, haunts eBay, and digs flea markets.

Any occasion for a gift means more memorabilia. For his wedding, his brother-in-law gave him a Batmobile toy car from a childhood race set. Big hit.

"I'm easy to buy for," Suplee said, although Barb lamented she's running out of possibilities because he has so much.

Suplee's newest acquisition is a 13-inch model based on the Dark Knight (from the new movie), a vanquished Joker at his feet. His priciest treasure is a cold-cast porcelain prototype of the Big Guy - one of only five made, he said - that he snared for about $500.

Most items have cost him from $20 to $50, Suplee said.

The collection also boasts its share of villains out to create mayhem in Gotham City. Joker tops the list. "He's so colorful next to Batman's darkness," Suplee said.

In the midst of this, he keeps a home office. On his desk is a Batman and Robin mousepad and a red Gotham phone.

It never ends.

"He could be doing worse things," said his Batgirl.

"Golf."