toyhaven: Square Enix Play Arts Kai "Batman: Arkham Knight" 1/7th scale Arkham Knight figure Review

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Square Enix Play Arts Kai "Batman: Arkham Knight" 1/7th scale Arkham Knight figure Review

Happy Batman Day :)

DC Entertainment is bringing back the fan-favorite event celebrating The Dark Knight. “Batman Day” is back by popular demand and takes place on Saturday, September 26, 2015, kicking off what has become an annual event honoring one of the most popular and iconic Super Heroes and celebrating all things Batman from comics to video games and more.

Since I don't have any current Batman action figure up for review to celebrate the occasion, I thought I'll do the next best thing and review the Square Enix Play Arts Kai "Batman: Arkham Knight" 1/7th scale Arkham Knight action figure which was part of my most recent haul (posted HERE) instead. Honestly, I've never been more excited about a Batman villain. Arkham Knight is like Batman and Punisher combined to give us one bad, mean muther-f**ker who is just all out for vengeance, except in this case, the target is batman. The fact that he dresses up to look like Batman is certainly a nice touch.

The Arkham Knight is a fictional supervillain persona which appears in DC Comics, and is the titular secondary antagonist in Rocksteady Studios' video game Batman: Arkham Knight. The persona was created by Rocksteady in collaboration with DC Comics CCO and writer Geoff Johns, and officially first appeared in Batman: Arkham Knight #1 (February 2015).

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Square Enix Play Arts Kai "Batman: Arkham Knight" 1/7th scale Arkham Knight 10-inch action figure comes in a tray with an alternate helmet / head, three pairs of extra gloved hands, two pistols and a gun.

There are two interchangeable helmet pieces: one to recreate his default appearance, and a second one painted so as to give off a glowing eye effect. The glowing eye effect helmet also has a translucent visor. Other accessories include: a rifle, two handguns, and three interchangeable pairs of hands to allow for a variety of action poses. The rifle looks to be formed by combining the two pistols together. There are no holsters on the figure for his guns.

The Arkham Knight dons a militaristic version of the Batsuit aimed to mock Batman's appearance. Every component of his suit has a significant purpose. His helmet is used to cover his true identity first and foremost, hiding any sense of the man underneath. It also provides the Arkham Knight with a detailed heads-up display to aid him in keeping track of his forces moving through Gotham City. The aforementioned is projected across the inside of his helmet's visor, giving off the impression of a ghostly and robotic figure.

To distinguish himself from his similarly suited military personnel, the Arkham Knight's suit has a distinct camouflage pattern to give him the image of a military leader invading an urban space.

The Arkham Knight also possesses a utility belt similar to Batman's. As he is a military commander, he is naturally resourceful. He wears his utility belt low-slung, in contrast with Batman's more organized application of field equipment.

The Arkham Knight's gauntlets, boots and armor were inspired by the design of fighter aircraft: "highly resistant, unreflective and totally intimidating". The gauntlets are also used to repel opponents' blades and are light enough to enable rapid strikes.

The ears of the Arkham Knight's helmet serve as transmitters, relaying his commands to his troops and drones in the field.

The chest plate is not only a defensive component of the Arkham Knight's suit, but also a psychological one. he has purposefully emblazoned the Arkham symbol on his chest plate, putting the Caped Crusader at a psychological disadvantage. The angular design of the chest plate was designed not only for the A-shape of the Arkham logo, but also as a means of deflecting the Batclaw.