Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Action Figure Review: Arkham Knight from Batman: Arkham Knight by DC Collectibles

 Today I'm looking at one of the newest Batman villains: The Arkham Knight. Having appeared in this past summer's Batman: Arkham Knight videogame as well as the tie-in comic books Batman: Arkham Knight and Batman: Arkham Knight GENESIS, 2015 has been a huge year for the Arkham Knight. It's always exciting to get a new Batman character or villain in action figure form but is the Arkham Knight a new character or a familiar face from Batman's past? Rocksteady Studios did a great job of keeping the identity of the Arkham Knight a secret although many Batman fans felt they had a pretty good ideas as to the character's identity. While a statement or two from Rocksteady Studios about the character turned out to not be true (or at least highly misleading), my initial guess was correct and the Arkham Knight was indeed.... Read more, with spoilers, after the break...


The Arkham Knight is indeed Jason Todd, the second Robin who has since become Red Hood in the comics. I don't mind this plot twist, but Rocksteady Studios did state that the Arkham Knight was a new character. Whether they were flat out trying to throw off fans or they meant that Arkham Knight was a character new to the Arkham videogame series can be debated, but let's get on to the merits of the figure itself, shall we?

 The Facts:

Height: 7 1/4 inches tall

Articulation:Swivel/hinge ankles, double hinged knees, swivel thighs, ball jointed hips, hinged abdomen, mid-torso swivel, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel/hinge elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, and a ball jointed head.

Accessories: Rifle

Non-Scalper Price: $18-$25 dollars
The Positives:

* The sculpt on this figure is incredible! The Arkham Knight's outfit is covered with a variety of textures and details that help to convey that this is an incredibly high tech and well armored battle suit. It definitely conveys the Knight's role as kind of an anti-Batman, something that an angry Jason Todd certainly could get behind.


* Here's a look at the figure's back as well as some shots of the various paintwork on the figure. Arkham Knight features some exceptional paintwork such as dry brushing on the armored panels and an excellent red and black digital camouflage pattern.

* The Arkham Knight has some wicked gauntlets that look incredible. They're definitely Batman inspired but look less dramatic and more utilitarian and functional. Honestly, Arkham Knight's costume reminds me of a Batman outfit if it were restyled to be grim and gritty. It's kind of extreme, as if a grim and gritty 1990's comic book character had returned and crafted something with modern technology. Huh. Kind of like Jason Todd!


*The Arkham Knight's dual pistols connect together to form a tactical rifle which the Knight uses as somewhat of a sniper rifle. This is an incredibly cool piece of equipment that has a slick paint job and a nicely detailed sculpt. I love it. If you want the single pistols they were available with the Gamestop Exclusive Red Hood figure. Notice you can see the Red Hood bat emblem on the rifle.


* Here's a closer look at the Arkham Knight's belt: You can see the various ammo pouches, grenades, and explosive devices he's carrying around. It really just looks very cool and the paint work is pretty impressive on it.

* When I get into the negatives section, I'm about to harp on the articulation of this figure as it's definitely the weak point. That being said, I do like the fact that the Arkham Knight's shoulder armor is made from a soft, pliable rubber. It looks great, adds a more dimensional, layered quality to the appearance of the armor, and hides the shoulder articulation nicely.





 The Negatives:

* While the sculpting on the mask is quite well done, I'm disappointed that DC Collectibles didn't try to capture the glowing blue tech readouts on his helmet. Considering that DC Collectibles held this figure back for almost 4 or 5 months in order to prevent spoilers about the character's identity (although some early samples got out) I was also expecting a removable front panel to show off Jason Todd's face.
 The Negatives:

*A big disappointment I have with this figure is that he cannot hold his rifle with both hands effectively. He can hold it but it's a bit strained and he's definitely not holding the front grip. The lack of double hinged elbows (or a wider range of motion on the hinge) prevents this guy from being able to hold really cool poses he should be able to take.

* Another disappointing thing about the articulation is that the hip articulation is really restricted. While the ankles and double-hinged knees are incredible, the fact that hips are so overly tight and limited in motion makes those features almost useless. That's disappointing as the Arkham Knight is definitely a character who needs to be able to move around and show off his skills.




While the articulation is disappointing compared to other figures in the line, it's definitely not what I would call bad. In fact, there's nothing bad about this figure that I can tell. It's still a really good figure. The sculpting and paintwork on this guy is incredible and, even though it's Jason Todd under there, this still feels like a new Batman character. Of course, there aren't that many Jason Todd figures out there, so another one is definitely welcome. This guy gets a Great rating from me and is another strong entry in the so far incredible Arkham Knight line.


I reviewed the Gamestop exclusive Red Hood from this line, so I guess I have reviewed another figure of this character!

I've reviewed a few other figures from the this same line:

Batman: Arkham Knight by DC Collectibles (2015)
Harley Quinn
Scarecrow 

I've also reviewed plenty of other figures and toys from the various Arkham games

Hot Wheels: Batman by Mattel (2015)
Batman: Arkham Knight Batmobille

Batman: Arkham City by DC Collectibles (2011)
Clayface
Dr. Hugo Strange
Rabbit Hole Batman
Solomon Grundy
Talia al Ghul

Batman: Arkham Origins by DC Collectibles (2013)
Anarky
Bane
Batman
Black Mask
Deadshot
Deathstroke
Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Electrocutioner, and Lady Shiva
Firefly
The Joker
The Joker as Red Hood, Copperhead, & Deathstroke (Unmasked) Action Figure 3-Pack
Killer Croc

DC Comics Multiverse by Mattel
Mr. Freeze from Arkham City 

7 comments:

  1. Why don't you make a post about the latest MAFEX action figures - Batman and Superman. They look awesome. Check out the textures and the cape - it's wired and fully customized : batman and superman action figures

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    1. I don't own those so I haven't reviewed them yet. I've reviewed the Joker Mafex, though, and it really was a nice figure. If I ever pick these up I'll gladly cover them.

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  2. That's just a great figure!I haven't been keeping up with the Batman universe,but I think this should have been his new uniform,or at least an alternate battle suit.

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    1. It really is a good figure. Some odd articulation choices but overall pretty solid. Have you seen the Thrasher suit that Batman uses in the New 52? He's only used it a time or two but it's a pretty cool upgraded suit.

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  3. I recently bought the Red Hood version of this action figure for around 277 US dollars (at the present rate of exchange)at a comic book shop. I agree that the articulation should be much better at that price (he should be able to assume a kneeling and a standing sniper's pose, at the very least). He's a lot like my HALO Reach Jorge figure -- tall, hefty, but kind of disappointing in terms of articulation (Jorge has a slightly better range of movement). But Red Hood and Jorge both won me over because of their overall design, look, and feel so I still think Red Hood--like Jorge--is a high point of my collection.

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    1. Wow! That's high-dollar but I'm glad you were able to add one to your collection. I'm glad I preordered mine from Gamestop back before he was ever released!

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  4. Love the grapple gun. Does it fit in the dark detective's hand?

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