For some, the big problem is the visual at the hips. Those exposed pins facing forward bug folks. I get it – and DCC does too. Future figures (Wv2 & Beyond) won’t have them. For the most part, they haven’t bothered me, but I do notice there are a lot of cuts and sculpt breaks crammed in that area. The real problem, though is the ankles. They are ball-joints near as I can tell, but mine won’t budge and are basically hinges. Plus, I’ve heard stories of ankle breakage on more than one friend’s Batman, so I don’t want to force them. They also don’t hold in each pose I want them to, but that can also be blamed on the design. He’s kinda walkin’ on tooth picks. C’mon, Bruce! You knew there’d be toys! Heh.
One quick note on the paint – the figure appears to be mostly painted. This is great for a smooth finish, but it does mean damage can happen just about anywhere to be careful. Factory wise, I got a well painted one – except for the symbol. It’s pretty sloppy on the bottom edge, so I may need to break out the paints and fix it. The one I left behind had smeared paint at the hip and a scratch – so hopefully you get lucky ordering online or you can choose from more than one at your local comic shop.
Alright, what really helps with the $25 price tag is the accessories! The first cool thing is multiple capes. I didn’t really get a highlight picture, but both appear in the review. There is the base design with the cape draped over the shoulders and one with the cape pulled back to allow better shoulder movement. I love it. Every Batman figure outta have it. Only downside? Makes me want a mostly closed cape for standing in the shadows. Love it.
He also gets a Batarang. He’s a Batman figure after all. He also includes two Bat-grapples. One is loose and separates into two pieces, anchor & handle. The second grapple comes molded in an alternate hand, though the anchor pops off that one too. Neat. Speaking of alternate hands – that’s where this figure excels. The grapple hand. Two fists. Two Batarang hands. Two gripping hands. And I guess two relaxed hands? I ended up with two relaxed left hands. I’m guessing that was a mistake? The wrists change out easy – just as the heads does for the capes. As fragile as I feel about the ankles, not so with the wrists and head pegs. Weird, I guess.
Finally, there is the stand. Normally, I don’t care about stands. And the figure can mostly stand without once you get a pose, but, hey, the stands are cool! They use the control art from the show and there’s a post & clip to help contend with those aforementioned tooth pick legs.
Overall, I know I’m happy I bought the figure. There’s been an unanticipated joy in having him (it’s only been a day, give it time). The look alone brings plenty of good memories back. And the articulation does, I hate to say it, feel like the figures are finally better realized. I love the old ones, I do. But I’m an articulation guy. I admit it. There’s just something ineffable I’m feeling as he’s sitting next to the computer. I’m hooked just like I was back in 1995. I don’t know if I’m buying them all. And I’m not buying this guy in Red or Caramel like I used to (least I hope not!), but I will be buying more. As long as the breaks stay rare, and the quality stays high, DC Collectibles is on to something with these throwbacks.
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Good to have you back in review mode! I’m gonna try and shy away from this line, but if there were any figure they could make to get me in the door, it’d be the Ventriloquist and Scarface (heck, a lot of DCUC fans would probably buy him too for their collections!) I dunno why, but he’s always been one of my favorite Bat-villains (probably ’cause it’s such a great gimmick, and who isn’t intimidated/scared of puppets?) 😀
I much prefer the ‘BTAS’ look to ‘New Adventures’, but I have to say if I DID like NA, that Batman nails it.
I, too, had adventures with the original line. I had a friend who was a big, big Batman fan and back then I had a kind of ‘super power’, I could always find hard-to-find figures if I was buying them for a friend. Always. I managed to score every single villain for this guy. Sure couldn’t do that today what with figure prices. 🙂
I ony ever had Utility Belt Batman and Bruce Wayne with the snap on armour. Not sure why had none of the bad guys. A couple years back a shop here had a lot of old stock BTAS figures on sale but they were mostly variants so I passed. These figures do look great so I may pick some of them up.
I’ll tell you why, mate: because apart from a couple of the later waves, the villains were mostly one-per-case, and likely snapped up by scalpers. The rest of the case was taken up with Neon Night-Glow Ski Patrol Batman (with Dino-Buddy!) and the like.
That sounds about right LOL. Although to be fair in the early 90’s my attention was on a lot of other toy lines.
Nifty! Great pics and review, as always.
I was all geared up and stoked for this line, had them all on “pre-order” (I hate that term), and then I saw Man-Bat. With furled wings. And my interest just died. As much as I loved the 1990s WB Batman cartoons, I was actually hesitant to get into collecting yet another line, but this looked so promising . . . and then I saw Man-Bat. And all interest died. And shortly afterward, I started losing interest in collecting altogether. I’m going to see MOTUC through to the end, but after that, I think I’ll give up collecting pretty much altogether. Already started thinking about selling stuff off . . . .
}Sigh{
If it helps, Man-Bat apparently comes with alternate open wings (or so I’ve read. I’ve hunted for pics to confirm, but so far no dice). I’m hoping all the images released for him so far are prototypes, since he seems to be severely lacking in articulation as well… though he still does look rather nice
I’ve heard the same. Given that we didn’t see Batman’s accessories until a month or so ago, I’m thinking we won’t see open wings until late December or even January.
Well, the wing news is good to hear, but it doesn’t change my stance any. I’ve got to get out of collecting. I’ve got to stop. I’ve got to sell stuff.
I can relate man. My favourite toy line is Thundercats but the plastic on them was starting to degrade going sticky and some getting mould spots. It was very tough letting the full collection go but at least I have some cash I can use on other projects. It has been basically a year sense I bought anything.
Nice review! Yeah daycare is a trip since you pay the same price if your kid goes 2 days a week or 5. I have taken days off and still sent the kid to daycare so don’t feel bad….
Picked mine up yesterday and I think he is pretty awesome. No issues with the joints and all his parts seem to be in order. It can be hit or miss with DCC. I like the designs for both series, so i may just pick and choose as I see them but great start to this collection.
BTAS is my single favorite television show of all time. And all of my vintage Batman collection, with the exception of Bruce Wayne/Batman and color changing Joker from the first movie, got lost in a move several years ago and I’ve been hoping to someday get a lot of them back. By rights I should be ALL OVER this line. But something about them just seems off. I can’t explain it. And then of course there’s the price point.
But I just have to say…Bane was a pegwarmer for you??? I searched for years and was never able to find thst figure. He and Poison Ivy were the two gaps in my collection. I had to settle for the crappy B&R versions.
I want to love these. I really want these.I picked up Batman at my local comic shop and less than two seconds after opening his ankle snapped off. I’m waiting on them to get a replacement in for me. My impatience got the better of me. I went to another comic shop and picked up another Batman and his leg snapped off at the boot. I think I’m done with these. same old quality control issues DC collectibles usually has is scaring me off
Out of all the reveals so far, I’m most looking forward to Catwoman, Harley Quinn, the Robins, and Batgirl. But each one looks amazing, like a work of art. Man-Bat looks stunning, as does Poison Ivy.
Pretty nice! I am more excited for BTAS, but I may pick this one up just cuz it’s cool and to support the line.
These are tremendously exciting for me, since Bandai broke my expectations for action figures with their figuarts. I’m spoiled now; I want lots of display options. The extra hands, cape, accessories… This is, in many ways, the Batman figure I dreamed of when B:TAS was still on the air.
The quality control concerns me; I’m wondering if I should maybe wait for a re-release. It doesn’t seem like DC Collectibles has 100% figured out their engineering and they’ve tackled a very difficult project given those top-heavy, flimsy-ankle designs.
This is such a good sign, though! My first love is American superheroes, but I’ve been mostly buying Japanese characters due to the comparative quality of adult-collector-targeted toys. The idea of picking up a super-high-quality version of Batman is really exciting.
Great review and pictures, but am I the only one who would much rather have a Batman with the yellow oval and blue highlights cape and cowl?
That was the show I fell in love with, The New Batman Adventures still had great stories, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the simplified designs.
I’m sure you’re not the only one! I love both styles but am REALLY looking forward to the figure featuring earlier design. I’m expecting that one will be revealed in the near future.
I’ve been hearing horror stories about the quality control on this line, especially joint breakage. Given my own issues with DCC figures lately, I will have to take a pass on this line. It’s a damn shame, too. Stop making figures that warp in the package, break when you look at them, and have paint flake off when you blink, and DCC would be making some of the best figures out there.
What kind of paint do you use to touch up the bat symbol? My bat symbol is missing paint in the same area as yours, which was ok. But I managed to rub off some paint on the left ear area too and would like to clean it up.
Nvm both ankles exploded.
Like to get these but price is iffy. Yeah spending $20 for MLs is the norm but sometimes like now.with Christmas shopping hard to buy gifts and get some figs for self.
Now on to the fig. All those extras does make up and I do like that stand. Await other reviews from this series.
😡 You know my cheap-ass is drawn to these figures. It’s a good thing I live with someone that thinks a “Budget” is some kind mythical creature.
I’m of two minds about this whole thing. Do I need Batman? YES. I prefer the NA Bats to the Fred Flintstone barrel-chestedness of AS Bats.
The question is on everyone else. Of course I need both NA and AS Catwoman; maybe both Ivys; I definitely need AS Harley but NA and AS Harley are so close that I don’t know that I need both. And Harlene Quinzel? I think we’re all safely screwed on the Harley front. I need a Harlene and a Harley and an alternate Harley head so she can have her pigtails with her suit. And possibly a sleepover 2-pack with her and Ivy in their t-shirts and underwear. With stupid salad on a plate that looks like the Joker. And the Babies, of course.
AS Batgirl is a yes for sure but Vault is asking me things like “Do you need Bullock?”. O_O Do I need Bullock? Well, hell, I don’t know. I don’t know about Gordon, either; which raised the question of Alfred. I need an Alfred. But accessories are a deal-breaker for me on him. And I want this: https://myrottingbrain.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/drewabath.jpg?w=356
It’s stupid, and I know it. But I want it. Ah…. This is not the line we need right now……… but it’s the line we deserve.
Where has it been confirmed that they’re going to lose those visible pins in the hips?
These figures look great. I have not seen a lot of reviews on them to see pictures of everyone announced. I did see a few of the models at the NYCC. Mr. Freeze is awesome with his spider head accessory. I’m not going to get every version like I did with the original line of figures but will find the ones I like. Any chance of a new checklist coming up for us on IAT?
Sadly, over the weekend, I gave up on continuing to pick up this line.
I tried swapping the hands on Batman again. His nifty grapple-gun-holding hand sheared off where the peg met the wrist. That killed the hand, and for a time, I thought I wasn’t able to get the broken peg out of the wrist socket. Eventually, I managed it (and nearly chipped a tooth in the process), but when I tried to insert a different hand…
The left foot broke off from its peg.
This was not QUITE as bad as it sounds, leaving a hole behind that I can fit the foot into, but it’s not stable and won’t stick. I can display the figure and it’ll stay put due to physics, but moving it causes it to come off.
I own a number of S.H. Figuarts. I’ve got figures that have made me worry that there might be a break when switching hands if the connection is extremely tight, but the only actual break I ever experienced was fixed by great engineering: Kyoryu Pink’s wrist peg came loose… but it was designed in such a way that it could be plugged securely back in.
I *want* to love the DC Collectibles animated stuff. It’s clear they’re trying to go in a Figuarts direction, but the engineering and plastic quality is just not there, particularly given the extreme top-heaviness of these designs. I might’ve forgiven the foot, but the foot *and* the hand? That’s some combination of poor design and poor plastic choice.
I’d LOVE for these to get better, but I’m not buying another until I’m reasonably confident they’ve improved their design and QC.