Saturday, October 26, 2024

Action Figure Review: Robin (Batman Forever) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   
   Halloween is almost here and while this isn't a 31 Days of Toy Terror review, nor is it a scary action figure in any way, this version of Robin from Batman Forever absolutely reminds me of Halloween. In 1995, when Batman Forever came out, I though Chris O'Donnell's Robin was the coolest. I remember finding the Kenner Street Biker Robin on the same trip to Target that I found the Riddler and Two-Face, so that was a huge deal, but it took me quite a bit more time to find Hydro Claw Robin, the first Robin that was actually in his costume. I think I put the animated series Robin on that figure and gave him the staff from the Toy Biz Joker figure to complete my ideal Robin at the time. For Halloween that year I dressed up as Robin and had a great costume that actually had a hard plastic chest plate. Sadly, my parents have not been able to find any pictures from that Halloween, so that's a bummer. Recently a friend shared an old picture of him and his brother as the Riddler and Two-Face from 1995 and I really wanted to show off my Robin costume. I'm pretty glad to get this guy as Robin is definitely the best part of Batman Forever (though Dr. Chase Meridian, Sugar, and Spice are close). I don't dislike Val Kilmer but I think he's pretty much the most boring Batman we've ever had. Chris O'Donnell as Robin, however, really worked quite well. It's a shame we didn't get to see him teamed up with Michael Keaton's Batman. This guy is a darn fine Robin figure, so let's take a look at him after the break...






The Facts:

Height: 6 7/8ths 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: Collector card, display stand, four swappable hands, and wing of the Nightmare Bat Collect-to-Build figure.
 
Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars







The Positives:

* In terms of Robin costumes, the Batman Forever Robin Suit is one of the best. It manages to still have the classic colors and be brighter in contract to Batman's suit, yet it also looks more mature. Definitely something an adult male wouldn't look out of place wearing compared to some of the older Robin costumes (O'Donnell was around 24 when the movie was filmed). The colors are great and the details like the body armor torso and belt look pretty good. I'm not a fan of the film itself these days as it's just aimless and the villains without menace, but there's little about Robin in this move I could criticize. Robin's a tough character to pull off in live action, hence why most adaptations have just ignored him, but Batman Forever does it well. I love how the suit is a mixture of Robin's circus background with elements of Batman's costumes.




* I never reviewed the Batman & Robin version of Robin but McFarlane nailed the O'Donnell likeness there and they've done the same again. This is really good. The domino mask is a separate piece and the eyes look excellent behind it (they are part of the mask I believe, but the effect still looks impressive). His hair is sculpted nicely as well with good texture and even a drybrush effect to give it some color and depth. 

* I'm always pleased when Batfamily gauntlets are rendered well with nice, pointy spikes and Robin's turned out excellent. Robin doesn't usually have these as part of a costume (or didn't at this point in comic depictions), but giving him elements of Batsuits that Bruce had in the cave which Alfred would have had access to was a pretty cool visual idea. Dick and Alfred didn't have unlimited time and resources to make a new suit, so the cobbled together nature of it makes sense. 






* The boots also have a distinctive Batman feel, borrowed from a Batsuit. They even have bat symbols (all black) right below the knee caps. There's some really nice sculpted wrinkles and creases here, giving them the impression of actual material.



* The cape is excellent. It's thick and feels like it's made from a nice, high-quality material with a cool, almost jersey-like material lining it. It looks excellent and fits the figure quite well.

* It's also wired, allowing you to pose Robin with his cape blowing in the breeze, or flowing behind him as he's running alongside Batman. 






* Robin is light on accessories, only coming with four swappable hands. You've got a pointing right hand, a gesturing left hand (like he's tossing something), and a pair of fists for pummeling Two-Face and his goons. Everything swaps easily, so you've got some nice options. 








* Robin has excellent articulation, the same as most other DC Multiverse figures. The joints are tight, there's a pretty good range of motion, and he's solid and durable. There's hasn't been much innovation in the articulation in this line over the past four years or so but the figures are definitely solid and should please anyone except those looking for articulation on the level of something like a Figma toy. The wired cape really adds to the display options, too. 



* Were you expecting a disc stand with the DC logo and a collectible card with an image of the Robin from the movie poster for Batman Forever? Because that's what you get here. 







* These Batman movie based sets have included build-a-figures and Batman Forever's is definitely the strangest. The Dark Knight Trilogy series got Bane, the Batman & Robin series got Mr. Freeze, and this series gets... the Nightmare Bat? Yup. From a deleted scene where Val Kilmer's Bruce encounters a giant bat vision. It's a cool deleted scene and would have added some needed depth to the film, but it is a weird BAF. I would have rather had Bane from Batman & Robin, or Dr. Chase Meridian, or Sugar, or Spice. Robin comes with the left wing. This thing is pretty big; larger than your average real life bat, I think. 


* The Batman Forever series is pretty strong, and that's probably high praise coming from me considering I don't like the film all that much. This is a really good take on Robin, though. He's definitely the strongest figure in the series. I just really like this guy. It'd be cool if he came with a gadget or something, even though he didn't really use much in the film that I can recall. In the video game for Batman Forever Robin used a staff, which I always gave to my toy Robin and carried as part of my Halloween costume. This is an Epic figure, though, and I'm super glad to have him as part of my collection.



 If you're looking for more reviews of Dick Grayson as Robin, Batman, or Nightwing, I've also reviewed the DC Multiverse Nightwing (Titans) and Nightwing (Batman: Knightfall), Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse Dick Grayson Batman, the Lego Batman: Man-Bat Attack which includes Nightwing, the Kenner Legends of Batman Nightwing, the DC Icons Hush Nightwing, the New 52 Nightwing, the McFarlane Super Powers Nightwing, the Jada Nano Metalfigs DC103 Nightwing, and Robin from the Teen Titans Go! To the Movies line.

  If you're looking for more Robin reviews in general, no matter who is using the title, I've also checked out Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse Damian Wayne Robin (Robin War)Duke Thomas (We Are Robin)Red Robin (DC Rebirth), and Robin (The Dark Knight Returns), the McFarlane DC Multiverse Robin- Tim Drake (Robin: Reborn) and Robin (DC vs. Vampires), the McFarlane DC Page Punchers Robin (Fighting the Frozen), the Jada Nano Metalfigs DC102 RobinRobin from the Batcave set, DC56- Robin (Tim Drake), and the Teen Titans Go! To The Movies Cyborg, Robin, Slade, Starfire, and Wonder Woman 5-Pack.

For more DC Multiverse reviews check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Impulse (Flash War)
The Joker- Bank Robber (The Dark Knight)
The Joker (The Dark Knight Rises) Jokerized
The Joker (Infinite Frontier)
The Joker- Sonar Vision (The Dark Knight)
Justice Buster (Batman: Endgame)
Kalibak (The Darkseid War)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)
Mister Freeze (Victor Fries)





3 comments:

  1. I dunno. I like the movie well enough but Robin was always my least fave thing in it. I just found him annoying and unlikable. The figure looks decent though has the nipple and crotch thing (which I'm at least glad this Robin is much older cos that on typically young Robin would be even more weird) but again it's the bat I like most. Wondering if maybe I bought all the figures then sold them off and kept the bat parts. I gotta hope there's enough folk who want the movie characters themselves and aren't interested in the bat.

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    Replies
    1. I don't know what the cost would be to ship the bat because I've been trying to sell mine off. He is quite cool.

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    2. oh it would be too expensive to the UK but thanks for the thought. :)

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