Tag Archives: mcfarlane

Jan 22 2024

DC Multiverse (Mr. Freeze Wave) Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and Mr. Freeze by McFarlane

As promised on Friday, I’m back to finish up with McFarlane’s send up to the 1997 schlock classic, Batman & Robin. I already checked out The Dynamic Duo, so let’s jump right in and have a look at Batgirl, Poison Ivy, and the Collect-To-Build Mr. Freeze!

The packaging is the same as what we saw last time, and standard stuff for the DC Multiverse CTB Waves. Each figure comes with a standard black disk figure stand, a collector card with a promotional image from of the character from the film, and parts to build Freeze. Batman & Robin came with Freeze’s limbs, while Ivy comes with the torso and Batgirl comes with the head, shoulders, and freeze gun. There were also some icy effect parts scattered throughout the wave. Let’s start with Batgirl!

Batgirl’s one-off appearance in these films was portrayed by Alicia Silverstone and I think I would have been a lot happier with that if they at least made her a redhead. Oh yeah, and she was Alfred’s niece for some reason. I wasn’t a fan of any of this, but she sure did look good in the suit. And I do indeed love this suit! The sculpt here is really good, but there are some minor unintentional color variances because of the different materials used. As a result some parts are glossy while others are very dull matte. The only thing about this that is off-putting is how it makes the diaper-piece stand out more than it should, otherwise I dig what we got here. The cape is sculpted exceptionally well and I love the way all the folds and rumples look in it from the back.

The head sculpt is passable, but I think it’s let down the most by the flat paintwork. Honestly, I’d have no idea who this was supposed to be without the context of the mask and suit. Like Robin, the mask is sculpted separately which makes for some clean lines between it and her face, but the same can’t be said about her collar, where there is some overspray of flesh tone on the suit. There’s also a bit of black smudging on her neck. The hair is also sculpted as a separate piece and looks good, but it does inhibit her neck articulation quite a bit and sort of just hovers over the front. It’s a far cry from what Hasbro is doing with their Legends portraits, but I think we can all agree that DC Multiverse is at it’s best with comic based portraits and not actor likenesses.

You do get the same level of articulation here as with the Dynamic Duo and I always love that this line doesn’t discriminate when it comes to poseability, unlike Hasbro’s Legends. They added a bit of chonk to Batgirl’s heels to help her be a little more stable and that helps, but she can still be a little tough to keep standing in dynamic poses, especially with the weight of the cape pulling her back. This is definitely one that will need her stand to keep her upright on my shelf. As with Batman and Robin, she comes with fists attached and no other hands. I like her a lot, but I think the other two Caped Crusaders turned out better. Moving on to Ivy..

I’ll start by tossing out an unpopular opinion bomb and stating that I’m not a big fan of Uma Thurman. Part of that is me just not liking a lot of film’s she’s been in, but also I just don’t find her to be that charismatic or appealing. With that having been said, she seemed to have a good time playing Ivy in this flick and she sure put a lot more energy into it than Silverstone did Batgirl, so I’ll give credit where it’s due. She had a bunch of different looks in the film and if I know Todd, he’ll find a way to capitalize on that, but for now we get the one that’s most like her more iconic comic appearances. She’s wearing a one piece which is beautifully sculpted out of leaves and given a nice wash to bring out the detail. The outfit also features a pair of light green sleeves, and tights that start out dark green and gradually go to black when they reach her high heeled boots. There’s some ivy sculpted onto her left leg and I think this outfit turned out looking great!

This portrait is easily the best of the wave and while that may sound like a loaded compliment, it really is just all around excellent. The bright orange hair features a really nice sculpt and the ivy half-mask over her eyes are separate sculpts giving this portrait some nice depth. The paint for the eyes and lips are also sharp and clean. This may be some of McFarlane’s best work when it comes to action figure portraiture.

And once again, we get standard DC Multiverse articulation, although the hair really gets in the way of her head movement. Her heels have less chonks than Batgirls, but she has no cape dragging her back, so it’s possible to get her to stand, but it can still be tricky so she will also be using her figure stand to stay up on my shelf. Ivy is the only figure in the wave to not have two fists, instead she has an accessory holding hand on the right and an open hand on the left. I dig that they sculpted a leaf into her open hand, that’s a cool little touch. This figure turned out great, and I wasn’t surprised to see her sell out fast at some of the online retailers that I usually frequent. And now… The Iceman Cometh…

It’s safe to say that Schwarzenegger’s Iceman is the main reason I ever re-watch this film. It’s so stupidly over the top it just screams 1966 Batman with a budget. Beyond that Arnold seems like he’s having an absolute blast and his suit and makeup are both works of art. I honestly think you’d need Hot Toys working at the top of their game to really pull off anything that comes close to this on screen glory in action figure form, but for a 7-inch entry, what we got here ain’t bad at all… but I’d fall just short of calling it great. The sculpting is excellent and there is a lot of detail packed into this suit. I also like the proportions of the body, especially the big shit-kicking boots. The head seems a little small, but it is a guy in a power suit, so it’s permissible. What’s really missing here is the paint. You get a vibrant blue on the panels that were lit in the movie, located on his lower and upper legs, biceps, and chest, but everything else is cast in silvery plastic. It has a decent finish, but would have looked so much better with some silver foil paint, or even just a wash to bring out more of that wonderful detail.

The head sculpt is very good, and the use of that translucent blue plastic for the helmet looks exquisite. It’s a shame we couldn’t get more of that effect for the lit panels on the suit. The flesh tone of the face doesn’t quite jibe with the on screen makeup, as Freeze had more of a sparkly face, but it still looks good. I will note that if you look closely, the paint on the lips doesn’t really match the sculpt of the mouth, but that’s not something that’s really obvious when viewed with the figure in hand. The shoulder pieces are cast in a softer plastic and so the silver there doesn’t look as vibrant as the rest of the suit.

The articulation here is fairly similar to a regular packaged DC Multiverse figure, although you do only get single hinges in the knees and elbows. Everything else is textbook right down to the hinges in the feet. The arms can just about do a 90-degree elbow bend, and the shoulders plates are designed to hinge up and down to allow for decent range of movement there. I initially had some problems with the legs detaching, but I don’t think they were in all the way. A little heat and pressure got them seated better and they stay put pretty well now.

Freeze comes with two accessories: A freeze gun and an ice blast effect part for it. I have absolutely no idea what happened to my effect part. I can see it in the packaged shot, but I haven’t seen it since. It’s possible one of the cats carried it off to their Treasures Den under one of the sofas. The gun sculpt is excellent and his right hand is designed to hold it perfectly, along with the foregrip for the left hand. DC seems to be giving McFarlane a little slack lately when it comes to including sci-fi themed guns. Overall, I like this figure a lot. There are certainly opportunities for improvement, and who knows? Maybe McFarlane will release him as a Gold Label with a better deco, like they did with Collect-To-Build Bane and the coat. Part of me would like to see what a Gold Label version would look like, while part of me doesn’t want to endorse that kind of scummy business practice.

Oh yeah, you also get a four other ice effect parts, which I think are meant to go on the other figures to make it look like they have been frozen. Two of these are obviously meant to go over the hands, the other two are a little more nebulous in their intent. I really need to hunt around and see what some other collectors have done with these.

And that’s the DC Multiverse Batman & Robin wave! All in all this is a nice set of figures, and I’m really glad McFarlane took a risk on these, and even happier that the risk seems to have paid off. While these have been going in and out of stock at some retailers, you can probably still assemble the wave at retail cost if you hunt around a bit. At the time I’m posting this, Amazon has them all available for just a few dollars above retail each. A lot of the Ebay listings I have seen seem to be without the Freeze parts. More than half the time I’m willing to play the waiting game on DC Multiverse, but this was one assortment I pre-ordered and I’m glad I did. I would love to see a Gold Label Ivy, repainted as one of her other outfits in the movie, and I’m hoping to see some more figures from these wacky films.

Jan 19 2024

DC Multiverse (Mr. Freeze Wave) Batman and Robin by McFarlane

A lot of people sure hated the 1997 comic book extravaganza that was Batman & Robin. On one hand, it’s easy to see why. Batman just came off of two excellent grimdark films and then completely flipped the script on the third and fourth. On the other hand, it’s basically a case of “What if we did goofy 1966 style Batman with a big budget and lots of stars?” And yeah, I was all for that, so screw the haters. It’s a terrible movie on so many levels, and yet I adore it. Heck, I probably love it even more because so many people hate it. And can I say that I will forever mix up the titles of the third and fourth movies. Is it just me, or does it seem more natural to go from Batman & Robin as the film that introduces Robin and then go to Batman Forever for the next installment? Anyone else with me on that?

Normally, the idea of this film getting a toy revival would be insane, but welcome to the 2020’s where nostalgia driven adults drive toy sales and literally anything is fair game. Enter McFarlane Toys with a wave of four figures and a Collect-To-Build Schwarzenegger Freeze, and we’re in business! And much to my surprise, the collectors were on board for it and these figures sold out fast at a lot of online retailers. The wave consists of four figures, which include Batman, Robin, Batgirl, and Poison Ivy, and each contain parts for the Mr. Freeze figure. These come in your basic DC Multiverse packaging, enlarged to contain the CTB parts and each figure comes with a standard black disk stand and a trading card with a movie still of the character. Let’s start with Batman!

You know the deal: Keaton skipped out after the first two, Val Kilmer was on board for just the one, so George Clooney was hauled in to don the cowl for the 1997 film. I think he played a better Bruce Wayne than Batman, but he certainly isn’t one of this film’s biggest problems. The suit got a redesign with more black, less yellow, and the nipples are still here from Batman Forever’s first suit. Even with the Batnips, I like this suit a lot. From the chiseled abs to the sculpted bat symbol in the chest, McFarlane did a nice job bringing out the details in it. I’m not sure I ever noticed the sculpted bat shields on the front of the boots before, but they make for a nice touch. The cape flows well off the shoulders and spreads out a bit as it reaches the floor, looking full but not too obtrusive.

The portrait is solid, but not exceptional. Honestly, that could be anyone under that cowl, but with rotating actors playing the role at this point, I’m not that hung up on the likeness. I do like the way the sculpt distinguishes the holes around the eyes and where the face is painted to maintain the continuity. The ears bend in at the tips more than they should, which is probably more a side effect of them being bendy, rather than an intentional design choice. The biggest detractor here are the seams running up the sides of the head, which aren’t nearly as apparent when not punched in with the camera.

Standard McFarlane articulation is the order of the day, and while that’s mostly good, I will forever gripe about the lack of thigh swivels. The ball joints in the ankles are usually a problem for me too, but because of the all black suit, they aren’t as big of an eyesore here. Everything else is fine, and I found this figure to be lots of fun to play around with. There are no extra hands, so Batman gets by with his punchy fists and that works. So, how about that Boy Wonder?

Holy Holdovers, Batman, Christopher O’Donnell survived the shakeup and returned as Robin for the 1997 film, and he got treated to a very Nightwing inspired suit. I didn’t mind his look in Batman Forever, but I really prefer this one. A lot of it is sculpted to match Batman’s from the belt buckle to the Bat shields on the boots, but here we get a splash of color in the crimson bat symbol on the chest, which carries over to the shoulders. The cape is more understated than Batman’s with it dropping only about to the knees and giving a little swish to the left.

The head sculpt isn’t bad. I think they got his lower face down pretty well, especially the jaw structure. The eyes are let down by some very basic paint. I do love that the mask appears to be sculpted as a separate piece making for a sharp outline against his face. The hair is also separately sculpt and sports some nice detail and a clean hairline. I’ll rate this one higher than Batman’s, but they’re both fine.

Robin’s articulation is identical to his partner, making him equally as fun to play with. He also only comes with the attached fists, so no extra hands. The joints on both figures worked well straight out of the box, but I don’t usually have issues with stuck or loose joints on McFarlane’s figures, so no surprises there.

Obviously, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this pair in plastic, as Hasbro pumped out toys for the film back in the day. But it is cool to see them getting released as more detailed and better articulated figures for the collector market. And obviously there was a market for these, with some retailers beginning to restock them, so there should be enough to go around. It will be interesting to see if McFarlane capitalizes on that with some more suits from these films. In the meantime, I’ll be stopping back on Monday to check out the second half of this wave: Poison Ivy and Batgirl, as well as the Collect-To-Build Mr. Freeze! Have a great weekend!

Jan 12 2024

DC Multiverse (Collector Edition) Alan Scott Green Lantern by McFarlane

Just last year, McFarlane unleashed the new Collector Edition figures onto the market with a hefty $10 price jump over the regular DC Multiverse releases. I was all ready to make my first foray into these pricier figures to see if they seem worth it when McFarlane goes and drops an online store exclusive Infinite Crisis wave for $40 a pop, and I was like holy heck, what are they smoking over there? I mean, I’ll admit that I’m the king of dropping too much money on toys, and even I am not tempted by these kinds of figures at that price. Were they hoping to make these Collector Edition releases seem cheap by comparison? I honestly don’t know, but I’m really interested to see what the collector backlash is going to be like. But for now, let’s get back to the Collector Editions… These seem to be based on more classic or essential versions of characters in the DC Multiverse for an added premium. I was skeptical about how this whole thing was was going to turn out, but decided to give it a try with the first character that really tempted me… Alan Scott! Growing up on Hal Jordan, I can still remember when my uncle blew my little mind by telling me there was another Green Lantern before him and giving me some of his ratty old comics and I devoured the hell out of them. In retrospect, that was probably one of my first realizations that a whole DC Universe had existed for decades before I discovered it. What can I say? I was still really young and dumb and relatively new to reading comics that weren’t Spider-Man or The Fantastic Four.

The packaging is similar to the regular DC Multiverse releases, what with the black box and blue insert behind the tray. “McFarlane Collector Edition” is printed in silver foil lettering up the left side of the front panel and the collector card is now displayed on the tray in its own display stand. On first inspection, that card display is the only thing that really seems to call out that this release is anything special that should make it pricier, and I’ll talk about at the end.

Out of the box, is there anything that really sets this figure apart from the regular releases? Nope. You get the same basic body type and articulation that we’ve been seeing all along. Now, that’s not to say this isn’t a very nice figure, because it certainly is! Apart from the boots, belt, and cape, the figure uses a generic body, but you do get his ring sculpted on his right hand. The colors are beautiful with a deep red for the top and boots, a hunter green used for the pants, and some gold paint for the trim on the boots, belt buckle, and cape clasps. The lantern emblem on his chest is just printed on, but it’s nice and sharp. Factor in the purple and lighter green on the cape, and you have a dazzling deco straight from the comic panels of the Golden Age.

The portrait is very solid, giving Scott some well defined facial features and a rather determined expression. I love the way the high collar on the cape frames his face with one corner licking over a bit more than the other. The mask is sculpted with lots of depth, and the hair is separate from the head giving him a clean hairline. There’s a bit of overspray of the mask’s purple paint onto my figure’s left eye, which is ironically a bigger paint gaff than I’ve had on any of the regular releases. It’s not terribly noticeable unless I punch in close, but still pretty unwelcome for a higher priced Collector figure.

Alan comes with two accessories: His lantern and a power effect part. The lantern can be held in his left hand, while the effect part fits over his right fist. There are no additional hands included, which seems a bit weak for a pricier collector figure. With that having been said, the accessories are quite nice and are cast in a bright neon green semi-translucent plastic.

And then you have the collector card with the stand and as I said earlier, this is the only thing about this whole package that feels really different than a regular Multiverse release. Was anyone asking for this sort of thing? I certainly wasn’t. My cards go into sleeves in a binder and get forgotten about. And quite frankly I’m betting that a lot of these cards just get thrown away with the packaging by figure collectors who just don’t care about them. The cards are cool bonuses, but putting them on a stand takes up about as much shelf real estate as another figure, and like a lot of collectors, I can’t spare that room. Now, I will say that I think Alan Scott is one of the nicer DC Multiverse figures I’ve picked up last year, but there is simply nothing about the figure itself, be it additional paint apps or sculpting, that would justify being sold at a premium. And since I tend to pick up a lot of my regular Multiverse figures on sale, I’m not willing to put up $30 a pop for these unless it’s a figure that I really can’t live without. My biggest concern is that Todd will be using these premium editions for the classic and iconic versions of legacy characters that a lot of collectors have been asking for from this line, when they really should be done as regular releases. I have no doubt you’ll see a few of these Collector Editions land on FFZ in the future, but they will probably be few and far between. And you sure as hell won’t be seeing any figures from that $40 each wave until they hit deep discount bundles on Todd’s site.

Dec 15 2023

DC Multiverse (Atrocitus Wave) Black Lantern Superman & Batman and Collect-To-Build Atrocitus by McFarlane

As promised, I’m back for part two of my look at the Blackest Night themed wave of DC Multiverse. If you need to get caught up, I checked out Kyle Rayner and Deathstorm a couple days back. This wave has been out there for a little while, and you are likely to see some older DC Multiverse reviews turning up here from time to time as I try to get caught up on a stupidly huge backlog.

The packaging is standard DC Multiverse stuff, but the Collect-To-Build assortments come in wider boxes to accommodate the extra body parts. As always you get the figure stand and collector card sealed to the back of the cardboard tray, otherwise these window boxes are collector friendly. I’m a big fan of the Blackest Night story and was happy to collect the DC Universe Classics releases, so needless to say I’m excited to be opening these as the boxes have been lined up on my shelf for a while now. Let’s start with Superman!

As far as nightmare versions of Superman go, this one is pretty damn freaky. The black suit is covered with that basketball-style texture that’s become synonymous with modern superhero costumes these days. The silver trim against the black makes for quite the striking combo, especially since the silver paint is so shiny and vibrant. He’s got segmented bracers on his forearms and a gross necrotic yellow tint to his skin, which is followed up by sculpted veins and fissures in the arms. His cape is a shredded mess, falling off the back in several strips and looking ragged near the bottom edge. I like that the bold S-emblem on his chest is all sculpted in an extremely pronounced fashion, giving it some wonderful depth. About the only thing I don’t like here are the ball-shaped ankle joints, which break up the flow of the boots, and are left as unpainted gray plastic.

The head sculpt is fantastic, with more of the necrotic flesh and a nice bit of paint wash to bring out some of the details and create some shadows. The creases and cracks in the skin are appropriately gross, his nose is completely rotted off, and the sunken black around the red eyes look like he’s literally burned the area out with excessive use of his heat vision. A familiar hint of his trademark cowlick makes the whole visage even more unsettling. And the real winning feature here are the corn kernel teeth! This is just great stuff!

I’m passed the point of running down the articulation for this line, as it remains constant throughout. Suffice it to say, it’s pretty damn good and Supes is fun to play around with. He does not come with any accessories, and his only set of hands are balled into fists, which works for me! Next up… Batman!

Black Lantern Batman is an equally imposing bit of horror with an absolutely stellar costume sculpt. The gray suit has more of that texture sculpted throughout, as well as some seemingly purposeless straps that run from his thighs up to connect at his abs at a point. There are some pouches sculpted on his belt, and both the bat symbol and the Black Lantern Corps emblem are sculpted as well as painted, which is a wonderful touch. The silver emblem really pops on what is an otherwise muted deco. The blue boots and gloves are segmented and have jagged blades coming off of them. Ah, but what I really love here are the spikey bits growing out of his shoulders that look like partially mutated bat wings, which give him a really creepy silhouette. The rest of the cape is tattered at the edges.

The head sculpt here is OK, but it’s a big step down from Superman’s. You get the same yellowed necrotic skin showing around the lower half of the face, and the mouth is open in a perpetual scream, showing rotting teeth and some nice depth to he bat-maw. It’s creepy for sure, but nothing about this sculpt reaches the sharpness or complexity of Superman’s and the white pupils on the eyes feels like an afterthought. It’s not terrible, but this one just feels like it was sculpted and painted on a Friday afternoon.

Again, you get some solid articulation here and no accessories. His hands are both sculpted in a grasping or reaching fashion, which is pretty good for displaying him in shambling zombie-like poses. Both Bats and Supes are solid figures. Oddly enough, I’d say I like Batman’s body the best and Superman’s head sculpt the best, but either way the compliment each other really well. Now let’s build Atrocitus!

The last time I got an Atrocitus figure was twelve years ago as part of Mattel’s DC Signature Collection and that review is worth a click just to see how unbelievably shitty my photographs were back then, as opposed to average and passable now. Anyway, this Atrocitus is a straightforward build with the body, head, shoulder piece, and four limbs making up the parts. I had a ridiculously difficult time getting one of his arms to peg in before noticing that it was because the loose shoulder ring was backwards. Once I popped that out and corrected it everything went fine. I really appreciate McFarlane’s approach to doing only four figures for their Collect-To-Build stuff, but these can be a lot harder to get together than Mattel’s old line. With that having been said, Atrocitus is together and looking big, imposing, and pretty damn fine!

The black suit is textured and you get some nice sculpted panel lines in the boots and gauntlets, which can be easily overlooked in all that bright red plastic. There’s some extra glossy red paint used for the tabard that runs down his chest, and the snappy silver Red Lantern Corps emblem is sculpted as well as painted. I particularly like the way the abs piece hangs down over the pelvis to avoid that rubber diaper look that this line is known for. The black and red deco looks amazing and conspire to create a superb deco.

The head sculpt is pretty good, although the huge wall of teeth feels a little lacking. I’m not sure if it’s the paint or sculpt or both, but I feel like it could have been better. With that said, I like the texturing to the skin and the various creases and crevices in the downturned brow and the piercing golden eyes. The face is bookended by armor cheek pieces and that is surrounded by the high collar on the shoulder armor.

Despite being a big and bulky, cobbled together rage monster, Atrocitus sports all the articulation points of the regular figures and I didn’t have any problems with the limbs coming apart at the connection points. He has his right hand balled into a fist and his left hand open and kind of relaxed, which work well for posing and he’s just a whole bunch of fun.

I think this was a pretty solid wave of figures, and one where I would have easily purchased each one even if the Collect-To-Build incentive wasn’t there. Indeed, I’m hoping that we get another Blackest Night themed wave eventually or at least some more Red Lanterns, because I really loved how Mattel gave us quite a few. Granted, with Necron being a Mega Fig release, the next logical Collect-To-Build is already taken. Which reminds me, I still need to pick that one up. The MSRP on these figures is $24.99 each and at the time I’m writing this review, this wave is pretty widely available at discount. Heck, even a while back I was able to pick them up for under $20 each. I’m certainly glad I did, but I would have been just as happy getting them at full price.

Dec 13 2023

DC Multiverse (Atrocitus Wave) Kyle Rayner and Deathstorm by McFarlane

I’m going to try to make McFarlane a semi-regular weekly thing going forward, because I’ve barely scratched the surface of showcasing those figures here. So, let’s get things started with a look at one of the Collect-To-Build waves. McFarlane has streamlined this process a lot when compared to Marvel Legends or the old DC Universe Classics line, by requiring the purchase of only four figures to complete a CTB figure. I like that because it not only means less money, but it lowers the chances of having to buy a figure I don’t want in order to get all the CTB parts in a wave. Well, at least statistically. Today I’m going after the Blackest Night themed wave with the parts needed to build Atrocitus, and I’m starting with Kyle Rayner and Deathstorm.

The packaging is a little wider than normal in order to accommodate the extra figure parts, but otherwise it’s the same old DC Multiverse window boxes. These display the figures and extra parts beautifully and would be collector friendly if it weren’t for the figure stand and collector card being sealed against the cardboard backdrop. That used to bother me, but then I realized I didn’t have room for these big boxes so I have initiated the great purge to recycle them all. Kyle comes with Atrocitus’ torso and Deathstorm has his head and shoulder armor. Let’s start with Kyle!

I really like Kyle Rayner, but he’s still pretty far down there on my list of favorite Green Lanterns. Still, I was happy to be getting him on my DC Multiverse shelf and all in all I think this is a pretty solid figure. My first impressions left me not liking the shade of green they went with. It’s more of a lime-olive than the emerald I’m used to seeing on the Green Lantern Corps. It’s grown on me a bit since, I think it looks good, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. There isn’t a whole lot of sculpted detail on this costume apart from the basketball texturing, but you do get sculpted tops of the boots and gauntlets, and his ring is sculpted onto his right fist.

I like this portrait a lot, especially Rayner’s cheesy grin. The mask is sculpted separately from the face, which adds a lot of depth and makes it look like something the figure is actually wearing. The hair sculpt is also separate, allowing for some of the strands from his bangs to dangle over the mask. I dig it!

The figure sports the standard Multiverse articulation. The joints all feel great, but I’m always going to lament the absence of thigh swivels in these figures. There are no extra hands, and the figure comes with the right hand balled into a fist to show off his ring and the left hand sculpted to grip his accessories: The lantern and a sword power construct.

Both the lantern and the sword are cast in some extremely bright lime colored semi-translucent plastic, which makes for a nice glowy energy effect. I do like the sword a lot, but given Kyle’s abilities to come up with some extra creative constructs, it seems a little pedestrian, but that’s OK. Let’s move on to Deathstorm…

Oh wow, is this a departure from the bright and grinning visage of Kyle. Deathstorm has long been a favorite design of mine from the Brightest Day run and this figure does a great job bringing him off the page and into plastic! The costume is fairly simple with a mostly smooth body that gives way to sculpted corruption as it gets closer to the head. You get some sculpted arm bracers and sculpting for the boots. The silver bands that wrap around his thighs and come to a point below his chest are sculpted as well as painted, as is the chest emblem and the lines radiating from it. The shoulder armor flares at the edges, giving him a really cool silhouette.

Oh and that head sculpt is really something special! The rictus grin and piercing eyes are so damn cool. The skull itself has some great sculpted detail brought out by a charcoal black wash, which compliments it beautifully. And the grayish-almost purple semi-translucent flame effect coming off the head just ties it all together so perfectly. Holy crap, this looks so damn good!

The articulation holds no surprises, and you get only the stock pair of hands. The left is sculpted in a sort of grasping motion, while the right is designed to hold his one accessory: His Lantern. The Lantern is simple enough, but it looks good with a matte silver finish.

Seeing as how much I loved collecting the various Lantern Corps in the DC Universe Classics line, I was mighty excited to get this assortment, and so far I think it’s off to a great start. I’m a bit at odds as to whether I like this Kyle better than the DCUC release. I think the detail and portrait are better here, but I like the coloring of the uniform on Mattel’s figure more. On the other hand, we never did get a Deathstorm out of the DCUC line, and even if we did, it’s hard to imagine this one wouldn’t totally trump it, because it is absolutely awesome. I’ll swing back on Friday for the second part of this wave, and we’ll check out the CTB Atrocitus as well!

Dec 1 2023

Batman (1966 Retro Series): Batman & Robin and The Batmobile by McFarlane

I have so much McFarlane stuff to look at, it’s really going to have to become a semi-weekly thing next year. There’s Retro 66 Batman, DC Multiverse, Warhammer 40k… I mean, holy crap I really went ham on these lines in 2024. I already dipped into the Retro 66 Batman pool a short while ago with a look at Boxing Batman and Riddler, but today I’m going to go back to basics by checking out the Dynamic Duo and their bitchin ride. Let’s start with the figures…

I won’t gas on and on about what the 66 Batman TV Series meant to me, as I already did that in the above referenced review. I will point out that I’m looking at the re-issues of this pair, as the originals sold out a while ago and climbed to some crazy prices on the aftermarket. I actually decided to skip the line entirely because of that, but Todd got smart and made them available again. I don’t know if there’s any differences in the packaging, but it looks to be pretty much the same. The front of the cards are generic, but the back have some character specific pictures. It’s a bright and colorful presentation, just like the show, but it also kind of leans toward that deliciously cheap rack toy motif that I find irresistible and makes me want to keep them carded. And so I picked up doubles of just these two to have carded examples of the line. We’ve pretty much seen a lot of this Batman figure when I looked at the Boxer variant from the episode Ring Around The Riddler, so I’m just going to tackle both of these figures together…

McFarlane is calling these Retro figures, but they really don’t match the styling and poseability of any vintage figures that I remember. The sculpts are certainly modern and all around quite excellent, so I think the retro moniker which means they have less articulation than the DC Multiverse. But we aren’t talking 5-POA here. The arms have rotating hinges in the shoulders, single hinges in the elbows, and rotatin in the wrists. There’s an old-timey T-crotch for the hips, but you get hinges in the knees. The necks are ball jointed and you get a swivel in the waists. Really, the only thing keeping them from fully modern articulation are what’s missing in the ankles and torso, and maybe some bicep swivels.

As for styling, I think the only thing that detracts from Batman is the bulk of his utility belt, otherwise everything looks fantastic. But surprisingly, I think Robin is the real winner here. His costume just looks so damn on point with some wonderful sculpting flares like the tops of his boots and the fasteners running down the center of his tunic. Both figures have super sharp paint and the colors really pop. I think my biggest gripe with both figures are the capes are a little on the cheap side. But hey… RETRO! Throw that word into your toy line and it can explain anything away as intentional!

As for the head sculpts, both are decent, but again I think Robin comes out on top. Neither are slam dunks in terms of likeness, but I see a lot more of Burt Ward in Robin than I do Adam West in Batman. But, toss in the iconic cowl and mask and it works just fine. I think it’s the depth of sculpt on Robin that impresses me more. The way his domino mask looks like it’s actually sculpted onto the head with the eyes fully sculpted and painted behind it just looks superb. The paint doesn’t hold up quite as nicely when you punch in really close with the camera, but it looks fine in hand.

As for accessories, you get comic-style punching effects that clip onto the figure’s wrists, just like we saw with the Boxing figures. Batman comes with POW!! and KAPOW! and Robin comes with BAM! and WHAMM!! and I appreciate what they were going for here, but I would have rather had figure stands or actual accessories like batarangs, bat grapple hooks, etc. Mattel’s 66 Batman line combined these familiar comic visuals with the figure stands and that was a good idea, but it’s not like McFarlane could have copied that.

I dig these figures a lot and there’s a lot of give and take if I’m comparing them to the older Mattel line. Obviously the articulation is more limited, but I think the sculpts and coloring are either on par or in some cases better. They look so iconic together and display really well on the shelf. But how about that Batmobile…

So let me just say straightaway that McFarlane’s 66 Batmobile is a step down in every conceivable way from Mattel’s release. But to be fair Mattel’s version was an absolute gem of a toy. Even when I off-loaded most of Mattel’s 66 Batman line in one of my seasonal toy purges, I couldn’t bring myself to part with that Batmobile and the Batman & Robin (and Batgirl) figures. That does not mean that McFarlane’s is bad, but there are aspects of it that really push the whole retro toy concept and that’s found mainly in how small it scales to the figures. But I’m getting ahead of myself. The Batmobile comes in some of the absolute worst packaging I could imagine: A box that leaves the toy completely open to the elements. If you buy this in the store there are probably boogers stuck to it. People have coughed on it. And there are probably sticky gummi-worm finger prints on it. This is awful packaging and it should be outlawed by the Hague Convention on the Just and Humane Treatment of Toys. That having been said, mine came from a reputable online retailer and it arrived clean and unscathed.

The sculpt here is pretty nice, and like Mattel’s it is a big plastic shell rolling on wheels, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You get a subdued black plastic sheen on the body with the right amount of red trim and the bat emblems printed on the doors. The front and back canopy pieces are clear plastic with just a bit of frost to them and just about all the added sculpted bits to the top, like the exhaust pipes and aerials are cast in very soft rubber. It’s understandable, but there are lots of potential problems when you consider the open packaging and the possibility of them warping. Overall, the pieces on mine look fairly straight and I’m glad for that. The backside has the sculpted parachute pouches, which is a great touch, but that turbine is just itching for a flame effect part that wasn’t included.

The interior has a lot of detail, but again comes up short when compared to Mattel’s. Still, you get some detailed cushions sculpted on the seats, the Bat Fire Extinguisher and Bat Phone, both in red plastic, and some gauges and a shifter handle, as well as the handle protruding from the roof bar. This all looks pretty good.

It’s really the scale here that is such a downer. The figures are a tough fit, and they look way too big for it. The roof bar is at their shoulder line and their heads wind up just above the windscreen. So, here’s where that retro moniker really works as an all-excuses pass, because the scaling here really is pretty close to the scaling between MEGO’s vintage Batmobile and the figures in the line. And admittedly, there’s certainly some relative charm to it, especially if you’re like me and grew up playing with those toys. Honestly, the scaling here is actually a little better than what we saw with MEGO’s toys, but that’s still a pretty flimsy excuse to make an under-sized Batmobile.

In all fairness, I knew about the size thing when I bought the Batmobile. I was originally going to just use the Mattel one to display with these figures, but then I decided I was going all in with this line, so I picked it up. With a $30 MSRP, it’s almost half the price of the Mattel Batmobile, and that’s not counting for inflation on a toy that came out about eight years ago. Granted, I got my Mattel Batmobile on clearance for $22, but that was just a really lucky grab! Knowing what I was getting going in, I’m not at all sorry I picked it up, but if you do already own the Mattel version, you may want to give this one a pass! On the other hand, that toy is going for quite a bit these days so this might be a decent cheaper alternative, especially if you just want a Batmobile to display on your shelf. It’s one of those give-and-take scenerios. I am excited to see how this will look with McFarlane’s Batcave playset when I eventually get to opening it. But next time I revisit this line, we’ll check out some of Batman’s Rogue Gallery!

Nov 8 2023

DC Super Powers: Whirlybat by McFarlane

McFarlane has been dishing out some great stuff with their 3 3/4-inch Super Powers line up. The retro-style figures are pretty cool, but I’ll admit it’s the addition of vehicles that really sold me on this line and made me commit. So far, I’ve checked out The Batwing, The Batmobile, and Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet. Today I’m having a look at the latest addition to the Batcave’s garage… The Whirlybat!

Like the previous vehicles, The Whirlybat comes in a fully enclosed box with that oh-so-beautiful retro-style deco and the Super Powers logo coming at you in a burst of stars. The front of the box shows some simple artwork while the back shows the toy and some features. This one requires a fair bit of assembly as the skids, stabilizer tail, and rotor blades all have to be put together, but I was happy to see that the toy can easily come apart again if you want to store it in the box.

And here it is all assembled and looking pretty damn cool. I’m fairly certain that this is an original design by McFarlane. It’s sort of a What If the old Kenner line had a batcopter, and I think the end result is pretty convincing. It’s a single seater and a serviceable design that manages to be fun, but not as outlandish as some of the old Super Powers vehicles tended to be. Oh, I’ll get to that Supermobile eventually! The deco shares the same beautiful glossy blue plastic McFarlane used for the other Bat vehicles in the line and with the black trim and yellow-tinted windscreen, it looks right at home parked in the batcave between the Batwing and Batmobile. I love this deco so much and I’m glad they have been sticking with it! And while McFarlane showcases the Whirlybat with their 89-style Batman figure released in the most recent wave, I think the deco fits much better with the previous blue and gray style Batman.

The sculpting here is pretty basic, maintaining the simplistic retro feel. You get a little bit of detail in the engine and in the seat cushions. Otherwise, it’s just smooth and pretty plastic. On the other hand, there are some very nicely done stickers for the dashboard controls.

Batman fits in the pilot seat with or without his cape, but I prefer to take it off, because having a flapping cape nearby a helicopter rotor seems like a really bad life choice. There are wedges to represent foot pedals where his feet can rest and while his fists can’t actually grip the control yoke, it looks close enough. Pumping the black piece of the engine in the back will make the main rotor over batman’s head spin so you can whoosh it around the room on the hunt for The Joker.

My gosh, these are some pretty toys! It would have been cool to see the Batcopter from the Adam West Batman movie released in McFarlane’s 66 Retro line, but this Super Powers release makes for a decent consolation prize. With an MSRP of $20, it’s a very simple and yet surprisingly fun toy that fits perfectly in this reimagined line and I have to say I would have played with this like crazy if I had it back in 1984. And here we are 40 years later and I’ll still probably play with it like crazy! Now we really need a vehicle for the Joker to try to escape in!

Sep 11 2023

DC Super Powers: Batman & Robin and Batmobile by McFarlane

McFarlane has been absolutely killing it with their retro 3 3/4-inch DC Super Powers revival. Now, I am not going for a complete set of these figures, as some of the modern versions just don’t appeal to me in this format, but I sure am going for all the vehicles and whatever figures I need to toss into them. So far, I’ve checked out the first assortment of figures and The Batwing along with Wonder Woman and her Invisible Jet. Today I’m checking out a new Batman release as well as Robin and the Batmobile. Atomic Batteries to Power… Turbines to Speed… Let’s start with the figures!

Here’s the dynamic duo on their cards and these look absolutely gorgeous. The recreation of the old Super Powers deco is so on point, it’s enough to make my memory water. The character art is really nice too and I’ll admit to having shed a tear when tearing these open. I actually kept the second release of Wonder Woman carded so I’d have at least one example of this packaging. I’d be tempted to get another of this Batman and do the same, but he’s been tough to find. One big improvement here is that the cloth capes are no longer secured to the tray with a plastic piece, so it’s nice to know that McFarlane listened to that feedback.

Nothing against the first Batman we got in this line, but this is the one I really wanted and I’m glad he got added to the roster so soon. I was also surprised to see that he’s not a straight repaint but rather features new sculpting. The lighter gray and blue suit looks awesome with the blue coming across as particularly snappy and the yellow utility belt and black and yellow oval bat symbol rounding out a wonderfully classic look. My only real gripe here is that the cape is a little rough around the edges at the shoulders, but that may just be the case with the one I got. As usual, these figures have seven points of articulation, meaning the basic five plus knee hinges.

Robin is looking every bit as good as Batman with a gob-smacking, retina melting deco of bright red, green, and yellow with some black thrown in for the boots and the R-symbol. Again, it’s just pure classical design goodness. The head sculpt looks a tad chonky, but I do love the hair sculpt and the mask is part of the sculpt and not just painted on. Both of these figures are just fantastic, and now all we need is a bitchin ride to put them in.

And here we are, the Super Powers Batmobile! The vehicle comes in a fully enclosed box with more of that gorgeous Super Powers art design. You get an illustration of the Batmobile on the front and some photos calling out the features on the back. There’s a little assembly required, popping on the rear fins, and they are designed to pop off again so it can be stored back in the box. It may be a trivial thing for some, but I love it because then I don’t feel guilty about keeping the packaging! Are you ready for me to get gushing? Let’s get gushing!

Because, I am absolutely blown away by how drop dead gorgeous this toy is. I had some pretty cool Batmobiles growing up. The MEGO one in particular comes to mind. But if I had this toy when I was a kid, I would have absolutely lost my little mind. I am not at all exaggerating when I say for me this toy totally upstages the two 89 Batman Batmobiles that McFarlane released. Not to take away from those, because I love them, but this! This is just rocking hot retro-style bat sex in toy car form. It takes the basics of the vintage Kenner Super Powers Batmobile (which was basically the Challenge of the Super Friends design) and adds bodacious curves in all the right spots. It also takes the Bat Mask hood and turns it into a shield on the front of the car, which I think looks much cooler. The windshield is one sweeping horseshoe of transparent orange plastic, the wheels are silver disks with black bat symbol outlines and the raised bat fins give this roadster a sporty ass. This design is just bat car perfection.

And the colors! The midnight blue body and black trim are cast in super shiny plastic making this car look like it belongs slowly rotating on a turntable under the showroom lights. You get a bit more of a matte finish on the front bumpers, ramming bar, and bat mask shield, but everything else is pure sheen. The back of the car has red tail lights and orange thrust stickers to add a splash more color. Oh yeah, I really dig the extra bat mask sculpted into the rear end. The oval yellow and black bat symbols on the doors is the icing on this automotive bat cake!

There are two play gimmicks built into the Batmobile. The first is the extended ramming bar, which springs out when you press the Bat Mask on the hood. The mechanism works well, and it seems to hold in the retracted mode pretty solid. I like this design much better than a capture claw and I could just see this thing smashing through a wall of plastic cups in an 80’s toy commercial.

The second play feature are the added boosters which pop out the back when you lift the engine compartment cover. This is really cool, although some paint or flame stickers would really made the thrusters pop.

I also have to call out the amazing attention to detail in the cockpit. Sure it’s all stickers, except for the bat-shaped steering wheel, but the stickers look amazing with all sorts of controls, gauges and knobs. All fo these are pre-applied and they are nice and straight.

The Batman and Robin figures fit perfectly into the seats, with or without their capes. And boy do they look great in there!

I am absolutely beside myself over how beautiful this toy is. It is a pitch perfect blending of old and new, taking that boxy old design and giving it sensual curves and some inspired design tweaks. Everything about this Batmobile just oozes toyetic charm and it may indeed be my favorite Batmobile toy to date. Yeah, that’s saying a lot! It’s been on my desk since I opened it and I’ve been pushing it around, screeching its tires, and just admiring how bad ass it is with the figures inside. It is just a stupendously gorgeous toy that makes me wish I was 10 years old again. It’s still readily available at many online retailers at $29.99 and I can’t recommend it enough.

Aug 25 2023

Batman (1966 Retro Series): Boxing Batman and Riddler by McFarlane

It’s hard for me to imagine what the 1966 Batman series must seem like to people who didn’t grow up watching it. But I sure as hell did and I loved it. My brother has always been the furthest thing from a comic book or sci-fi nerd as you can get, but two things we could always bond over was watching the original Star Trek series, and 1966 Batman. And maybe that’s why I still have so much love for this wacky series. I collected the Mattel line that was issued sometime around 2013, and it looks like now I’m collecting McFarlane’s line too. I’ve been playing a lot of catch up, since I literally only started collecting it once McFarlane opened pre-orders for re-issues of the first Batman and Robin figures, but I’ve been buying a lot of toys to make up for lost time. Anyway, today I’m kicking it off with the boxer versions of Batman and the Riddler.

It probably seems strange to start with variants, especially since the excessive number of variants in this line ha been garnering its share of criticism, but it’s hard for me to nitpick when I see how deep the line is going on characters, vehicles and playsets. Plus, there’s the old adage, if you don’t like them don’t buy them. I’m not buying all of them, but I was pretty excited to get this pair from the Season 3 episode Ring Around The Riddler, where The Riddler tried to take control of the Gotham Boxing racket and the episode culminated in a boxing match between Batman and the Riddler. As far as goofiness goes, it’s par for the course, and as a kid the idea of seeing Batman box The Riddler was almost too much for my little brain to process. What’s that? Talk about the packaging? Oh yeah… these figures come on colorful cards with the Batman Classic TV Series logo. They kind of look a little like rack toy packaging, which might have been intentional, I don’t know. It’s charming to be sure, but nothing outrageously special. Still, I bought a double of Boxer Batman to keep sealed, so let’s rip these guys open.

As you can imagine, these are cheap ways to reuse a lot of parts from the original releases of these characters, but to be fair there’s some nice new sculpting here too. Batman dons his usual costume but happens to be wearing a large pair of yellow boxing trunks over it. You also get a much exaggerated version of his belt with the gold buckle on the front. The boxer motif is rounded out by a pair of boxing gloves that he’s wearing over his regular bat gauntlets. Everything about this figure is deliciously ridiculous and honestly, if you wanted to buy just one figure that best sums up this show, I think this one would be a good choice. Apart from the boxing paraphernalia, the costume sculpt is pretty clean and simple, epitomizing the on-screen costume. The pale gray and blue really look good as does the yellow and black bat symbol printed on his chest. The softgoods cape looks pretty good from the front, but maybe not so much from the back.

I think the head sculpt is fine for a retro-style figure, but I don’t see a lot of Adam West in it. The cowl does look very nice right down to the linework on the eyebrows and nose.

As with Batman, The Riddler is wearing his regular villain costume with the boxing trunks and gloves on top. His trunks are kind of mauve, which looks pretty snappy against his bright green outfit. I really love the giant RIDDLER belt buckle. The costume itself has very little in the way of sculpted detail, although I absolutely love how he’s just wearing a pair of regular loafers painted green. The printed question marks are all pretty crisp.

As for Riddler’s head sculpt, I think this is a better likeness than what we saw on Batman. Frank Gorshin will forever be The Riddler to me and I’d easily put him on par with Romero’s Joker in the series. He had a manic energy that was just wonderful to watch. I like the flash of teeth here and that the mask is sculpted rather than just painted on.

The fact that McFarlane calls this a Retro line probably refers to the articulation more than anything. It’s not as limited as it could have been, but it certainly has its limits when compared to the DC Multiverse series. Actually what’s most limiting is the use of the t-crotch, which doesn’t allow for any lateral movement in the hips and is definitely what feels most retro here. You do, however get rotating hinges in the elbows and knees, which is fairly modern. The head is ball jointed, the waist will swivel as will the wrists, but there’s no ankle or chest articulation. Nonetheless, I found these to still be pretty fun to play around with, especially when adding a figure stands to help them out in action poses.

The only accessories included here are plastic versions of the comic-style exposition balloons that would appear on the screen during the fights. Batman comes with BIFF and THUNK while Riddler comes with WHAMM and OUCH. The have rings so you can clip them onto the figures’ wrists. These are OK, but I really want to like these more than I do. It’s a very nice effort, but in execution I think it falls kind of short. I actually wouldn’t be critical of them here as they don’t feel like they are replacing actual accessories, but that was the case with other figures, as we’ll see in the weeks ahead.

I really love these figures and I had a lot of fun opening them and playing around with them. I don’t know that the whole retro vibe is really there. Back in the day we had Mego Batman figures and some Corgi cars, but nothing like these. Honestly, the Retro tag is probably just to separate them from the DC Multiverse level of articulation. Either way, I’m really glad I finally plunged into this line and when I next visit with it we’ll be checking out an exclusive lunchbox full of figures!

Aug 18 2023

DC Multiverse (Dark Knight Trilogy): Joker, Two-Face and Bane by McFarlane

A couple weeks back I checked out the first half of McFarlane’s Dark Knight Trilogy figures with Batman and Scarecrow. Today, I’m looking at the second half of that wave with Joker and Two-Face, which also gives me the rest of the Collect-To-Build pieces to finish off Bane! The night is darkest just before the dawn, so let’s go…

I’ve got nothing new to say about the packaging, other than if it weren’t for the Bane figure parts, I probably would have just picked up Joker and Batman in this wave. But then I was very happy with how Scarecrow came out, so I have no regrets yet. I should note that I opened these figures a while ago and am using McFarlane’s official solicitation packaged shots, which shows a weird, almost metallic paint scheme for Joker and that’s obviously not what we got on the final figure. Two-Face comes with Bane’s torso and Joker comes with Bane’s head and three sets of his hands. Let’s start with Two-Face…

So, this is the figure in the wave that I was probably least excited about, but now that he’s in hand, I think he’s a pretty cool figure. Sure, he’s a guy in a suit, but I really like what McFarlane did with the damage to the jacket, which is both sculpted and painted on. Overall, I like McFarlane’s suit body a bit better than Hasbro’s Marvel Legends version, but I’d say they’re both more or less on the same level. The sculpted sleeves on the arms definitely match up with the suit-vest a lot better here. The jacket has a nice trim fit and the slacks have a hint of a crease running down the legs. The ball joint under the chest is handled well and the tie being sculpted separately looks great. You even get a little texture to the suit, shirt, and tie for that added pop.

Of course, the head sculpt is the main draw here and it has it’s ups and downs. McFarlane’s portraits work great for comic characters, but they definitely fall short when it comes to their movie figures. There isn’t much of a likeness to Eckhart and the paint on that side of the face is too basic to look all that realistic. The damaged side is pretty horrific, and I mean that in a good way, although I think it could have used a glossy wash to bring out some of that gore. I think this portrait works fine for having a Two-Face in my DC Multiverse collection, but it’s probably going to disappoint people looking for a solid version from the film.

Articulation is standard stuff here for the Multiverse line, which is as solid as always. Dent’s left hand is sculpted with his coin, which was a great choice, while his right hand is sculpted with a trigger finger. Of course, you’ll have to pick up one of McFarlane’s gun-packs to give him a shooter for that hand. All in all, I like this figure a lot, but he didn’t surprise me into loving him , like Scarecrow did. If not for the Bane piece, I would have happily gambled on picking him up at clearance, but I’m sure not angry at picking him up at full price. Moving on to Joker…

This is the figure I was looking forward to the most in this wave and he does not disappoint. I’ve seen a lot of gripes about how he turned out, and I honestly can’t understand them, because I think he looks fantastic. I really dig the billowy sculpt to his purple trench coat and the sculpted sleeves blend with it pretty well. The green vest and shirt collar and tie are all sculpted together, which still looks fine, although they are missing the patterns from the screen worn costume. Finally, the baggie purple striped pants lead down to his brown shoes. There’s also a sculpted gold chain leading from under the vest.

I think the portrait was a sticking point with some collectors’ early reactions, but I like how it turned out. It’s certainly not perfect. The makeup should have been more spotty and rough, but I’m still very happy with what we got. In terms of movie based likenesses, I’d say this is one of McFarlane’s better ones.

Like Two-Face, Joker comes with a trigger hand but no gun. Honestly, if McFarlane couldn’t give us a gun, they should have just given us a knife instead, which feels conspicuously absent from this set. Even a hand with a playing card sculpted into it would have been welcome. The left hand is sculpted into a fist.

You do, however, get a big pile of cash, which is a damn cool accessory, and works great as a throne for him to sit on. So yeah, I’m going to go against the grain and say that I love how this figure turned out. A few tweaks could have made it even better, but I dig him. And that brings us to Bane!

I’m a little saltier about this figure since McFarlane revealed the Gold Label Bane with his coat. It sold out fast and even if it didn’t, I wasn’t about to drop another $45 just to get the coat. I think it was a pretty shitty use of the Gold Label line and companies need to watch how they screw over collectors by reissuing better versions of figures so soon after the initial offerings. With that said, this one looks pretty good. The tactical vest has some pretty sharp detail, I love the wrappings around his right wrist and hand, and the rugged pants are replete with sculpted pockets. All in all pretty nice work!

The portrait is pretty good. It actually looks like the eyes are printed rather than painted. There’s also some nice dry brush weathering on the mask. The lines between his skin and the mask have a little slop here and there, but you have to punch in pretty close for it to be a problem.

Despite being a Collect-To-Build, Bane has all the usual articulation seen in the Multiverse line. I did have some issues with the legs staying put with this figure, but after a lot of cursing and excessive force, I think I finally got them to stay put. You get three sets of hands with Bane, which feels a little excessive. These include fists, relaxed hands, and gesturing hands. I would have much rather we got a knife or playing card hand with Joker rather than these, but I’ll take them anyway.

I don’t buy a lot of Multiverse Waves when they first come out, but this one I jumped on and I’m still glad I did. Especially since these don’t seem to be dropping in price as fast as some of these figures tend to do. While I’m not as big a fan of these movies as most, I do love these versions of the characters and they are certainly a massive step up from the shitty Mattel ones I have from forever ago. Oh wait… we’re not quite done yet…

Yeah, I also bought the Gold Label Joker for some reason. It’s made even more ridiculous by the fact that this is a Jokerized Joker. Yup. I’m probably not going to open this one, and all I can say is it must have been the product of one of those nights of heavy drinking and retail therapy, because otherwise I’m not really sure why I bought it. I do really like the paint on this figure’s portrait, so that’s something. Also the Jokerized Bane head is kind of cool too. But I certainly will not picking up any of the other Jokerized figures in this wave.