Action Figure Barbecue: Action Figure Review: Scarecrow (Batman Begins) from DC Multiverse by McFarlane Toys

Hello there, action figure fans! Today is a day that you might want to mark on your calendars as it's sort of a big deal. Know what it is? Today is the day I'm reviewing my first McFarlane Toys Red Platinum Edition figure, and I believe it's actually the first Red Platinum Edition figure released: Scarecrow from Batman Begins. What's a Red Platinum Edition (or a Platinum Edition, for that matter)? Glad you asked. While I love McFarlane's DC Multiverse line, it's still stuck in the 1990s in a couple ways, one of those being the love of chase figures. In DC Multiverse, there are standard figures, Gold Label figures (which are typically exclusive to a particular store), and, until this year, there were just Platinum Edition figures. Platinum editions were essentially "chase" variants and came short packed in a case. Usually the Platinum figures were variants of another figure in the series and initially they were simpler things like all grey "artist proof" figures or silver and gold variants. Later on we started seeing palette swaps, head swaps, and then full on different characters. Last year there were even unique characters who were Platinum Editions (The Question and Shining Knight come to mind). For 2025, any figures who aren't a variant of another figure but are just a more short packed figure of a character are now classified as Red Platinum Editions. Make sense? OK, good. While we've had a Batman Begins version of Scarecrow already (back in in 2023), this version is a bit more basic like, like we see him in most of the film and in The Dark Knight. He's wearing his mask but just sporting a standard suit. Ready to check this guy out? Then join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 7 1/8ths inches

Articulation: Hinged toes, double swivel hinged ankles, double hinged knees, swivel/hinge hips, balljointed mid torso, swivel/hinge shoulders w/ ballsocket base, bicep swivels, double hinged elbows, double swivel/ hinge wrists, and a barbell jointed head..

Accessories: Four swappable hands, collector card, and display stand.

Non-Scalper Price: $23 dollars

Comparison:

* Here's a look at both this Red Platinum Edition Scarecrow (left) and the Scarecrow from McFarlane's The Dark Knight Trilogy series with the Bane build-a-figure (right). The lower bodies are the same as are the hands and the portraits, (though the heads have wildly different paintjobs).

The Positives:

* McFarlane has released quite a few versions of Scarecrow, both from specific comic storylines (Infinite Frontier and Last Knight on Earth, the videogame Arkham Knight, and a few versions of Scarecrow from the Nolan trilogy (including a Jokerized one!). This guy is the plainest by far but, at the same time, that's not bad. He's not the more standard comic book version that I really hope McFarlane puts out, but he definitely feels more like a basic Scarecrow for the collection, even if you're not collecting the movie based figures. His suit is pretty plain (I don't recognize if, it's it reused) but it looks fine. I wonder what the stuff on his shoulders is? It does look like it's present on the suit in some shots from his appearance at the beginning of the Dark Knight, so maybe it's something that comes off of the mask? It definitely adds a bit of character, though, making him not look so neat and clean.

* The Scarecrow's mask is reused from the previous figure. The previous figure seemed to capture Scarecrow as seen when someone had fear gas used on them while this one is painted to just look like the simple burlap mask with a noose around the neck and lots of seams. I still do like the sculpt of the mask and, since it's a separate piece, you can actually see the eyes peeking out from underneath. It's not removable or anything. Too bad we didn't get an unmasked Dr. Jonathan Crane head. Then you'd be that much closer to a Robert Oppenheimer action figure.

* Guy in a suit! You know what? For a guy in a suit, the action on this figure isn't too bad. The suit body is an overlay that rests over the articulation, so he really has a crazy amount of torso movement. Everything else is pretty standard DC Multiverse fair; maybe not the most nuanced articulation but solid and sturdy. Since he's not carrying a lot of extra stuff or a cape or anything, there's not much extraneous gear to impede his movement.

* Four swappable hands are included: two pistol grips, a right handed fist, and a open, gesturing left hand. They're easy to swap so you can arm the Scarecrow with a firearm if you have some to use from one of the McFarlane weapons packs or just have him making wild gestures.

* As almost always, a collectible card is included. This one doesn't use a poster or a still from the film, though. It uses art that seems to have been created just for the card. Some folks seem to think this is an image of the figure put through some sort of filter.

* You also get a disc stand to keep the Scarecrow standing strong on your shelf.

The Negatives:

* OK, so I have a complaint that might seem nitpicky, but bear with me; what was McFarlane Toys going for with this version of the Scarecrow? They reused the head but didn't repaint all the maggots and such to make the standout, like on the previous figure. If this was supposed to be a version of Crane from The Dark Knight, he needed a head without the maggots. If this is a fear gas vision of Crane, paint the maggots and let them stand out. Otherwise, this is just lazy reuse.

How's this new version of Scarecrow? Honestly, he's kind of an Eh and a 1/2 figure. He's nice to have but he isn't particularly exciting. If he'd had an alternate Dr. Jonathan Crane head with Cillian Murphy's likeness? That would have been quite cool. Maybe his briefcase with a scarecrow mask accessory? That would have been a really nice extra. This figure is just kind of plain, really. Not bad, just very, very plain. At least it's not the most desirable figure for a Red Platinum Edition, so all but the most diehard Nolan fans (I'm one, I know) probably won't miss him.

If you're looking for more of the Scarecrow, AKA Jonathan Crane, I've also reviewed the DC Multiverse Scarecrow (The Dark Knight Trilogy) and Scarecrow (Jokerized), Twister Strike Scarecrow from Kenner's Legends of the Dark Knight toyline, the Funko DC Primal Age Scarecrow, the Arkham Asylum Breakout Lego set which included Scarecrow, the Arkham Knight Scarecrow, the DC Nano Metalfigs Scarecrow (DC96), and the HeroClix Yellow Lantern Scarecrow.

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

Batgirl Cassandra Cain (Batgirls)
Batman & Spawn

Batman (Batman Begins) Gold Label

Batman (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns) Jokerized