Tag Archives: Batman: The Animated Series

#0791: Bane

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

BANE

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DC COLLECTIBLES)

BaneTNA1

Bane was a relatively new addition to the Batman rogues gallery at the time of Batman: The Animated Series, but that didn’t prevent him from finding himself a spot on the show, even if he did only have a small handful of appearances. Though the character was always thoroughly intimidating in the comics, that didn’t really translate to his initial appearance on the show, which turned him into little more than a steroid-addicted masked wrestler, who ended up defeated in a rather laughable way. Fortunately, the creators were aware of their missteps, and when the show returned under the New Adventures of Batman monicker, Bane got an all-new, more imposing character design, and a much better debut appearance. So, it’s not much of a shock that DCC opted to go for the second version of the character for his figure in their Batman: Animated line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BaneTNA2Bane is part of the fifth series of the Batman: Animated line. He’s number 18 in the line. The figure stands roughly 7 ¼ tall and has 27 points of articulation. Bane’s quite a bit bigger than the other figures in the line, which gives him quite the presence on the shelf. In addition, he has some of the smoothest joint movement I’ve seen from this line, which makes posing the guy a lot of fun. The addition of a mid-torso joint really adds alot to this figure, and I kind of hope DCC uses that style of joint a bit more in the future. As noted in the intro, this figure is based on Bane’s TNBA design, and is specifically drawn from his appearance in “Over the Edge,” which was his primary appearance in the second iteration of the show. Bane’s sculpt does a pretty phenomenal job of translating his design into three dimensions. It’s one of those rare occasions where he looks right from almost every angle, which shows some serious dedication to the figure. The joints are also incredibly well worked into the sculpt, so he looks pretty good from an aesthetic standpoint. Bane’s paintwork is mostly pretty good overall. There’s some slop here and there, but BaneTNA3nothing too bad. The colors are muted, as they were in the original design. The reflections on the mask are handled via simple painted details, which add a nice bit of style to the figure without looking too specific to any one shot of the character. Bane is packed with four pairs of hands (fists, closed gesture, open gesture, and gripping) and a display stand. That’s a little less than some of the other figures, but more than acceptable given the size of the figure.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Bane was another purchase from Cosmic Comix, though I actually got him at full price. I wasn’t sure about whether or not I’d be getting Bane, but I was really impressed by the look of him in person, and even more impressed by just how awesome the figure is out of the box. He’s easily the best figure that DCC has produced in this line, and I really hope that subsequent figures can live up to him.

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#0790: Penguin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

PENGUIN

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DCC)

PenguinAnimated1

While the majority of character designs from Batman: The Animated Series stuck pretty close to the classic designs for the characters, there’s no denying that the series in general took some lead from the live action Batman films of the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. While the characterization of the Penguin was definitely his classic stuck-up, high-society, aristocratic personality of his classic comic appearances, his design was a mid-way point between the classic look and the Danny Devito version of the character from Batman Returns.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PenguinAnimated2Penguin is the 15th figure in DCC’s Batman: Animated line, which technically makes him a part of Series 4 of the line, though the actual layout of releases doesn’t really seem to following any actual order or anything. The figure is a little over 4 inches tall and he has 15 points of articulation. While he’s only got 15 points of articulation, the range of movement on this figure is pretty impressive, given his build. According to the packaging materials, he’s based on the character’s appearance in “The Strange Secret of Bruce Wayne.” That’s kind of an odd choice, seeing as Hugo Strange is that episodes primary antagonist and Penguin’s role is little more than a glorified cameo, but whatever. Penguin’s appearance in The Animated Series is rather fluid; the guy looks fairly different from various angles. That makes rendering him in three dimensions no easy feat. The figure’s sculpt does make an honest attempt at properly translating. The results aren’t half bad, but he still looks a bit odd from certain angles. And the hair is PenguinAnimated4pretty off, which I think is one of the things throwing the whole figure off. Still, the overall result is nice and clean, and sums up the character quite nicely. The figure’s paintwork is probably some of the best I’ve seen from this line, which definitely does a lot for the figure. The monocle being actually see-through is technically not accurate, since it was always opaque on the show, but it looks cool enough that I definitely won’t be complaining. Penguin’s accessory complement is actually pretty awesome. He gets his signature umbrella in both open and closed looks, a teacup, a spoon, three pairs of hands (fists, gripping, and open), and a display stand, which is amusing because he’s too wide at the waist to actually use it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the last two Batman: Animated figures I’ve reviewed, Penguin was purchased from Cosmic Comix during their Biggest Sale of the YearTM. I’m not the biggest fan of the Penguin, so I wasn’t really sure I’d be getting this figure, especially since the prototype shots weren’t the greatest. But, the reduced price, coupled with him looking a fair bit better in person, led me to pick him up. I’m glad I did, because I think he’s one of the nicer figures from the line. Let’s hope more figures in the line end up like him.

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#0789: Poison Ivy

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

POISON IVY

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DCC)

PoisonIvyAnimated1

When DC Collectibles launched their Batman: Animated line, they ran into a number of quality control issues, which left the first series of figures with a number of flaws. The most glaring issue was the exposed joints on the fronts of all the figures’ hip joints. However, a number of the figures also suffered from issues with brittle joints, especially on the ankles. This wasn’t a huge issue for the more robust designs of those characters. When it came time for the second series, DCC did their best to get all of the issues sorted out. However, they didn’t want to risk the more slight design of Poison Ivy being manufactured with brittle joints, so the choice was made to push her back a ways in the production schedule. Now she’s finally made it out! Let’s see how she turned out.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

PoisonIvyAnimated2Poison Ivy was originally part of the second series of the Batman: Animated line, but ended up being released around the same time as the Series 3 and 4 figures. She’s figure 08 in the line, as she kept her original number in spite of the delay in her release. The figure is just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 27 points of articulation. Ivy is based on her New Batman Adventures design, specifically from the episode “Chemistry.” While Ivy had a few other appearances in the show, I do believe that was the only one where she was the lone antagonist, so it’s a fitting choice. Ivy’s one of the few characters where I don’t have a definitive preference of one design over the other, so I don’t mind the decision to go with the later look. The sculpt does a pretty good job of translating her design into three dimensions, which is quite impressive, since the female designs from the later show were pretty stylized. The proportions are a pretty good match overall for the show. It may just be me, but the head does seem just a tad too large. Also, my figure has a pretty obvious seam on the hair, and even has excess glue around it, which is really annoying. There was another figure that didn’t have the seam issue, but had much lower quality paint application, PoisonIvyAnimated3so I had to choose the lesser evil. Apart from that, I do quite like the sculpt on this figure; she really sums up Ivy’s look quite well. The paintwork on this figure is pretty much on par with the rest of the recent releases. The colors are good matches for the source material, and the application is mostly pretty good. There’s a bit of bleed over at the bottom of her leotard, but that’s really the only issue. Ivy is packed with three containers of chemicals (which are much better handled than the ones included with yesterday’s Two-Face), three pairs of hands (open, gripping, and fists), and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Ivy hit at the same time as the BTAS version of Batman, but I only had the money for Batman at the time. I ended up getting Ivy from my local comic book store, Cosmic Comix, during their Biggest Sale of the YearTM. I’m definitely glad I got her, because issue with the hair aside, she’s a pretty great figure.

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#0788: Two-Face

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

TWO-FACE

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DCC)

TwoFaceAnimated1

When the characters on Batman: the Animated Series were redesigned for the New Batman Adventures revival, there was kind of a wide spectrum of just how far the changes went. Some characters received pretty radical departures from their previous looks, while others just had their old designs sharpened-up a bit. Two-Face more or less fell into the latter category of characters. He had a few changes, but mostly minor ones. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TwoFaceAnimated2Two-Face was part of the first series of DC Collectibles’ Batman: Animated line, though he ended up only being released alongside Mr. Freeze, as Batman and Catwoman received solo releases in the preceding weeks. He is, appropriately, figure 02 in the line. This figure is based on the character’s appearance in the episode “Sins of the Father,” which is Two-Face’s first appearance in The New Batman Adventures, so it’s a good choice. The figure stands a little over 6 ½ inches tall and has 20 points of articulation. His sculpt is unique to him, though the suit is generic enough that it could possibly see some re-use down the road. The sculpt is okay overall, but it has a few small inaccuracies. The biggest is that he’s just a lot softer angled than he should be, especially on the shoulders. Presumably, this is in part about facilitating the movement of the joints, which is just one of the compromises of this style of figure. Also, as a first series figure, he has exposed joints at the front of his legs, which is a bit frustrating. His pelvis in general seems a tad low set as well. And, this is less an accuracy thing and more an aesthetic issue, the front tuft of the white side of his hair is a separate piece, and quite obviously so. There’s a pretty large seam, and it doesn’t really seat properly, which makes it prone to falling off (which mine has done a few times now). Aside from those issues, the sculpt is pretty well handled, and it does a fair job of translating his design into three dimensions. Two-Face’s paintwork is okay, but not without its drawbacks. There’s a little bit of bleed over at TwoFaceAnimated3the changeover from white to black on the suit, and the white paint gets kind of gloppy in a few places. But, the colors are pretty good matches, and he looks perfectly fine when viewed from a small ways back. Two-Face is packed with a handgun, a tommy gun, a pocket watch, a bag, two vials of chemicals in red and blue, a gas mask, three pairs of hands (trigger finger, fists, and open palm), and a display stand. Several of these (the mask, bag, chemicals, and watch) are specific to “Sins of the Father,” which is cool. I do wish the chemicals were more than solid colors, but oh well. Also, the relaxed right hand has a sculpted coin, since you can’t very well have Two-Face without it!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My local comic book store sold out of Two-Face when he was initially released, so I didn’t get him. I kept thinking about ordering him online, but I just never got around to it. Then, said comic book store got a few more in stock, just in time for their Biggest Sale of the Year TM. So, I not only got the figure, but I also got him at a reduced price. Which is probably for the best. He’s an alright figure, but he’s not as good as some of the other entries in the line.

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#0774: Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

ROBIN

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DCC)

TimDrake1

When Batman: The Animated Series returned as The New Batman Adventures, virtually every character was given a snazzy new design. Some were very minor updates (such as Harley Quinn), but some were pretty drastic. Robin’s new design was definitely a pretty big change from his old design, but he had a good reason: he was actually a whole new character. Yes, he was now Tim Drake, the current Robin of the comics at the time. So, how about taking a look at one his many action figures?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

TimDrake2Robin is figure #10 in DC Collectibles’ Batman: Animated line, and is technically part of the third series of the line. He’s based on Robin’s appearance in TNBA, specifically the episode “Old Wounds,” which is a little amusing, since that’s actually a Dick Grayson focused episode. I mean, Tim’s got a decent role in that one, but you’d think they’d go for something like “Sins of the Father” especially since that’s the episode Two-Face was based on. But, he doesn’t have much in the way of episode specific stuff, so it doesn’t really matter anyway. The figure is roughly 4 inches tall and he has 26 points of articulation. His sculpt is all new, and it’s a pretty great translation of his 2D show design. The sculpt is nice and cleanly handled, and the details are all pretty sharp. He does seem just a tad bit on the large side, at least compared to the Dick Grayson Robin from Series 2. He looks perfectly fine when placed next to the Series 1 Batman, which is the important thing. Also, there’s an odd, sculpt/paint combo issue. For some reason, the red from his torso continues onto his arms. It’s not noticeable TimDrake4in a straight standing pose, but when his shoulders are moved, it starts to look a bit odd. It feels like just leaving the shoulders straight black would have worked out a lot better. The rest of the paint is pretty decent. The colors are nice and bright, and the details are all nice and clean. Robin has a nice selection of accessories, including a pair of bat-cuffs, a batarang, a grappling hook, three pairs of hands (in batarang grip, loose grip, and…looser grip?), a hand with the grapple sculpted into it, and a display stand with his design sheet printed on it. Like the B:TAS Batman, he skips the extra cape, though it’s less of an issue with this guy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like pretty much the entirety of this line, Robin was purchased from my local comic store, Cosmic Comix. Truth be told, I’ve always been more of a Grayson fan, but I did like a lot of what they did with Drake in the show. Plus, I’ve got both Batmen, I sort of need to have both Robins. This guy’s definitely well done, and a solid entry to the line. Definitely a step up after being somewhat let down by the second Batman!

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#0751: Batman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BATMAN

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DC COLLECTIBLES)

BatmanTAS4

Hey, do you guys remember how last year DC Collectibles debuted their line of super awesome figures based on Batman: The Animated Series? And do you remember when I reviewed the first figure in the line, which was Batman? And how I noted that he was actually Batman from the second incarnation of the show? And then I pointed out that the original design was slated for release later on in the line? Are you getting tired of these questions? Me too. So, yeah, the original Batman: The Animated Series Batman figure is finally here. Let’s see how it turned out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

BatmanTAS6Batman is figure #13 in DC Collectibles’ Batman: Animated line. Technically, this makes him the first figure in Series 4 of the line, but it seems DCC has completely given up on releasing these in actual assortments, so Batman shipped out on his own, though a few other figures arrived in the surrounding weeks. The figure is just shy of 6 ½ inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. The figure lacks the usual swivel joint on the lower leg, which is quite a pain when it comes to posing or even just trying to get him to stand, and also leaves him eternally pigeon-toed. The boots are even separate from the rest of the leg, so it looks like there should be movement, but there’s not. Batman’s sculpt has the task of translating a 2D character model into 3D, which is certainly not easy. From the neck down, the figure works pretty well. Everything seems proportioned right, and he’s more or less identical to the guy we saw on the screen. He seems a little on the small side compared to some of the other figures, but not terribly so. What about the head? Well, it’s hard to say. The prototype looked pretty dead on, but this doesn’t seem to have made it to the final figure. The shape of the eyes in particular seems off, and they feel way too small. It’s possible it’s a paint issue, so it’s hard to judge the accuracy of the sculpt. This figure only gets one cape, in contrast to the two included with the last Batman; all we get is the swept back look. To be fair, this is the preferred of the two looks, and the cape is accurate to the source material, but the option BatmanTAS7would have been nice. This figure makes out okay paint-wise. There’s the previously mentioned issue with the eyes, but other than that, the paint is pretty clean, and they seem to have done a pretty good job matching the colors from the show. Batman is packed with a B:TAS accurate batarang, a grappling hook, 7 hands (a pair of fists, a pair of basic grip, a pair for holding the batarang, and one with the grappling hook sculpted in place), and a display stand with his character design sheet printed on it. It’s not quite as much as was included with the last Batman, but it’s still a pretty impressive allotment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Batman was purchased from my local comic store, Cosmic Comix. They had just gotten him and Poison Ivy in and I only had the money for one, so I went with him (I went back for Ivy later). I was pretty eager to get this figure when it was announced, what with it being my Batman and all, but I have to say, I was…disappointed with the final product. It really sucks to have to say that, to be totally honest, but it’s true. He’s not a bad figure, but the issues with the head and lack of movement in the legs hold him back. On any other figure, this might be forgivable, but on the definitive Batman, it’s a pretty big letdown. This figure is supposed to be repackaged with a new head in a two-pack with Phantasm early next year. It would be nice if DCC could fix the issues for that release. Until then, this guy’s certainly serviceable.

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#0730: Nightwing – Force Shield

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

NIGHTWING – FORCE SHIELD

THE NEW BATMAN ADVENTURES (KENNER)

NightwingFS1

In case you missed it, The Figure in Question has officially made it through two years of reviews. In honor of that, today’s review will a little bit more special. I’ll get to that in a bit.

In the mid-80s, Dick Grayson gave up his Robin identity, going without a costumed identity for a little while before taking on the identity of Nightwing (previously the Kandorian alter-ego of Superman. It’s a long story). To the general populace, Dick remained Robin, mostly due to his presence in the role for Batman: The Animated Series. Nightwing made his way into the public eye in that show’s sequel series, which is how I became familiar with the character. That series’ toyline also provided the character with several of his earliest figures, one of which I’ll be looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NightwingFS2Force Shield Nightwing was part of Kenner’s The New Batman Adventures line. He was the second version of the character in the line, released not long after the first. The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and has Kenner’s signature 5 points of articulation. It’s a pretty low articulation count, but it’s a standard for the time, and aside from the neck joint, which is limited by the hair, the movement is pretty decent. Nightwing is, obviously, based on his design from the show, sculpturally at least. As a “wacky variant” of Nightwing, a little parts re-use is to be expected. What’s actually a bit surprising is that this Nightwing is NOT a complete reuse. The head, arms, and legs are all the same as the regular Nightwing release, but the torso is a new piece, which removes the weird plug from the original’s back. So this one’s sculpt is actually more accurate than the normal one. Nifty! The sculpt does a pretty spot on job of translating Nightwing’s show design to three dimensions, which is nice to see. The etched in logo is a nice touch, especially since it could have easily just been painted on. The paintwork is what really sets this guy apart from the prior Nightwing. Rather than the usual blue logo, this one keeps the logo black, and paints the surrounding area gold. Certainly a different look, but it’s handled pretty well. The gold, like a lot of gold paint has faded over time, but it still stands out well enough. Nightwing was originally packed with a big grappling hook launcher (Kenner was a Hasbro subsidiary at that point…), as well as his titular force shield. I’ve lost it, but it was shaped like his logo, bright yellow, and the “wings” folded out to reveal pictures of the various Batman allies and rogues. It’s an odd gimmick, but there it is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Hey, so, this is actually my first Nightwing figure! Cool!

Story time: When I was 5, my parents took me down to visit my Dad’s family home in North Carolina. My dad came and got me from school, and one of our stops was, I believe, a Kmart, where I found this guy. I had yet to see any of his appearances on the cartoon, so my dad had to explain to me who he was. I thought he looked super cool, so my dad was nice enough to buy him for me. This guy went on the trip with me, all the way down there and back again, so I formed a bit of a bond with the guy.

Over the years, my collection grew, and this guy fell by the side. Somewhere along the way, I decided to paint him up like Jace from Space Ghost. I have no idea why. Anyway, he just got thrown in a box for a while, until I rescued him just a few years ago, while deep in my whole indexing my collection project. He was still covered in paint, but it was acrylic, so I began the process of returning him back to his original state. I finally got him cleaned up just in time to take him with me on my fifth trip down to NC. Here he is on the mantle place. Doesn’t he look so happy?

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#0594: The Creeper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

THE CREEPER

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (DCC)

CreeperTNBA1

DC Collectibles seems to finally be getting into the swing of things with their much anticipated Batman: The Animates Series line of figures. They started off a little bit rocky with a fair share of quality control issues on the first series, causing them to delay production on all upcoming series for a few months. One thing they still seem to be working on getting down, however, is a firm definition of just what figures are in a series. When the QC issues from Series 1 arose, DCC quickly pushed back the release of Series 2 in order to fix some of the problems. They foresaw the potential for more prevalent problems in the planned Poison Ivy figure, so she was removed from Series 2 entirely, and slotted for a later release. It seemed like this just meant Series 2 would be one figure smaller, and I even indicated this in my review of the three remaining Series 2 figures. It would seem I was wrong…sort of. Not long after the rest of Series 2 made their way to shelves, one more figure showed up.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CreeperTNBA2The Creeper is figure 11 in DC Collectibles’ Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures line. For those of you keeping score at home, he’s actually only the eighth figure to be released in the line, but DCC spent all that money designing packaging and printing out those checklists included with every figure, so they certainly weren’t going change things up for pure logic’s sake! Creeper was released sort-of-kind-of as part of the second series of figures in the line. The other three all shipped together, but this guy was late to the party. That said, Series 3 still seems a ways off, so that would put this guy with Series 2. The first series didn’t all ship together either, so I guess that’s just how this line’s gonna work. The figure stands just over 6 ½ inches tall and features 26 points of articulation. My Creeper figure only had 24 of those points right out of the box, as his right shoulder was completely frozen in place. It loosened up after about 20 minutes or so of me prying at it, but wow was it a pain. The Creeper is based on his appearance in the penultimate episode of The New Batman Adventures, “Beware the Creeper.” Seeing as CreeperTNBA4it’s the only time he appeared on the show, I suppose that’s fair. The figure sports a sculpt that is unique to him. It’s a pretty great translation of the show design, which is nice to see. Like with any animation-based figure, there are certain viewing angles that don’t look quite right, but the figure manages to avoid them as best he can. The face seems a tad bit long and the jaw is a little too square, but the overall appearance isn’t bad. They’ve opted to have the boa be a sculpted piece. That’s probably the best possible choice, but it does mean he’s rather top heavy and some of his articulation is a little restricted. Still, it’s well-sculpted, and it makes for an accurate representation of the design without looking too silly, so points for that. Creeper exhibits what is probably the best paintwork I’ve seen yet from this line. It’s still not perfect (especially on the shorts), but things are mostly CreeperTNBA3clean, without too many scuffs or scratches. The head is the best part, with some phenomenal line work on the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth. Creeper is packed with a pretty great selection of accessories. He starts off with three different pairs of hands. He’s got a standard set of fists, gripping hands, and open gesture hands. There’s also the standard display stand, which features his design sheet control art printed on the base. Lastly, he’s got a Batman party mask and a pool cue, which are both really cool episode specific pieces. (EDIT: He also has a rat.  I don’t remember quite what he did with the rat in the show, but I assume it was in the episode.)

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Creeper really snuck up on me. I had heard through various sources that he had been released, but I hadn’t really looked into it. I figured I’d eventually get around to ordering him from Amazon, like I did with the last three. This past week, I was picking up my comics from my local store, Cosmic Comix, and just happened to spot this guy hanging on the rack behind Batman and Two-Face (who I really should get one of these days). Usually the store places new figures up near the front with the new comics, so I almost missed him. This guy is just super covert. I’m glad I didn’t miss him, though, because he may well be my favorite figure in the line so far. He’s still got a few issues here and there, but I really feel like DCC is starting to get the hang of things!

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#0575: Man-Bat

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

MAN-BAT

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (DC COLLECTIBLES)

ManBat1

While I love pretty much every episode of Batman: The Animated Series, there are two episodes I love above all the others.  The first is “Heart of Ice,” the episode that re-invented the character of Mr. Freeze and made him into one of Batman’s most memorable Rogues.  The other is “On Leather Wings,” which is the very first episode of the series, and is responsible for kicking things off with a serious bang.  The episode steered away from the more established Bat-Rogues in order to focus on the lesser-known Man-Bat.  Man-Bat serves as the logical counterpoint to Batman, and allows for a unique way of introducing the audience to the main character.  The episode perfectly established the tone for the rest of the series, and has some of the best writing and animation of the entire show.  It was an important moment for the series, and Man-Bat is a key part of it, so it’s no surprise that Man-Bat showed up in the latest round of BTAS figures from DC Collectibles.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

ManBat2Man-Bat is figure 07 in the Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures line from DC Collectibles.  He is the third and final figure in Series 2 (Poison Ivy was supposed to be the fourth, but she got pushed back due to production issues).  The figure is just shy of 7 ½ inches tall, has a wing span of 15 inches, and has 15 points of articulation.  The design of the character means that he’s a little less articulated than some of the others in this series.  That said, he’s actually the first figure in the line to get any torso articulation, and most of the articulation has a pretty great range of movement.  The only point that’s really limited is his head, which really would benefit from the ability to look upward.  As with the Kenner figure, this version of Man-Bat is based on the Kirk Langstrom Man-Bat from “On Leather Wings” as opposed to the Francine Langstrom (wo)Man-Bat from “Terror in the Sky.”  The figure’s sculpt is, generally, a pretty great translation of the show’s design for the character.  The only real mis-step, as far as I can tell, is the figure’s head.  It’s not terribly far off from the show design, but it seems like it’s a little flatter, depth-wise, than it should be.  In particular, the jaw line seems too shallow.  That being said, it’s closer than Kenner’s attempt, and the differences can be chalked up to the show design not translating quite as well to three dimensions.  Man-Bat is a much larger figure than the others in the line, but that doesn’t mean he gets left out of the accessories game.  The most ManBat3important extra pieces are definitely the extra arms, which are sculpted in a more relaxed position. The default arms are sculpted in an outstretched fashion, which can take up a lot of shelf space and limits the possible poses, so it’s good to have the extra pieces.  Now, it’s too bad that DCC couldn’t find a way to work in elbow and wrist movement, but I can certainly appreciate their desire to not hinder the quality of the sculpt.  These make for a decent enough compromise.  In addition to the arms, the figure includes three medicine bottles, a tape recorder, and a display stand.  The bottles and the recorder are episode specific, and pretty nifty to have, even if Man-Bat can’t really use them.  The stand is pretty much an essential piece of the figure, however, due to his inability to stand very well on his own.  But, at least it’s there, right?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

If you’ve read the last two days’ reviews, it should be no surprise that I got Man-Bat from Amazon.  It doesn’t make for a terribly exciting story, but it’s relatively stress-free on my end.  Man-Bat was a figure I was really looking forward to, mostly due to how much I love the character’s first appearance on the show.  It’s too bad that DCC couldn’t come up with a way to articulate the arms, but the swappable parts do make up for it a bit, resulting in a pretty fun figure, and probably one of the best Man-Bat figures to date.

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#0574: Robin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

ROBIN

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (DC COLLECTIBLES)

RobinTAS1

When discussing the definitive actors for certain characters, Batman: The Animated Series comes up a lot. Usually, it’s in regards to Kevin Conroy’s portrayal of the title character, or possibly Mark Hamill’s Joker. There’s no denying that those two defined the characters for a vast majority of the fanbase, and their performances are rightfully praised. However, for me, there’s one more actor who’s just as definitive in his role, and that is Loren Lester as Robin. When I think of Robin, his voice is the one I hear, and as such his version of Robin is the one I’m most interested in owning a figure of. Fortunately for me, DC Collectibles has just released a figure of that very version of the character!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

RobinTAS2Robin is figure 06 in DC Collectibles’ Batman: The Animated Series/The New Batman Adventures line, and he’s the second of the three figures in Series 2. Robin is 5 ½ inches tall and features 28 points of articulation. The articulation here is better than what we saw on Joker, but the height seems a little off. To be fair, Robin was usually depicted as being a little shorter than most of the other adult male characters. However, this version of the character is meant to be college aged, and at more than a half an inch shorter than Batman, he seems too small. Anyway, this figure is based on the Dick Grayson version of Robin from BTAS. Aside from the issues with scale, the sculpt does a pretty fantastic job of capturing the show design. The proportions are all well-balanced, and everything is rather sharp and clean. They’ve even managed to actually capture Robin’s wacky hair, which always threw off the Kenner figures. Here, it’s got the right shape from most angles (although they had to cheat it in a few areas) and it brings some neat dimension to the sculpt. Paint is the area where these figures continue to fall just shy of expectation. Robin’s paint isn’t all bad; they RobinTAS4managed to match the colors pretty well to show, which is definitely a plus. However, the red and yellow areas of the tunic have quite a bit of bleed over between them, and there are a couple of instances of slop. He’s also got a chip of paint missing on his right glove, which is annoying, and oddest of all, he’s got a strange circle of glossy finish on his left cheek. It’s only noticeable from certain angles, but it’s just weird looking. Robin also suffers from the same painted wrist joint issue that the Joker had, so there’s a bit of green wrist confetti to go with the purple. Yay? Robin is pretty well accessorized. Similar to Batman, he includes two capes; one is completely swept back, while the RobinTAS3other is draped over his right shoulder. Both capes sit well and they can be swapped out by popping off the figure’s head, which is pretty easy. Robin also includes a grappling gun, bola whip, a display stand featuring his character design sheet, and 7 hands: a pair of fists, a pair of loose grip, a pair of tight grip, and a left hand holding the grappling gun. I’m still a little a little unsure of why we need both a loose grappling gun and a hand with the gun sculpted in place, but whatever. Also, the bola whip is too thick, which means it kind of ends up looking more like a sort of wobbly staff than a whip. But, all the other accessories are cool, so no issues there.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Robin’s another Amazon purchase. Nothing super exciting, but it was an easy, pain-free way of getting a figure I wanted. Robin’s probably the figure I was looking forward to the most from this series, and, while he isn’t without issues, I’m pretty happy with the final figure. Now, would it be too much to ask for the TNBA version of this costume from “Old Wounds?”

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