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Write a Review link for that item. Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) (McFarlane)McFarlane's been doing well when it comes to DC, especially now that they're re-releasing older DC Collectibles figures. I got the first wave of their BTAS reissues/redecos, and while I found them mostly underwhelming, they were enjoyable. The second wave came out a while back, and I found it much better, especially since it has not one, but two new figures that weren't in the original line. One of the new figures is another version of Batman, based off the episode "Blind as a Bat." In the episode, Bruce Wayne was rendered blind by the Penguin, so he has this special headwear made for him to aid his vision. The helmet is spot on to the episode, complete with a cord (shame it can't go into the belt like in the show), though the shape of the chin is still inaccurate, being closer to TNBA than BTAS. He has an extra head with the cowl on, and it's the same as the wave one Batman, just with red eyes. At 6 1/4" tall, he uses the same body as the earlier Batman, which itself is reused from the one that came with the DCC Batcycle. The paint seems to have improved, with lighter shading on the suit, and I'm glad they changed it, as the ugly, dark shading was my biggest complaint with the first wave. His skin tone is much lighter, however, and lacks shading, so it's still not perfect. The articulation is the same as before, with a ball/hinge head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, swivel forearms, waist, and shins, ball-jointed hips, double-hinged knees, and an ab crunch. However, the hips seem to have improved. The first wave Batman had needlessly tight hips, to the point where one of the joints twisted apart. It doesn't feel like that'll happen here, as the hips move more fluidly, but are still tight enough to hold a pose. Aside from the extra head, Batman has two sets of gripping hands and three batarangs. The batarangs utilize a different sculpt than from wave one, and I'm not sure if these are newly-tooled or not, but it's nice to have a bit of variety. Next, we have the Joker, and like Batman, this is a more specific look. He's wearing the fedora and trenchcoat, coming from what I believe is "Joker's Favor," and this mold is reused from the old "Expressions pack" Joker DCC did, and I can tell because of how easily the arms can pop out. The coat is glued onto the torso, since there's no purple coat parts here, and it's a rubbery material, so it doesn't interfere with the leg movement too much. Irene Matar, the usual go-to for the initial animated releases, provided the clown prince's sculpt, and it captures him very well. Standing 6" tall, he has his usual grin, and it looks great, but the eyes being plain white instead of yellow gives him a somewhat cheaper look. On the bright side, the paint is very clean, and the shading isn't too dark on the coat and shirt, though the pants shading could be a smidge lighter, and it doesn't go up to the waist. It's only a minor nit, and he looks great overall. The Joker's articulation is more in-line with what you'd expect from this line, having a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists, swivel waist and ankles, T-crotch and hinged hips, and hinged knees. The hips look awkward when going out to the sides, due to how low the hinges are placed, and the lack of motion in the ankles prevent him from dynamic stances, but you can still work with what's here to provide some decent poses. Out of everything from that old expressions pack, all the Joker gets is extra hands: two closed, three sets of grips, and a pair of machine gun hands seen on the Joker bots from "Christmas with the Joker." If WB was more okay with firearms for toys, his "BANG" gun would've been a great inclusion, along with an extra head or two. Our other villain in the wave is the Riddler, and out of all of them here, he's my favorite. The sly smirk fits Edward Nygma's personality well, and it's spot-on to the show's style. Another 6" tall figure, his design is a good depiction of Bruce Timm's art style, with slender legs and a slightly bigger upper torso. His angular frame looks just fine, aside from some wear on the back of the neck. The paint is also a big plus, as while he's a lighter shade of green than the original release, the shading is excellent, and the application of the colors as a whole is clean. He moves the same as the Joker, aside from the lack of wrist hinges, which doesn't limit him too much, and he comes with three sets of hands (wide grip, tight grip, and closed) as well as his cane. He doesn't have the "Wacko Toys" display as before, but I guess it was cut to make room for the build-a-figure parts. Batman can't be the only good guy here, so the last regular figure in the wave is Commissioner James Gordon. I keep thinking the figure is chunkier than it should be, but nope, it's accurate. He's alongside the Riddler as the best sculpt here, with his proportions being accurate to the show, and the neutral but stern expression is pretty good. Like the Joker, his coat is a piece of rubber glued onto the torso, and the material allows for unrestricted leg movement, better than the Joker's. The paint is very clean for a mass market figure (well, a Target exclusive), and like the others, the colors they chose for the shading contrast with the rest of the colors just fine. His articulation is also the same as the Joker's, and he comes with three sets of hands: gripping, gun grip, and closed. He doesn't have his pistol this time, but he still has his megaphone, giving the trigger-finger hands some use. Rounding things out here is another one of those build-a-figures McFarlane likes to do, this one being Lyle Bolton, a.k.a. Lock-Up. He's split up in parts amongst the four figures: Gordon has the head and shoulder pads, Batman has his torso, Joker has his arms, and Riddler has the rest of him. The parts pop together easily, with no need for heat unlike the Condiment King. Most of his head is covered with a black mask, save for the eyes, but the rest of his facial features are prominent behind it. There's decent shine on the mask, but some of it bleeds onto the eyeholes. Bolton is taller than the others at 6 3/4", with a bulky build and a solid plastic torso, and it makes sense as he's supposed to be big and intimidating; this is someone who was able to horrify Scarecrow, after all. The sculpt is very nice, and making the shoulder pads a separate piece makes sense because of how big they are, though there's a little bump in the abdomen, probably an air bubble that got in during tooling. The paint isn't as good as the others, unfortunately, as there are marks and bleed on the color, and the shading on the suit could've been better. Articulation is good with a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, swivel waist, ball-jointed hips, and hinged knees, and there's no issue with joints here, a good improvement over the Condiment King. There's also a little police baton for him to hold, packed in with the Riddler, and he looks nice with it. This wave definitely feels like an improvement, thanks to the improved joints and shading, and they feel great in-hand. My only issue is the lack of accessories, especially with the Joker, but they're still a good value, thanks to the BAF parts. A third wave's been confirmed, with the inclusion of a regular Bruce Wayne, and I look forward to when it drops. - 6/11/24   by RMaster007 |
| Leonardo Leads (Pizza Club) |  | Submission Order |  | Raphael (In Disguise) |
| Robin | | Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) Series | | Alfred Pennyworth |
| Leonardo Leads (Pizza Club) | | Written by RMaster007 | | Raphael (In Disguise) |
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