My interest in the Arkham City Batman was piqued after I came across the Kotobukiya Batman Arkham City Collectors Edition 14 cm (5.5") Statue which is very nicely detailed. You can check out the pictures HERE. But being a statue, certain details are obscured because Batman is in a crouching, ready-to-pounce pose. I wanted to see how the Arkham City Batman costume looks like and what better way than to get my hands on a Mattel DC Universe Batman Legacy Arkham City Batman 7-Inch Action Figure which offers 360 degrees of turnaround views. Scroll down to see the pictures :)
First impressions: The paint for the skin could have been better applied and the blue eyes are too blue for my liking. Also not a big fan of the cuts in the torso and thighs.
Although touted as an action figure, you won't get much action out of this Batman because of the bulkiness of the body.
In wanting to translate the Batman character accurately from the 2011 action-adventure video game into a 3-D action figure, they have kept the bulk but seems to have compromised on the articulation.
Batman's arms can't really come down to the sides of his body because of his ripped form. This is similar to those body builders who bulked up so much that their arms just hang out from the sides of their body and they don't seem to be able to come down to the sides of their bodies at all. As for the elbows, that's as fas as they can go.
But what this figure offers is a good look at Arkham City Batman and how his Bat suit (costume) looks like as seen in the video game.
Mattel DC Universe Batman Legacy Arkham City Batman 7-Inch Action Figure affords us the chance to view Batman up close and see how his Bat suit is put together since there isn't any 1/6 scale version available out in the market yet.
I think a 1/6 scale Arkham City Batman 12-Inch Action Figure will look awesome indeed if produced by the right manufacturer. I have lost all confidence in Medicom Toys so let's hope Hot Toys release one and soon :p
Statues can be molded and cast with the particular superhero / character posed in a very dramatic and impactful manner but unfortunately, it will only stay in that one pose forever. Action figures allow collectors the flexibility of articulation and pose-ability but unless they are 1/6 scale or bigger, sometimes their form will impede their function, as in this case.
1/6 scale figures have the beauty of a fully articulated 12-inch figure body under the authentic costume / outfit of the character with the costume / outfit being sewn in either fabric or leather depending on the nature of the character being portrayed, sometimes even with a full mixed media of different materials all being put together on one figure unlike smaller scale action figures which are mostly molded in plastic with cuts being made in strange places such as thighs, torsos etc. in order to achieve the desired articulation.
What can I say? I've taken a strong liking for this Batman costume :) and I am a BIG Batman fan after all.
Criminals of Gotham City, BEWARE the Dark Knight!
Related posts:
August 23, 2010 - "Batman: Black and White" Mignola inspired statue (pictures HERE). Awesome statue because they managed to make something that is three dimensional (3D) look two dimensional!
July 20, 2011 - T is also for Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns statue (posted HERE). The one that started it all and caused the revival and interest in Batman again!
July 23, 2011 - T is also for The Dark Knight Returns action figures (reviewed HERE)
June 2, 2013 - Kotobukiya Batman Arkham City Collectors Edition 14 cm (5.5") Statue HERE
October 28, 2013 - Review of DC Direct Jim Lee inspired All Star Series 1: Batman 6.75 inches Tall Action Figure HERE
he's RAD!
ReplyDeletei heard that there is a way to prevent the bulb in the batsignal from burning out... care to share this technique? thanks!
ReplyDeleteI didn't hear anything about that. The bulb works fine on mine :)
ReplyDeleteYou should check out the mafex batman from medicom, it's pretty neat, some have critized it quite a bit, others love it, my only real beef with it are the dead eyes, they do seem pretty soulless, never the less it's awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks David for the recommendation. I'll check it out :)
ReplyDelete