Play Arts Kai Armored Batman - Square Enix Figure Review

Square Enix continues their Play Arts Kai Batman Arkham Asylum line with figure No. 3: Armored Batman. With ultra-detailed sculpts, multi-layered paint applications, tons of articulation and a handful of useful accessories, it's hard to pass these figures up, despite their hefty price-tag. I initially passed on Armored Batman, but later gave in, and I'm glad I did!

Armored Batman comes in a standard Play Arts window-box. There's plenty of clear plastic to show off the figure, in theory, but there's a second plastic tray overlaid atop the figure. It keeps everything in place VERY securely, but it also makes it more difficult to see the fine details of all the goodies inside.

Armored Bats comes with 2 spare "open" hands, which can be swapped out for the fists he comes attached with. There's also a batarang and a grapple gun to round out his accessories. There's a small, unnecessary insert showing how to switch out the hands, as well.

The package is attractive and features lots of bright colors and designs, while also protecting the contents effectively and showing them off.

The back of the box shows some in-action poses for Batman, and a small shot of the "partner figure" of the wave: Harley Quinn.

Armored Batman stands a little more than 9 inches tall, which means he won't fit in with any of your other figures, except for the rest of the Play Arts Batman line. The larger scale demands a higher attention to detail, and this is where the line shines. The sculpt is fantastic. Armored Batman is ARMORED, from the super-sharp tips of his pointed ears to the protective overlays on the tops of his boots. The armor is textured to look like burnished steel, with lots of deep shading in between plates and crevices. The cape has a leathery look, with light blue highlights brushed along the raised edges. Shin guards, gloves and forearm shields are a deep purple, with plenty of nicks and gouges to make them seem well-used. Play Arts hasn't skimped on the "little things", either. The cowl has tiny steel rivets around the temples, the circular gauges on Batman's forearm guards have blue highlights in the recesses, and the gloves feature steel highlights at the knuckles. It's a brilliant sculpt, with an appropriately detailed paint-job.

The cowl and face are particularly well-done. There are more sharp edges to this cowl than the regular one, especially around the eyes. It makes for a more menacing look. I'm not thrilled with the jaw-piece, in terms of the look, but the face itself is incredibly life-like in appearance.

I've heard some complaints that Play Arts overdoes the washes on their figures, making them look "dirty", rather than allowing the drybrushing to highlight the details of the sculpt. I can understand the argument. 

I found the highlights on Ryu and Akuma to be too dark, but on a figure like this, it works well, with the exception of the thighs- I find the dark highlights too thick and deep there.

Every Play Arts figure I get seems to have one small paint "slip" somewhere- my Chun Li and Cammy figures each had a paint drip on their faces. Armored Batman here has an odd "run" under the tip of one wing on his chest bat-symbol. It looks like the paint was still wet and got smeared somehow during production. It's not a major issue, but it is annoying, especially on a specialty market figure that runs nearly $60.

Batman's cape is a 3-piece, articulated feature. The actual cape itself is split into 2 parts, each attached to the figure's back via a large ball-joint.

The joints are nicely hidden, and the cape can be adjusted to add a good bit of life to the poses. The tips are also stiff enough to help keep this back-heavy guy upright. Flared out, they give Batman plenty of intimidating girth. The top portion is a little less helpful. Despite being rubber, the way the sides drape over the shoulders really hinder the arm articulation. Batman's got ball-jointed shoulders, but his arms have little to no lateral movement, and forget about raising them above his head- he won't be shooting that grapple up to any rooftops here.

In terms of articulation, Batman's got lots. But the real question isn't how many joints are there, but how well do they work together? The joints are hideous, no doubt. The neck looks goofy and the balls at the elbow and wrists are hard to ignore, but this guy is a ton of fun to play around with.

The double-jointed knees allow Batman to take some really deep stances, and the cape helps keep him up. The bicep swivels were stuck and took some work to free-up, but once I did, I also discovered that the shoulders have an added joint that allows the arm to come across the chest a bit.

I've only got two real gripes with the articulation. One, the head doesn't have much upward tilt, which I would like. And two, the arms are too restricted at the shoulders. The rest of the articulation takes some getting used to, and my figure's left hip seems a little asymmetrical compared to the right, but once I got the hang of things, I really got a kick out of posing this guy.

If you're a fan of the Arkham Asylum and Arkham City games, buying this Batman is a no-brainer. Play Arts is creating a unique set of collector action figures that are fun to play with. I'm in on this line for the long haul, and can't wait for Catwoman and Arkham City Batman, despite the high price tag.

Arkham City Batman - DC Collectibles Series 3

DC Collectibles Arkham City Series 3 action figures hit comic stores this past Wednesday. The wave features Azrael, Penguin, 2 Joker Thugs, Ra's al Ghul, and this Batman. First off, I'd suggest you avoid buying any of these sight-unseen. The entire batch I looked through had paint issues of one kind or another (I couldn't actually find a single Ra's I liked out of 4 of them in the store). I'd predict that one big question collectors might have, is whether shelling out another 20 bucks for this Batman is worth it: how different is he from the Arkham Asylum Series 1 Batman? I'm hoping this overview gives a bit of an answer to that question...

AC Batman is mostly the same as AA Batman, with few slight exceptions:

• AA Batman came with a Batarang, while AC Batman comes with the Explosive Gel gun
• AA Batman features blue paint on the cowl, boots, trunks, and forearm guards, while AC Batman is black
• AA Batman's chest bat-symbol is sculpted, while AC's is painted on
• the belts are slightly different in design and paint
• AC's right hand is a (tiny) fist, while AA's is open
• AA's face (the part that shows) is painted with a dark wash added, while AC's face is that odd flesh-colored plastic, with no paint (like AC Catwoman's)
• AA's outfit features silver "rivets", while AC's rivets are unpainted
• AA came with a stand, AC does not

I think that about covers it. The detail differences are pretty minor, so AC Batman is a great opportunity to pick up a game-version Batman if you missed out on the AA version.

That said, I really feel like DC Collectibles has gone to a different factory or something with their Arkham City figures. The overall quality and attention to detail of the Arkham figures has noticeably dropped in the time between the Asylum and City figures (to me, anyway). I found Riddler, Mad Hatter and Catwoman to be particularly disappointing. The flesh-plastic is starting to look like the same stuff those terrible Mass Effect figures use. I'm a bit more pleased with this release, but I'd really suggest examining your choices closely (if possible, especially the eyes) before buying: Penguin's monocle eye is hit-or-miss in terms of paint, the Azraels I saw had some paint drips around the eyes, the Clowns can look permanently startled, and all of the Ra's al Ghuls I saw had misaligned eyes...

Here's Arkham Asylum Series 1 Batman, for comparison's sake...

UPDATE: Ok, so I finally got around to opening the Arkham City Batman, and all I've got to say is...WOW. This guy is terrible in so many ways it's almost difficult to put into words: the quality control is simply appalling. The paint is mostly absent- even the body is a shiny cheap-looking plastic. The packaging is terrible: he has a warped ear, the blades on the gauntlets are bent nearly completely around, his right leg is bowed. Loose joints at the right shoulder, left shoulder and right knee. The gauntlets are sculpted at a bizarre angle, bending out away from the elbows, and the right fist belongs on a 3 3/4" figure, not this one...Awful, awful, awful...don't buy it is all I can recommend...

The Bat - The Dark Knight Rises Hot Wheels die-cast vehicle

By now, everyone knows that The Bat was the cool new vehicle introduced to the Batman in this summer's "The Dark Knight Rises". We've gotten several versions of the Tumbler Batmobile, first introduced in "Batman Begins" and the Batpod from "The Dark Knight", but only one Bat (Mattel's version) so far, which I never bothered to pick up, as I found it to be hugely overpriced and underdetailed. I was very surprised to stumble across a die-cast metal Bat as part of the new wave of Hot Wheels Batman vehicles at my local Wal-mart, and this was one I couldn't pass up...

The new Hot Wheels wave includes The Bat, the Batpod, a 1980's version Batmobile, and the Batmobile from "Batman and Robin". They all come in blister packs with a drab brown cardbacks customized as to the source (movie, etc.), and sell for about $8. 

I'm not sure about the scale for The Bat, but it measures about 4" long, and comes with a flimsy plastic "stand". The top of the carapace is die-cast metal, while the underside and most of the rest is plastic. The canopy is a single piece of clear plastic, allowing a view of the seat inside the cockpit.

The shape and outer detailing of the vehicle is very good at this scale. The panel engravings are a little "soft" (not very deep or pronounced), but the overall shape and look is great.

The underside reminds me of a lobster tail, mostly because of the curve and the panels. There are two plastic rotors awkwardly placed and non-functional under there.

The post of the "stand" fits into a hole in the center, but the ship tends to tilt to one side, and the stand arm isn't long enough to keep the vehicle off the ground. The ball is just a little too small to be snug enough to hold any "poses", so the stand really only functions to keep the back end up a little.

From the front, the ship looks as it should, with missile pods and what-have-you gathering most of the attention.

The Bat is a great little display vehicle. It's got just enough detail to look cool, is accurate enough and cheap enough to be fun, and garners more pros than cons. If you are a fan of the film(s) and the design, you really can't go wrong with this little guy. If it was priced $2 cheaper I would have bought 2...

Ben 10 Omniverse - GRAVATTACK

With a new Ben 10 cartoon comes new toys. The first Omniverse releases have hit retail, and a few of the aliens are ultra-cool. Today I'm taking a peek at Gravattack...

The new cards match the look and colors of the previous Ben 10 incarnations. They are eye-catchingly colorful, appropriately sized, show off the figure well and include a nice cross-wave photo on the back. There's no personalization to the card, or any information about this particular alien to go by, so I'll just have to wait for the show to hit full-swing to see what Gravattack can do.

The figure itself has a great design. He's some kind of giant rock-like head with arms and legs. The Omnitrix symbol sits on his forehead, and he's got tons of sculpted rock-detail on his arms and legs. The figure feels hollow, but still seems sturdy enough to stand up to some rough play, which is what I would expect. 

Gravattack sports a fantastic paint job! I count 8 different colors on this little guy, and they all work well to give him some real flair. The apps are consistent and sharp. The sculpt and paint are the two biggest strengths of this figure.

Articulation is minimal, much as it has been for most Ben 10 figures. Gravattack gets cut shoulders and hips and single pin elbows. That's it- 6 points. He won't be taking any fantastic poses, but he'll get the job of standing done well.

The new figures come with a tiny (really tiny!) version of themselves on a little skateboard thing that will clip onto the Omnitrix toy. The detail on the mini is fantastic and it should be fun to Omnitrix with until it gets lost under the sofa somewhere.

Gravattack is a great new release. The sculpt and paint combine to create a unique and eye-catching addition to any display, he's bound to be fun to play with, and at $7 he's wildly affordable. I'm looking forward to the new cartoon, and to the other Omniverse releases! Aliens, aliens, aliens!

DC Universe Classics All-Stars BATMAN (The New 52)

There's a new Batman in town, and he's the best to come around in a long time. DC Universe Classics is in the process of re-inventing itself, as is the entire DC Comics universe. Taken together, its a great opportunity for a new version of The Dark Knight.

Having little-to-no nostalgic attachment to any particular look of the character, the idea of new costume designs really doesn't bother me. If the character looks cool, that's really all I care about. So, how cool is this "New 52" version of Batman?

In short, All-Stars "New 52" Batman is now my current all-around favorite. The sculpt is fantastic, and he's got most of the elements I seem to like in a Batman figure: pupil-less eyes, short ears, clenched-mouth grimace, and dark colors. Batman has sculpted lines on his suit and a sculpted, raised Bat-symbol on his chest. The cape is a new design, with the front draping farther over his shoulders and the back sporting a more-symmetrical flow. The armored boots and gauntlets look great, and get a semi-glossy black finish. The paint-work is generally good, with one notable exception: the edges where the flesh meets the cowl can be quite sloppy (and this seems to be a wide-ranging problem). I got 2 figures, one perfect and the other with black paint overspill onto his upper lip, giving him an unseemly "mustache". 

 

I was able to fix it with some flesh colored paint, but you may want to avoid buying "site-unseen" so you can pick the best paint job possible. The figure itself is cast in dark bluish-gray plastic. It's a lot darker than the prototype picture shows on the back, or than the DC Collectibles version, but it works just fine for me. Because the plastic is so dark, there doesn't seem to be any airbrushed highlights like the prototype pic shows, either, with the exception of the underside of the cape, which does sport some blue highlights. This Batman is cast in one color- no briefs- which may take some getting used to for some, but I'm perfectly fine with it.

The articulation is standard DC Universe, and all of the joints work well, even the ball-jointed head, which gives some nice up and down tilt to add personality to any pose. Unfortunately, Batman does not come with any accessories- not even a display stand, which makes the huge size of the card back and bubble oddly disconcerting (Mattel could cut the package in half and still fit the figure just fine). 

And that's about it. A new look on a proven design, All-Stars "New 52" Batman is a hit in my book. He looks great, can achieve just about any pose I'd want, and is a very welcome addition to my Batman collection! It would have been nice to get some accessories with him, or even a display stand, and the paint issues around the face can be annoying, but the pros definitely outweigh the cons...

Imaginext DC Super Friends Jet-Pack Batman

Fisher-Price has a line of tiny DC superheroes under their Imaginext banner. The figures are simple, slightly articulated versions of the major characters (mostly) from the Batman universe. I picked up a few of these on a whim. They are fun, relatively inexpensive toys. Today we are taking a look at the Jet-Pack Batman...

Jet-Pack Batman stands at 2 3/4" tall. He features the black and yellow paint deco and three points of articulation: ball-jointed shoulders and t-hips (with both legs moving together). These figures aren't much for posing- they are for playing- and I know that, but I do wish they could figure out some way to get his head to turn. Batman gets a cloth cape and a huge bright smile to complete the look. Yes, the smile looks silly, the yellow paint doesn't cover perfectly and he can barely move, but there's still something really endearing about this little guy.

The Jet-Pack is a really cool accessory. Batman clips into it at the waist, and the handle controls fit easily and securely into his hands. The yellow "turbines" on the wings can be spun by hand, and as and added bonus the entire turbine section on each side can be rotated to get different angles for vertical lift vs. angled flying, too. It looks awesome, and I can picture kids flying Batman around the house endlessly.

Imaginext Jet-Pack Batman is a cute, fun little figure. He's not really much for an adult collector, but then again, he wasn't designed to be. For his targeted age group (3-8 yrs), he's sure to get the job done, and at $7 he won't break the bank doing so...

Batman & Son - DC Direct Batman Figure

I'm not a huge fan of the "Batman & Son" storyline, but the DC Direct version of the main character is one of my favorites...

Five figures were released for this line, with my two personal favorites (Batman and Joker) both being sculpted by Jonathan Matthews. This version of Batman is thick. He's a huge, bulky Dark Knight, with enormous rounded biceps and shoulders, tightly clenched fists and a jawline that comes across as rock hard. The grimace is perfect, as are the short cowl ears and pupil-less eyes. His belt sports tons of pouches for storing bat-goodies, and eyes thick (and heavy) rubber cape wrinkles thoroughly above his shoulders, and fans out into spiky points at the ends. It's a terrific overall look with only one minor exception: his torso just at the base of his ribcage juts out oddly (it's sticking out farther than his pecs, which would be cause for some serious concern on a real person, I'd imagine). Paint apps are flawless, with some neat gloss added to the boots and gloves, while everything else is a flat matte.

"Batman & Son" Batman doesn't come with much in the ways of accessories- just a Batman Base, which he doesn't need to stand. As far as articulation goes, there are 11 points, but I can't get anything in the way of dynamic poses out of them: nicely ball-jointed head, ball shoulders, pin elbows and knees, t-hips and swivels at the glove tops. He's going to do a fine job of standing and scowling, with an occasional tilt to the head or a raised fist, but that's about it. Which is ok by me, since I like the way he looks in his "standing and glaring at you" pose.

This version of Batman is big, strong and fully intimidating. It's Batman in your face, no holds barred, not the guy hiding in the shadows or grapelling from rooftop to rooftop. True, he's severely limited in terms of pose-ability, but I'm willing to overlook that because he looks great just the way he is...