Tag Archives: Spin Master

#3958: Superman – Golden

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

SUPERMAN — GOLDEN

DC HEROES UNITE (SPIN MASTER)

It’s been *over a year* since I last looked at anything from Spin Master’s DC line, despite them still very much holding the license (at least until the end of the year when Mattel takes over as master license holder again), because, like, I had some stuff going on or whatever?  Honestly, as nifty as the figures are, they’re really little more than that, and I’m personally not really their target audience, so I can’t really fault them for not catering to me.  I do still like messing with a nifty figure every now and then, though, so today I’m looking at a Superman that I’ve been putting off reviewing for far too long.  Here he is.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Superman was released in the third assortment of Spin Master’s DC Heroes Unite line.  He was one of the “super rare” figures, and initially hit at the end of 2020, but started showing up in greater numbers when Spin Master put out additional runs of the figures in ’21 and ’22.  The figure stands just shy of 4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  Sculpturally, he’s the same as the line’s first take on the basic Superman mold.  Technically, that means he, like the other releases, is based on Supes’s second Rebirth costume, but in the case of this release, unless you’re looking *really* close at his belt, it’s a bit harder to tell.  Generally speaking, it’s still a decent sculpt.  A bit bulky and rudimentary, but genuinely a nice offering for the style.  Like the standard, he’s got a cloth cape, which is still really cheap, but it’s not awful.  The change-up to this figure, much like was done with Batman and Wonder Woman before him, is that Clark’s all gold.  In his case, that’s actually a bit more cannon than the other two, since it means he can stand-in for his appearance in the future world of DC One Million, which is extra fun. Largely, the color’s just molded plastic, but he does get a little bit of paint for his logo on his chest.  Superman gets the same blast effect, torso armor, and Kryptonite pieces packed with the other two versions, but they, like the figure, are all gold.  In the case of the Kryptonite, that means we get Gold Kryptonite, meaning you can permanently remove his powers…if you’re feeling especially evil or whatever.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got Wonder Woman from this set/style pretty quickly, and had help getting a Batman after the fact, but I really wanted a Superman to finish out the trinity.  I completely missed the first run, but during the re-runs, probably in ’22 I think, I lucked into one, who I bought, and then….kind of forgot about?  He’s been unopened since I got him, and I kept meaning to open him and review him, but I kept forgetting.  Not this time!  He’s not really anything new, but I do like him in all his goofy not-new-ness.

#3717: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

It’s been a good long while since I’ve looked at anything from Spin Master’s run with the DC license. The last things I looked at were from Black Adam. Man, my decidedly checked optimism didn’t pay off, did it? There were a handful of other movie lines from Spin Master, which I largely wound up skipping, but they’ve also been keeping their Batman comic line running steady the whole time. My main focus there is and always has been the Nightwings, and there’s a new one!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of Spin Master’s on-going Batman: The Caped Crusader line.  I’ve fallen behind on the exact assortment breakdowns at this point, but his copyright info says 2023.  There was an Amazon 4-pack which had him packed with a Batman, Joker, and Robin variant, and this appears to be a single carded release of that same figure, which I’ve only just recently seen popping up.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme is the same one we’ve been seeing since Spin Master took over the license, and it’s honestly not a bad set-up, so why fix what’s not broken?   While the first few Spin Master Nightwings were all built from the same parts, this one has an all-new sculpt, which is based on Dick’s look from the “Future State” event.  It’s actually a pretty fun tweak on his classic blue and black design, and certainly a very toyetic choice.  The sculpt itself is a lot more refined than the prior Nightwing piece, with sharper details and more balanced proportions than earlier figures, more like the movie figures I looked at.  Nightwing’s paint is rather basic.  His boots (and entire lower leg, for that matter) are just molded in blue, which isn’t right, and there are definitely some other sculpted elements that go unpainted, but he’s generally not a bad set-up, given the style and price point.  One noted change-up from earlier Nightwings is that Spin Master’s cut the basic accessory count down from three to two.  He gets one escrima stick and one night-a-rang.  Honestly, I’d have preferred to loose the night-a-rang for a second stick, since he’s oddly balanced with just the one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve generally fallen out of the Spin Master stuff, especially with the trend more towards just Batman and movie stuff.  That said, I did see the four pack with this guy on Amazon, and passed because I just didn’t really want the other three.  I was pleasantly surprised to happen upon the single release while out running errands.  He’s a very cool little Nightwing figure.  He’s basic, but as with the other Spin Master figures, he’s very fun.

#3210: Hawkman

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

HAWKMAN

BLACK ADAM (SPIN MASTER)

Despite both of their backstories heavily involving ancient Egypt, Hawkman and Black Adam haven’t had a ton of interacting over the years.  They were both present on the JSA for a bit, but otherwise, they kind of get steered clear of each other.  All that said, the fact that the do both have that ancient Egypt thing going (and despite the fact that the vagueness of “ancient Egypt” could very well place the two of them hundreds of years displaced from each other in the timeline) does make it *seem* like they should be a little bit related.  So, I guess it’s not an incredible surprise that Hawkman is one one of the JSA members joining Black Adam for his cinematic debut, portrayed in the film by actor Aldis Hodge.  As with the rest of the JSA team, he got toy treatment, and I’m looking at his figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Hawkman is another part of the first assortment of basic figures from Spin Master’s Black Adam line.  He’s available both as a single and packed alongside Black Adam with the big jet thing.  It appears the two figures are identical between the two releases.  The figure stands a little over 3 3/4 inches tall and has 17 points of articulation.  Of the three I’ve grabbed from this line, Hawkman’s definitely the most restricted on the articulation front.  He gets the new style of hips, which I’m still iffy on, and his shoulders also wind up being rather restricted by the armor.  I was also a little bummed to discover that the way that the wings peg into place doesn’t allow them to be posed in any way, but they are at the very least two separate pieces.  Hawkman’s sculpt is a unique one, based on his design.  Like yesterday’s Atom Smasher figure, he’s closer to the source material than the earlier Dr. Fate figure, due again to Hawkman’s costume appearing to be largely practical.  The design’s not a bad one, checking off most of the basic Hawkman requirements.  The chest armor’s something we’ve seen crop up on every live action Hawkman, so it’s hardly a shock here.  The only thing I’m not really into is the red pants, which just feel too far removed from his classic green ones.  That said, it’s a pretty minor thing, really.  The sculpt on this guy is alright.  Probably the weakest of the three I’ve looked at.  The details feel just a little bit softer this time around, and the helmet winds up looking a touch too goony.  He also just looks really scrawny compared to the others.  Aldis Hodge isn’t a huge guy, but I also don’t feel like he’s quite this small in the role.  The figure’s paint work is generally pretty basic.  Nothing too crazy, just standard color work for the most part.  It’s all fairly clean.  The eyes again fall into that goony territory, but it’s not awful.  Hawkman is packed with his usual mace, in silver, as well as axe, in gold.  Both are just pretty standard issue, which is fine by me, even if I do low-key kind of miss the goofier accessories like we saw with Atom Smasher.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Fate and Atom Smasher are the only two from this line that I felt like I definitely had to have.  Hawkman’s fine and all, but I didn’t feel like I *needed* him.  When Max found me Atom Smasher, he also found this guy, and given the price point, it didn’t really make much sense to skip him.  He’s my least favorite of the three, but that doesn’t mean he’s bad.  In fact, I do kinda dig him.  And now I feel like I kinda have to buy the other two, just to round out the set.

#3209: Atom Smasher

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

ATOM SMASHER

BLACK ADAM (SPIN MASTER)

This weekend sees the release of the latest DC live action film, the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-led Black Adam.  Warner Brothers is really banking on this one to net them some success, and they’ve certainly got the hype-machine running for it.  As I mentioned in my review of Doctor Fate, the film’s filling in Black Adam’s supporting cast with some of the Justice Society of America.  Noah Centineo plays Al Rothstein, aka Atom Smasher, who’s perhaps the JSA member with the closest ties to Black Adam himself, given their interwoven story during their shared time on the team during Jeff Johns’ run.  So, uh, let’s look at an Atom Smasher figure.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Atom Smasher is part of the first assortment of basic figures from Spin Master’s Black Adam line. He and the rest of the non-Adam characters look to be lighter packed, so they’re a bit on the rarer side at the moment.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  Atom Smasher’s articulation scheme matches the slightly modified one we saw on Fate.  The new hip set-up’s not quite as strong as the prior set-up they’d been using on their DC figures, but beyond that, it still works pretty respectably, especially given the price point.  Atom Smasher is another all-new sculpt, based on his film appearance.  Since Dr. Fate’s design was largely CGI for the movie, his figure wound up being rather loose on the specific details, but Atom Smasher sticks a little bit closer.  Really, the only difference here is the fingerless gloves, which are a carry over from an earlier design.  Atom Smasher’s movie design is honestly pretty great.  He’s got sleeves now, but it’s not that crazy a shift (Al had sleeves during his Nuklon days, so it’s not entirely out of place for the character).  Otherwise, it’s a pretty sleek adaptation of his comics look.  The details on the sculpt are a little bit on the softer side, but he’s pretty clean, and everything important is there.  The color work on Atom Smasher is bright and colorful, which is pretty fun.  The paint application is overall quite clean, and his symbol in particular is quite sharp in its detailing.  Atom Smasher is packed with two bulked up fist pieces, which aren’t quite the most accurate rendition of his size-changing ability, but it’s still a really fun gimmick.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really liked the Doctor Fate figure, and I’m down for a good Atom Smasher, so I was on the hunt for this one.  Fortunately, it was a pretty quick hunt, as Max was able to snag me one about a week or two after I found the Doctor Fate figure.  Like Fate, this guy’s just a ton of fun.  And, in doing a little bit of digging, I discovered that there’s also an Atom Smasher in Spin Master’s 12 inch line for the movie, so I guess now I’m gonna have to track that one down.

#3188: Dr. Fate

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

DR. FATE

BLACK ADAM (SPIN MASTER)

In the bleak landscape that is the current state of the DC live action movies, there stands one un-cancelled, un-delayed film.  That film is Black Adam, the Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-led spin-off of Shazam!  DC’s really banking on this one, and kinda banking on Black Adam a lot as a character right now.  I’m iffy on the whole prospect, really, but we’ll see how it goes.  To fill in the movie’s cast a bit, Black Adam is joined in his first cinematic venture by a small contingent of the Justice Society of America.  Pierce Brosnan is playing Doctor Fate, and I’m honestly not hating that, so when it comes to the tie-in toys, that’s what I’m hitting up to start.  I mean, Doctor Fate, right?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Dr Fate is part of the first assortment of basic figures from Spin Master’s Black Adam line.  As with their The Batman tie-in line, its an off-shoot of the main 3 3/4 inch DC line, so he can work with those figures as well.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  He’s got the same basic articulation scheme as the rest of the line, though they’ve slightly changed up how the hips work, and it’s not quite as effective.  Beyond that, though, it works pretty decently given the scaling and size.  The figure’s got an all-new sculpt, which is loosely based on the film design for the character.  I say loosely because he’s clearly based on some sort of preliminary design for the character, as there are a fair number of details that don’t quite line up with the final film look.  The helmet is probably the closest piece (which tracks, since it looks like the helmet was actually a physical prop during filming), and it’s a pretty strong piece.  The body, especially the collar and belt, are off for sure.  I don’t think they look bad; they’re just inaccurate.  The actual quality of the sculpt is pretty solid; his proportions are more balanced than previous figures, so he’s not quite as ridiculously buff.  It works better for Fate, so I dig it.  The cape is a cloth piece; it’s that same papery cloth from before, but it’s at least lacking that hole in the back that most of the Bat-figures had.  The figure’s paint work is decent enough.  The helmet’s even got some pretty nifty accenting, so that’s cool.  There’s a bit of a color match issue on the blues on the legs, but otherwise he looks alright.  Certainly on par with the rest of these figures.  Dr Fate is packed with two magic effect pieces, which he can hold in his hands.  They’re honestly pretty cool.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m skeptical about this movie, but I’m not skeptical about a cool Dr Fate figure. I’m not lining up to throw more money at McFarlane, so I was pretty happy to hear that Spin Master had their own line running.  I’ve only been seeing the Black Adam figure thus far, but I was out running errands the other day, and happened up this guy and jumped on it.  He’s not film accurate, but he’s still a lot of fun.  If I can just find that Atom Smasher figure, I’ll be all set.

#2928: Nightwing

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

NIGHTWING

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

I think I’m finally hitting an okay pace when it comes to these Spin Master DC figures.  I mean, it’s at least a consistent one.  Sure, that consistent pace is, like, one figure per month, but that’s still something, right?  This year’s theme for their Batman line is Bat-Tech, which is outfitting all of the Caped Crusader’s allies and foes with new variant costumes that are all techy.  Largely, I’m picking up the actually new characters, but there are a few intriguing variants mixed in, and I’m always a sucker for a good Nightwing.  So, you know, here we are.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Nightwing is part of the sixth assortment of Spin Master’s Batman: The Caped Crusader line, which is the second assortment under the “Bat-Tech” banner.  This is the same assortment that included the previously reviewed Batgirl, making Nightwing a logical inclusion.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  Structurally, the figure is the same as the prior Spin Master Nightwing.  It’s a reasonable enough sculpt, not perfect, but certainly serviceable, and the consistency isn’t a bad thing.  In order to fit with the “tech-y” nature of the set, Nightwing’s color scheme has been tweaked.  It keeps the same basic Nightwing feel, but he’s molded in a smoky translucent plastic, which is fun, and he’s got a bunch of the tech details like we saw on Batgirl and Batman.  They’re fun little details, and I also enjoy the slight change-ups to his basic suit’s layout of details.  Nightwing is packed with the same baton pieces that the prior release included, but in sparkly blue plastic instead.  He also gets two different guns, one of which has a piece to allow for hooking it up to his back.  Guns feel a bit in contrast to Nightwing’s usual loadout, but I guess they’re not real guns, so that’s better maybe?  I’m only gonna use the batons anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

After getting Batgirl, I found myself really liking the Bat-Tech set-up as a whole, and, I am, as noted before, a sucker for a good Nightwing.  Max wound up finding this one during one of his stops, so he was nice enough to enable me pick one up for me.  He’s not drastically different from the last one, but he’s still a lot of fun, and keeps the spirit of Spin Master’s whole set-up really going.

#2899: Batgirl

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

BATGIRL

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

It’s been a little bit since I’ve looked at anything from Spin Master’s DC slate.  Admittedly, that’s because it tends to be a little tricky to find.  I’m reviewing it as fast as I can, you guys!  I swear!  This year’s theme for the line is Bat-Tech, which is allowing them to do all sorts of whacky variants for the Caped Crusader, his allies, and his foes.  It’s a mix of re-decos, re-workings, and even some all-new figures.  I’m looking at one of those all-new additions, Batgirl, today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Batgirl is part of the sixth assortment of Spin Master’s Batman: The Caped Crusader line, which is also the second assortment under the “Bat-Tech” banner.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and she has 17 points of articulation.  Apart from the way the hair is sculpt blocking the neck movement a bit, it’s a good articulation set-up, like the other Spin Master DC offerings before it.  Batgirl’s design here is a mix of a few different designs.  Her Batgirl of Burnside design from recent years is very definitely being referenced, but there’s also some more classic ’60s Batgirl vibes, especially with the gloves and boots.  And it’s all topped off with just a dash of the whole Bat-Tech aesthetic, making it all future-y and sci-fi.  I expected Batgirl to be using parts from Batwoman, but upon comparing the two, that doesn’t seem to be the case, and it looks like Barbara is sporting an all-new sculpt.  It’s a pretty good one at that.  Like Wonder Woman, she’s still rather leggy, but it comes across as more of a stylistic thing, and with the long cape and such as well, it all comes together for a nicely put together sculpt.  Probably one of my favorites, honestly.  The paint work on the figure is pretty decent as well.  The base work matches the sort of amalgamated design, and the extra tech detailing is a rather fun, generally unobtrusive choice.  Batgirl is packed with three accessories, a batarang, a katana, and a grapnel gun, all in transparent blue.  They’re all kinda goofy and silly, but it fits the vibe of the line well, so I can’t really knock them.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I discovered this Batgirl figure’s existence while going through the line’s upcoming releases during my first Bat-Tech review, and I knew I wanted her right away.  I’ve already got a Nightwing, and in my mind, no Nightwing really feels complete without a corresponding Batgirl.  Thankfully, Max was able to keep his eye out for me, and I got my hands on one without much fuss.  She’s a lot of fun, and I honestly don’t mind that we got the Bat-Tech version first, because the extra details are nifty.  I dig it.

#2853: Mr. Freeze

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

MR. FREEZE

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER)  (SPIN MASTER)

Spin Master’s DC lines had a slightly rough start last year, what with the pandemic and everything, but they’re seemingly starting to get things a bit more back on track this year.  In particular, they seem to be having alright luck with the Batman half of their product lines.  Thus far, they’ve even had a small handful of store exclusives, with Target in particular having a few different pairs of Batman and one villain variant at a time.  The latest villainous addition is one of my favorites, Mr. Freeze, who I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Mr. Freeze is one of the two latest Target-exclusive figures from Spin Master’s Batman: The Caped Crusader line, the other being another Batman repaint.  Freeze, on the other hand, is actually an all-new figure, which I do believe is a first for one of these exclusives.  That’s pretty nifty, I guess.  The figure stands about 4 inches tall and he has 16 points of articulation.  He lacks the usual neck movement, as most Freeze figures do, thanks to the domed helmet, which is a permanent fixture on this guy.  Design wise, he’s taking his cues largely from the post-New 52 version of the character.  While I was iffy on the design earlier in its run, the slight adjustments to it have made it a little bit more palatable.  I’m still not big on the suns out guns out arms, but I’ll live.  Structurally, he’s an all-new sculpt.  It’s pretty decent and generally in keeping with the rest of the line in styling.  There’s some pretty nice detailing going on in his various tech pieces, and I appreciate that he’s got a fully detailed head underneath the helmet.  It’s even got that pitch-perfect lack of expression on the face.  Can’t have any emotion on a Mr. Freeze figure.  I mean, not in front of other people, anyway.  That’s for later, back in his cell, when he’s all weepy and stuff.  But we don’t talk about that.  It gets awkward.  So let’s move on.  In terms of paint work, Freeze is rather basic.  There’s a little bit of painted work on the torso, but that’s it, with everything else just relying on the molded colors.  It’s not really far off from his usual colors anyway, so it works out fine.  There are a few smaller details that get left the same color as the surrounding stuff, but it’s still generally in keeping with the rest of the line.  Freeze is packed with three accessories, all of which are guns.  Lotta guns.  He likes his guns. They’re all re-used, which is a little bit of a let-down, but I guess they have to save some tooling where they can.  The re-used Killer Moth gun works out okay, but the Batman and Joker guns are a bit less so, since they’ve got a Bat-emblem and a pie tin on them, respectively.  Kind of not Freeze’s usual branding.  At least with the clear blue plastic, it’s not quite as immediately evident, but it would have been nice to see at least one new one here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with so many of the Spin Master DCs, this one’s Max’s fault.  Okay, well, not entirely, I suppose, since I actually told him about the figure’s existence in the first place.  So, that’s on me.  I’m very definitely a Freeze fan, so I’m glad to see him added to the line, and while it may not be my first choice of outfit, it’s still pretty darn fun.  Spin Master’s quite good at keeping things fun, and I very much appreciate that.

#2720: Bat-Tech Batman & The Joker

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

BAT-TECH BATMAN & THE JOKER

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

So, did you guys here about that exciting new DC-related thing that dropped last week?  It was pretty big.  It had Batman and Joker, and some others as well from what I hear.  Lot of time in the making.  I am, of course, referring to the latest assortment of Spin Master’s Batman: The Caped Crusader, dubbed “Bat-Tech,” which gives us some new, teched-out variants of the main players.  What else could I possibly be talking about?  Amongst these teched-out variants are, unsurprisingly, Batman and Joker, who are sort of headlining this whole thing.  I’ll be taking a look at the two of them today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Bat-Tech Batman and Joker are both part of fifth series of Spin Master’s The Caped Crusader line, which is the first official assortment of 2021.  The two of them both key into the whole “Bat-Tech” theme of this assortment, and the whole line has been slightly rebranded, with a new packaging set-up.  They’ve kept the same general look and feel, including the blind boxed accessories, but the whole thing is slightly more refined, and just generally different.

There are three different Batmen in the main assortment, but this one’s the one that officially carries the “Bat-Tech” name, and is really the one that most clearly evokes that wacky variant feel.  This particular Batman design doesn’t really have any direct ties to the comics that I know of, but instead does sort of a Tron-esque tech suit thing, which is mostly black, with some bright blue mixed in.  I dig it.  I dig it a lot.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  I’ve had some issues with stuck joints on some of these guys previously, but I had no such issues for this guy, which I definitely appreciated.  He’s an all-new sculpt, rather than borrowing from one of the previous Batmen.  He’s slightly armored up, but in a different fashion than the two prior armored Batman designs.  This one’s definitely more streamlined, which fits well with the overall design.  Like the other caped figures in the line so far, Batman’s is cloth.  It seems to be a slightly sturdier material than prior capes, and generally hangs a little better than the slightly more paper-like material from previous releases.  He’s still got the hole in it, to keep with the line’s overall playability set-up.  Batman’s paint work is pretty basic and straight forward, but also his strongest asset.  It’s quite eye catching, and the application is generally pretty clean, without any notable slop or bleed over. Batman’s blind packed accessories consist of a winged back pack, an oversized batarang, and what looks to be a grenade launcher of some sort.  Mine are all in a clear blue; I don’t know if they have varied potential colors like prior releases, but the all blue certainly works for me; it looks kind of like they’re hard light constructs or something.

Joker has been a consistent fixture of the Caped Crusader line so far, turning up in just about every assortment.  It makes sense, him being Joker and all.  Like Batman, he gets wacky-variant-ized here, taking the classic Joker design of earlier figures, and sort of disheveling it a bit.  He’s 3 3/4 inches tall with 17 points of articulation, and like with Batman, I had no issues with stuck joints this time around.  Joker’s sculpt is a mostly new offering, although he does make use of the head from the prior Joker.  It’s sensible from a consistency stand point, so I can’t really knock it.  This Joker sculpt takes the prior, more classic and clean Joker, and sort of makes him look like he’s been in the midst of the action, picking things up as he goes.  He’s ditched his tie, and lost one of his shoes, replacing it with a stray boot.  He’s also added a few straps of pouches, as well as adding his own utility belt.  It’s a cool, sort of wasteland-looking Joker design, and definitely a lot of fun.  His paint work mostly keeps with the classic Joker color scheme, with the added details getting their own paint work…for the most part.  One of the straps goes unpainted, but the others are good to go.  The application gets a little fuzzy on a few of the edges, but generally looks pretty solid.  Joker’s secret weapons are a boxing-glove arm attachment (which is totally getting used with my GL figure), a laughing fish, and a little wind up chattering teeth bomb.  They’re all in a clear green, which makes a nice contrast for the blue with Batman, and I love how they’re all so well tied to the character.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Full disclosure: the two figures reviewed here were sent to me in exchange for a review courtesy of Spin Master, in order to help promote their figures in conjunction with the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League.  Per Spin Master, The Bat-Tech collection features exciting, high-tech styles of figures to collect featuring a variety of 4-inch and 12-inch figures from the Batman universe, and they are available in stores now.

I’ve been supporting Spin Master’s DC stuff pretty much since day 1, and I have definitely been pulling for them to really succeed with this line, because everything I’ve gotten from them has been so fun.  With the Bat-Tech set-up, it really feels like they’re starting to find their footing with the brand, and are making it more their own thing.  Both of these figures are a lot of fun, and give us two pretty solid new designs for characters that we’re undoubtedly going to see crop up again and again.  The new play pattern really works, and I’m definitely going to be snagging other figures from this set as I find them.

#2566: Batman – Defender

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

BATMAN — DEFENDER

BATMAN: THE CAPED CRUSADER (SPIN MASTER)

Remember earlier in this week when I was talking about the DC line’s wacky variant coverage?  Remember the thing about getting the variant before getting the standard?  And also the thing with the gold?  Great, that makes writing this intro a bit easier for me.  This time it’s Batman.  Here we go.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Gold Batman, who is apparently called “Batman Defender,” is part of the very first series of the Batman: The Caped Crusader line.  He ups that “rare” game that was going on with Wonder Woman to a “Super Rare” game…again, whatever that means.  I’ve got this one and not the standard one, so I don’t know about the relative rarity.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 17 points of articulation.  There are currently three Batman sculpts floating around in this line, and this figure makes use of the most “standard” of the the three.  It’s based on the Rebirth design for his costume, which is a pretty darn solid Batman design, all things considered.  The sculpt is pretty much on par with the rest of the Spin Master DC stuff, so it’s a little bit bulked up when compared to the comics depiction, but honestly, it has a pretty good basic Batman feel to it.  The costume details are well rendered, and I appreciate the level of work that’s gone into it.  The head in particular has a nice classic Batman vibe, which I can definitely dig.  He’s got a cloth cape, and like I noted with Superman and Shazam, it’s not a terribly impressive piece, but it’s also not like it’s particularly bad either.  They made a point of leaving a hole in it that corresponds with the port on his back, so at least he can make use of all of the gear from other figures, if you’re so inclined.  While the Gold Wonder Woman was totally devoid of paint, Batman mixes things up slightly.  He’s got his black insignia, white for his eyes, and flesh tone for his lower face, indicating that this is supposed to be a costume, I guess.  It’s different from all of the other gold variants, but it was also the first one, so I guess they hadn’t quite made up their minds fully on the concept yet.  I think I might have preferred the straight gold, but this isn’t bad either.  Gold Batman includes three blind packed accessories: a grapple in neon green, chest armor in black, and a shield in yellow.  It’s a shame they didn’t go for the all gold pieces like with Wonder Woman.  I feel that would have inclined me to use them, instead of just tossing them to the side.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I liked the Wonder Woman a fair bit, and I definitely want the Gold Superman, so I figured I might as well grab a Gold Batman too.  The one from the corresponding series is built on the armored body, which I wasn’t quite as big on, but fortunately for me, Max was on board with trading out that one for this one, and passing this one along to me.  It’s a little weird that they changed the gimmick mid-run on these guys, but I still like this figure.  I guess I should pick up a Batman in standard colors now.