Monday, August 14, 2023

Action Figure Review: Two-Face as Batman (Batman: Reborn) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 


   Remember that time when Two-Face was Batman? It was a popular image from the teaser poster for Battle for the Cowl and appeared as a hallucination experienced by Dick Grayson while under the effects of fear gas, but that was it. Two-Face didn't run around dressed as Batman or anything in the comics. DC Direct released the looks as a figure back in 2010 and that might be the most memorable appearance of this design. Why did McFarlane Toys make this design? Well, it's a unique version of "Batman" for one, plus it's a Batman villain. Throw in that most of the figure is reused and you've got a pretty easy sell for the Batman-centric DC Multiverse line. Considering Batman and Batman-centric characters are the center of my DC collecting, I jumped on this one. I still have the DC Direct version from the Batman: Reborn line, too, though I might be willing to trade it off at this point. Let's take a look at Two-Face 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 ball jointed neck. 

Accessories: 4 Swappable hands, collector card, and display stand. 

Non-Scalper Price: $20 dollars






Comparison:

* Two-Face as Batman is on the left while the single release of Batman (Hush) is on the right. What's the difference? The paintjobs and the headsculpts. I guess it's a testament to the strength of the reuse, though, that I didn't even realize it was a reused sculpt until I had it in hand and started messing around with it. It looks and feels right, so no harm done.

The Positives:



* Built on the excellent Batman from Hush body, Two-Face gets the same muscular sculpt with solid costume details as that figure had. What really sets him apart is the new color scheme, though. The suit isn't just divided in half but mixed up with different colors patterns on the cape, utility belt, costume, and cowl. It's kind of like Harley Quinn's classic costume. The red is a solid but the other half is actually a mix of black and blue. It looks pretty good and seems a bit more intricate and shadowy than just a solid blue would be.



* Two-Face's bat-cowl has the ears coming out from the sides more, a bit more angled and looking more like devil horns. Both sides of his face feature excellent sculpting but the damaged side is obviously far more grotesque with some really nice work on Harvey's damaged face and exposed teeth. The mask is damaged itself while the suit isn't, but as best as I can tell that is accurate.


* For those of us who still remember how it used to be pretty common to open up a new Batman figure and find that his gauntlets were bent, it's a relief that McFarlane Toys does a great job of keeping that from happening.  Every time I open a new Batman figure (or, in this case, someone wearing a batsuit) and end up with sharp, pointy blades on the gauntlets, I smile.



* Two-Face's cape is a standard plastic cape. It's not terribly flexible but it does look nice with a lot of detail and a bit of a dynamic swoosh to the sides. It's also nicely and cleanly split in two with red on one side and black on the other (matching the cowl. 



* I really like the articulation on most DC Multiverse figures from McFarlane Toys and the Batman Hush base body is definitely a good design that we've seen used a few times now. It's solid, sturdy, and has a pretty good range of motion. Yeah, it's inhibited a bit by the plastic cape, but that's kind of unavoidable, I think. 




* Two-Face comes with four interchangeable hands, three of which are just standard swappable hands. You've got a pair of fists and a pistol grip right hand so you can add a firearm from one of the McFarlane Accessory Packs. 





* The fourth hand is a left hand holding Two-Face's luck coin. That's a neat detail and one every Two-Face figure should have.





* Included are the standard collectible card and the standard disc stand. They're nice extras and I'm always glad to have them with every release.

The Negatives:



* Most of the paintwork is excellent but the torso is a bit messy with red paint slop on the black and blue side and a muddy light down the middle that doesn't look as crisp and clean as it should.


   For being a figure that's mostly a repaint, Two-Face as Batman turned out really well. He's fun, colorful, and definitely a unique, deep-dive take on the character. While I'm still anxiously awaiting McFarlane's release of a standard comic Two-Face (we've got this one and the Dark Knight release), this one makes for a fun figure for the shelf. I don't need to have "Batman-ized" versions of every villain, though, but this version of the character was on a lot of marketing stuff during the Batman: Reborn era and I dig the look. Two-Face as Batman is a Great and a 1/2 figure, particularly if you're a Harvey Dent fan looking for some different takes on the character for your shelf. 

  
 I've reviewed a few toys of Harvey Dent/ Two-Face on the site: The DC Multiverse Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy), "Dual Destruction" Two-Face from Mattel's Batman: Power Attack line, the Pirate Batman and Pirate Two-Face two-pack from Kenner's Legends of Batman line, the Nano Metalfigs Two-Face DC29 from the 10 Pack Figure Collector's Set and Two-Face DC107, and the Rebirth Two-Face from Mattel's DC Comics Multiverse line.


For more DC Multiverse reviews check out the following:
Harley Quinn (The Suicide Squad)
Impulse (Flash War)
The Joker (Infinite Frontier)
Kalibak (The Darkseid War)
Man-Bat (DC Rebirth)
Mister Freeze (Victor Fries)
Nekron (Blackest Night)
Nightwing (Titans)
Project Superman (Flashpoint)
Raven (Titans)
The Riddler (Arkham City)
Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
The Signal Duke Thomas
Superman (Black Adam) Black & White Accent Edition
Superman (Superman: Lois and Clark)
Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy)









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