As I sit down to write this review, the term “out of practice” comes to mind. Whenever I miss a few days, I feel like my mojo might be gone. Will the pictures be funny? Will the writing be enjoyable? Ugh. I know I’ve missed more than a few this go round – parenthood is great when you’re still measuring in weeks, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for other things. Right now, little Sam is off at daycare – and I have the day off – so I feel kinda guilty. I mean, we had to pay for the daycare whether he goes or not, but I feel like I’m cheating a bit to get this done.
Okay, so there, I got through a whole paragraph of this review. Though I didn’t mention the figure at all. Strike one? Funny story, I’m a huge DC fan – that much should be obvious – and I, like all but the most curmudgy of curmudgeons, loved the 90s DC Animation. BTAS, TNBA, STAS. Loved it. The DVDs are not 15ft from me right now.
But I didn’t buy the figures right away. The figures probably started in 1993? I didn’t really snap any up until I ran across Ra’s Al Ghul. And that was probably 96? I couldn’t tell you why I waited. I treasured my Super Powers figures. And I bought the various Batman movie figures every year, at least the screen accurate ones and choice Batman if the colors were cool. I was buying DC figures, but I said no to Animated versions for a while.
That might make BTAS figures the first line I had to “go back and get”. This is before eBay and any other modern collecting convenience. Somehow I managed it. Even got a deal on Penguin, who I recall being rare back in the day. Anyway, while I eventually went on to enjoy crazy Superman variants and amassed a huge JLU collection, I want my resistance to Animated figures on the record… because I feel like I’m right back in that 1995 Wal-Mart, staring down that strange, armored Ra’s Al Ghul (& the pegwarming Bane behind him).
I have alternately been overjoyed and intimidated by the announcement that DC Direct was going to go back and give the Animated guys articulated, six-inch scale figures. I love the idea! And the figures look amazing. I don’t know if these are “figures the characters deserved” as the vintage figures are still pretty awesome (most of ‘em), but I certainly don’t oppose this renaissance. What I am daunted by though, is the price. $25 a pop? $100 a wave? Admittedly, that’s normal now a days – but it’s still far easier for me to pay that online, rather than forking over $25 at a comic shop. I’m weird, I know.
There’s also which ones to get. Do I want them all? I never did like mixing the Animated styles (BTAS vs TNBA) back in the day – so this is almost like collecting two lines. I favor BTAS, but there are some designs where TNBA is superior, some where BTAS reigns, and plenty where both are pretty damn cool. In fact, looking at the advertisement insert that came with Batman – everyone looks awesome! Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Baby Doll, Robin, & the Creeper from TNBA. Catwoman, Joker, Man-Bat, Harley Quinn, & Robin from BTAS. Visually, none of them are a miss. (And why toy companies don’t do cardbacks and inserts is beyond me. That little piece of paper has worn down my will more than anything else so far).
Okay, so Batman. What makes the $25 easier to swallow is that he’s plenty awesome. I have nitpicks (don’t I always) and some issues, but overall, (spoiler alert) he’s won me over.
The sculpt is pretty well dead on. If the show were on now and there was a high quality line of figures to match – this is what they would look like. The only area that seems off is the chest. The line marking where the chest is distinct from the abdomen. It’s just a little too harsh, too inorganic. Add that the also slightly-off symbol overlaps it and it just creates one odd area on the final figure. So much of the rest is right, that I’m almost over it though and probably won’t care the longer I have the figure. Oppositely, the head sculpt is very well done, almost modeled after the original toy and is one of my favorite parts of the figure.
The real prize here for the folks excited about this line is probably the articulation. And there’s a lot to be excited about. Ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles (sorta), the h-type hips found on DCUCs, hinge knees, as well as waist & boot swivels. For the most part, everything works well. He’s fun to pose – to play with a TNBA Batman figure and get more playability out of him than ever before. And it’s addictive. Continue to Page 2…
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.