Batula (Worst) Review

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Batula (Worst) Review

Batula
Worst (Super7)In a world dominated by pop culture, there's not a lot of original toy lines out there. Everyone's rushing to grab a certain license first so they can put out figures, apparel, glassware, or whatever. But Super7, when they aren't trying to obtain as much licenses as possible, has their own creation, known as The Worst. Devoted to creating as much crazy villains as possible, the line's been going on as ReAction for a few years, but it was last year they announced the characters would make the jump to Ultimates. The first wave has only two figures, one of them being Batula, the "bat prince of darkness."

Batula's packaging is no different from other Ultimates, though the front of the slip cover has a cool illustration of the character, rather than a logo or anything else. The window box has a shattered glass-like design to it, making a coffin shape. There's nothing holding the figure to the tray, though a few accessories are held in with tape.

The Bat Prince was sculpted by Four Horsemen, more specifically, Brodie Perkins did most of the work, though you wouldn't know that unless you followed his Instagram. The head is great on him, with a fierce look and textured fur; far nicer and more detailed than the ReAction. There's two extra heads as well, one of which has raised brows and the ends of his mouth curled up in a smile, and given the blood around his mouth, it's no wonder why he's so happy. The third head uses the same sculpt, but rather than having blood on him, he's wearing sunglasses instead. Who says you can't look cool while terrorizing the villagers?

Standing around 6 1/2" tall, Batula is dressed up in a fancy suit, as any vampire would wear, though he doesn't seem to be a fan of shoes. The softgoods cape is really nice, complete with metal bat chain and a wire running through it so it can be posed. You'll have to pop off the head if you don't want the cape on him, but that's easy to do. The paint is clean all around, but the heads are the nicest parts. I feel they went too heavy with the darker paint around his eyes, but other than that, they look great.

Batula has the standard Ultimate articulation scheme, though there are a couple issues. The head is a ball-joint, and it has some tilt, but not a whole lot. There are swivel/hinge joints at the shoulders, elbows, and wrists, along with rather tight bicep swivels. The chest is a ball-joint as well, but it has barely any tilt, rendering it pointless. Below it are a swivel waist, thighs, and shins, and swivel/hinge hips, knees, and ankles. The legs are very wonky, though, with odd knees joints, somewhat loose ankles, and a stuck left shin swivel. I tried the freezer trick to break free the shin, only to break off the foot. I glued it back on, and managed to do so without hindering the ankle joint. The articulation isn't the best, but you can manage some decent poses.

While not loaded with accessories, Batula has enough to make him a fun figure. Getting three heads is always good, and these swap easily. There's also three sets of hands: gripping, closed, and - my favorite - flipping off. There aren't a lot of figures that can give the bird, and these hands combined with the sunglasses head create a nice display. The skull and bone cane is something carried over from the ReAction, and it hides a sword on the inside. The vampire also has a goblet and flask, both of which have blood or some other red liquid inside of them. Lastly, there's an "unholy" book, which opens up to reveal a compartment that hides the flask.

Considering the overload of licensed properties in the world of Ultimates, it's nice to see something original. While the articulation issues hold him back from greatness, Batula is still a unique figure, with a cool sculpt and equally cool accessories. He may not be something everyone will go for, but if you can get him for less than retail, it wouldn't hurt.

- 12/22/22