Tag Archives: batman

Oct 21 2016

Femme Fatales “DC Animated Series:” Catwoman by Diamond Select

I started this week with a Marvel DST Statue, so let’s end it with a DC DST Statue. That seems only fair. Besides, the lovely Bruce Timm styled Catwoman has been sitting around waiting to be opened for over a month now. Diamond has been reworking this line into the DC Animated Gallery so that they can include some dudes, but Catwoman is still under the name Femme Fatales. Time to let this kitty out of the box!

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Speaking of the box, we’ve seen this packaging before. There are windows on three sides as well as the top panel to let a lot of light in and allow you to scrutinize the paint on your purchase before handing your money over to local comic shop guy. But not me. Oh no. My local comic shop ain’t so local. It’s over an hour away, so I have to roll the dice and hope the Amazon gods are smiling on the day their drone picks mine from the warehouse. There’s no assembly required here, so Selina comes out of the box all ready for action…

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And looking every bit like she pounced right out of the cartoon! Catwoman is wearing her skin tight gray body suit that shows off all of her wonderful womanly curves. As this is an animated piece there’s not a whole lot going on in the way of sculpted detail, just a lot of smooth surfaces. But at the same time, everything about the costume is part of the sculpt, so you get clear definitions at the edges of the boots and gloves and the string of yellow disks that make up her belt. The whip that she clutches in her left hand is a strip of bendy plastic and you can position it so it lands on the base by her foot or dangling off the side.

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As a budget line, I’ve been taking the paint quality on these in stride. None of my pieces in this line have had outrageously bad paint (just that Marvel Gallery Lady Deadpool!), but some have been better than others. I’m overall pleased with what I got here, although these statues tend to suffer from rubbing and light scratching over the large smooth areas. That was most prevalent with the gray suit on my Batgirl and it’s still the case with this piece. Granted, the studio lights and scrutiny of the camera tend to make it look worse than it is when displayed under normal lights. It would be great if they could clean this up, but I’ve learned to live with it. Otherwise, the only paint issue I can see on mine is a bit of yellow slop from her belt on her left hip, and that’s a pretty small flub.

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The portrait matches the animated style pretty well. Again, she has sculpted lines around her hood and mask and between the mask and her skin. The paint lines between skin and mask could have been a little sharper, but I’m really picking nits here, especially on a piece in this price range. The red paint used for her lips, on the other hand, is nice and clean.

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DST really went all out on the base here. It’s a rather large slab of rooftop with stone texturing and some sculpted bricks. That seriously would have been plenty, but they opted to add an adorable little kitty cat emerging from a chimney with a sack of diamonds in his mouth. This extra bit really goes a long way to give this piece some wonderful personality and I’m glad they did it.

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Once again, I find myself delighted to be collecting this line, especially since I’ve been resisting the urge to collect DST’s line of DC Animated figures. These statues give me some of that wonderful Bruce Timm style for my shelves, and between the low price point and frequency of releases, it’s something that I feel I can collect at my leisure and not worry about getting too far behind. These pieces continue to retail at about $45, but Amazon has been pretty competitive and pricing them between $30-$40, and that feels like a decent value to me.

Sep 30 2016

DC Icons: (#14) The Joker by DC Collectibles

DC Collectibles is ramping up their DC Icons line to epic proportions in 2017 (seriously, there are a ton of these things coming out!), but for now, 2016 has been experiencing some delays in the last two waves. And yet, here we have The Joker from “A Death in the Family.” I don’t know what the deal was with him, but he slipped out to online retailers about a month before his wave was due to hit the pegs. I was going to wait and pick up the whole shebang when it shipped, but in the end, I just couldn’t resist getting him early.

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The package design is exactly the same as what we’ve been seeing all along. You get a nice, clean window box with a spiffy angled edge. The side panel has the figure’s name, number, and the source comic he’s based on. Everything is collector friendly and if space wasn’t such an issue, I’d certainly be keeping these packages. Sadly, they have to go to make room for more figures. So, let’s get him out of the box and check him out!

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Damn, I love the look of this version. For a character that has spanned comics, cartoons, TV and film, it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite incarnation of The Joker, so many of them have their merits. I could definitely pick a least favorite, but why pour gasoline on that fire? With that having been said, this figure takes some of my all time favorite elements of the character and blends them together into a why-so-seriously great look. The purple high collared trench coat, the pimp hat, orange waistcoat, striped trousers, and spats is the epitome of Joker outfits for me, and I particularly love the long and lanky body that this guy is built on.

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Complaints? I have a few. The way the waistcoat is painted on below the ab-crunch doesn’t look all that great, but I don’t see any other way around it. There are also a few stray marks of paint on my figure’s coat, but nothing too bad.

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The head sculpt here is fantastic. I love how they did the mouth. You can see straight between the teeth and there’s all kinds of detail in there, including his tongue. The paint on the face is pretty solid too, so long as you don’t get in too tight. He’s got some sparkly eye makeup and the bright green they used for his eyebrows and hair is perfect.

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The articulation here is consistent with what we’ve been seeing. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, double hinges in the elbows, and swivels in the biceps. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double hinges in the knees, and the ankles feature both hinges and lateral rockers. There’s an ab-crunch hinge in the waist, and the neck is ball jointed. You get a total of five hands with the figure, but they aren’t complete sets. The figure comes with a set of fists, but the other three are all right hands. Here’s my biggest complaint with the figure, but first, let’s look at the two accessories.

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First, you get this nifty crowbar. There’s a hand designed to hold it, although the crowbar tends to slide in the grip. There’s a gap between the fingers if you want to pass it through and have him hold it that way, but I think it looks a little awkward.

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And then there’s my favorite accessory, the Thompson sub-machine gun. This thing is absolutely fantastic. I mean, just look at the paint apps and sculpt on this little weapon and compare it to what Hasbro is doing with their Marvel Legends weapons. It’s night and day. I think this is even better than most of the incredible small arms NECA is putting out with their figures these days. And that’s high praise indeed! Unfortunately, DCC included what appear to be two slightly different right gun holding hands, instead of a left hand to grab the front grip of the gun. They were already including an extra hand, so why make it an additional and unnecessary right hand. I’m baffled by this.

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Hand issues notwithstanding, this Joker is another top notch addition to my DC Icons shelf. This entire line has been quality from day one, and it’s exciting to finally be expanding on some of the more tightly related characters in the DC Universe. The Joker looks great alongside Harley or facing off against Batman. The fact that DCC is expanding this line next year pleases me to no end, and I’m particularly excited to pick up Firestorm when the rest of this wave finally hits.

Aug 12 2016

Batman (Classic TV Series): Batman, Robin & Batgirl Box Set by Mattel

For today’s DC Friday, I’m pulling out a line that I thought I was done with. As most of you probably remember, the 1966 Batman TV Series was in licensing limbo for a long time. No DVDs, no toys, no nothing. Well a couple of years back some lawyers reminded everyone involved that money is a good thing and managed to break that log jam. The result was an avalanche of toys and merchandise. Mattel scored the 6-inch scale action figure license and produced a couple of series of figures and while they were far from exceptional, they were fairly decent by Mattel standards.“Holy backhanded compliment, Matty, are you going to let him get away with that?” SHUT THE HELL UP, ROBIN, ADULTS ARE TALKING!!! I liked the figures well enough, but let’s face it, they would have been in better hands with just about anyone else. Where was I? Oh yeah… let’s look at this…

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Yvonne Craig was one of the last hold outs in terms of likeness rights, Mattel finally got them, but the timing was awkward and unfortunate as the line was already breathing its final breaths. The package even makes a funny little jab at that fact with Robin’s quote: “Holy return from oblivion, Batman!” Mattel managed to get the figure out anyway, but in a typical Mattel dick move, they released her in this three-figure boxed set, making sure that pretty much everyone buying her was going to be re-buying the Batman and Robin figures too. This is actually my third time out with the same Batman figure, because Mattel made us buy him again in order to get Robin. Sheesh! In the end, this set arrived on store shelves around the same time the earlier figures were deep discounted on the clearance racks. I’m pretty sure this set was a Toys R Us Exclusive (that’s where I got mine), but there’s nothing denoting that on the package.

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The packaging here is actually quite nice, although based on early promo pictures, I assumed the box opened up to look like this, but nope, it’s just a weirdly shaped three-window box. Presentation was always this line’s strongest suit , and I think that’s reflected here. The colorful artwork is great and the box shows off each of the figures beautifully. The back panel even shows Batgirl’s motorcycle. which would have been a pretty cool vehicle for Mattel to make if this line had lived longer. While the individual carded figures were not at all collector friendly, this set is, so between the Batmobile and these figures, I still have the look of the package represented on my shelf. Anyway, if you haven’t guessed by now I’m really here to check out the Batgirl figure.  I’m not going to spend a lot of time with Batman and Robin, because I’ve already featured them here several years back. But let’s take a quick look at them anyway…

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Batman is the same as the carded release, which just means he doesn’t have the wire running through his cape. So, I suppose if you only bought the Batman & Robin 2-pack, this figure is new to you. Robin also comes sans cape wire, which means he’s also sort of a new figure and he’s nice to have as he fits in the Batmobile better than wire-cape Robin. The paint on this pair is OK, but the quality seems to have dropped a smidge from the earlier runs. My Robin has a stray mark of green paint on his upper right leg and my Batman has a stray blue mark on his chest. Overall, though, not bad.

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The articulation on these figures is pretty good for what are essentially Mattel’s Movie Masters line. The arms feature rotating hinges in the shoulders, swivels in the biceps and wrists, and hinges in the elbows. The legs feature those lateral hinges, which should be familiar to people from the DC Universe Classics days. There are swivels in the thighs and hinges in both the knees and ankles. There’s an ab crunch in chest and the necks are ball jointed. The right thigh swivel on my Batman is fused. It’s probably an easy fix with a little heat, but seeing as I now own three of these, I don’t think I’ll bother. A lot of people loved to shit all over these figures, but I really do enjoy them a lot. If these were available when I was a kid, it would have blown my little mind. Moving on to Batgirl…

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I watched the intro of every episode of Batman with baited breath to see if Batgirl was going to drive by in the animated intro sequence. They did that whenever she was going to appear and while I’m not sure I knew why back then, I always wanted her to appear. She made me feel funny in every good way possible. Mmmm… Batgirl. What? Oh, the figure… right. This was a great costume. It was campy and colorful and it really showed off Barbara’s Bat Assets. The costume itself is recreated quite nicely here, but something about Batgirl’s figure is lost in her figure. She just ends up looking a little too boxy in the hips and a little too lanky in the limbs. The same was the case with this line’s Catwoman. Still, all in all, I think the good outweighs the bad here.

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The cape is cool, so long as you’re OK with it always being spread out. The stitching is surprisingly well done for a figure in this scale and the fabric matches the purple paint on the cowl fairly closely. It’s definitely going for a singular look, but it displays nice on the shelf, so long as you don’t stand anyone behind her.

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The head sculpt is fine, although it really begs the question why Mattel needed the rights to Yvonne Craig’s likeness to make this figure. Sure, it looks like her, but I attribute that mostly to the cowl and mask and hair. The eyes are painted sharp and straight and the extra flare of mascara really sells it, but it’s hard to believe they had to pay out to the actress just for the eyes and the lower half of the face sculpt. If this were a Hot Toys figure or even a NECA release, I could understand it. You’d get more of an attempt at accuracy in the sculpt. This feels more like what we might have had in a vintage action figure likeness.

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The articulation here is pretty close to what we saw in The Dynamic Duo. You get identical articulation in the neck, arms, and legs. The only difference here is that the ab crunch on Batman and Robin is replaced with a ball joint under the chest. At least I think it’s a ball joint. Truth be told it only allows for a swivel on my figure. Despite her tiny feet and high heeled boots, she can stand surprisingly well. As for getting her to high kick? Well, as the fine print on the packages often say, that required some additional support.

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One of the fun little gimmicks of this line was the inclusion of stands for all the figures, each of which featured one of the comic style fight expletives. In this case, Batman gets “BAM!” Batgirl gets “SOCK!” and Robin gets “WHAMM!!” Each has a foot peg to secure the figure and there’s a slot in the back to stick in the collector card, which doubles as a backdrop. I’ve opted not to remove my cards from the box, but the fronts have animated shots of the characters, and I presume the backs have stills from the TV series. At least that’s how the carded figures did it.

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As I mentioned earlier, I really do like these figures and think it’s a shame they get dumped on as much as they do. I would have certainly been all in for another wave of villains. I think one of the big problems is that despite the “Adult Collector” moniker on the package, these feel more like toys to me than collectibles. But that’s fine, because in that sense they’re fulfilling a wish that I had as a kid. There’s no doubt a company like NECA could have done these better, hell they proved that with their one off Adam West Batman release, but I’m all for enjoying these for what they are, rather than lamenting over what they could have been. One legitimate gripe I do have about these was the price. These figures retailed for $20 a pop and these are definitely not twenty dollar figures. Not in any dimension. Fifteen? Yeah, I guess. And here’s where having to buy this whole set to get Batgirl won back a little favor with me. I got mine for $30 on clearance, which means if I factor Batgirl in at $20, I only paid five bucks a piece for the Dynamic Duo.

Jul 29 2016

Son of Batman (DC Animated Movie Series): Batman by DC Collectibles

I know, a lot of you were probably expecting me to wrap up Wave 3 of DC Icons today on DC Friday. Pfft… like I’m going to buy Aquaman! Kidding! Kidding! Of course, I picked up Aquaman and he’s a fantastic figure. Truth be told, I’ve had a busy week and I didn’t have enough time to do Aquaman justice, so I opted to take a little detour and check out another one of the DC Animated Movie Series by DC Collectibles. These are pretty simple figures and don’t take nearly as long for me to look at. So let’s have a look at Batman from the Son of Batman movie! Hopefully his arm won’t fall off like Green Lantern’s did.

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It’s confession time! I haven’t seen Son of Batman yet, but I hear it’s pretty good. I actually bought this figure as a stand in for a Justice League War Batman that was never produced. Regardless, the figure comes carded in the same style as the JLW figures only with Son of Batman on the front insert and stills from the movie on the card behind the figure. The back of the card shows other figures in the line: Robin, Nightwing, and Deathstroke. If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll say a quick prayer to the QC Gods and get Bats out of his package.

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Alright! I’m happy to report that Batman made it out of the package without any breakage and looking pretty sharp. I was expecting a recycled buck from the JLW Hal Jordan or Barry Allen, but Batman looks mostly new. The overall shape and style of the body is similar, but Batman lacks the detailed muscles in the abs, making this look more like light armor. Most of the costume is achieved through paint apps. It’s a very dark charcoal gray with black painted panel lines, boots, gloves, and bat symbol on the chest. The gold belt is a mix of sculpt and paint and looks pretty good.In fact, all the paint on this figure is quite solid.

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The cape is particularly well done. I love the way it covers the shoulders rather tightly, it fans out just the right amount, and the scalloped edges end just a bit above the ground, so it’s not dragging. Nice!

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The head sculpts have been hit or miss in this line. We’ve had the sloppy Hal Jordan, the deformed Superman, and a pretty solid Wonder Woman and Cyborg. I’m happy to report that Batman can be counted with the better ones. Not only is the cowl excellent, but the exposed part of the face is clean and sharp and actually looks great.

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The articulation on these figures is the same throughout all the male bucks. It’s OK, but not great. It’s loads better than what we used to get from DC Direct, but not quite up to snuff with the other modern DC Collectibles lines. You get rotating hinges in the shoulders and elbows, hinges in the knees, ball joints in the hips, and a ball joint in the neck. A couple of my figure’s joints were a little tight out of the package, but I was able to coax everything into moving without breaking.

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That’s it! I said today was going to be quick and it was. I’d rate Batman among the best of these figures so far, or at least of the ones I’ve already opened. The stylized sculpt suits him beautifully, the paint is sharp and neat, the portrait is solid, and I’ve really got nothing at all to complain about. Well… at $20, the original price is a bit high for what you’re getting here, but I’ve been picking these up for ten bucks a pop, and I’m certainly satisfied here.So far, the best I can say is that I’d be happy to just own this one and Wonder Woman as stylized stand alone figures, but it’s not a line I’d recommend at anything other than deep discounts.

Mar 18 2016

Femme Fatales “DC Animated Series:” Talia Al Ghul by Diamond Select

DST continues to work overtime churning out the statues from their new Femme Fatales and DC Animated Series partnership. I’ve been enjoying this line a lot, but I’ll confess it’s getting a bit exhausting to keep up with it since the line launched late last year. The modest little nook I set aside for the initial releases has now grown to a full shelf. Not only are they up to a half dozen regular releases, but there have already been a pair of Exclusives. The first was the 2015 SDCC Supergirl variant and now we have the first completely original Exclusive via e-tailer, Entertainment Earth… Talia Al Ghul!

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The box features the lovely deco based off Batman: The Animated Series and with windows positioned front, top and both sides, you can really get a great look at the statue before even removing it from the box. The front window has an EE Exclusive sticker and the top flap is sealed with a strip of Exclusive foil tape denoting that this is #1369 of 2000. There is no statement of limitation on the statue itself. Looks like I’m going in through the bottom! Talia first appeared B:TAS in the S2 episode “Off Balance” and later in the S3, two-parter “The Demon’s Quest” and this statue is an amalgam of both appearances. These were solid episodes with the unexpected Helen Slater voicing Talia and the great David Warner (always a favorite of mine) voicing Ras. Ah, Ras. “Have sex with my daughter or I’ll kill you!” Those are the kinds of arch villains I want if I ever get to be a superhero.

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Talia dons her “all business” black catsuit from “Off Balance” as opposed to her “all pleasure” temptress harem garb from “The Demon’s Quest.” While there was certainly something to be said for the later, I’m glad DST went with this look. Talia’s character started out strong only to get neutered somewhere between the two episodes and I think this version is a much better fit for the line. But, hey… if they want to do the other version somewhere down the road, I’d be on board. Since this is an animated style statue, the amount of sculpted detail is limited. I really like the way the edges of the gloves and boots are sculpted so as to look real and not only achieved with a shallow cut and paint lines. The portrait is well done, particularly the way her hair covers half of her face. The belt, holster, and thigh strap are all also part of the sculpt and look good. At about 9-inches tall, she scales perfectly with most of her fellow Femme Fatales.

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With these simpler animated style statues, the paint is all the more important in order to carry the day and Talia here sports some of the best quality paint I’ve seen in this series so far. There is virtually no slop to speak of here and the gray and purple on her outfit are very clean. The paintwork on her face looks especially crisp, which is a nice change after having a little flub on the right eye of my Wonder Woman statue. If I had one complaint here it would be the paint on her pistol isn’t as sharp as it could be, but I can live with that.

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Speaking of the pistol, it’s one of the two “accessories” that Talia is holding, the other being the Mask of Anubis. This is one of the points in which this statue straddles Talia’s first two appearances in the series, as the mask appeared in “The Demon’s Quest” and was worn as a disguise by her father.

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The other nod to “The Demon’s Quest” is the base, which depicts Talia standing on rocky ground at the end of a Lazarus Pit. It’s a great choice for a base and it looks pretty good. The bubbles added to the life-restoring soup are a nice touch. This contextual liberty that draws aspects from both episodes doesn’t bother me at all, but it might irk some purists out there looking for a statue from a definitive episode.

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Talia is another solid release in this line, and quite possibly one of my favorites so far. It’s great to be able to get all the animated styles of DC’s ladies together in one place and scale, especially for someone like me who hasn’t bought into DC Collectibles Animated figures… yet. Of course, the other big draw here is the price. With MSRP’s in the forty dollar range, these pieces really are some of the most affordable statues on the market and perfect for collectors who want to add some statues to their shelves, but not break the bank on higher end pieces. Talia is still available from EE at $45 plus shipping, but even as a limited store exclusive, this one can currently be had at a better deal elsewhere. I picked up mine from Amazon at $35 shipped, which is a solid deal for a regular edition, but even better for a limited piece like this one.

Jan 29 2016

DC Icons: (#01) Batman by DC Collectibles

Last Friday I kicked off my look at DC Collectibles’ DC Icons series with Mister Miracle and I was notably impressed. Today, I’m pulling another figure off the stack and it’s Batman! Yeah, I went after Mister Miracle first because of my love for the character, but let’s face it… when you’re taking a new line of DC figures out for spin, Batman really is the best place to start!

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We saw the packaging last time, so I won’t dwell on it. It’s attractive and shows off the figure and the accessories well. My figure’s box is a little miffed up, but that’s OK. Just let me at the goods inside!

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Out of the box and Batman is looking damn fine. Being only a casual fan of Bats, I’m not sure which one they were going for here, but I dig the somewhat classic look of the outfit. There are no panel lines, so it sure ain’t from The New 52. Yeah, he’s a lot more understated than the snazzy metallic finish of my-man Scott Free, but I love the look of this guy. You get a traditional gray body suit with blue undies on the outside and high gloss blue boots and gauntlets. There’s a black bat emblem tampo’ed on his chest and a chunky yellow utility belt.

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The cape is a fairly light and pliable plastic that doesn’t throw off the balance of the figure at all. It also ends just above the ground and isn’t too cumbersome for most action shots. At the same time, it does sometimes feel restrictive in it’s inability to spread out behind him when he’s doing his intimidating Batman stuff. I do like the way it’s sculpted to plunge behind his neck and the scalloped edges look great.

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The portrait features a classic blue cowl and a face sculpt that is solid enough, but nothing exceptional. It’s a little bit soft, but still OK. I dig the detail in his furled brow.

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Articulation is a big deal with this line, which is a new departure for many of DC Collectibles’ figures. Let’s run down those points… The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders and wrists, swivels in the biceps, and double hinges in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips, have double hinges in the knees, hinges in the ankles, along with lateral rockers, and swivels buried under the boots. The torso features both a ball joint and an ab crunch and the neck is ball jointed. Batman is a beautifully balanced figure and loads of fun to play with.

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Accessories! Batman comes with two pairs of hands (fists and holding hands), in addition to a grappel with a hand permanently attached to it. He also comes with a pair of very cool little batarangs.

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Yes, if I had to describe this figure with one word it would be FUN FUN FUN! OK, that’s one word three times, but I’m making a point. Maybe there’s nothing flashy or revolutionary about DC Icons Batman, but his lovely mix of articulation and accessories make him a hard figure to put down. He’s only the second notch on my DC Icons belt, but I can still feel my love for this line growing. At this point, the only complaint I can muster is that I really wish these figures came with action stands. I’ve been cheating with a Figma stand by putting the peg under the cape, but I’m really going to have to invest in a Tamashii Stage to unlock their true potential.

May 2 2014

DC Unlimited: Injustice Batman by Mattel

With all the Marvel Legends love around here these days I’ve been really missing DC Universe Classics something fierce. Why is it that Hasbro can make Marvel 6-inch figures perform so well at retail but Mattel couldn’t? In the end, it might have something to do with Hasbro’s deft marketing of even comic based figures as movie tie-ins. Either way, I was jonesing bad enough that I went into my private stash of DC Unlimited. I’ve had some of these figures sitting around unopened since before Christmas just waiting for an occasion like this when I needed a fix. Today we’re going to check out Batman from the Injustice: Gods Among Us video game.

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Ah, it’s nice to see this packaging again. I always enjoyed the presentation for Mattel’s 6-inch line, but I think it hit its peak with the Unlimited releases. While I’m not currently buying any of their 4-inch line I like that they retained this style for those figures. I find it strangely comforting to still see it hanging on the pegs at Target. You get a great look at the figure and a really nice piece of character art on that angled side insert. Beautiful!

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I’ll have to confess to not having played Injustice yet. As much as I love fighting games, I tend not to buy them until they hit the bargain bins unless they’re a Capcom or SNK release. I don’t have many friends who are into fighting games and I don’t enjoy going online and getting my ass kicked by a 13 year old while he tells me about how he made sweet love to my sister last night. Little f’ckers! I have, however, watched a ton of videos of people playing the game and it looks like a lot of fun and something that I’ll need to pick up sooner or later. Of course, glancing at the stack of unopened games on my shelf, it’ll likely be later rather than sooner. Anyway, let’s open up Bats.

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The character designs for the game have been hit and miss with me, but Batman got a gorgeous makeover. It’s all about the armor. Oh, that gorgeous armor. It’s not a drastic departure from Bats’ regular look, but the two-tone grey and black and the sculpted reinforced plates just make this one of the most attractive Batsuits I’ve seen in a while. Everything looks so beautifully curved and chiseled and the intricacies of the armor are married so perfectly with the glossy sheen of the plastic. Just check out all the detail work in the abdomen and the stylish redesign of the utility belt. Man, that’s awesome. You also get those cool bladed fins on his gauntlets and I really dig the way the cape starts at the top corners of his breast plates and cascades back over his shoulders. The sculpt and coloring here goes above and beyond what I’m used to seeing in the DCU line. What’s not to like? Well, the knee and shin guards seem out of place. The matte grey doesn’t match the rest of the armor making them look rather tacked on.

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I think the biggest departure here from traditional Bats is found in the helmet. It’s more armored and some may find the combination of black blue and grey a little much. Personally, I like the way it carries on the motif of the rest of the suit. I also dig the creepy pupil-less eyes. About my only complaint here is the ears. They’re pretty soft and bendy, so they don’t stand straight up like they’re supposed to.

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The articulation here is pretty good. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, hinged at the elbows and feature swivels and hinges in the wrists, but sadly no bicep swivels. The legs have the usual DCUC style hips, ball joints in the knees, swivels in the lower thighs, and hinges in the ankles. The chest appears to have a ball joint, but all it seems good for is a swivel. Lastly, the neck has a ball joint with a nice range of motion.

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The only reason I picked up this figure was because it was part of Amazon’s crazy pre-Christmas deals. I think I wound up getting him and some others for about $6 each. He turned out to be a hidden gem for me, as he’s definitely one of my favorite Batman figures in my 6-inch scale collection. While not all the designs in Injustice are as cool as Batman, I’ve enjoyed this figure enough that I might try to hunt down a few more. I know I have Green Lantern sitting in my pile of unopened figures, but I think a purchase of The Joker is a must.

Jan 11 2014

Batman Classic TV Series: Batman & Robin by Mattel

Yesterday we looked at the last Club Infinite Earths release, which happened to be a Batman figure. Well I really wanted to wrap up some unfinished business this weekend, and so at the risk of being repetitive today we’re going to look at the last two figures I have yet to feature in Mattel’s 1966 Batman series. With all the single carded figures already under my belt, this boxed two-pack is all that’s left of this rather brief run. Mattel were real bastards about making Robin an exclusive to this set. Any of us that were buying a complete assortment of the first wave wound up with two of the same Batman figures. I wasn’t going to bite, but when this set turned up on Amazon over the holidays for $13 shipped, I couldn’t resist completing my Dynamic Duo.

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This two-pack comes in a sizeable box with the vintage Batman logo and a large window that lets the figures and base do most of the talking. The Caped Crusaders are carefully posed on the wall base against an animated background and they look great. I’m glad I took a picture, because it proved to be the last time I was able to achieve that look with the figures on the base. But I’ll come back to that in a little bit.

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Mattel’s presentation for this line has been spot on from the get go, but I think the deco on this box drives it home even better than the carded figures. There’s no stupid and nonsensical overreaching quote from Robin and no extrapolated artwork of the villains, at least not any that’s prominently displayed. The artwork of Batman and Robin shaking hands on the back of the box looks like it was taken directly from the TV credits and really yanks at my nostalgia pole. The side panels feature the credit artwork of the Caped Crusaders running and it just looks awesome. Just about every iconic and animated trope from the series is on display here. Let’s get the figures out and take a look.

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Batman should look familiar because it is practically the same as the carded figure I featured a few months back. The biggest difference here is the cape, which features wires running through the edges to help it fan out. I presume this was done to make the capes fall more realistically when the figures are “climbing” up the wall base. It also features a HUGE f’cking obnoxious mattress tag inside the cape, which I had to cut off. Why the hell did that have to be on this figure and not the carded one? I’m sure the real answer is ridiculous, but if anyone knows the I’d seriously be curious to hear why. The cape here isn’t really better or worse, just different. I’ll probably wind up displaying the carded one just because this cape seems to float a little higher around the neck. Otherwise, this is still a decent figure and he does come with a bonus batarang, which was excluded from the carded release.

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Moving on to the real reason I bought this set… Robin. I’ve read some mixed reactions to this figure but in hand I have to say I think he turned out quite good. The head sculpt is a little soft but still a good likeness to Burt Ward. I’m not sure about the height, maybe he’s a little too tall, but he is shorter than Batman and that works fine for me. The build of the figure’s buck is good and the detail on the costume relies as much on original sculpting as it does on paint. Robin features the same style cape as Batman with the wires in the sides and the huge tag. I imagine the wires could be removed fairly easily if you wanted him to match the carded Batman a little better, but I’m content with leaving mine the way it is.

Since this is the first time we’re seeing Robin, I’ll run down his articulation, although it’s basically the same as Batman. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, hinged at the elbows, and have swivels in the biceps and wrists. The legs have the usual DCUC style hips, Swivels in the thighs and hinges in the knees and ankles. Robin has a swivel at the waist, an ab crunch hinge in the torso and his neck is ball jointed. I’ll also throw it out there that while his legs are pretty thin, he can stand a lot better than my last DCUC Robin, so that’s a bit of a treat.

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The rest of this set is represented by a base that looks like part of the side of a building with opening windows and foot pegs for the figures. The idea here is that you can recreate the iconic scene of the Dynamic Duo climbing up the side of the buildings. During these sequences various famous actors would make cameos by popping their heads out of the windows and hilarity would ensue. It’s a great idea that sadly doesn’t work at all. Despite having a socket to help you hang the base on the wall and a small hole to attach the included rope, I find it impossible to get the figures pegged in so that they will stay in place on the vertical base, let alone do so while appearing to be climbing. If you can’t tell the photo above was obviously flipped vertically. I suppose if you were willing to glue the figures into place you could get a satisfactory result, but even then the base isn’t really big enough to make the illusion work for me. The failed execution of this makes me all the angrier that Mattel didn’t just release Robin as a single carded figure.

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This Batman and Robin 2-pack retailed at about $25-30, which isn’t all that bad for what you were getting. I was boycotting it on principal that we shouldn’t have to buy another Batman to get Robin. But as I mentioned in the opening, when the price dropped to $13 on Amazon I ended the boycott. I guess my principals are worth exactly $17. In all seriousness though, the sale price was about what Robin would have cost as a single carded figure and so I felt justified. Besides, it wasn’t until I got the Dynamic Duo together on my shelf that I realized the folly of not completing my collection with Robin. Thankfully I was never all that interested in the display base, because it just doesn’t work.

Jan 10 2014

DC Universe Signature Collection: Batzarro by Mattel

Here we go, folks, it’s the very last release in Matty’s Club Infinite Earths! Well, unless you count the four quarterly releases Matty will do this year. The Signature Collection had a pretty good run for two years and while I was still willing to sub for another year, the truth is that the waning months of the club in 2013 was starting to wear thin for me. Case in point, the last release we get is Batzarro. I’ve had this figure for a couple of weeks now and I still have mixed feelings about this guy. On the one hand, I don’t think there were many collectors out there who were asking for him and when you think of how many characters were vying for this slot, Batzarro is a ridiculous choice. On the other hand, if there was ever a viable venue for Batzarro’s release, I suppose a hardcore collector club like this one was the best way to do it.

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There’s the packaging. We may see it again, as I will be buying Ice when she’s released this year, but who knows how Matty will package her. She could come rubber banded into a plastic sandwich baggie for all we know. I don’t have anything new to say about these Signature Collection window boxes. They were well designed, nice and compact, collector friendly, and mostly had great character art. If space wasn’t such a concern for me I would have saved them all. Farewell!

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And here’s Batzarro out of the package. I have absolutely zero knowledge of this character other than what’s printed on the back of the package. Apparently he’s a clone of Batman as opposed to a legitimate Bizarro version of Batman. Does it matter? Not to me. What we have here is basically a pretty standard Batman figure in the grey and black costume with some fun tweaks. His “futility belt” is a newly sculpted piece with all the pouches upside down and opened. The bat symbol printed on his chest is also upside down. Also, I dig that the interior of the cape is grey as opposed to black. The head sculpt is new and it’s pretty damn creepy. There are no eye holes in the cowl and Batzarro sports a crazy rictus grin displaying fanged teeth. It seems pretty obvious that this was a figure planned for the Batman Unlimited line as he would look right at home on the pegs next to that ungodly Planet X Batman.

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Batzarro comes with a soft plastic batarang, which he can hold in each hand. The fact that the bio points out that he likes to use guns makes the absence of a gun accessory rather disappointing.

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If today’s feature is brief, it’s because I don’t have a hell of a lot to say about Batzarro. A lot of collectors were pissed off to find that he was going to take the last slot in the CIE sub, but I will concede that I find him to be a fun release. Yes, he represents some pretty poor character selection by the powers that be over at Matty. The truth is that the final slot could have been much better spent on any one of a hundred characters. Nonetheless, I dig Batzarro a lot more than I did R’as Al Ghul or Red Hood, even if that’s a back-handed compliment. He is by no means the worst figure I received from the sub in its final year. Maybe that fact alone means it was time for CIE to shut down. It’s hard to argue that CIE wouldn’t still be going strong with better and more exciting character selection and Batzarro’s reception is a prime example of that.

Nov 18 2013

Batman (Classic TV Series): Catwoman by Mattel

Oh, 1966 Batman line, we hardly knew you. After what seemed like an eternal build-up and celebrations over Mattel securing the rights to the franchise, it amounted to about one wave of figures, a two-pack, and a Batmobile that I never saw at retail. Reception of the line from collectors has been all over the place. It wasn’t perfect, NECA could have done it way better, but overall I was happy with what we got. I was, however, not happy that this is all there was, especially since Mattel seemed to be closing up shop on the line just as Yvonne Craig was signing away her likeness to merchandisers. What about Batgirl and King Tut and Egghead, and all the other awesome villains? Oh, well. While there was a “Surf’s Up” Joker slap in the face figure shown off recently, I’m going to count Catwoman here as the last entry in this flash-in-the-pan line. Let’s check her out.

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While a late comer to the party, Catwoman comes on the same cardback as the other figures. Its easily bent die-cut edges should serve to irk mint-on-card collectors. The fronts of the cards have been generic with only Robin’s dopey speech bubble changing. The back shows the character in an animated style, which is no doubt meant to emulate the opening credits, but doesn’t really do that for me.

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So, let’s deal with the elephant in the room first. Fans will remember that three lovely ladies played Catwoman in the Classic Batman series: You had Julie Newmar playing the role for the first two seasons and then being replaced in the third by Eartha Kitt, followed by Lee Meriweather in the movie. I have a feeling the younger crowd are most familiar with Meriweather in the role just because that movie has been more readily available. Personally, I think Eartha Kitt did the best job with the character, she absolutely nailed it and made it her own, but in terms of pure sex appeal, Ms. Newmar was clearly my favorite. I have no idea how likeness rights factored into the decision to go with Newmar, but I’m sure it did. In the end I’m fine with the choice they went with.

This is a tough figure for me to assess. There’s some stuff I like about it, and a couple things I don’t. The big sticking point for me is the arms, which are just too long, too thin, and rather angular at the elbows. She looks like a stick insect. The elbows are also way too far down on the arms.  How many people have elbows that start at their hips? She doesn’t look so bad with her arms at her sides, but bend them and you can’t deny that this kitty has a ridiculous amount of bicep. As a result, there are poses where I think she looks just fine, and others where she looks rather awkward. Also her feet look really small. They’re so small that she has a big problem standing up without being plugged into her stand. All this, plus her somewhat oversized noggin, conspires to make her look quite barbie-doll-ish. Nonetheless, all this gives the figure something of a stylized appearance, which kind of works for me.

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How about the portrait? The likeness isn’t a hundred percent, but I still think the portrait is Ok. The paintwork on the face is excellent, and I can see Newmar’s likeness in there… maybe… a little bit. I’d say this is definitely one of the better head sculpts in this line, and no I don’t mean that as a left-handed compliment. In terms of likenesses for a mass retail line of figures, I think Mattel has delivered adequately on these, and with Catwoman, a little bit moreso. But no mask? In fairness, Newmar seemed to spend as much time without it as she did with it. An extra masked head would have been nice, but by now we all know that unless it’s a surfboard or an umbrella, extra accessories were too much to ask for in this line. In the end, I’m fine with a mask-less head.

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The costume is pretty well represented here. There’s only so much you can do with a black leather catsuit in this scale and Mattel gets the job done with a little extra attention paid to the glossy paint and sculpt of the gloves and boots. Traditionally speaking, Mattel has saddled some of the poor ladies of the DC Universe with some serious granny shoes, so it’s nice to see them get the heels right. Catwoman also features a painted low hanging necklace and a belt slung low on her hips. Still… it’s hard not to keep staring at those spaghetti arms… WTF happened there, Mattel?

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The articulation has been pretty consistent throughout this line, but toss in the first female buck and you can’t be quite sure what you’re going to get. As it turns out, it’s mostly the same. The arms are ball jointed at the shoulders, hinged at the elbows, and have swivels at the biceps and wrists. The legs feature the usual DCUC style hip joints, swivels in the thighs, hinged knees, and hinged ankles. The head is ball jointed and she can swivel just under her chest. The articulation is serviceable enough, but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t prefer my Catwoman to be a little more flexible and agile. Meow!

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In keeping with the rest of this line, you also get the figure stand and collector card. The card shows Catwoman having a little bondage fun with Batman and the flipside has another scene from the Batcave. I still like these cards a lot and the fact that they plug into the stand makes it easier for me to justify keeping them around and not sticking them into the back of a drawer. The stand reads, “CRRAACK!” otherwise it offers nothing that we haven’t seen before with the rest of the figures in the wave.

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If you aren’t willing to give this line a pass by now, Catwoman here probably isn’t going to sway you. I’ll confess nostalgia has compelled me to be pretty forgiving and I’m still delighted to have these figures. And that folks is Mattel’s 1966 Batman line in the bag. If you’re out to be a completest, you can still hold out for the “Surf’s Up” Joker, but I’m prepared to call this line done. There’s always a chance I may yet pick up the Batman & Robin 2-pack, especially if I find it on clearance. As much as I want the Batmobile, I’m trying to exercise some self-control because I have no room to display it and so many other things now vying for my collecting dollars. Still, willpower has never been one of my strong suits, so it is possible that it’ll turn up featured here on FFZ one of these days.