The Caped Crusader has already crushed the box office, must he dominate innocent felted Muppets, too?

The hotly anticipated Elmo Live will make his retail debut in October. The talented little guy sings, cracks jokes, and tilts his head. After the toy's spectacular showing at the industry fair, retailers talked excitedly of a "crush of consumer demand" for the animated plaything. Yesterday, stores began accepting pre-orders for the king of cute.

Maybe Elmo Live will be the hottest toy of the holidays. There's time, still, and he certainly has a record of sparking Yuletide stampedes. Yet, the current picture in Search isn't so lively. The newest offering from "Sesame Street" has been trampled over by surging demand for toys representing the most famous crime fighter in Gotham.

Yesterday, interest in "elmo live" logged a modest uptick; "Batman toys" surged nearly 300%. Interest in "elmo games" doubled; lookups for "batman games," "lego batman toys," "batman vintage toys," and "new batman toys" swept formidably across the Search box.

Of course, Batman has a smash hit playing on screens around the globe and little Elmo isn't even available in stores yet. Come December, the plucky red plushie may show the Dark Knight a thing or two about cornering the market. Until then, he'll just have to grin and bear it.