With Batman Vs. Superman right around the corner, there's been a renewed interest in the comic book series The Dark Knight Returns. Clearly the new film owes at least part of its story line to the classic series, making the property all the rage right now.
Mattel is never one to miss an opportunity, and have released three figures in their new 6" Multiverse series based on the comics/animated movie. There's Batman and Superman of course, along with a Son of Batman figure. These are a Walmart exclusive, and will run you just south of $20 each.
Mattel did a DKR Batman in this scale and style already (more on that in a bit), but the Superman and Son of Batman are new to their stable. They switched up the color combination on Batman from the usual to the blue and gray (with yellow symbol) to change things up a bit, but Superman is designed to look just like the comic. The third figure is one of the Sons of Batman, the ex-Mutants who decided to vent their violent tendencies as vigilantes, rather than criminals.
The packages are collector friendly, a situation getting more common with the collector themed 6" scale figures on the pegs at the local store. That means Marvel Legends, Star Wars Black, and DC Multiverse all come in packages that can be opened without damage, allowing you to return the figure later for storage or sale.
I particularly like the gold stripe on the front of these, along with the character specific personalization. I did dock them here slightly for one piece of weirdness, however. The Batman and Superman are placed in the inner plastic tray with their cape inserted through, making it a very tight fit. You can still remove them without damaging anything, but there's no way these figures are moving around in transit...and yet, there's a rubber band (or two) added to hold them in place. Then there's the Sons of Batman dude, who has no cape and is simply snapped into the tray, and has no rubber bands or twisties to hold him. I'd say adding those rubber bands was a definite waste of money.
While these are designated figures based on the anniversary of the comic, all three remind me more of the animated movie. The work on this Son of Batman isn't particularly exciting, although any fan will recognize who it's supposed to be right away. This is clearly the guy they were going for, and they did a solid job. He comes in at about 6 1/2" tall, his hand sculpts work well with the accessories, and he has no trouble standing on his own. He could use a few weapons sculpted to his body, but it's a minor nit.
The Batman is also nice work, although the head sculpt isn't quite as extreme as we usually see with this license. The bulky MOTUC body works of course, and the proportion of the head to the torso is about right. Perhaps the highlight of his look is the unique, highly detailed belt. He also has reasonable gripping hands, and stands just fine on his own, even with the heavy rubber cape. He comes in at about 6 3/4" tall not counting the ears.
And then there's Supes, with his funky hair curl and extreme jaw line. Again, the proportion of the head to the bulky body seems about right, and he stands great, coming in between 6 3/4" and 7" tall, similar to Batman. He does have a couple mold lines that can be distracting, and the body sculpt is not exactly complex, but the overall look matches the theme well.
For mass market toys, even exclusives destined for collectors, the work here is pretty clean. There's some obvious slop, like along the bottom of Batman's mask, and there are some consistency issues with the color on Supes' costume, but none of these are major deal breakers.
Son of Batman steps it up slightly, with the cleanest lines of the bunch, particularly around his mask and eyes. He could use a few more painted details, particularly on the coat, but he was the best overall in this category. On the other end, Superman has this weird dark abdomen, where it looks like they went nuts with the shading color. It's not as obvious in photos, but in hand it's bordering on ridiculous.
If you think you've seen the body used for Batman and Superman before, you have. More than once. Lots of times. And if you think you've seen the body used on this Son of Batman, you'd be correct there as well, dozens of times over.
Yep, this is the MOTUC base body, but for some weird reason, the articulation doesn't work as well here. There's a slightly different feel to the plastic, and the joints are very tight. I was able to get Batman to do a little more than Superman, but neither had the fluidity of even the basic MOTUC He-man.
The situation is similar with Son of Batman, but not quite as extreme. Of course he's sporting the standard DC Universe Classics body, but the torso articulation is quite restricted by the coat, as is the neck. None of these three are as posable as their earlier incarnations, but the problem is a little worse - at least for me - with Batman and Superman.
When the Batman Unlimited DKR Batman was released, he came with one accessory - a batarang. And I gave him **1/2 in this category. Now this DKR Batman comes along with one accessory - a batarang - and I give him **. What gives?
It's quite simple. This guy cost $4 - $5 more than the previous release. Factor in that the biggest issue cited for high action figure costs, the price of oil, is now 1/3 what it was then (and has been for months), and you might see where I'm less impressed by a single, small accessory.
The same holds true for Superman, who has a Kryptonite arrow. The arrow is a nice addition since it plays a key role in the story, but it's not particularly easy for either character to hold it in their sculpted grips. You could drill a little hole in Supes though...
The Son of Batman does better coming with a shotgun and a lit torch, both sensible additions. The sculpts are reasonable if a bit basic on both, but the paint work on the gun is pretty simplistic. The torch has a nicely done flame effect however, and both accessories fit easily in at least one of his hands.
These are middle of the road action figures, with enough articulation to make them fun, but not enough to make them more fun than the average bear. Had the joints worked a little better, they might have snagged that extra half star.
At $20, these are pretty light in the accessories department. While that's the going rate right now for 6" collector themed figures, I have to say that my expectations are starting to go back up, not surprisingly in an inverse relationship to oil prices. Of course, it also doesn't help that there's so much re-use with all three of these, and so little new.
When you're picking these out on the peg at your local Wally World, pay particular attention to the stomach on Supes. I'm assuming how much black shading was added will vary from figure to figure, and you'll want to avoid any that are as extreme as the one I got.
For those that picked up the earlier Batman Unlimited version, the Superman and Son of Batman figure might be the only required buys. But adding in all three with that earlier release can make for a pretty terrific display, particularly since Supes uses the same style and body design.
In the end, I liked them but wasn't wowed by them. The overall work on the sculpt and paint was decent, but the articulation was a little annoying and they are quite light in the accessories department. As a huge Batman fan I wasn't going to pass them up, but I wasn't as excited with them once they were open as I had hoped to be.
I already mentioned Mattel's earlier DKR Batman in the Unlimited series, but if you're a huge fan of the story you really need to check out Mezco's One:12 Collective Batman and Mutant Leader. If you're looking for something more in line with these, check out the DC Direct series that's just a bit bigger in scale.
Sideshow started off their DC Universe sixth scale series with an old favorite - The Joker. While he's a mighty common villain, he's not one that's seen as much sixth scale representation as the good guys. For some reason, companies like Hasbro and DC Direct tended to focus most of their efforts, at least in this scale, on the white hats.
Sideshow is looking to change things up, so it's no surprise to see Sideshow follow the Joker with his lovely femme fatale, Harley Quinn. After being created for the television series Batman: The Animated Series a mere 22 years ago, she has become one of the best loved villains in Batman's Rogue's Gallery.
As is common with Sideshow, there are two versions - the regular release, which retailers for $190, and their exclusive version that includes one additional accessory and also retails for $190. Obviously, the exclusive is the better deal on paper, but of course a number of online retailers are selling the regular release below suggested retail. There's been no announced size on this limited edition.
Sideshow has upped their game once again with their packaging, moving toward a very Hot Toys-like style. Harley comes in a shoe box style package, with inner plastic trays to keep her safe and sound. The design is unique to the character, and yet it matches nicely in theme with the Joker's.
There's a very nice - very nice - cardboard insert covering the trays with some beautiful comic artwork, a great addition to the package. It's all collector friendly too, with no tape, twisties or ties to hold you back.
There's some beautiful work here, and it's nice to see someone other than Hot Toys produce a gorgeous female sixth scale figure.
She comes with two portraits, equally attractive. The main head sculpt has her smiling broadly, while the second has a winking left eye, and a sly expression on the face and lips. I prefer the smiling head sculpt - the work on the teeth, lips and gums is spooky realistic - but your mileage will most certainly vary.
That spooky realism is a bit of a problem though, sort of a double edged sword. You see, the Joker they produced has an extreme comic book look, while this Harley is more realistic in proportion and expression. When I posed the two together, I was fine with it (and I've included an Olan Mills family portrait), but some collectors might find the styles too distinct for their tastes.
Along with the two excellent head sculpts, there is a fantastic boot sculpt with a ton of detail (right down to the carvings in the steel toes), and an excellent set of posed hands, properly in scale and designed to work great with the accessories.
Harley is sixth scale, as I've mentioned more than once, and she stands about 11 1/2" tall, fitting in nicely with other Sideshow, Hot Toys or Enterbay figures.
Here is a paint job that can take on the best of them. The work on the eyes is particularly impressive - so pretty, and perfectly even with just the right hint of eyelashes and a slightly darker shadow for highlighting - but you can't overlook the perfect lips and teeth as well.
Costume edges are perfect as well, with clean cuts between the mask and face, or the cowl halves and the face.
They added a slightly bluish wash to the white pom-poms to give the detail some pop, and the face paint is tremendously clean. Some may find it too clean, since it doesn't look as much like make up on her face as it does a porcelain mask, but considering the character, the perfect white is absolutely appropriate.
It's not just the work on the heads and hands that make this an outstanding job - it's the accessories as well. Everything has clean paint work, with very realistic shading and colors. The mallet is a perfect example - you'd swear it was wood until you touched it.
At this price point, this is the sort of work we should expect, but that doesn't mean we always get it. It's fantastic to see Sideshow pull off top notch production paint ops with this release.
I really, really wanted to love everything about this figure, but the underlying body killed much of my enthusiasm.
She has the same problem as many other Sideshow figures - loose joints. The elbows and knees were annoying, but in reality weren't the worst we've seen and are actually workable. If they were the only problem, I would have gone up another star here.
Sometimes, hands are too hard to swap. You risk breaking a peg every time, and it hinders your enthusiasm when it comes to changing things up.
That's not the case here - the hands swap easily. Way too easily. They fall off if you look at them sideways, and because the cuffs are not attached, they drop off as well. Trying to get her to hold accessories, like the mallet, drove me crazy, with one had falling off, then the other, then the mallet slipping out, then another hand dropping off....AAAAGGGGHHHH!
Just to make things interesting, they did make one hand (the left fist) that was close to impossible to put on the small wrist peg. The hole in the hand is so tiny, you'll have to use quite a bit of force at just the right angle to get it to pop on. Be careful!
But the hands were nothing compared to the boots. Like the hands, the boots pop off with barely a touch. Of course, they also pop on with barely a touch, but that's not particularly helpful. By the time I finished the photos, I was ready to take a life.
Get away from the wrists and ankles - and the constant frustration - and you'll find other joints that work quite well. The ball jointed neck is terrific, allowing for all kinds of crazy personality in any pose. The posable tassels area great idea, - there's a ball joint at the head, allowing each to take it's own independent pose - and this gives you more potential for some very dynamic poses.
The waist and shoulders work well too, even in the confines of the costume. Overall, the articulation is all there, and most of it works well. It's really just the frustration with the ankles and wrists that bring this score down for me. I'm betting I can take some of the annoyance away by using some plumber's tape on the ankles, but those wrists are what they are.
Both come with the second head sculpt, which I already discussed in some length in the Sculpt and Paint sections. But as an accessory, it's an excellent extra, and the heads swap easily - but not too easily. The articulated tassels exist on both sculpts, and while I'm not as fond of the winking sculpt as the smiling sculpt, adding in a second portrait is a sure fire way to make me happy.
Harley needs her weapons too, and has a nice assortment. Perhaps the best is her huge mallet, with an excellent wood sculpt. On one surface is a carved outline of a face with the words "Your face here". What makes this even better is that it's not super clean - it looks as though the mallet has been used to smash faces many times, obscuring the design slightly.
She comes with a pop-gun as well, with a removable cork. Again, amusing artwork adorns the face of the cork. The gun fits nicely in her hand, and although it's a bit heavy, she can hold it in most poses pretty well.
There is a syringe filled with nasty Joker juice as well, but rather than give you this tiny syringe and needle that would likely get lost or broken on its own, they've made it a permanent part of one of the sculpted right hands. That's an excellent idea, and makes her posing with the syringe look oh so much better.
Speaking of hands, there are 9 in total. She comes with two gripping hands in place, and seven others in the box - the syringe hand I already mentioned, a pair of fists, two gesturing left hands, and a pair of gun grip hands. The right fist has a set of brass knuckles sculpted in place with the words "HAHA" across her fingers. They are backwards, so the impression they leave on your face will read properly.
I already complained about swapping these, but there are also a number of extra wrist pegs included. Unlike previous Sideshow figures, where the pegs are already in each hand, these are in a separate bag. There's a couple ankle pegs too, although there's no additional feet.
She has a display base, with a nifty Harley themed logo. I don't use the bases, but for those who do, it's an important inclusion.
The exclusive includes one more weapon - an intricately embellished butcher knife, with carvings on either side of the blade. The serrated edge looks pretty deadly!
The outfit consists of her underlying body suit, the corset, her funky boots, and the cuffs and collar.
Everything is very high quality, and the tailoring and fit are excellent. The collar is made from a soft material, but it doesn't quite lay flat on the body - it's not THAT soft. It tends to ride up the neck, but you can get it to lay fairly flat, depending on how you turn it on the shoulders. There's a small bow in the back - at least that's where it's supposed to be. You can have it in the front if you prefer, and I did take a couple shots of it that way for comparison, but technically it should lay in the back.
The boots are a work of art, with a very cool, grunge design. There is plenty of sculpting detail too, with a realistic look and even a pattern on the steel toes. The soles have the words "KA POW" etched on them as well - how cool is that!
The body suit is a nice, tight fit, and the material is very high quality, making it less likely to end up with snags or runs. The diamonds are a little iffy though - while they look good now, I'm concerned that over time they may try to peel off. Only time will tell on that one, however.
Over the body suit is a frilly corset that laces up the front and back. It looks great most of the time, but you do have to dink around with the shoulder straps a lot. Keeping them in place is a chore, but once you find the pose you like they'll stay - until you pose her again.
You will see photos at Sideshow's site of this figure without the corset. That's possible to do, but you have to unlace either the back or the front to do it, and that's way more work that I want to undertake. The taking off isn't so hard, but the putting back would be a bear, so I'm sticking with the out of the box look.
While this is usually a category where a cool figure like this would rank high, the frustrating issues with the articulation get in the way. Posing her should be a lot of fun, not an exercise in stress.
$190 isn't all that much these days in the high end sixth scale market. Sadly, it's becoming the norm, and in some cases, has already been left behind. For Sideshow though, it's a pretty hefty price tag.
I could get behind it though if the body were at the same level of quality as the sculpt, paint, accessories and outfit. The rest of this figure rivals the competition in this same price range, and this version is much better than the RAH figure currently available for about the same price. But with the body issues, she takes a hit in the Value category.
Just be careful with those wrist and ankle pegs! Thankfully you have extras, but you'll still want to take some care.
This is the first time we've ever gotten truly great - and properly scaled - sixth scale figures of our favorite DC characters. With Batman and Catwoman coming, along with more announcements around the corner, it could prove to be one of the coolest lines of all times.
But Sideshow must get the articulation issues under control. The body has to be tight, and the hands have to swap properly - not too hard, not too easy. It's not like they haven't managed this with other figures and other series, but they must apply what they've learned there to this line.
If they can do it, I predict some fantastic things. The sculpts and paint work are where they should be for this price point, and the costumes and accessories look terrific. They have a plethora of potential figures that collectors would love to see in this scale, and they have the passion for this series to give us all those cool little features that will make them stand out. For my sake and the sake of every other DC collector out there, bring the quality of the base bodies up to the rest of the work.
I covered their first DC sixth scale release, the Joker, as well. If you're a fan of Harley in general, check out the DC Bombshells Harley, the New 52 Cover Girls version, the Bishoujo Harley, or one of my favorites, the first DC Cover Girls rendition.