Tag Archives: dc direct

November 29, 2024

McFarlane Toys BTAS Christmas With the Joker Action Figure

By Joe
It’s time for your favorite holiday tradition: Christmas with the Joker!

Yesterday, the United States celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday so you know what that means? The Christmas season is underway! And it’s one that feels like it could not have come any sooner. We need a little Christmas, right this very minute, and today it’s coming to us via an unexpected source: The Joker. Yes, the Clown Prince of Crime is getting into the Christmas spirit today for, what else, an action figure release. This is yet another old one from DC Collectibles re-released via McFarlane Toys. The first such set of figures we looked at released this way didn’t go that well. Will this Joker fare any better? Will the magic of Christmas help to elevate him above his brethren? Let’s find out together.

Joker, as seen in the episode from which this figure is based on.

It was years ago (2017, if I’m not mistaken) that DC Collectibles released a Joker action figures based on the episode of Batman: The Animated Series “Christmas With the Joker.” In just the show’s second episode it not only introduced audiences to its version of the Joker, but also made it a Christmas special. Since the show was debuting in September, that meant it had to be held back a bit, but still managed to air in November. Nonetheless, it’s not one of the show’s better episodes, but the mere fact it features the Joker and it’s a Christmas episode helped it to remain memorable.

He certainly looks happy to be celebrating the holidays with us.

When this figure was first released, I considered getting it. I don’t know why I didn’t, I guess maybe I was trying to save money? I probably feared that getting even one action figure from this line of Batman figures would open the floodgates so I held off. When it went on clearance I still held off. When it got a re-release with a pearl finish? Oh yeah, I held off. And when that re-release also received the discount treatment? By then I had become a pro at ignoring this Christmas Joker so it was a piece of cake to do so yet again.

He’s definitely not going to scale with the McFarlane Batman Santa.

Now, it’s 2024 and McFarlane Toys has decided it needs to re-release this Christmas Joker. I don’t know why in 2024 that I feel like now is the time to jump in, but it’s what I’ve done. The wave one figures from McFarlane were borderline terrible. I like the sculpt of the Scarecrow and Freeze is okay, but the Batman and Robin figures were just plain bad. The paint jobs are pretty hideous and the toys feel cheaper than ever. These figures were fragile when originally released, but they didn’t feel cheap. I don’t know what McFarlane is doing, but these feel comparatively worse. Still, for a Christmas figure I just expect it to stand there and look festive. My demands of this figure are pretty minimal and should be easy to please. I’m not sure it’s capable of meeting even those unambitious demands.

“Now here’s a Santa I can really get behind!”

Joker comes in the normal packaging which is a big window box that’s entirely too large. There is no Christmas theming to the packaging which feels like a real missed opportunity. Make it look like a wrapped gift and you stand to sell two of these per person, Todd. Joker is depicted as he was for most of that episode, well, aside from the hat. He wears the hat for all two seconds, but this figure has one molded to its head. In another missed opportunity, McFarlane could have included a non-hatted head to switch to, but maybe this one was never designed for a removable head? Aside from the hat, Joker is sporting a Christmas sweater that’s a simple red with a green turtleneck underneath. From the waist down, he’s basically your standard Joker with purple pants and white and black shoes.

“Here Harvey, you look like you could use a little Christmas spirit.”

The sculpt is fine, but the paint is not. Joker isn’t as bad as the other figures, but the detail work is pretty awful. His mouth and teeth are sloppy and my figure had a big black smudge on his chin that I’ve mostly been able to remove with a Magic Eraser. His eyes are outlined in black, but he has no eyebrows to speak of. The edges of the white on the Santa hat aren’t particularly sharp, but what isn’t dreadful with this release is the cel-shading. McFarlane added some dark red to the right side of the figure and some dark purple to the pants. There’s also a hit of dark green on the inner sweater. It’s far more purposeful than some of the other figures and the color choices are fine. If all of the figures looked like this there probably wouldn’t be many complaints about the shading. There’s also still a lot of bare plastic here including basically all of the white parts and pants. The original release looks like it was almost all painted, by comparison, so if you can get that one instead for a decent price you may find it the better piece.

Yuck.

What’s not any different is the feel of this thing. It’s cheap and it’s pretty junky. The MSRP appears to be $30 though Target initially offered it for $25 (and it is a Target exclusive). Even at the lower end, it doesn’t feel great. This is more like a $15 figure and the articulation is befitting that price range as well. You get very little here as the head only rotates. If it’s supposed to look up or down mine won’t budge. The shoulder pins are fine and the elbows bend almost 90 degrees. The hips are those awful hinges that DC used to utilize and they both look and feel like absolute shit. He can do splits, but you won’t want him to. Kicking forward and back is minimal while the knees do what they’re supposed to. There’s basically nothing but swivels at the ankle. As an action figure, this thing is terrible for $25 and truly god-awful at $30.

He’s got a candy cane. Cool?

All that said, few are going to buy a Christmas themed Joker action figure to put him in crazy poses. Well, some might want to, but usually these holiday themed figures can get away with subpar articulation if the presentation is there. And aiding in the presentation are the accessories. Joker comes with an assortment of hands: fists, gripping, and what we’ll call candy cane hands. He has these candy cane holding hands because he comes with a candy cane – imagine that? It’s basically a tight trigger finger hand. It would have been nice if regular trigger hands could have worked, but I guess they didn’t want to make a really fat candy cane. As for the candy cane itself, it’s fine. It may not be fat, but it is a pretty big candy cane, but at least those custom hands hold it well.

Joker’s sad little tree.

Joker one-ups the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles we looked at earlier this week by coming with his own Christmas tree. This tree makes Charlie Brown’s tree look robust by comparison as it’s really more of a stick. There isn’t a single needle left on this dead piece of pine and it has some twigs poking off of it from which ornaments can be hung. Joker comes with five ornaments: one red, yellow, and green and two blue. One of the blue ones should have a white star painted on the top, but McFarlane cut that from the budget. They’re all spherical with a plastic, black, loop molded onto them so they can be placed on the tree. I wish the loop was just a little bigger as it’s challenging to get them onto some of the smaller branches. Some aren’t angled well for an ornament and the plastic is kind of brittle. I had stress marks on one of the lower limbs as I tried to get a loop over it and had to abandon that idea. His candy cane hands can sort of pinch the hoops on these ornaments so he can hold them, which is a good design choice. There’s also a yellow-painted star molded to the top of the tree.

This little guy enjoys causing mayhem just as much as Joker.

Lastly, Joker comes with his little elf buddy, Laughy. He’s a hand puppet, but not the kind you stick your whole hand into. He’s literally Joker’s fist with a face painted onto the side with an elf costume molded to it. The paint is thick and flakey, but otherwise the hand looks pretty good. It plugs into Joker’s right arm and the fit is rather tight (compared with the incredibly loose alternate hands). There’s a standard, horizontal, hinge which is fine, but the limited range at the shoulder and Joker’s head make it hard for truly convincing posing. If his elbow could actually bend past 90 degrees that would have helped too. Even with the articulation limits, this is probably my favorite accessory of the bunch and I can’t see myself ever displaying Joker without it. Also included is the torso for Maxie Zeus as this is a build-a-figure wave. To complete Maxie you’ll need to also purchase Two-Face, Batgirl, and a Batman variant that’s an homage to an old Kenner toy. I did get Two-Face and if that Batman variant were at all desirable I might have convinced myself to get the rest to complete the figure, but there’s no way I’m spending 30 bucks on a terrible Batman figure.

“Wow Laughy, a shotgun? You shouldn’t have!”

This Christmas themed Joker figure is more or less what I expected. The articulation and overall feel of the figure is truly subpar, but in-line with the first wave of figures. I wish the paint on the Joker’s head was better, but at least the cel-shading is done reasonably well. I also wish he was cheaper, but considering I got the figure at a slight discount I guess I should feel a little better about it. For $30, I can only recommend this for the Christmas enthusiast who also happens to love Batman: The Animated Series. If a Christmas figure does nothing for you then the only reason to get this is for the build-a-figure part. From what I can tell based on the parts I have, the Maxie Zeus figure is going to be a lot like The Condiment King meaning the sculpt is above average, but the scale is way off. He’s a big boy, but hopefully he’s not as floppy in the hips as Condiment King for those who get him. I feel bad for those diehards who really want a Maxie Zeus (I personally did not care for that episode) because they have to get a Batman variant they probably don’t want as well as a holiday themed Joker they may or may not want. For those who don’t, hopefully there’s enough people like me out there willing to buy your unwanted Christmas Joker. At a reasonable discount, of course. That might be the best way to go about getting this guy.

For more Christmas figures or to see what inspired this release check out the below:

McFarlane Toys Gold Label Batman Santa (Blue Suit)

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s the jolly one – Santa Claus! Oh, wait, no, it’s the somber, moody, one: Batman Santa! Yes, it’s our first Christmas themed post of 2023 and it’s an action figure review – shocking, I know. McFarlane Toys has held the DC license for several years now, but this is my first…

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by Joe

Batman: The Animated Series – “Christmas With The Joker”

Episode Number: 2 Original Air Date: November 13, 1992 Directed By: Kent Butterworth Written By: Eddie Gorodetsky First Appearance(s):  Robin, Joker, Summer Gleason, Arkham Asylum An interesting choice for a second episode of a series. It’s a Christmas episode, which feels kind of inline with Batman thanks to Batman Returns. It’s also the debut of…

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by Joe

Naughty or Nice Classic Santa and Cyborg Santa

It was looking like we were in for a photo finish this year. Last year, toymaker Fresh Monkey Fiction partnered with online retailer Big Bad Toy Store to launch the Naughty or Nice collection. Structured similar to a Kickstarter campaign, FMF posted several action figures for preorder with a minimum order quantity needed for the…

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by Joe

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October 17, 2024

McFarlane Toys Batman: The Animated Series Wave 1

By Joe
The lineup for McFarlane’s first wave of dedicated Batman: The Animated Series action figures.

Years ago, perhaps as many as 10 or more, DC Direct was filling comic book stores around the country with action figures based on the classic cartoon series Batman: The Animated Series. The figures were stylized to resemble their onscreen counterparts and it was a line that included many of the characters from the show as well as multiple vehicles. Eventually, DC (or parent company Warner Bros.) decided it no longer wanted in on the action figure market. The branch of the company devoted to toys was dissolved and the license was sold to McFarlane Toys. Since then, Todd’s company has devoted many resources to its DC Multiverse line which is sold at big box retail as well as specialty. The 1:10 line features more variations of characters than I can count and it has its own distinct style. Early in the line, a Batman based on BTAS was even released, though it wasn’t something that I found particularly enticing.

Here is your comparison to what DC Direct was doing in its final days and what we’re getting from McFarlane.

When the DC Direct line was alive and well, I wasn’t really in the collecting game. By the time I got back into it, I was left a little underwhelmed by the offerings available to me. They weren’t cheap, were quite limited in terms of articulation, and it wasn’t an evergreen line where characters were easily attainable. Instead, it was more of a blink and you miss it kind of deal. Towards the end of the line, there were some reissues and I would end up getting the last standard Batman from the line which featured the new tagline of The Adventures Continue. That Batman is fine. The likeness is good enough even if the articulation is pretty poor. It was retooled to have better hips and the paint job was more ambitious and a marked improvement over the Batmen to come before it. I would also add a Gray Ghost, purely out of nostalgia, but any ideas I had on getting more of the figures was pretty much dashed by the absurd aftermarket prices that had emerged. Figures were selling for hundreds of dollars and I just wasn’t interested.

The big selling point for the McFarlane line is the build-a-figure inclusion.

Last year, McFarlane made the wise move to begin reissuing these long out of production figures. McFarlane apparently has access to the molds so this was a pretty low cost way to get some characters out into the wild that fans have been clamoring for. The first wave arrived about a year ago now, but I’m just getting to it for reasons that will become clear as we move along. That first wave consisted of Batman, Robin, Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow, with a build-a-figure of The Condiment King. All four of the retail figures are straight reissues of past DCD offerings with the only new sculpt being The Condiment King. To differentiate these from the other figures, and perhaps to not crater their aftermarket value and risk angering their fanbase, a new deco was applied to each figure and the packaging is all new. These come in oversized window boxes that are honestly way bigger than they need to be, but whatever. It’s just the trash that surrounds the figure. Is this return to stores what fans and collectors have been waiting for? Read on and find out, though you may not like the answer.

What do we think of McFarlane’s attempt at cel-shading?

Let’s start with Batman. This is a reissue of the Batman that came with the Batcycle. He has a soft goods cape and an ab crunch to help make getting him on the bike a little easier. It’s a less attractive figure as a result, but what are you going to do? The main thing that’s going to stick out is the paint job, and that’s going to be true for basically all of these figures. McFarlane decided to attempt cel-shading with these figures. The final Batman from DCD did the same thing to fantastic results. There was blue in the cape, a little gray under the pectorals, and hits of blue on the gloves and boots. It was subtle, but very evocative of the show. This Batman does none of that. He has this ugly brown smear along the side of his face, a dark gray that’s slapped on the side of his body without much regard for anything, and very little blue one the boots and gloves. It’s hideous. DCD gave you the blueprint, McFarlane, why couldn’t you just follow that?

Robin and Freeze get these goofy-ass hips.

Unfortunately, the same is mostly true for the rest. Robin looks almost as bad as Batman with the same brown on his face, but the red and green of his costume at least works better with the shading. They completely missed the yellow on the inside of the cape which is also plastic so he won’t work as well with vehicles as Batman. Mr. Freeze has some pretty atrocious cel-shading as well, though it doesn’t appear to be as heavy as it is with Batman. Scarecrow is the only one who doesn’t look awful, but that’s because his costume of brown and red works better with the shading. It’s barely visible on the red portions while the dark brown doesn’t clash all that poorly. This is also second appearance Scarecrow and, overall, he looks the best of the bunch in terms of being on-model. Mr. Freeze would place second if this were a competition, but he’s too small and his oxygen tank is the wrong color. I don’t think scale is a strength of the line. Robin looks more like a reinterpretation of his old Kenner figure with the big head and dopey grin while Batman just plain looks bad.

It’s a lot of stuff, but how much of it is useful?

Each character does come with accessories. For Batman, it’s a bunch of hands including one with a grapnel gun molded in. He also has a Batarang that’s all black. He has fists, gripping hands, and Batarang hands plus a stand-alone grapnel gun that’s all black. Robin has fists, relaxed hands, gripping hands, and a hand with a molded grapnel gun in it. He also has a bollo that’s just a long piece of plastic. It would have looked better with a whirling effect. Scarecrow has open hands, a gripping right hand, and a left fist, plus an unmasked portrait. The gripping hand is for his scythe which looks pretty good, though I wish he came with two gripping hands or that the one gripping hand actually worked better. Freeze has his freeze gun and then a whole bunch of hands: fists, trigger hands, gripping hands, clenching hands, and open hands. The clenching and gripping hands look specific, like maybe he was supposed to have more accessories (a snow globe, perhaps) that were cut. It’s a comical amount of hands though for a guy who is just going to stand there holding his gun.

That’s not impressive…

Which brings us to articulation, which was never this line’s strong suit and part of that is due to the character designs. We’re talking ball peg heads, ball-hinge shoulders, single elbows, and wrists that swivel and hinge horizontally. Nobody has good range anywhere, save for maybe the head, but it’s at the hips where things get weird. Batman has updated ball socket hips so he can kick forward a reasonable amount and almost do splits. Scarecrow does too, only his range is terrible, but he has a thigh swivel built-in (Batman does not). Freeze and Robin have these awful hinge and peg hips. The hinge leaves this T shape in the cut on the side of the thigh. It allows for full splits, but looks ridiculous and is one of the ugliest joints ever conceived. Neither character can kick forward worth a damn too. All of the figures have double-jointed knees except for Freeze and Robin. Even without the extra hinge, Freeze can still bend his knee 90 degrees. Robin cannot. All of the figures have a swivel and hinge at the ankle with only Batman and Robin having an ankle rocker. Everyone except Scarecrow has a boot cut. The combination of poor articulation and tiny feet make all but Freeze tough to stand. He has large, boxy, feet so it’s not an issue, but his arms are the most limited because of his design. I wasn’t sure if he even had elbow cuts. They’re there, but functionally useless. He’s also the only one without a waist twist.

I like Condiment King’s sculpt and the paint is acceptable, but why is he so big? And I have him lurched forward a bit here just to get him to stand. In other words, this picture makes him look smaller than he is.

Given that these are all old molds and exclusive to Target you would think they’d come at a friendly price. They do not as all of them retail for around $30. Of course, if you get all four then you get a bonus fifth figure in The Condiment King. He is all new and comes with his backpack and twin guns: ketchup and mustard. The guns connect via a thread to the backpack so it limits his posing, but at least they’re here. As for the sculpt, it looks fine. Great even. This is one of the show’s silliest characters and it’s a fun inclusion as a BAF. It might not be the type of character everyone needs, but the hardcore will enjoy building him. His light blue costume with white accents is done well enough. Yes, there’s cel-shading, but it’s not as bad as it is with some of the others. The only spot I hate is the brown smear on the side of his face. Articulation is satisfactory for the line as he has single elbows but double joints at the knee and ball-socket hips, it’s just that the hips are way too loose. Combine that with the backpack and this is one tough figure to stand. The build quality of the guns is also questionable as the handle of the ketchup gun came off when I tried inserting it into his hand. It looks like the guns were molded in two pieces to get the string inside so it’s nothing a little glue can’t remedy, but still annoying. By far though, the biggest issue I have with Condiment King is his size. He’s way too big. He stands around 6.75″ to Batman’s 6.25″. He’s just overall big when in the show he’s just some guy who went nuts. He looks like he’d be more than a match for Batman at this size. It’s almost like he’s from an entirely different toyline.

I mostly just wanted these two. Freeze still sucks for 30 bucks, but Scarecrow? He’s at least okay, though he can barely stand or hold onto his scythe.

Is $120 for 5 figures of worth it? It could be, but not these figures. The paint is not only a bad fit, it’s sloppy too. Batman’s cape feels cheap and the articulation cuts for his torso and the hips on Freeze and Robin are truly hideous. Scarecrow is the only figure of the five that comes close to earning his value, but he still doesn’t feel like a 30 dollar toy. All of them feel very fragile and very cheap. Moving these thin limbs, swapping the hands, all feel terrible. I don’t like handling these figures so I guess it’s good that they don’t pose well since the temptation to change things up isn’t really there.

The Batcycle is pretty cool, though even with the added ab crunch this Batman can struggle to sit on it in a convincing manner.

What drove me to make this post though was where I did find some deals: the vehicles. McFarlane has not only reissued the figures, it’s also reissued the Batcycle and Batmobile with the Batwing also on the way (there’s also a Jokermobile, which was supposed to be a part of the old DCD line, but was cancelled). Initially, these vehicles were pricy, but still enticing, but I got both on sale. For the Batcycle, I think MSRP was 40 or 50 bucks, but I got it down to $10. At full price, it’s not bad, but at ten bucks it’s a real steal. It’s a straight re-release of the old bike including the base. It has battery operated lights, though you have to hold in the button on the bottom of the bike for them to be on as opposed to a switch. The base is reversible and can either resemble the Batcave or just a street and it allows for the bike to be tilted and there’s a little swoosh effect too. Instead of being all black, it’s now cel-shaded, but it turned out great! There’s a nice use of blue on it that really makes it resemble the bike from the show. And if you want Batman to play it safe, it also comes with a new head for Batman that features a helmet. They should have tossed in the same for Robin, but I probably wouldn’t use it anyway. The head looks fine, though it features a pale complexion. The tires are rubber and the thing feels solid. For what it is, it’s terrific.

The Batmobile is big. The last image on the right is with a standard Hot Wheels Turtle Van and the oversized Batmobile, not the standard Hot Wheels edition.

The Batmobile is quite similar in that regard. It’s not fully painted out like the bike, but the sides are black and the top is a dark blue which helps it to resemble the look of the car in the show better than the original all black edition. The canopy slides forward and there’s room for two figures inside. The steering wheel telescopes which makes it easier to get figures in and out. The dashboard is all transparent plastic because this has a light-up feature as well for headlights, interior, rear lights, and the thruster in the back. Oh, and did I mention it’s big? This thing is a shelf hog measuring about 25.5″ long and a little over 8.5″ at its widest. It is a mostly hollow, plastic, box so it doesn’t have as nice a feel as the Batcycle. It does have nice wheels though that are rubber and the front ones can turn, though they are not connected to the steering wheel. The MSRP for this thing is $80, but I got it on sale for $40. Some people have found it for as low as $23! At $80, it’s a luxury item for the Batman enthusiast that has the room for it. At $40, it’s a great deal for the Batman fan that maybe doesn’t know what to do with it, but will figure it out in time. At anything less than that it’s a simple no-brainer. I’m not one who buys toys as an investment, but if you get a Batmobile for under forty bucks and sit on it for a year you’ll probably make some money.

The lights are pretty nifty, and two figures can fit inside though Robin’s lack of a soft goods cape means he’ll sit rather wonky.

What do we make of McFarlane’s foray into this old BTAS toy line? On one hand, I think it’s great that these molds are back out in the wild. I got Freeze and Scarecrow last year because I love Mr. Freeze and I thought Scarecrow looked good. I only recently got Batman and Robin because I wanted them for the Batmobile. Target lured me in with a sweet deal on that Batmobile and in turn got me to spend another sixty bucks (clever girl) I wouldn’t have otherwise. I think Scarecrow is fine, he’s limited, but he looks the part and I think aesthetics are what collectors are after most with a BTAS line. The Condiment King, if he was packed as a stand-alone figure, would be okay as well though I wouldn’t feel good about spending 30 bucks on it. Freeze is imperfect and too expensive while Batman and Robin are pretty bad. Why did I convince myself I needed them just to stuff in a toy car? I don’t know. It was more of a need for Batman, and then with only one figure shy of a Condiment King I figured why not get Robin? My older DCD Batman could not fit in the Batmobile with his sturdy, plastic, cape, plus he actually looks good and I don’t want him hidden. I’m fine hiding these two.

The figures are overpriced and kind of blow, but the Batmobile is pretty cool.

All that is to say, try and track down an actual DC Direct Batman if you want a Batman from this line. This one and Robin just aren’t worth it and unlike the vehicles, they seem to never go on sale. Mr. Freeze and Scarecrow aren’t worth your 30 dollars either, but if you do get Scarecrow you at least may not regret it in time since he looks fine. The vehicles are great though. If you have a DCD collection and passed on them then I think you should reconsider. Especially the Batcycle which looks pretty cool and isn’t too hard to fit into a display. The Batmobile presents obvious space concerns and I still don’t know where it’s going to end up in my house, but it’s an okay problem to have and now I’m wondering if I should consider the gargantuan Batwing. I shouldn’t, but if it ends up at Target for 40 bucks then I can’t be held responsible for my actions. As for the line itself, I wish McFarlane would spend a little to improve these figures. Better hips, better ankles, and figure out how to do proper cel-shading or just give up. No one will be angry if it goes away. This line is fueled only by a love of the show because if there was a better option out there then surely most would get that. Unfortunately, there isn’t and there likely won’t be in this scale anytime soon.

There aren’t a ton of Batman toy reviews here, but we do have some:

Batman – The Adventures Continue #50: Batman

If you’re a repeat visitor here at The Nostalgia Spot, then you’ve probably noticed that around here there is a high opinion of the television show Batman – The Animated Series. I did a re-watch of the series that spanned more than two years and also checked out the various films based on the property.…

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by Joe

The Hot Wheels Batman Series

I’m not much of a car collector, but when I was a kid I went through a Hot Wheels and Matchbox phase. My favorite car was a small, black, one that I only barely remember. I have no idea what make or model the car was, but what I liked about it was that it…

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by Joe

DC Collectibles BTAS #42 – Gray Ghost

I have long maintained that the best episode of the now classic Batman: The Animated Series is the Mr. Freeze story, “Heart of Ice.” It is not, however, my favorite episode of the show as that honor belongs to “Beware the Gray Ghost.” That episode introduced the character Gray Ghost, a superhero from television who…

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by Joe

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March 15, 2021

DC Direct Hush Batman

By Joe
Probably the best pose in this entry, it’s all downhill from here!

In the mid 90s the action figure underwent a rather substantial change. The gross, detailed, sculpted works of 80s and early 90s toy lines had started to fade away. In their place was the super hero from the likes of Toy Biz and Mattel which opted for simple sculpts, subtle paint, and a fairly standard roll out of articulation. Sure, there were some intentionally done “super articulated” editions of characters like Spider-Man, but largely the action figure had been distilled to the following joints: head, shoulder, elbow, leg, knee. All either swivel or hinges. Some might have a waist twist, or a wrist swivel, but most followed that general format.

Then came McFarlane. Founded in 1994 by comic book artist and writer Todd McFarlane, the new approach was a return to sculpting. McFarlane reasoned that the only thing holding figures back from being highly detailed was just a little bit of effort. A mold costs the same whether it’s intricate or plain, and mold creation is the biggest cost in producing action figures. Of course, it’s a little more nuanced than that since better molds require better artists spending more time than before and we all know time is money, but his point was made. McFarlane’s line of action figures, largely consisting of his Spawn character, blew away the competition when it came to sculpts. What they did for sculpting was felt in the toy world, especially by Toy Biz who was making action figures based on the various characters of Marvel Comics. Toy Biz started to produce collector grade figures as well, but this came at the downside of a reduction in articulation and a heightening of the scale. Kids and collectors who had been dying for a Jim Lee era Jean Grey finally got one in the Onslaught wave of figures marketed to specialty shops, but she was way out of scale with what had come before and awkwardly pre-posed.

He strikes an impressive pose. Too bad it’s his only pose.

While McFarlane continued to refine its sculpts, it did so at the cost of articulation. Many of the McFarlane figures of the late 90s and early 2000s were little more than mini statues. Some had basic articulation, but a lot of it wasn’t particularly functional as the figures were meant to assume one, specific, pose and that was it. Toy Biz was not content with that sort of approach as it released a new line of Spider-Man Classics. These were carried by major toy retailers making them easier to get ahold of than the previous Onslaught series, and best of all the figures were highly articulated while still retaining an impressive approach to sculpting. The Venom figure in particular was quite ambitious as it referenced a classic piece of artwork in which the alien costume is extending from the face of Eddie Brock. From the front, the figure looks like a Venom one, but with an elongated maw. From the side though, one can see the smiling visage of Brock underneath. It was a sculpt that rivaled what McFarlane was producing, to a degree, but the figure also retained an impressive array of articulation.

His proportions are arguably better from the side. Except the ears.

That line was the precursor to the now long-running Marvel Legends. Toy Biz would embark on a journey through the Marvel Universe that included impressive sculpt-work for its era combined with a great degree of articulation. Hasbro now has control of the line and has continued to release affordable action figures of popular characters at retail that combine quality sculpts with functional articulation. Some would probably argue that the line has become the greatest line of action figures of all time considering its longevity and overall quality. I don’t collect it any longer, but it is a remarkably consistent product.

Lets turn on the flash to bring out those cape folds. It’s a pretty fine cape, all things considered.

Naturally, Toy Biz’s success lead to rival DC trying its own hand at collector-grade action figures of its classic characters. The company launched DC Direct to differentiate its products from the more mass market stuff that was being handled by Mattel. Unfortunately, DC Direct was seemingly always behind the curve when it came to its toys, and its 2003 line of action figures based on the Batman story Hush by writer Jeph Loeb and renowned artist Jim Lee is a great example.

For those who prefer their Batman bathed in light.

Jim Lee became famous largely for his work on X-Men in the early 90s. By the middle part of the decade he had gone freelance and worked on other properties while creating his own super hero team in WildCats. He ended up being a pretty big get for DC when they brought him onboard to work on Batman. The Hush story was basically DC’s way of getting Lee to draw Batman and basically every character of importance in his sphere. It could have been a mess, but it was actually a pretty entertaining read. Lee’s Batman was also a pretty big hit which paved the way for the action figure line. At the time, I was a casual at best fan of Batman. I had enjoyed the films and the animated series, but I dabbled infrequently in the comics. I found myself quite taken by Lee’s interpretation of the caped crusader, which made the action figure very appealing.

The worst place for paint defects.

Lee’s Batman is a muscle-bound, brooding, guy in a cape. He’s marked by a square jaw and short ears on his costume. He reminds me a bit of a cross between the Bruce Timm Batman and, oddly enough, the Adam West Batman. It’s the squareness of the head combined with those short ears that evokes both of those styles for me, but it’s Lee’s unique talents that bring it together. He has a gray and blue color scheme with a black emblem on his chest. The blue is a pale blue, and something about the choice of saturation really works for the character. I’ve always felt it made more sense for Batman to dress in black, or at least a really dark blue, but illogical as this outfit may seem, it looks terrific. It quickly became my favorite interpretation of the character and remains so to this day.

The extent to which his right arm can be raised.

Because I liked the design so much, I felt drawn to the figure released in 2003 by DC Direct. Unfortunately, it wasn’t particularly cheap and the articulation was a real turn-off. I would see this figure on my many trips to GameStop or comic shops and I’d debate with myself if it was worth picking up. By today’s standards, I don’t think it was expensive, but I honestly can’t remember. I want to say it was over 10 bucks, but not as high as 20, and in a world where Marvel Legends were often 6-8 bucks that felt like a lot. I was also in college and money wasn’t abundant and my addiction to Legends meant I had only a little cash to consider spending on other lines. Eventually, I caved, probably sometime in 2004 and this edition of Batman has remained the last 6″ scale Batman I’ve purchased over the ensuing years. And he’s basically always occupied a prominent spot in my home, usually on a nightstand or dresser, so I guess money well spent.

You’ll have to pretend he’s holding a grapple gun, because I can’t get that hand off.

Once upon a time, this figure came in a window box with the Hush era logo emblazoned upon it, but I’ve long since disposed of that box. Once removed, Batman stands six and a half inches to the top of his “ears” and strikes quite the intimidating posture on a shelf. His square-jawed head is set in a bit of a scowl with a lot of linework around the all-white eyes that have been tightened into narrow slits. The area around his neck has been sculpted for his cape with is almost seamlessly glued into the sculpted folds. It’s a rubbery material that hangs off of the figure and fans out ending at about the ankles. It’s smaller than what is depicted in the comic, but definitely more wieldy. Batman’s chest is puffed out with impressive mass and the logo is sculpted into his chest and painted a glossy black which contrasts well with the otherwise matte approach of the other colors. It’s hard to tell if the body is molded in gray or painted gray, but there’s definitely a paint application to bring out the muscles in his torso and biceps. The gloves have some nice detailing on them and the “fins” that stick off are slightly bendy so there’s less of a chance of any snapping. The belt is painted and features a tremendous amount of pouches, which was the style at the time. A black or gray wash has been applied to give it a worn, grimy, appearance which is suitable for the source material. There’s a liberal amount of gray paint on the legs and the blue-painted boots are fairly clean. A wash has been applied to them to bring out the folds around the ankle and the soles of the boots are painted black. The paint is sufficiently clean everywhere on my figure except the face, which unfortunately has a trio of blue dots around the mouth and chin. It also looks like some of the flesh-colored paint wound up on the very tip of his nose. I’ve never been able to get that speck off, even though I’m pretty sure the head is sculpted in blue plastic.

The grapple gun hand. It’s fine.

Even more than 15 years later, the figure largely looks the part. This is a very muscled Batman, but not overly so. The only aspect of the sculpt I’ve ever been not completely sold on are the rather massive thighs this guy has. It just seems like either they should be a little smaller, or the shoulders a little wider to compensate. The head might also be just a wee bit too small, but it’s pretty negligible. This looks good and I doubt anyone was really complaining about the figure’s aesthetics when it came out in 2003.

I think I would have preferred a second head since his posing sucks anyway. And maybe that one would have had a better paint job.

What they were critiquing though is the articulation, or lack thereof. With this figure, what you see is what you get. He’s not exactly pre-posed, but how he stands when removed from the box is basically all he can do. The head is on a ball-peg and it’s easily the best part about the figure, articulation-wise. Batman can rotate all the way around as well as look up pretty far, and even look down. There’s also a little tilt for good measure and no gapping is present when positioning his head. It’s great. After that though, everything gets bad. His shoulders are on some kind of a ball-peg system. They can rotate all the way around, but there’s no hinge and very little outward movement. The right arm can come out maybe 30 degrees while the left barely moves. This is for a reason, I suspect, we’ll get to when we talk about the accessories. And for the same reason, only the right wrist swivels at the glove while both arms have a single, elbow, hinge. There is no torso or waist articulation of any kind, which is a real bummer as a waist twist would help this guy out. At the leg, the thighs peg into the crotch so they can only go forward and back. He can extend pretty far in both directions, but the crotch starts to get ugly and weird looking as you do it. Plus, there’s a lot of rubbing and I would worry that extensive movement would harm the paint. You may be thinking to yourself, “Well, this is an older figure and there’s no rubbing yet,” but I also basically set this guy and left him as-is for 18 years. Batman does have knee hinges, but no boot cut.

The stand is pretty cool, at least.

Because of the limited articulation, Batman is little more than a statue. You can pose him looking down from a high perch, looking straight-ahead, or looking up at a target, but that’s kind of it. The range on those elbow and knee hinges is terrible and his left hand is pre-posed at an awkward angle so he can’t even fake throwing a punch. His legs also come off of his body in such a wide stance that you basically can’t bend his knees at all and expect him to stand. A boot cut would have been nice as you could then move his feet and get him into a slight perch. One of the more iconic images from the Hush books is Batman on a ledge with one foot raised and placed on a gargoyle statue, a simple pose that this figure cannot hope to imitate. About the only thing he can do is aim his grapple gun because one of his two accessories is a swappable right hand with the grapple gun molded into it. I believe that is why his right arm has more range than the left so he can aim it in a semi-natural way, but it’s not that convincing. I also can’t get his hand to come off anymore to actually use it, but it’s not something most people likely chose to utilize in their display as it’s painted rather poorly and isn’t page accurate. The only other accessory is a display stand which is fine. It’s in the shape of the Batman logo of the era and it’s screen-printed rather well. There are two pegs on it, but curiously only one foot has a peg hole. The other has an indentation like one is supposed to be there, but nope. He stands fine without it, but the added stability is nice to have. Plus, the stand adds a little flair to the display which is welcomed considering this figure just can’t do much of anything.

So did you like that crossover with TMNT?
I didn’t have a Marvel Legends handy, so here’s a Hasbro Black Ranger and an old school Toy Biz Venom.

This is the type of figure that we had to deal with back in the early 2000s. Not everything was super-articulated, or even functionally articulated, and this Batman qualified. Now, obviously I’ve had this guy on display in my home as the lone Batman figure for years despite its shortcomings so clearly it got something right. It’s partly the result of a better figure just not coming along and capturing my attention, and the fact that I’m not a dedicated Batman collector has certainly helped to keep this guy around. This is a figure that is no longer available at retail, but the secondary market is plentiful enough for a figure almost 20 years old. And it’s a figure that really has not appreciated one bit. It’ll set you back only around 20 bucks if it’s something you want, and that’s for a figure in-box. If you’re shopping loose you might find a better deal. The sculpt is there, and the paint is solid, but the articulation is severely lacking so this is likely no one’s favorite depiction of Batman from this era. You can do better, though probably not cheaper if it’s a Hush Batman you’re after. I do like it, but it’s hard not to see a missed opportunity whenever I look at it.

We’ll end on a comparison with the RED Soundwave and the SHF Vegeta.

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