Thursday, April 25, 2024

Action Figure Review: Catwoman (The Dark Knight Rises) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

 

   McFarlane continues to release figures based on Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy and in 2024 we've so far received two different versions of Anne Hathaway's Catwoman. The first version was a McFarlane Toy Store exclusive and came with the Batpod while this second version is a Platinum chase exclusive that shipped in a case with some other versions of Batman from The Dark Knight and Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Anne Hathaway was a great Selina Kyle, though she's not my favorite Catwoman. I really liked Zoë Kravitz in The Batman but I'm not sure anyone can top Michelle Pfeiffer for me. Ever. Listen, I know she's a weirdly and wildly comic inaccurate Catwoman, but her performance is absolutely in a league of its own. Meow, indeed. I hope McFarlane gets around to releasing some figures from the Burton films. Those could be incredible. I don't even like Batman & Robin but the figures were really cool, and now we've got Batman Forever figures on the way (which is, in my opinion, the worst Batman movie). Of course, let's turn our attention back to the Dark Knight Trilogy and to Selina Kyle, AKA Catwoman. Let's check her out after the break...





The Facts:

Height: 6 3/4ths inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, thigh swivels, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed waist, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ ballsockets, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, swivel/ hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head.
 
Accessories: 6 Swappable hands, jewelry box, Batman mask, collector card, and display stand.
 
Non-Scalper Price: $23 dollars







Comparison:

* On the left is this Platinum Catwoman while on the right is the Catwoman from the Batpod set. They both use the same body but with different heads. The Batpod Catwoman's head sits higher so she can look forward more while riding the Batpod. I think her headsculpt/ paint might be a bit nicer than the single Catwoman. Her goggles do come down but don't flip up like cat ears. 

The Positives

* Catwoman looks quite nice, don't you think? There's no denying that Anne Hathaway is an attractive lady, but honestly, what Catwoman actress hasn't been gorgeous? Every Catwoman in film has had a slightly different take and I liked how Hathaway's Selina was different. She really came off as a very professional thief with some high tech gear and that characterization comes off nicely in her suit; it's not just a standard skin-tight suit but something that seems more functional, more fitting for a spy than a model. The belt doesn't move, but it is a separate piece, and there's a neat texture all over the body suit that differentiates it from the vinyl or pleather gloves and boots. 




* The detail continues all the way around. Catwoman's hair is also pretty nicely done and drapes over shoulders rather than just coming down straight. You can see back of her mask and goggles, too, and how it is really designed to stay in place. She's using more than just an elastic string. 






* The boots and gloves are very shiny and look great breaking up all of the black on the figure. She actually has joints at the thighs and biceps which separates the boots and gloves from the rest of her suit, making those accessories stand out even more.


* The articulation is really good. With those bicep and thigh swivels, Catwoman has more articulation than many other Mcfarlane DC Multiverse figures. Her movement is largely unrestricted and she can take some great poses. The only area that feels overly tight are her hips; you'll have to work with them a bit. I think that's because the waist piece is quite snug to make it look sleeker, avoiding the dreaded "diaper crotch" that some figures have had. 



* Selina comes with six swappable hands: A pair of loose grips, a pair of fists (which do have a problem, but I'll get to that in a minute), and a pair of open, gesturing hands.



* Catwoman comes with the jewelry box with the pearl necklace that she steals. It's a neat accessory, though not all that impressive as it's just one molded piece. The pearl necklace does get a paint application, though, and she can hold it.


* I really like the broken Batman mask. It's a great accessory to complement Bane, who didn't come with any accessories. It's too small to fit on the unmasked Batman figure from the line, but it looks like it's about the right size and it's quite detailed with lots of cracks and damage. 




* As (almost) always, we get a collectible card with Catwoman's image and a plastic disc stand. I'm still a fan of the disc stands and I wish more companies included something similar with their figures. 

* Let's talk about Catwoman's portrait. Like with many of McFarlane's portraits based on live action properties, I'm mixed on it. I think there's a pretty good Anne Hathaway sculpt here. The mask is a separate piece that sits over the face, too, which is a cool touch. 

The Negatives:

* Something is wrong with the mouth, though. It looks a bit.... off. I'm not sure. It could be the sculpt, it could be the paint. it's not a bad sculpt, but it just misses Hathaway's likeness. 

* McFarlane Toys is often criticized for their use of "diaper" crotches, a soft plastic overlay that fits over the waist to cover the joints. Catwoman's looks really good, better than most, when at rest, but it does make her hips very tight. When you pose her, it's pretty common for the hip joint to pop out and cover the overlay. I don't have a solution, but it happened a few times while posing her and got frustrating. 



* Most of the hands swapped easily for me but I could not get the fists to actually fit on Catwoman's wrist pegs. It feels like the wrist pegs are too large. Were these reused from another figure who had smaller wrist pegs? Are both fists misshapen inside? 


   As a Platinum figure, you're probably not likely to just see Catwoman sitting around. She's packed one to a case and McFarlane's DC Multiverse figures don't seem to be distributed as well as they were two years ago or so. That being said, if you're collecting the Dark Knight Trilogy stuff you probably already want her. She's a cool figure with some great features but she also has some weird flaws. The headsculpt is almost there, but not quite, and little things like the hip joint issues and the non-functioning fists do dampen some of the enthusiasm. Still, she does have some neat accessories, especially that broken Batman mask. She's a Good and a 1/2 figure though if you have the Batpod set, you'll have to decide if the new portrait and new extras here make her feel deserving of a second purchase. I'm pretty pleased with her, but your mileage may vary. 




   If you're looking for more of Catwoman/ Selina Kyle, I've also reviewed McFarlane's DC Multiverse Catwoman (Batman: Knightfall), Mattel's Classic TV Series Catwoman, the Legends of Batman special edition Catwoman, basic Catwoman, and Egyptian Batman & Egyptian Catwoman, the Lil Bombshells Catwoman, the Greg Capullo Catwoman, the Darwyn Cooke Catwoman, the Arkham Knight Catwoman, CultureFly's Tiny Mights Catwoman, and the Nano Metalfigs Catwoman DC44 from the series 3 5-Pack A and the series 3 10-pack and DC 112 from the Series 4 20-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)
Nekron (Blackest Night)
Nightwing (Batman: Knightfall)
Nightwing (Titans)
Project Superman (Flashpoint)
Raven (Titans)
The Riddler (Arkham City)
The Riddler (DC Classic)
Robin (DC vs. Vampires)
Robin- Tim Drake (Robin: Reborn)
Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Rises) Jokerized
Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
The Signal Duke Thomas
Superman (Black Adam) Black & White Accent Edition
Superman (Superman: Lois and Clark)
Superman Vs. Doomsday
Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
Two-Face as Batman (Batman: Reborn)










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1 comment:

  1. CarniviusApril 26, 2024 at 3:31 AM

    She looks fantastic to me and I don't usually like McFarlane figures much.
    She's grown to be my fave movie version of Catwoman as I've gotten older. I really didn't care for the Kravitz version (or that movie in general, I even fell asleep a bit at the cinema which I never done before) and Pfeiffer was great (never did understand how she suddenly becomes a world class gymnast and whip expert after falling out of a building) but my tastes have just changed and I really like this smarter and more grounded version and I really like her practical suit too. Yeah this figure's great.

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