Friday, February 10, 2023

Action Figure Review: Batman Duke Thomas (Tales from the Dark Multiverse) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   Today I'm looking at DC Multiverse figure from McFarlane that was released last year but that I've only picked up within the last month or two. It's Batman Duke Thomas from the limited series "Tales from the Dark Multiverse" a kind of "What If?" or Elseworlds take on key events from the DC Universe. I haven't actually read the series yet but I picked this figure up because it's really frigging cool and it was on sale at GameStop. It's a heavily armored up version of Duke Thomas wearing a batsuit crafted from the hide of the defeated Dragon, Barbatos. Oh, and he's carrying the Parall-Axe, a cross between an axe and an electric guitar. Originally Dick Grayson/Nightwing was toting it around but now Duke has it. There's a DC Multiverse figure of Duke Thomas as the Signal coming soon, but it doesn't have a wicked death metal guitar that's a multiversal frequency disruptor. Let's take a look aht the Dark Multiverse version of Duke Thomas as Batman after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 7 1/2 inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ ballsockets, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/ hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head..
 
Accessories: Parall-Axe, collector card, and display stand.
 
Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars







The Positives:

* This is a really cool take on Batman that reflects the styles of the Metal/ Death Metal comics, but also looks far more armored. It's medieval fantasy inspired, but it also almost looks robotic. When you look really closely, however, you'll be impressed by the textures on the suit; it looks like it's made of dragon hide and various bit of scales and such. The chest armor is quite heavy and solid but covered with dents and gashes. The bodysuit definitely looks to be made of flesh. It's actually softer from the waist up, going up under the heavier chest armor. The bat emblem on the chest and the one on the belt are quite chunky looking, very stylized and bold, and fitting the armored look of Duke's costume. I'm loving the pockets on his utility belt, too. The paint highlights the sculpt really nicely.





* Duke's Batman helmet is armored, looking like a mixture between a knight and the Rookie suit of the GCPD Batman. The "ears" are made from a soft, pliable material but they came out of the package fine and seem to hold their shape. While there's no real visible face here (just a black eyeline), there's still a bunch of personality and some cool paint applications across the helmet, which also looks like it's made from scales.


* Here's a closer look at the detail on the chest armor and the really cool "wrapped" gloves of Duke's suit. What do you think Duke Thomas made those claws on the suit out of? Maybe they're parts of Barbatos' wings or those things around his neck. They look kind of feather-like, but they're obviously something sharp and pointy. 





* The cape has a fantastic sculpt and a leathery texture, as you'd expect from a dragon-hide cape. There's also a really wicked looking spine-like protrusion popping out of the top of the armor, running down over the cape. 




* The boots are also really sick looking with some scale-mail like design and lots of cool straps and buckles. 


* Overall, the articulation on Duke Thomas' Batman suit is like most other figures in the line, though since the upper armor is so thick and it runs down almost to his waist, there is understandably a bit of restricted movement. The shoulders aren't as restricted as you might think, though, and everything has a great range of motion while also being very sturdy and durable. He's a lot of fun to pose and mess around with.



* The Parall-Axe is insanely cool. It's both an electric guitar (well, really a multiversal frequency disruptor) and an axe. Play some tunes, slay some bad guys; this thing does it all. 



* I still love that McFarlane Toys includes a display stand with each of their releases these days. It's just a simple disc stand with the DC logo on it but it works well and keeps the figure standing upright in most poses. The spikes on his back and his cape do make him a little back heavy, so you just might need to use this. 






* A collectible card is also included with the figure sporting an image of the figure itself. It's also nice to get an actual bio on the back. Not just a bio on the package; an actual bio you can keep. That's just really cool and it's not something we often get these days.










   Dang, this is an Epic figure. It's just so cool and metal. According to the Toddfather himself, Todd McFarlane makes most of the picks for the DC Multiverse line simply based on characters that he thinks look cool and will sell figures. While I'd love to see more classic versions of DC Characters and more women in the line, Todd's eye for just picking cool designs definitely gets us some neat looking figures that I feel like other companies have tended to skip. Whether you're a fan of this particular story where Duke Thomas wears this particular costume or you just like the idea of Batman rocking out to some heavy metal with a sweet guitar while wearing some amazing armor, there's a lot to love here. Duke's suit is big, bulky, and just makes him look like he's ready to rock and rumble. This guy is amazing and you need to check him out. 






  If you're looking for more of Batman, check out the Dark Knight Gallery for all of my Batman reviews.

For more of Duke Thomas, whether as Signal, Robin, Batman, check out my review of Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse Duke Thomas (We Are Robin).

For more DC Multiverse reviews from McFarlane Toys check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)








4 comments:

  1. Fantastic figure, a cool rock'n'slash figure. Don't know nothing about Duke Thomas, but...

    ...it's me, or the "heavily armored suit" instead makes Duke look more like if he was a bit overweight?

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    Replies
    1. Duke first appeared during the New 52 Scott Snyder/ Greg Capullo run, so he's been part of Batman and the DC Universe for almost a decade now, which is crazy to me!

      And I can definitely see what you're saying. He definitely looks chunky. I hand, though, it definitely looks and feels more like he's stout and just wearing a mountain of armor than him being overweight. Duke's pretty slim.

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  2. Bad ass looking figure. Would look great rocking by Eddie Munson from Stranger Things 4.

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