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DC Collectibles- Icons: Batman
Batman is perhaps one of the most iconic Comic book creations in popular culture so it is fitting that he is the first release of the DC Collectibles Icon series; A series that I had some pretty high hopes for as I had always wanted decent versions of the various DC heroes for my collection. Yes there were Mattel's DC collection of figures that were pretty great, but I was late to the party and distribution sucked so there was no way I could get the ones I really wanted. I'm pretty happy with the current and upcoming releases, but I just hope that they will continue to produce them. DC has a pretty deep bench of characters and there is a lot of cool opportunity to give some love to unique characters in the right way.
The figure itself is much smaller than I originally anticipated, but I'm not really saying that's a bad thing as I don't mix my figures between different series. The big draw for me was the articulation that these figures boasted. Multiple joints allowing for natural movement and poses were promised and for the most part I think achieved. An integrated thigh swivel would have been nice, even if it was hidden by the upper knee, but the only upper leg movement is in the hip joint which does limit some poses.
Batman has a soft plastic cap that also gets in the way of some of the articulation. Honestly not sure what the solution would be as cloth caps never look right either. Maybe 2 caps, like are included with the first animated series? At any rate, not a deal breaker by any stretch.
Apparently this figure is based on a the ‘Batman- Last Rites’ story arc and is unique as it could be the only toy of Dick Grayson in the bat suit; which it totally awesome in my opinion. There is no official word if this is the case, but looking at the physique of the figure there is little doubt: it is much more lean than a typical Bruce Wayne Bats. I also appreciate the older look of the costume: blue, grey with yellow accents. I also dig the pockets on the utility belt. Just a nice clean looking figure. Accessory wise he has a few extra hands, including a odd moulded grapple gun and a few bat-a-rangs.
Overall I really like this figure, but it just feels like something is missing for me to love it. Truthfully I think I have been so spoiled with Marvel Legends level articulation that I thought that Icons would support the same. I suppose Icons do boast a more unique parts vs repaints of the same figure, so that's the trade off that I have to be willing to live with.
Overall I'm happy with Batman and the Icons line in general and hope that they continue for years to come. Maybe we will be lucky to have some running changes going forward, but as long as the detail remains, I'll keep buying them.
Pros: incredible sculpt, nice accessories, good range of motion.
Cons: Some limited articulation. Cape hinders poses.
