Dr. William Great Eagle combined his Sioux heritage with the inspiration of Batman to become Chief Man-Of-Bats with his son/sidekick Little Raven. Best described by Bruce Wayne as “Batman on a budget”, Man-Of-Bats does everything he can to help his people, even if he doesn’t have the extensive resourced like Bruce. We even see him going door to door just to make sure people are doing alright and don’t need anything. But he’s not perfect, his ideas of being a socially minded superhero puts a strain on his relationship with his son. Man-Of-Bats is my favorite of all the Batman inspired characters Morrison has introduced, and you owe it to yourself to read Batman Incorporated #7. It’s a perfect stand-alone issue that not only shows the adversity Man-Of-Bats deals with in his daily life, but also how he overcomes it.
Man-Of-Bat’s costume is a simple and traditional looking Native American garb, almost the exact opposite of Knight’s. His sculpt is still rich with plenty of wrinkles and folds on his clothing and fringe hanging off his boots and pants. Even the feathers on his headdress are textured individually.
I think the paint really helps bring this figure together though. On Knight it was more of an accent, but Man-Of-Bats has these terrific bright colors of green and red that really make him stand out among the normally gloomy colored Batman family.
Man-Of-Bat’s articulation is the exact same as Knights, even down to his ball jointed head that works like a swivel. What’s really noticeable here is that his elbows and knees don’t bend a full ninety degrees. DC Directs been pulling this trend a lot lately, and I’m not sure why. Not only does it really limit the articulation, but it’s got to be more expensive. Even if it’s just a tiny amount, that’s still a lot of extra plastic they are using to bind what should be a free moving joint. These added limitations are really starting to annoy me. So if anyone from DC Direct is reading this, cut it out.
Man-Of-Bats comes with his stand and one accessory, an incredibly detailed tomahawk. I don’t remember him using it in any of his stories, but that doesn’t matter because it’s a great accessory. Not only does the sculpt make it look like stone and wood, but it’s in the shape of a bat. That’s just awesome!
I’m pretty happy with the three figures I picked up from the Batman Inc. wave. It’s really nice to finally be getting Batmen of All Nations, I’m just a little worried that DC Direct won’t follow through with more. There’s been no solicit for a second wave so far, which is kind of concerning. I may not need a figure of the Centurion, but we definitely have to get Dick Grayson Batman and Squire.
-Vault
Both Man-of-Bats and Knight look cool as hell, and I agree with Vault about the articulation issue. DC Direct needs to modernize and at least try to match the DCCUC line in terms of articulation. That’s always a big issue w/me, because I prefer the range of articulation on DCUC figures to the DC Direct line.
Yeah, me too. I like being able to pose my figures and not just have them standing there constantly.
Personally, I don’t think DCUC are articulated enough, they need double jointed knees, rocker joints, and all of the elbows are too restricted. Not to mention the general uselessness of the ankle joints they still get.
That’s why I switched to only collecting four inch figures. You pay half as much, get more articulation, more accessories and better quality control. Even Hasbro tends to have trouble with articulation and quality control on six inch figures. Of course, there’s no good four inch DC figures, but there’s no good DC Comics any more, so it’s okay.
Thanks for the great review and pictures. I still like to keep my eyes on anything to go with my current six inch collection and if it weren’t for the articulation problems you revealed, I probably would have ended up purchasing Knight at some point.
You have a point to an extent concerning DCUC’s articulation. For some reason Mattel has decided to downgrade the articulation factor of the newer figures, robbing them of the rocker joints as you pointed out. The Bane line seemed to show improvements as Robin received the amount of articulation he needed, but yeah there could still be improvements, especially on The Creeper, which I believe Noisy pointed out. Even with all those issues you mentioned, I still prefer the DCUC line in basic terms of articulation. Now if you want to discuss the sloppy paint jobs on certain DCUC figures, I’ll give you that.
Also, if I was a fan of the 3-4in figures as you clearly are, I might see your point concerning more articulation for less money. Trust me, the rapidly increasing prices of these DCUC figures is a major reason I cherry pick instead of buying complete waves, and why I’m retiring from collecting figures altogether. In this economy, and I believe I’m not alone on this, it’s getting harder and harder to justify buying 6 in or whatever size you like due to budget restraints.
Knight is tempting. I’ve always liked knights in general and he looks great, but the articulation and lack of a weapon is a turn-off. If my friend were here, he’d point out that “he’s a knight wearing heavy armor, so it makes sense he wouldn’t be very flexible and fast,” to which I’d reply, “yeah, but he exists in a universe with Cyborg and S.T.R.I.P.E. They can make flexible armor plates!”
I have the sword from DC Direct’s armored Donna Troy lying around. I wonder if that would fit in his hand…
Those he does brawl more than wield, I thought that open hand could use a sword…
DAMN. Now I gotta buy more Spy Monkey swords…when they re-open…
How does he hold it? Pretty good grip?
There’s a little wiggle, but it stays in place on my figure. The opening between the thumb and fingers is a wee bit small, but I was able to work it in there carefully and not damage anything.
I was pretty happy with it. The colors are a great match. And yeah, dem boys need to re-open soon! 😀
knight looks spiffy, but MoB… i just don’t see the appeal. but again, the do-dang DCD articulation makes me furious. they’re so close to marvel select in terms of sculpt quality, but the movement just isn’t there to make them purchasable for moi.
that said, we once again see why SMC are geniuses. that sword looks tight in knight’s fist. i’m mondo curious to see how the SM emerges from it’s chrysalis. i expect big things.
I think a large part of Man-of-Bats appeal comes from his characterization under Morrison. His appearances in the Batmen of All Nations and the particular issue of Batman, Inc that Vault pointed out. He’s almost stole the spotlight in all the issues in which he’s appeared.
he was that cool?
Yeah… I’ll dig up some links/pics and put ’em on the forum.
sweetness!
I tend to agree that a knight needs a sword, but reading about this character, I can’t help but wonder if a mace or flail or some other kind of blunt impact weapon would be more fitting.
Man Of Bats bothers me because it just seems stereotypical in some manner. It’s a cool sculpt and everything, and I guess the public is onboard with him, so what do I know?
A bunch of my DCUC figs have elbows and knees that don’t move 90 degrees either. I think designers like sculpt and look more than movement. You take those little chunks out and it does mess with the flow if the sculpt, but it’s worth it to me. Go play with your DCUC Question and see what I mean.
Knight is a great looking toy and he does need a Squire. I’ve liked him in the books, might like that toy. I certainly like the sculpt and detail in it. DCDirect destroys DCUC in that regard, but not in articulation. If only we could get both in one toy.