Saturday, November 21, 2009

Hot Toys MMS DX01 The Joker Collectible Figure REVIEW 1

After what seems like a rather long wait, it's finally here :) The debut of Hot Toys first 1/6 scale 12-inch collectible figure in their MMS DX series is none other than THE JOKER from "The Dark Knight" movie (first previewed HERE in April). It was supposed to be released in September but it's certainly well worth the wait. Once again, Hot Toys does not disappoint and another masterpiece is on the cards.

The box packaging itself is excellent. Gone are the days when you take the figure out of the box and throw away the packaging. This one's a keeper. The box is BIG (measuring 30cm/12 inches wide, 36.5cm/14.5 inches high and 13cm/5 inches deep) with metallic copper printing (an joker image is printed on the cover) combined with a very bright purple color

The box is held together by hidden magnets and opens to reveal a really regal looking interior

The inner flap with description of The Joker

Bored with stealing the mob's money, THE JOKER offers to eliminate the one obstacle that prevents the mob from taking over Gotham: BATMAN. Although the mob is initially reluctant to do business with the freakish rogue, they have no choice but to hire him when BATMAN, Gordon and Dent start building an open and shut case against them. THE JOKER relishes the opportunity, initiating a wave of murder and mayhem that brings the city to its knees and allows him to sadistically thrust BATMAN into a world of turmoil.

The cover tray reveals three 1:1 scale playing cards and a line Heath Ledger as THE JOKER utters in the film: "Introduce a little anarchy . Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos."

There are actually five playing cards, two were hidden

A tribute to Heath Ledger as THE JOKER: "Unforgettable HEATH LEDGER (as) THE JOKER. We meet the new joker in The Dark Knight - psychopathic, schizophrenic and mass murdering clown with no empathy. Heath Ledger's portrayal deviates from the previous interpretations of the Joker. His incredible performance in The Dark Knight movie lives in our hearts!"

The top tray is removed to reveal...

Two jokers - one in his original costume/outfit and the Joker impersonating as a Police Officer

Hot Toys DX01 The Joker comes with ONE Hot Toys True Type figure with over 35 points of articulation, standing approximately 12 inches / 31 cm tall and is dressed in a improved & movie-accurate Joker costume of an overcoat, sport coat, vest, shirt, tie, suspenders, pants, socks and shoes.

The outstanding head sculpt of Heath Ledger as The Joker featuring Hot Toys' new Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS) and colored Translucent Iris. The Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS) is a brand new technique applied to Hot Toys MMS DX figures, Special features include: - Unique designed eyeballs with colored Translucent Iris - Simultaneous Positionable Eyeball Function which works in all direction and are designed to be as natural as human eyes (more on that in a future post)

The Joker impersonating as a Police Officer comes with a Gotham City police suit that he wears for the assassination scene in the movie. This is the only scene where we see The Joker without his make-up and although the head sculpt is that of Heath Ledger, he still carries the scarring and facial disfigurement.


The last tray in the box reveals all the other accessories that come with this Hot Toys DX Joker

Accessories include: Gotham Police Department hat, cop badge, safety pins, retractable knife, Glock pistol with removable magazine and M1 Garand Rifle

Various gloved hands for posing and his cop shoes

Also comes with really cool grenades rig as seen in the film (and his deck of Joker cards)

Deluxe MMS DX figure stand with LED lights

Next: I'll post pictures of The JOKER as a Gotham City Police Officer

More Reviews of Hot Toys DX Joker:
Review III - More Cop Joker: It's in the fine details
Review IV - New P.E.R.S. (Parallel Eyeball Rolling System) Joker
Review V - DX Joker with grenades

Update: Comparing the first release Joker and this latest DX joker


16 comments:

  1. Bro, great score and this is really an awesome masterpiece!!

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  2. Hey, I noticed your transcription of the tribute Joker card was not entirely accurate - there are actually a number of typos if you look closer, including "schizophremic" and "increidible."

    Disappointing that Hot Toys couldn't hire an English editor to go over everything - especially over the card that's supposed to pay meaningful tribute and honor Ledger's performance.

    (Speaking of typos: I noticed you wrote "scaring" instead of "scarring" - but that can be fixed, unlike the printed Joker cards :)

    Other than that, the figure's great - though I feel the packaging, while certainly very luxuriant and high-class, is not as exciting or interesting for display purposes as some of the other "The Dark Knight" Hot Toys boxes - especially the Bank Robber Joker and Two-Face boxes. The outside is fairly bare, and the metallic copper printing is practically invisible unless you're within a foot or two. I like the magnetic lock, but that doesn't make it any nicer to display.

    I look forward to seeing pics of your new Jokers posed and on display - your pictures and reviews are part of the reason I was inspired to begin collecting 1/6 figures!

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  3. Alex, Does the police officer head also have the PERS system?

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  4. I got mine today and I am loving it! Too bad I won't get it out of the packaging soon because I am moving house in Feb next year... 靠你的review to see how gorgeous the figure is.

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  5. I recognize that's a piece or Art, but I have bought Bank Robber and the first edition.
    I agree with the comment that HT should contract someone to make the revisions of the English. In a lot of boxes there are English's errors. They are details and HT could enhance these texts. I have already sent two e-mails to HT telling about this problem (Lost Predator and Godfather).
    This DX is wonderful and probably I will buy the Batman DX version.
    Mr. Alex, continue with your reviews! I like it very much. A good source of information!
    Thanks!

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  6. @ desmond: yup! this is really an awesome masterpiece :)

    @ anonymous: agreed about the typos - good intentions let down by bad execution :( thanks for pointing out the typo, have corrected it :>

    most importantly, thanks for the encouraging words. if my pictures and reviews have inspired you to collect 1/6 figures, that's quite an honor you've bestowed. Glad that you find them useful >_<

    i look forward to posting more pics soon

    @ dash: only the joker head has PERS, the cop head is the normal type.

    @ adrian: all the best to your big move - mine was really a logistical challenge!

    @ supekudx: thanks too for the encouraging words.

    after the reviews, you might want to reconsider getting this - it's a really NICE piece :)

    can't wait for the DX Batman in 2010

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  7. Heath Ledger is amazing and sad that he die before his age. However he is immortalize as a figure and character of the Joker. If I spare the money, I would get this toy too. Just for the joker and Heath Ledger. Somehow remind me of Brandon Lee... :(

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  8. Uncanny how Brandon Lee also died at such a young age at around the same age as his father Bruce Lee did.

    My wife commented on how both actors (Brandon and Heath) who died so young had painted their faces to look like death (the undead) and the roles they both played were so convincing and the best performance of their careers.

    This figure is definitely worth getting and a fitting tribute to a fine actor who passed on when he was in his prime.

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  9. Great pics and review Alex! I just got mine yesterday and loving the PERS system, fun to play and pose!

    Just wondering, the foam packaging, won't it disintegrate over time due to our weather? I have some stuff with this type of foam and they seem to turn to dust and stick everywhere, very gross...
    That's why I still would have preferred the usual vacform trays they always use, as nice as this packaging is.

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  10. thanks for the compliments, morningstar :) hot toys quality never disappoint - not sure about the foam disintegrating but as i display my figures, the box is just an added bonus

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  11. I just got the figure yesterday.. It looks really good.. And the head sculpt of Joker looks so real its creepy!!! I love it! And its really worth getting imo.. If Hot Toys keeps this up with the rest of their DX figures in the series, there are going to be many holes in my pocket...hahaha

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  12. hey imranbecks - congrats on your purchase :> Hot Toys can have my wallet and everything in it as long as they produce and release stuff of the highest quality. Can't wait for DX02 - drool

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  13. Other than burning cash, display space for display can also be an issue..hahaha.. But I don't think you have any problems in that department.. Your display shelve is pretty big compared to mine!!! LOL... I think I will pass on DX02 since I already have the regular Hot Toys TDK Batman with the new suit.. But I wouldn't mind getting only the DX02 Batman head with the interchangeable mouths..... :-)

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  14. hey imran, i was pretty disappointed with the first release TDK suit because of the bulkiness (oversized chest and rather narrow neck) due to the use of the HT body type but they seem to have improved on that tremendously by using the True Type Narrow Body - see link attached: http://www.onesixthwarriors.com/forum/sixth-scale-action-figure-news-reviews-discussion/221103-dark-knight-batman-dx02-launched-hong-kong.html

    plus the other cool features, of course :)

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  15. Did you notice the misspelled word in the middle card?

    The word incredible was spelled wrongly.

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  16. yes, please see the second comment that was made about the many spelling errors :P

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