Review of Batman - Arkham City sixth scale figure

Introduction

Hot Toys is no stranger to video game fans. With licenses like Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, and Assassin's Creed, they've used their skills at hyper realism to bring some of your favorite game characters to sixth scale.

Considering the sheer volume of Batman themed figures they've produced, their announcement of an Arkham City Batman was no real surprise. How they would do it was the real question - it's no doubt a tricky design to pull off in an articulated form.

The figure started shipping awhile ago - I'm late to the party, but as a huge Bat-nerd I wanted to get my two cents in anyway. This guy will run you around $220 - $230 depending on the retailer, which appears to be the medium price for average Hot Toys releases right now. There were no exclusives or special editions on this guy that I know of.

Packaging - ****
I like the box design, which has gone back to the wrap around fifth panel lid (which is technically seven panels, I suppose).  The game graphics look great, and they've kept it all collector friendly too. The interior text is pretty sparse, but that's the norm for them, and basic instructions are included.

Sculpting - ***1/2
There's no shortage of screen grabs for this guy, but like animated figures, his look can vary quite a bit from scene to scene in the game. I used this one as a key comparison.

This is a solid representation of the video game look, with the long ears, sharp edges at the brows and nose line, and textured, realistic skin on the lower face. There's actually two lower faces: the one he comes wearing has a closed mouth, serious but not extreme; the second has a slight grimace, showing some very straight, very white teeth.

The sculpted wrinkles at the forehead give the right impression of determination, but there's something about the eyes that's a bit too vacant.  It's not atrocious, but it does seem a bit off to me.

The molded texture on the suit looks terrific, as does the sculpted emblem on the chest. The gauntlets, the boots, the gloves - all sharply defined with armor-like qualities created from plastic materials. The pouches and belt look great, although they are pretty much set in place, rather high on the hips. The textured ribbing on the undies set them apart (along with the color) from the rest of the costume, and the overall look of the figure matches the in-game rendition.

I had one other nit to go along with the slightly vacant look.  I'm not a huge fan of these boots, not in any version, but here they are particularly dopey looking.  They went with a two piece construction, which does allow the ankles more mobility. But the long tongue on the upper that protects the top of the foot also makes it look weirdly small. The upper and lower boot don't line up all that well in most poses either, so while you can adjust the feet to lay flat on the floor, the upper boot won't match up.

Those are pretty minor nits though, and I suspect fans of the game will easily overlook them. Of course, this guy is sixth scale, but he's on the large side, coming in at 13" tall straight up, not including the ears.

Paint - ***
Everything is clean and sharp, from the eyes to the lips to the bat symbol. Colors are consistent as well, with an even tone and finish.

My big nit here revolves around the lips, a pretty obvious area with a cowled and masked figure like this. Both lower face plates give him the appearance of wearing lipstick. "Maybe it's Mabelline" shouldn't be the first thing that comes to mind when I look at Batman. The issue is worse on the less emotional expression, and fortunately, that's the one I like least overall as well. Still, considering the perfection we expect from Hot Toys at this price point, the lip color was oddly off putting.

Articulation - **1/2
Here's the tricky spot - how to keep the figure articulated, and yet pull off the costume design. They went more for aesthetics than articulation, and whether that matters to your final assessment or not will depend heavily on how much you value poseablity.

While the rubber suit is thin, it's still very, very restrictive, particularly in the shoulders, elbows, torso, and knees. He won't be raising his hands above his head, and there isn't going to be any leaning or tilting at the waist or chest.

The neck is also very restricted, although it's a ball joint. That's because the post is very short, and the neck is quite thick and wide.  Tilting the head at all results in it popping right off.

The ankles and wrists work great, although getting the gauntlet and upper boot to stay lined up with the hand or foot can be tricky. The hips work fine, since the suit isn't all one piece, but the knees are restricted much like the elbows.

This thin material is more plastic than rubber, and I haven't had any personal issues with it breaking down yet with any figures. I do expect some people will be too worried about cracking at the elbows and knees to put the figure in any pose (long term) that is more than a straight up stance.

Accessories - ***1/2
He's pretty well outfitted, but this is Batman after all - he has lots and lots of toys to choose from.

He has 9 hands in total - the fists he comes wearing, plus a set of relaxed grip, a set of wider grips for a couple of the bigger accessories like the Batclaw, a specific right for the batarang, and a specific left for the line launcher. Finally, there's one right hand with an extended index finger that I believe is intended for the exploding gel gun. All these swap easily, and work well with the intended accessories. There's a couple extra wrist pegs in case, but I doubt that will be a problem.

To go in these hands are a variety of weapons and tools.  There's the extended batarang, done in a very stiff, sharp plastic.  There's the line launcher (with moving 'barrels') and exploding gel. And there's the Batclaw with two different barrels that you can swap, and each barrel has a different style hook. These hooks are removable as well!

I mentioned earlier that there is a second face plate as well.  The plates are a bit tricky to swap - there's a post that fits in the chin to hold them in place, and it's a tight fit - but the final result looks good. 

Last, there's the usual display stand. Nothing super exciting here, but it allows for some more extreme poses, and keeps him safe on the shelf over time.

Outfit - ***
I've already explained the pros and cons of the sculpting, paint and articulation in relationship to the costume.  The quality is there, although he's not particularly poseable. Those limitations and qualities are what largely contribute to the score here.

The one additional aspect I have not discussed is the cape. The material and quality are outstanding, and it's one of the nicest capes they've produced.  Made from two different materials, one to simulate a leathery exterior, and one to create the softer interior, they've even wrapped the exterior material around into the interior for a panel. This allows the edges to fold back and remain consistent, and is a really nice touch.

However, the cape does have one serious issue.  While it's designed to sit cleanly across his shoulders under the cowl, and looks great doing it, that's not really the standard look for him in the game. It usually drapes over his shoulders, and I couldn't come up with a way to adjust it to get that same look here. This may be a case by case basis, because I've seen some photos where they were able to get it farther over the shoulders than I was - not perfect, but farther.  I tried adjusting the cowl and cape, but it felt like these things aren't supposed to move, and I've had my share of moving things that aren't supposed to. It always turns out the same.

Fun Factor - ***
Because of the restrictive outfit, you'll only get so many poses out of this guy.  Add in any concerns you might have over the damage wrinkles or bends might cause over time, and you probably aren't going to get too crazy with his look on the shelf, and are less likely to change it up very often.

Value - **1/2
The usual price for a Hot Toys release right now is around the $220 - $230 range, right where Bats falls.  For some releases, where there's not much new or very few accessories, this price point is still too high, but for this style of Batman, where the outfit is complex and he has a good assortment of extras, I'm going with an average value rating.

Things to Watch Out For -
Be careful not to scratch the face plates when swapping them, especially on the underside of the chin.

Overall - ***
I'm going to take a wild guess and bet fans of the game will love this figure.  It is the high quality representation they've been begging for, and the overall design is a great version of Batman.

The issues that held him back from at least another half star for me were the lack of articulation, the lipstick look (especially on the normal face), and the cape not quite matching the source material.  While none of these by themselves are a massive issue, in combination the brought the Overall down for me.

For big game fans who aren't looking for a lot of poseability, this guy will be just about perfect. As a Bat-nerd, I'm glad I have him because it is a great costume design, and adds something to the otherwise predominately movie based versions on the shelf. Now they need to add the Joker to the line...

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ****
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - **1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***
Fun Factor - ***
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him at $230.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
If you're looking for other Arkham City products, check out the Batman statue from Kotobukiya, the Killer Croc figure from DC Collectibles, or their first wave of action figures. This Batman has also made it into the Batman Black and White statue series.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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