 | Hello Guest - Sign In or New Account |
| Hello Guest - Sign In or New Account |
Write a Review link for that item. Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) (McFarlane)I am vengeance, I am the night, I… am Batman! For many, there's no denying that the 90s Batman cartoon was the one that defined the character for generations to come. The noir theme combined with great stories and casting made it a show that holds up well today. It's gotten plenty of figures, including an expansive line by DC Direct/Collectibles before they went under. McFarlane Toys has since revived the brand with both re-releases of select figures and new ones, but now they're putting out a newly-sculpted line of characters. It seems to be Target-exclusive, but it shouldn't be too hard to get ahold of them. The figures come packaged in mostly-red window boxes with a city background, along with stock art and a cross-sell on the back. It's simple, but it suits the license well. While designed to be collector-friendly, there is quite a bit of tape and ties, and you may need scissors to get the figure freed from its tray. The Batman animated series was characterized by angular, almost simplistic designs, meaning it's easy to bring the cast to three dimensions. Standing about 6 1/2" tall, Batman himself is pretty accurate to how he appears in-show, with proper proportions on the body and a cloth cape (would've liked it to be wired, but I can live). The head is fine, but I feel the chin is too wide and round. It's not as noticeable if you look at him from a profile view rather than directly facing, but it just goes to show than it can be tricky to capture animated designs in three dimensions. When doing cel-shading on an action figure, you have two options; either paint the back a darker shade, or suggest a light source from the side. This figure went with the latter, with the shading to the right of most of the figure, while the right arm's shading is towards the body. They handled it well, with clean, sharp lines, though I consider the shading to be a bit too dark, making it contrast with the lighter colors more than it should. We also get clean work for the face, emblem, and belt, and the figure as a whole is visually appealing. The caped crusader moves well with plenty of articulation, with some changes from the original DC Direct figures. The head moves on not just a ball-peg, but also a hinge. I've seen this sort of set-up before with figures from Hasbro and Super7, but I've never seen it with so much tilt on the ball, and it works great here. The arms have swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists along with forearm swivels, and they can manage good poses, but the thick arms can limit posing a bit. The ab crunch, although pretty tight, works great, and there's also a waist swivel. The legs move with ball hips, double-hinged knees, swivel shins, and swivel/hinge ankles, and it's enough for good poses, but thigh swivels were much needed. All of the joints move well, but I'd advise a bit of heat in case something feels too tight. I've had little to no issues, but yours may be different. Batman comes equipped with a good selection of accessories, including interchangeable hands. He gets three pairs - wide grip, tight grip, and fists - along with an extra right hand holding his grappling hook. The hands pop in and out with ease, but be mindful of the thin pegs. There's also the grappling hook by itself, as well as a batarang. Like with MCF's DC Multiverse line, a character card is included, but I have no real use for that. Now we get into this line's gimmick: a Condiment King "Build-A-Figure." Each figure gets parts to assemble him, with Batman getting his arms. McFarlane did an animated Batman as one of the first figures in their DC Multiverse line, but he didn't match the animated series at all, looking more like his JLA design, and generally could've been done better. This Batman, on the other hand, looks great and it outfitted with plenty of useful articulation and accessories. Let's not forget the whole build-a-figure thing, which gives you another reason to pick up this line. I'll certainly be getting the rest of the wave, and I hope there's more in the works. - 12/7/23 12/16/23 update: McFarlane recently revealed a second wave of BTAS figures, including another version of Batman, because Todd loves his retools. This version includes a head with red eyes instead of white ones, along with an additional head with a helmet, and three batarangs of a different design. He's based off the episode "Blind as a Bat," one I haven't seen yet. He also comes with a part for a Lock-Up build-a-figure, which is neat because like Condiment King, he never got a figure in the original DC Direct line. He's coming out next month, and I intend on picking him up even if it's just the same figure with a different head and some other new stuff. I also want to add you may want to apply some heat to the hips when you get this guy. They're pretty snug on the ball, and I initially had no issues until the right hip peg twisted off. I was able to repair it somewhat by drilling holes into both ends of the break and stick a thumbtack bit in there, but I knew to be careful next time I get one of the figures; I heated the hips on Scarecrow when I got him (review coming soon), and I'll do the same with the blind Batman.   by RMaster007 |
Please wait...
Update Your Review
