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Mattel- DC Multiverse: Gotham By Gaslight: Batman.
I decided to take a break from reviewing the DC animated features for a bit while I deal with some backlog. I’ll be honest, it’s a lot quicker to open a figure and take a few pictures than to write a couple hundred word review on it. Not that I’m going to stop as I feel it’s a great outlet for my ramblings on the silly things I enjoy, but I have literally 100’s of toys that I’m excited to open, but can’t until I get through the stuff I’ve had in storage for years prior! At any rate, I’m really glad that McFarlane took over the DC licence because Mattel was clearly not willing to up their game to compete. Sure they were good, even great, 15 years ago, but compared to every other toy company making 6” figures at this price point, these really fall flat.
Pros: Full disclosure I am a big fan of the DC Animated movie Gotham By Gaslight and this figure was purely an impulse purchase to hit a free shipping total. I’ve gone on record saying that Mattel squandered the DC franchise and was unable to keep up with the likes of Hasbro, NECA and even the now defunct DC collectables, but will give credit where it is due: While GBG Batman is disappointing, it’s not an overly terrible figure. The sculpt works in comparison to the DC film and looks enough like the original comic to make the connection between the two. The details on the belt really stand out and kudos to Mattel for including the 4 dagger pockets, WITH removable daggers. Also BIG props for including a soft goods cape. This is something that all other companies really need to revise given the articulation constraints of hard plastic pieces. Lastly, as an improvement, I have to give Mattel credit for finally moving away from those boxy hip/leg joints that are present throughout the DC Multiverse line. Yes it was fine 10 years ago, but now just looks bad.
Cons: It’s so typical, one set forward with a soft goods cape, but two steps back with hard plastic shoulder pads that fully limit arm movement. I also really love the knives and pouches but why not provide a better moulded hand to hold them?
