Tag Archives: Dick Grayson

#2327: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

DC MULTIVERSE (MCFARLANE)

“Dick Grayson began his crime-fighting career as the original Robin—Batman’s protégé and crime-fighting partner. An expert acrobat and skilled fighter, Dick eventually left the nest and ventured out on his own as a new hero called Nightwing. His childhood experiences as a circus acrobat and trapeze artist make him extremely agile. He is a superior fighter and a highly skilled martial artist who has been personally trained by Batman. Nightwing is a keen detective, a natural leader, and a strategist with advanced knowledge of a variety of technologies.”

I am nothing if not a creature of habit.  The habit of which I am a creature in this case, apparently, is trying out DC lines with the same two characters.  First Superman, then Nightwing.  I did it with Spin Masters stuff, and lookie here, I’m about to do it with the McFarlane stuff too.  You can’t say I didn’t try to warn you!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the…well, it’s still the first assortment of DC Multiverse, but it’s like distinctly separate from the one that Superman’s in, I guess?  This one’s got a different price point because there’s a build-a-thing, and so it’s…I don’t know, it’s all a little confusing, or maybe its not.  Forget it Ethan, it’s McFarlane.  Like Superman, this Nightwing figure is, at least in theory, based on specific appearance, namely “Better Than Batman,” the first volume of his Rebirth title, which reintroduced the black and blue color scheme.  Much like the “based on Action Comics #1000″ translated to “McFarlane take on Classic Superman” for yesterday’s figure, “based on Better Than Batman” here translates to “Mcfarlane take on Nightwing’s most recent costume.”  Nightwing stands 7 14 inches tall and he has 35 points of articulation.  He’s pretty much the same height as the Superman figure (and a little taller than the basic Batman), which makes him a little tall for Dick, but believe me, he’s not the worst case of internal scaling in the line.  His articulation isn’t too different from Clark’s.  There’s better range in the arms for this guy, which is good, but I didn’t find the neck joint quite as useful this time around.  The legs are also still kind of clicky and heavy on the ratcheting for my taste, making him not a ton of fun to pose.  I will say he’s pretty stable on his feet, though, so kudos to McFarlane on that.  Let’s discuss the sculpt.  By and large, I don’t like this sculpt quite as much as the Superman, largely due to this one feeling far more uneven.  The head’s definitely the strongest part, and I definitely get an effective Dick Grayson vibe off of it.  Not sure if it’s quite a Rebirth Dick Grayson vibe, but that’s really splitting hairs.  The body’s where things get funkier.  At first glance, I thought this figure’s arms were too short, and he was kinda giving me T-Rex vibes.  In-hand, it doesn’t seem like it’s the arms that are throwing things off, but perhaps the torso?  I think it’s too large relative to the rest of the figure.  It’s hard to say for sure, but it definitely looks off.  The legs, especially below the knee, also seem slightly…mishapen?  With the right posing, it doesn’t look bad, but there’s definitely something weird about this figure’s proportions in general.  As with Superman, the costume has been given an assortment of extra little details littered throughout.  I myself tend to prefer a more streamlined Nightwing, but these details still work better on him than they did on Superman.  Nightwing’s paintwork is more in line with McFarlane’s usual output than Superman was, being a little murkier on the details, and slightly washed out.  It’s not a bad look, but compared to something like the Essentials figure, he looks almost unfinished.  Maybe that’s just my classic sensibilities kicking up, though.  Nightwing is packed with his batons, a piece of the mini-Batmobile, a display stand, and a card.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I was sold on Superman, I was still kinda on the fence with this guy.  I liked parts of him, but I wasn’t sure about the whole.  Max wanted the mini-Batmobile piece, so he bought this guy, and ended up pretty much just giving him to me.  He’s not a bad figure.  Honestly, he’s probably about as good as the Essentials figure, which also had it’s pluses and minuses.  However, I still personally prefer the Essentials release and its slightly cleaner approach to the character.  Both figures have their merits, and neither one is truly definitive, so I guess I’m just gonna have these two nearly identical Nightwings in my collection.  Oh, the oddity of me.

#2315: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

Remember how I ended yesterday’s review by saying I wanted to see more from Spin Master with their DC stuff?  Well, it happened sooner than I expected.  Like, you know, right away.  Don’t you look at me like that.  We all knew what this was, okay?  Look, just sit back and enjoy this Nightwing review, alright?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the first standard assortment of Spin Master’s Batman: The Caped Crusader line.  Rather wisely, Spin Master has opted to separate out the Bat-characters from the main DC line, which means that the main line-up won’t get too overshadowed by the Bat-family.  This Nightwing figure is based on the character’s DC Rebirth design, which is my favorite of his more recent redesigns.  I dig the New Adventures vibes.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation, for real this time!  No broken joints on this guy!  Nightwing’s sculpt is an all-new piece, but given its generally generic nature, I wouldn’t be surprised to see it get re-used for some similarly built characters.  He’s actually smaller in build than the Superman figure, which is nice to see, given that the far more expensive DC Essentials version didn’t even get that.  You know there’s a problem when your $30 collector’s figure gets outclassed by an $8 toy….I’m getting distracted, aren’t I?  Yeah, it’s a decent sculpt.  It’s not perfect; the neck is a smidge too short, and the hair’s not my ideal choice for Nightwing.  The hands and feet are also a little chunky, but given that the same is true of Superman, that feels more like a stylistic thing.  Also, it’s nowhere near the level that it was on Mattel’s old Infinite Heroes line, so I can give it something of a pass.  Nightwing’s paintwork is all fairly basic, but the bright blue looks really nice, and the application is all pretty sharp. There are one or two spots of missing paint on mine, but nothing too bad or figure ruining.  As with the Heroes Unite line, the Caped Crusader line is also doing the blind-boxed accessories.  There are currently two different accessory sets available for Nightwing.  Mine has the “Harbor Defender” selection, which is a pair of batons (with built-in gauntlets), a scuba mask and tank, and a batarang.  I found the accessories a little more interactive for Nightwing than with Superman, and really like the batons in particular.  He’s also got a collector’s card like Superman’s.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Again, Max’s fault.  I mean, in a slightly different fashion than yesterday’s review.  And, admittedly I get a lot of the blame on this one, since I did actually buy it myself, but Max let me know that the Walmart near All Time had this guy, and said “if you’re gonna grab one, mind getting one for me too?”  At that point, I felt a little obligated, because what was I gonna do, make Max stop on his way home?  That just wouldn’t be very nice, now would it?  So, I got my Nightwing, because obviously I wasn’t just gonna buy one for Max.  As with Superman, I’m very happy with this figure, and am further intrigued by the rest of the line.  Also, this has perhaps set a precedent of me trying out new DC lines by buying Superman and Nightwing.  Possible spoilers for future reviews?  You’ll have to keep reading to find out…

#2268: Transforming Dick Grayson

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

TRANSFORMING DICK GRAYSON

BATMAN FOREVER (KENNER)

For day four of my Post-Christmas reviews, I’m taking a look at something it’s been…Forever since I’ve reviewed.  Yes, the site may have started with a series of four Batman Forever reviews, but there have been none featured since.  Now, six years later, we return.  Are you feeling it?  The significance?  The shock?  The awe?  Well, you should be, because this whole thing’s a very big deal.  Let’s just revel in all of this for a bit, shall we?

 

Done reveling? Cool.  Let’s review a Robin action figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Transforming Dick Grayson was one of the first assortment of Batman Forever figures released to tie-in with the movie in 1995, which was the same assortment that gave us three of the four previously reviewed Forever figures on this site.  It’s worth noting that there was no straight forward standard Robin in this initial assortment; you just had to decide whether you preferred this or Hydro Claw Robin as your go-to annoying Chris O’Donnell Robin figure.  The figure stands just shy of 5 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  His sculpt was unique to him in the initial assortment, but would later get repainted blue and used as Triple-Strike Robin later the same year.  It’s an okay sculpt, being generally pretty faithful to the film design.  He’s noticeably a lot skinnier than Hydro Claw, and for that matter a lot skinnier than Chris O’Donnell was in the role.  It’s not terribly off, and works fine for the more classical Robin proportions, so I can’t knock it too much.  His pose is fairly neutral, apart from the slight bend in the left arm; this was present on Hydro Claw, and it’s also on Street Biker Robin, so maybe that’s just how they assumed Robin would pose in default.  There’s a good chance that character design sheets for the movie may have had him in such a pose, which is further supported by all of the prototypes having a totally different hair style than O’Donnell sported in the film.  Whatever the case, the pose keeps him from looking too stiff, so I can’t fault it.   The figure’s paint delivers a fairly standard set of Robin colors as you might expect, but does have one interesting feature: his Sudden Reveal Mask!  Yes, in order to give Dick his usual mask when transforming him into Robin, you reveal the mask by dipping his head in cold water, and then remove it again by dipping it in warm water. It would probably be a more compelling feature if it wasn’t bound to be just a little bit off in both modes, but it’s nifty enough as is.  To aid in his transformation, Robin also included a cape (which on my figure hadn’t had all of the excess molded parts cut off…see the picture), a chest piece, wrist guards, and boots.  And, of course, he also has Robin’s signature bat-brass-knuckles.  Never leaves home without them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy was a Christmas gift from my brother Christian, who was eager to get something that a) I didn’t already have and b) would amuse me.  Apparently, he caught the packaging illustration at the top of this guy’s card and felt that alone was amusing enough to warrant getting this for me.  I can’t argue with him on that; the packaging art on this is a national treasure.  The figure?  He’s okay.  Perhaps not terrible impressive in his own right, but still one of those figures I never had that I always had this morbid desire to own just for the sake of owning him.

#2143: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

LEGENDS OF BATMAN (KENNER)

“As Robin, he fought crime beside Batman all his life, and with every bit of his mentor’s determination! Now Robin has grown up, and he has a new super-hero identity: Nightwing! His sonic blaster and armored cowl make him a force to be reckoned with! Together, Batman and Nightwing can take on any villain in Gotham City!”

In 1994, we were in between Batman movies, but the holders of the DC license over at Kenner didn’t just want to sit and wait for one to role out in order to release new toys.  The went with a radical concept: basing figures on the comics…well, at first anyway.  Legends of Batman began as a rather straight comic Batman line, with one or two Bat-variants worked in, but it would eventually morph into a full-fledged Elseworlds-esque line.  For today’s review, though, I’m sticking wit the line’s early focus, with a look at Batman’s former sidekick, Nightwing!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing was released in Series 1 of the Legends of Batman line.  He’s based on Nightwing’s early ’90s design, which was still current at the time of this figure’s release, and figured into Knightfall, a storyline that was a prominent inspiration for early Legends figures.  The figure stands 5 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation, as was the standard for Kenner figures at the time.  Nightwing sported an all-new sculpt, and you can definitely see a lot of the origins of things like Total Justice in this figure’s sculpt.  He’s heavily pre-posed, and exactly what that pose is supposed to be is a little up in the air.  They were definitely going for dynamic, but dynamically what, that they never settled on.  This intended dynamic look is also passed on to the hair; it’s early ’90s Nightwing, so of course he’s got the mullet, and it’s just whipping around back there like crazy.  On top of the pre-posing, Nightwing is also really bulked up.  This wasn’t uncommon for this costume to showcase Dick bulked way up to near Schwarzenegger-ian proportions, and this figure follows suit.  Strictly speaking, it’s not inaccurate, but it sure is super goofy.  He’s more bulked up than most of the Batmen in the line, which is downright silly.  Nightwing’s paintwork was rather muted compared to the comics design, which honestly robs this design of it’s one real selling point: that it was eye-catching.  Also, despite the “feather” detail being sculpted into the figure’s torso, it goes unpainted, with the figure relying on a removable shoulder piece to provide the yellow.  Unfortunately, if you’re like me and your figure is missing that piece, it makes Nightwing look especially incomplete.  In addition to the removable shoulder piece, Nightwing includes what is obviously the most appropriate accessory for him, a missile launcher!  Clearly this is Dick Grayson’s signature item.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While I wasn’t quite into collecting yet when this figure was first released, I did still get him within the decade of his release, albeit as a used offering.  My cousin Rusty had this one, and I always liked it.  Since he knew I was a bit more of a Batman fan than he was, he ended up giving it to me.  Sure, he didn’t have all of the parts, but it was a nice gesture.  The figure’s definitely dated, even moreso than some of his compatriots, but your can’t really say he doesn’t live up to the comics design.

#1452: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

DC ICONS

I’ve had a bit of theme to my purchases as of late, so for the next few Fridays, I’ll be sort of transferring that theme to the site and taking a weekly look at DC Collectibles’ DC Icons line.  Last week, of course, I looked at Supergirl, the first Icons figure I’ve bought in quite a while.  She was a pretty solid figure, so I went back for more, and grabbed the latest version of Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing.  I’m always in the market for a good Nightwing figure.  Is this one?  Let’s find out!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the fifth series of DC Icons, alongside Supergirl and the Super Sons.  He’s figure 24, which makes him the first in the set numerically.  Poor Nightwing is actually the last man standing from his initial series-mates; last summer he was first shown off in a series with Shazam, Sinestro, and Deadshot, but those three ended up cancelled, and Nightwing was pushed back a ways to be released alongside Supergirl.  Lucky him?  Nightwing’s package cites that he’s based on his appearance in “Hush,” which has always been one of my favorite Nightwing designs.  It dates back to the Hush line’s Nightwing figure, which has long been my favorite figure of the character. Hush’s more streamlined Nightwing design is really strong, so the design makes a lot of sense here, but it’s still a bit weird to wrap my head around a Hush-based figure that doesn’t actually look like a Jim Lee drawing.  Of course, there are worse things than a figure that looks like an Ivan Reis drawing, so I’m hardly going to complain.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The upscaling was somewhat evident on Supergirl, but it’s in full force on Nightwing.  He’s not really going to fit in with earlier Icons figures (especially not the Series 1 Batman, which is a little sad), but he’s now a little more at home with something like Marvel Legends.  Just for reference, he’s just a smidge shorter than a Bucky Cap-based figure; the only real inconsistency is the head size, but that’s minor.  Nightwing gets an all-new sculpt, and it’s a very strong one.  The articulation seems quite well worked in, and the figure feels very svelte and streamlined.  The build seems about right for Grayson and the etched-in edges to his logo are very nicely handled.  I wasn’t 100% sold on the head at first (it’s my love of that old DCD Nightwing’s head kicking in there), but after taking the figure out and viewing it from a number of different angles, I’m really happy with it.  Nightwing’s paint work is very strong, apart from one minor issue: the color of his mask.  If this is really a “Hush” Nightwing, then the mask really should be blue, not black.  To be fair to DCC, only the original release of the Hush Nightwing figure got that detail right; all of the re-issues changed it to black.  I have to wonder if it’s some sort of “brand identity” thing.  Beyond that, the paint’s great.  The glossy sheen helps the blue to pop really well up against the matte black, and I also like the high-gloss boots.  This is a very polished looking figure.  Nightwing is packed with his standard Escrima sticks, a batarang attacked to a grapple, and three pairs of hands in fists, and two variations of gripping.  Not a bad assortment.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

It’s all Cosmic Comix’s fault.  No, really.  They sold out of Nightwing initially, so I just bought Supergirl.  And I only would have bought her, content, and unaware of this figure’s existence.  And then they had to go and ask me if I wanted them to order me one.  Darn them and their clear knowledge of my collecting habits….

This figure’s a very strong offering.  I wasn’t sure about him, just based on how much I love that old Hush figure, but this one’s awesome, if for different reasons, maybe.  Regardless, this figure’s so awesome that I went online to see what other Icons figures were coming out, and that’s when I discovered that not only was the line essentially over, but that there were a ton of really cool figures that I wanted that got cancelled.  Now I am a sad Ethan.  But at least I got Nightwing, right?

#1123: Bola Trap Robin

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

BOLA TRAP ROBIN

BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES (KENNER)

bolatraprobin1

Growing up, there were a handful of characters that I was pretty much guaranteed to by in action figure form every time I saw them (it’s not a practice I’ve completely abandoned.  Note my Havok, Wonder Man, and Poe Dameron collections).  One of these characters was Robin (specifically Dick Grayson.  When he switched to Nightwing, those were the figures I wanted), resulting in my collection tending to have more Robins than Batmen at any given point.  A good portion of the Robins in my collection are goofy variants, including today’s entry, “Bola Trap Robin.”

THE FIGURE ITSELF

bolatraprobin2Bola Trap Robin was released in the fifth series of Kenner’s Batman: The Animated Series line.  He would also see a rerelease later on when the line was re-formatted under the Adventures of Batman & Robin banner, but mine’s the original.  The figure is about 4 1/2 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation that were standard for the line.  At this point in the line, Kenner had moved away from focussing on show accurate stuff and had instead delved headfirst into the wacky variants that would define the Dynamic Duo’s toy presence for the next two decades.  That being the case, Robin is seen here in a costume he never sported in the cartoon, its tie-in comic, or any of the comics it was based on.  The design isn’t really in keeping with the designs on the show, mostly due to being a bit busier than they tended to be.  That being said, it’s not a bad design, per se, especially in regards to being on a toy, where business isn’t the worst thing.  It has some of the typical Robin costume elements, but also mixes in a little bit of the 1989 Batman design, and even a little bit of the ‘90s Nightwing look around the tops of the boots and gloves.  The quilted elements are interesting.  They’re well sculpted, but I do sort of wonder why he’s got them.  Are they to protect him from the titular “Bola Trap”?  Robin has a sort of a preposed nature to him, and is probably one of the earliest examples of this trend occurring in Kenner/Hasbro’s DC figures.  Fortunately, he’s nowhere near the level of something like Total Justice.  Rather, I’d guess that the pose on this guy is so that the figure can still stand while holding the big gimmicky weapon.  Robin’s head is the same basic piece that Kenner used on pretty much all of their animated Robins.  It’s hardly on the level of the DCC version in terms of accuracy, but it’s still a decent enough piece, and it fits with the slightly off styling of the whole Kenner line.  The cape, like all of the capes at this point in the line, is cloth.  This means it doesn’t get the proper yellow lining, but other than that, it’s not terrible.  Robin’s paintwork is decent enough.  There’s a clear effort to making him different from the basic Robin, giving him a yellow and black color scheme.  I’d say he was more of a stealth Robin, were it not for all the bright yellow.  Maybe he’s trying to blend into the same place where Night Hunter Batman’s hiding?  The application’s pretty clean overall.  There are a few fuzzy edges, and some slop here and there, but he’s more or less pretty good.  The main gimmick of this guy is, of course, the bola trap, which seems to translate to big…spinny…thingy.  I’m not sure what it is.  I don’t know that bola is an apt descriptor.  At least it’s not a missile launcher, right?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Remember in the intro, where I talked about collecting every figure of certain characters?  Well, I didn’t get this guy growing up.  Instead, in an event similar to the acquisition of the Talking Cyclops figure from earlier this summer, my family found this guy in an antique store about a month ago, and got me this on the pretense of there only being so many chances for them to pick me up a Robin that I didn’t have.  They gave me Robin, alongside a whole bag of things they’d gotten me, when I went up to visit over Halloween.  Also in the bag?  The complete soundtrack to Batman: The Animated Series, which served as my motivational music during this review!  Alright!

#0792: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: ANIMATED (DC COLLECTIBLES)

NightwingTNA1

Okay, now I’m remembering why I don’t do long strings of reviews of figures from the same line: I always run out of things to say! It’s made even worse by the fact that I kind of covered the basics of today’s focus character, Nightwing, back when I looked at my very first figure of the character for my two year milestone. So, yeah…

Anyway, when The New Batman Adventures came along, all of the characters got redesigns. I already noted that the show’s Robin was a whole new character. So what happened to the former Robin Dick Grayson? He got to take on his comics identity of Nightwing, which meant he got one of the most drastic redesigns of any of the characters. It happens to be one of my favorites from TNBA, and it just recently got a figure from DC Collectibles’ Batman: Animated line.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

NightwingTNA4Nightwing is number 19 in the Batman: Animated line and he’s part of the line’s fifth series, which he actually shipped alongside. He stands 5 ¾ inches tall and has 24 points of articulation. He is, thankfully, taller than his BTAS counterpart (though not by a whole lot), however, he ends up losing a couple of points of articulation, which have quite an impact on what you can do with the figure, posing-wise. The most glaring omission is that of any sort of lateral movement on the legs, which causes him to be quite pigeon-toed. This is the same issue that plagued the BTAS Batman, and it’s really frustrating to see it show up again. Fortunately, Nightwing’s ankles are pointed a bit more outward, so it’s less glaring of an issue. Nightwing is based on his appearance in the episode “You Scratch My Back,” which is one of Nightwing’s more prominent episodes in the series, so it makes sense. The figure’s sculpt is frustratingly mixed in terms of quality. The head is nothing short of amazing. It’s a pitch-perfect translation of his look from the show, horribly-dated mullet and all. It’s sharp and clean, and all the angles are just right. His body is overall well built, but marred by a couple of glaring issues. First off, there’s the feet; while his feet are certainly small in the show, they weren’t that small. There smaller than Tim Drake’s feet for Pete’s sake! The real standout issue for me, though, is the logo. On the show, it was a totally flat logo, with no NightwingTNA6silhouette , as if it were silk-screened onto his costume.  Here, it’s a separate raised piece, jutting out a good millimeter from the rest of his chest. Not only is this inaccurate to the show, but it looks pretty goofy too, and it detracts from the elegant simplicity of the design. Why they opted to do it that way is beyond me. Nightwing is pretty light on paint, but what’s there (which is pretty much entirely confined to the face) is pretty good. The figure is packed with a pair of binoculars, a “night-a-rang” (just go with it….), four pairs of hands (fists, night-a-rang holding, gripping, and relaxed), and a display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Nightwing is one of my favorite designs from the animated shows, and was one of my favorite characters too, so I was eagerly awaiting his induction into DCC’s current line. When the prototype was shown off, I was less than impressed, but hopeful that he would improve like a lot of the others in the line. When I saw him in person at Cosmic Comix, I liked him enough to pick him up. When I took him out of the box, I was a fair bit let down, especially by the articulation. In fact, I kind of thought this would end up being a rather negative review. Then, I left him on my desk for about a week, and occasionally played with the figure while doing other things, and by the time he came up for review, I’d actually found myself really liking him, a lot more than I initially had. Sure, he’s not the standout figure that Bane is, but he’s also not the disappointment that BTAS Bats was for me.

NightwingTNA7