Saturday, April 23, 2016

Action Figure Review: Batman (Last Rites) from DC Comics Icons by DC Collectibles

  DC Collectible's new DC Comics Icons line actually came out near the end of 2015, but I'll be honest and just admit that I was suspicious of it. It's a new line from DC Collectibles that didn't initially feature any Batman related characters other than Bats himself, it was the start of a new true 6 inch scale for DC Collectibles, and it featured more comprehensive articulation which had me a bit nervous. After seeing so many good reviews of this series, however, and hearing about the cool things DCC has in store for this line, I decided to bite by picking up a Batman figure. Let me say that I'm impressed based on Batman's appearance in the Last Rites storyline after Final Crisis, you may (or may not) be surprised to know that this is not Bruce Wayne! It's Dick Grayson! Thinking about it more, that's a pretty cool action figure first as far as I can remember off the top of my very tired brain. While this guy has been out for awhile, it's never the wrong time for a Batman review is it? Join me after the break...




The Facts:

Height: 6 inches

Articulation: Swivel/hinge ankles, boot swivels, double hinged knees, ball jointed hips, ab-hinge, mid-torso ball joint, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a barbell ball jointed head.

Accessories: 4 interchangeable hands, line launcher left hand hand, and 2 batarangs.

Designed by Ivan Reis and Sculpted by Paul Harding

Non-Scalper Price:$20-$25 dollars
 The Positives:

* Would you be surprised if I told you that not only is this figure superbly articulated, but it also feels as sturdy and durable (perhaps even more so) as anything coming from Hasbro and Mattel? This guy, while looking awesome, is also a really good legitimate toy. The joints are solid and well thought out.  I mean, the guy has an ab hinge and a mid-torso ball joint as well as double hinged elbows and knees. That's incredible!

 * I really like the design style of this line. While each character is based off of their appearance in a specific storyline they do have a nice, unified appearance that helps them to fit together cohesively. While you may not be able to tell at first glance that this is Dick instead of Bruce, the slimmer body and details on the suit do give it away if you're looking for it. It's a great Batman sculpt.

 * I want to draw your attention to two areas of the sculpt! First, notice that Batman's gauntlets are nice and straight. I'm always open to calling out any Batman figure with bent gauntlets but these are impeccable. Also, check out that utility belt. Yeah, it's not the utility belt most associated with Dick Grayson's Batsuit but it looks good, doesn't it? I love the pouches more than the capsules and this handles them perfectly. Nice paintwork on the buckle, too.


 * Batman comes with five interchangeable hands which can slide out at the wrist. The first four are two matched pairs: A pair of fists and a pair of gripping hands. These are actually really easy to swap and feel quite sturdy. I had no concern about the wrist peg snapping off at all, to be honest.


 * Batman's fifth alternate hand is a left hand holding a line launcher. The line launcher is a permanent part of the sculpt while the grappling hook and line are threaded through the line launcher's housing. It's nothing too fancy but it is a cool little extra that it kind of fun to play with and adds something different to the mix.

 * I know we went through a dry spell for years where Batman figures really didn't come with recognizable accessories such as grapnel guns and batarangs but fortunately it seems that companies producing Batman action figures have been rectifying this lately. The Icons Batman comes with two Batarangs and they both look incredible. Shiny and sharp. Just like my dog's teeth!

 * Besides just coming with two batarangs, check out that lovely grip! Yup, Dick's fingers are splayed so that he can properly hold the batarang in a variety of different ways. I love this! Combine he great hands sculpts, the batarangs, and the double hinged elbows and you can get some incredible looking poses out of this figure!
 The Negatives:





 * My biggest negative with this line is the scale. There's a little thing called scale creep that means over the years toylines in the "6 inch scale" have really jumped up, sometimes to as close to 7 inches. Your typical Marvel legends or Mattel DC figure tends to stand around 6 1/2 inches.  DC Collectibles is trying something a bit different here by putting these in a true 6 inch scale. From that end, there's nothing wrong here.

   Of course, what that does mean is that some 
collectors might be less likely to pick up a figure or two here to mix in with their pre-established collections. As you can see from the image above, not only is this figure noticeably shorter than a standard DC Collectibles release and a DC Comics Multiverse figure, but he's even shorter than one of Mattel's Movie Masters scale figures. I love the work here but there's going to be very little integration with any other superhero or DC line already out there, and I think that's a bit of a strange move on DC Collectibles' part.



* My only technical negative with this figure is the ball jointed head. It's not a deal breaker by any stretch of the imagination but it does tend to pop off a bit more easily than I would expect. It seems like the neck peg might be a bit too short and could stand to fit a little deeper into the head.






 I'm looking forward to what the DC Icons line has to offer. Had they been able to mix in with a DC Universe Classics collection I would have been more eager to jump in early. As it stands, I definitely am looking forward to the upcoming Batman themed figures (particularly the Stewart and Tarr Batgirl). If Batman is the standard we can expect, I'm rather hopeful that we'll see good things moving forward. This is not only an impressive looking action figure but a darn fine toy as well. This is a Great and a 1/2 figure and well worth a second look if you skipped him when he was first released.

While this is the first DC Icons figure I've reviewed, it's most certainly not the first Batman figure I've reviewed. I've reviewed dozens of Batman figures, including:

Of course, I've reviewed plenty of other Batman figures as well, including:

Batman by Mattel (2003)
Arctic Shield Batman

Batman by NECA (2013)
1/4 Scale Michael Keaton Batman

Batman Animated by DC Collectibles (2014)
The New Batman Adventures
Batman

Batman: Arkham Asylum by DC Collectibles
Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham City Bruce Wayne, Batman: Arkham City, and Batman: Arkham Knight five pack

Batman: Arkham City by DC Collectibles (2011)
Rabbit Hole Batman

Batman: Arkham Origins by DC Collectibles (2013)
Batman

Batman: Classic TV Series by Mattel (2013)
Batman
Surf's Up Batman

Batman: Classic TV Series Bendables by NJ Croce (2014)
Batman

Batman: Power Attack  by Mattel (2012)
"Blast and Battle" Batcave

Batman Unlimited by Mattel
Beware the Batman
The Dark Knight Returns Batman
Planet-X Batman
Vampire Batman



DC Comics Multiverse (2016)
Batman from Zero Year

DC Comics Multiverse: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
Batman

DC Comics Multiverse: Batman v. Superman by Mattel (2016)
Armored Batman

DC Comics Unlimited by Mattel
Injustice Batman

DC Total Heroes by Mattel
Batman 

DC Total Heroes Ultra by Mattel
Batman Beyond

Legends of Batman by Kenner
Cyborg Batman
Dark Rider Batman
Dark Warrior Batman
Deluxe Flightpak Batman
Deluxe Silver Knight Batman
Egyptian Batman & Egyptian Catwoman
Gladiator Batman
Knightsend Batman
Pirate Batman and Pirate Two-Face
Samurai Batman
Ultra Armor Batman
Viking Batman

Young Justice: Invasion by Mattel
Batman

Of course, since this is technically Dick Grayson in the suit, I've reviewed the following figures of Dick:

Lego: DC Superheroes (2012)
Batman: Man-Bat Attack


Legends of Batman by Kenner
Nightwing

The New 52 by DC Collectibles
Nightwing

10 comments:

  1. He looks good, I'll admit to having contemplated buying him more than twice

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    1. He's awesome. I'm not going all in on this line but I'm definitely looking forward to the Batman related figures and other favorites for sure.

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  2. They executed the ab crunch really well here.It looks more natural than the squared off look on Marvel Legends and Mattel DC.

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    1. Yeah, the engineering on this figure is pretty incredible. DC Collectibles really put some great effort into these and they're just fantastic.

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  3. Glad you're going over these! I didn't build up much from DC Universe, so I'm ready and willing to start DC figures with something new, but I haven't bought any of these yet. They are on my watch list for starting up a DC collection, though. He sounds good, and the issue of scale doesn't bother me at all.

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    1. Keep checking Amazon and you can find a number of these for around $16-$18 dollars.

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  4. Nope that isn't Dick Grayson. It says on the side of the package, "Last Rites". Dick didn't wore the cape and cowl yet until Batman #687 (Batman: Reborn) while Last Rites' issues were Batman #682-685, Detective Comics #851-852, Nightwing (Vol.2) # 151-152, and Robin (Vol.4) #183. And take note that Dick Grayson's Batsuit has only two spike fins on each gloves and had a Bat-emblem on his utility belt.

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  5. This isn’t Dick Grayson. Read last post. Last Rites Batman was Bruce Wayne.

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    Replies
    1. Yes indeed. For some reason (maybe due to the shortness of the figure (not that Dick is that short) I thought this was actually supposed to be Dick as Batman.

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