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

I still have quite a few McFarlane DC Multiverse figures I'm wanting to review but today I'm looking at the last figure I plan to review from the Batman Forever subset: Two-Face, as played by Tommy Lee Jones. The Batman franchise has always attracted big names to it, from the celebrity mainstays and guests of the classic Batman TV Series to today's trend of villains like the Joker, Penguin, Catwoman, and Harley Quinn getting their own spinoffs, both movies and TV shows. When Batman Forever came out in 1995 the casting for the movie was definitely pretty heavily talked about with Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Jones as Two-Face. Go and read others who were considered for the main villains (Robin Williams, Michael Jackson, Kelsey Grammar, and John Malkovich for the Riddler; Al Pacino, Martin Sheen and Robert DeNiro) and you can see that these roles had some crazy serious competition. I loved Batman Forever as a kid but over the years I've come to dislike it quite a bit. There are parts I still like, but now watching it I'm disappointed at how silly and non-threatening the villains are in the film. Despite the fact that Jones apparently told co-star Carrey at one point, "I don't like you. I hate you, and I cannot sanction your buffoonery," Jones cackles and yuks his way through this film, almost being as big of a goof as the Riddler himself. Two-Face has an amazing look, but looking back I wish Billy Dee Williams had gotten the chance to play the character. Let's take a look at the figure after the break and see how it turned out...

The Facts:

Height: 7 1/4ths inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, 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 right wing of the Nightmare Bat Collect-to-Build figure.

Non-Scalper Price: $25 dollars

The Positives:

* I've always liked the Batman Forever costume design for Two-Face. While many future projects toned Two-Face down quite a bit, Batman Forever did deliver a very visually striking look for the character that did seem to embrace the over the top look of the comic character. Two-Face's suit isn't burned here, like in some interpretations; instead it's a well designed suit with two symmetrical halves that are colored wildly different. The pink and black zebra striping is crazy, gaudy, and eye-catching, as is the animal print tie and shirt. It's a great visual look in the film and McFarlane pulled it off nicely with some pretty clean printing and a good assortment of colors. There does seem to be some reuse here since it's just a suit, but nothing that seems incorrect to me.

* The portrait is really good here. I think the headsculpts have been pretty strong on this series and the Batman & Robin series, too. Two-Face gets a portrait divided and the Harvey Dent side looks quite a bit like Tommy Lee Jones. I think it's quite more accurate than many other movie likeness figures McFarlane has put out in the past few years. The hair, the wrinkles, and the eyes look dead on. Cover the damaged side and you can see the Jones likeness quite well (though I also feel like it has a bit of a resemblance to Bela Lugosi for some reason).

* The damaged side of Two-Face's mug is pretty wicked looking. I love the bright fuchsia and magenta and the crazy hair. It's a neat and clean divide, but it sure looks like the comics. There's some really gruesome detail here and the missing ear is just crazy. This guy does give me a nostalgia hit for the vintage Kenner figure from 1995. You know, the one with the pistol molded in his hand, the rotating launcher, and the prop-replica damaged coin.

* Here's a closeup of Two-Face's jacket again. It is a separate piece over an inner torso that does have the regular balljointed mid-torso and waist. The print wraps the whole way around two, which you'd expect, though sometimes some companies cheap out on paint applications on the rear of figures.

* Two-Face's articulation is pretty good. Yeah, he's a dude in a suit, but he's a flamboyant dude in a suit so he needs to be able to express himself He's got a great range of motion and all of his joints work perfectly. You'll definitely need to gear him up with some weapons from one of the McFarlane weapons packs. Give him a gun or two and you'll be really satisfied with his action poses.

* Two-Face comes with four swappable hands, three of which are pretty standard (Two-Face is wearing a leather glove on his left hand, so that's why the hands vary). There's a left handed fist and a pair of trigger hands. You'll have to supply the guns, though it's nice that McFarlane did include them.

* The fourth hand is a coin flipping hand and it's really neat. The coin is actually made from what looks like three separate coins to give it the illusion of motion. DC Direct/ DC Collectibles and Mezco have done similar tricks in the past, so it's not exactly new, but it's still not a common feature you see, especially on a mass market figure.

* Like the rest of the figures in this set, you get a disc stand with the DC logo and a collectible card with an image of the Two-Face from the movie poster.

* 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. Harvey comes with the right wing. This thing is pretty big; larger than your average real life bat, I think.

How's Two-Face? He's actually pretty darn Epic and should please fans of the film and folks wanting a stand-in comic Two-Face (though we'll surely get one at some point, right? You know, purple and orange suit, green skin, slicked back black and white hair, eating sloppy steaks at Truffoni's). This guy is really good. Yeah, I'm not wild about the BAF, but I love the portrait here, the suit, the coin, and when you add in your own guns from one of the McFarlane weapons packs this guy is absolutely lit. I thought Robin was my favorite figure from this series, but dang if Two-Face doesn't edge him out just a bit...

I've reviewed a number of toys of Harvey Dent/ Two-Face on the site: The DC Multiverse Two-Face (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and Two-Face as Batman (Batman: Reborn), "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 McFarlane Batman '66 Two-Face, 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:

Aquaman (Flashpoint)
Arsenal (Titans)
Bane
Bane (The Dark Knight Trilogy)
Bane (Trench Coat) (The Dark Knight Rises)
Batcycle (The Flash)
Batgirl (Batman: Three Jokers) Jokerized