Review of Supreme Knight Batman
One:12 Collective action figure

Introduction

Mezco is finishing up their trilogy of unique Batman designs with the Supreme Knight. This is an older and wiser Batman, sort of their DKR alternate. As with the first two - Ascending Knight and Sovereign Knight - this guy has multiple versions. Tonight I'm looking at the regular release, but there's also a PX exclusive as well as a Mezco store exclusive, the latter of which just went up for order yesterday. And yes, it sold out immediately, but you should still be able to get on the wait list.

This guy originally cost $85, but he's getting hard to find. I do have one recommendation at the end of the review where it appears they still have some available.

Packaging - ***1/2
The package is the usual, with the simple design and collector friendly aspects. The double plastic trays inside hold everything safe and sound, and the clean look of the boxes is actually quite attractive. Sometimes simple is best.

Sculpting - ****
As with all One:12 figures, Batman has multiple head sculpts. The usual is two, but these hit us up with a third, always a benefit. There's the normal stoic, "I'm not taking any shit" portrait, as well as the gritted teeth "You pissed me off and will now know why that's a bad idea" portrait.  As a bonus, we get a unmasked head, this time with gray hair and a bit more age.

These heads are more squat and wide than the previous versions, and I love the short ears on the cowl. Again, there's a heavy nod to the DKR style, and the older unmasked head has a nice wrinkling to the skin texture. There's great detail in the surface texture overall, including the short buzz cut and the plastic pieces of the costume.

He stands the usual 6 1/2" tall, but this is the stockier body, more like Affleck than Keaton. The bat symbol is well attached and thick, covering a broader section of his chest, and matching the heavier armor on the legs and arms. The belt has a tactical appearance, following the evolution of his overall theme.

Paint - ***1/2
Mezco continues to dominate with production paint at this scale. Remember, these are macro photos of a 1/12 scale figure, not 1/6. Yet, the eyes, lips, and eyebrows are sharp and clean, the hairline subtle, and the mask edges neat. While there's not a lot of paint detail on the black and gray costume, there is a realism to the armored pieces thanks to the subtle differences in matte and gloss bits.

My only nit comes with the teeth on the snarling portrait. A couple of the bottom teeth are slightly off, but the only way you'll ever see it is in a macro photo. I can't quite give them the full four stars, but it was close.

Articulation - ***1/2
I had no trouble working with the underlying body, although the tight body suit is a little restrictive. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists can take fairly natural poses, but getting a two handed grip on the special gun can be tricky. The torso works great, with plenty of bend and tilt, as does the ball jointed neck. The hips and knees are more restricted by the costume than the upper body, and I wish the ankles had a bit more rocker and forward/back movement, but overall you should be able to get and maintain some good action poses.

It's also worth noting that he comes with a second cape with a thick wire on the front edge. This can be used to create some interesting poses as well.

Accessories - ****
As is the norm with One:12 figures, he comes with plenty of goodies.

There's those three heads that I already mentioned, but they play a big factor here as well. They swap easily, and there's a new feature with the neck. The entire neck section is held in place with a magnet. This holds the cape in place, a feature we'll discuss more in the Outfit section, along with the second cape.

There are nine extra hands too, each designed to work with various accessories like the batarangs. The swap cleanly, and I had no worries about breakage.

Speaking of batarangs, there are 10 tiny, gold versions. There's also a sculpted set of three, sort of like a fanned set of playing cards. If these tiny versions aren't your cup of tea, there's a large and deadly looking one as well.

He also has the usual grappling gun, although this is an updated and unique design. There are three hook tips - closed, open, and open on a string. These can be attached to the end of the gun, and there's a holster for it on the back of the belt.

There's a second 'gun' as well, called an Equalizer Cannon. He can hold this in various one or two handed poses. It's a fairly unusual design, and makes for a more unique display.

Batman also has a bladed weapon, called a karambit. You can disassemble and fold this one, although I'd be very careful. I did so, but the hinge and post seem quite fragile. I suggest leaving it in the original configuration if possible to avoid crying.

Finally, there's the usual display stand, complete with both the small foot peg and the large, translucent support rod, perfect for leaping poses.

Outfit - ****
The outfit consists of the body suit, capes, belt, and various pieces of additional armor.

The sculpting and paint on the plastic sections are excellent, as I mentioned earlier. I love the design, especially of the huge symbol on the chest. The textures on the body suit look great, and the new system for swapping capes - with the magnetic neck - works extremely well. While it's great for swapping, it's also great for posing the non-wired cape over the shoulders in different ways. This soft, slightly heavy material lays and hangs in a very natural way.

On the back of the belt is a holster for the grappling gun, in which it fits tightly. It's a nice touch, and while you can't see it, it does add quite a bit to the outfit overall for me.

The second cape has the included wire along the edge, and you can get pretty crazy with it if you want. I went with the obvious in the last photo.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
While the articulation is a little restricted, this is still a fun figure to pose and re-pose. Add in the multiple heads and capes, and you have some real potential to change things up over time, adding to the 'fun'.

Value - **1/2
At $85, he's the usual price for a current One:12 figure. I'm hoping we don't see this rise, because I think we're at the top limit of an average score here.

Things to Watch Out For -
The one area of concern was the karambit, which felt much too easy to break. I'd skip the folding function and leave it be.

Overall - ***1/2
This was a close call. I almost went a full four stars here, but part of that might be my own bias toward the character in general.  I love the design, and this is a fitting final style for the trilogy. The costume is terrific, especially the cape and the new magnetic neck. It gives you a much easier way to adjust the cape, and really opens up the posing options and realism.

I can't wait to see the Shadow version they put up for order yesterday, although I ended up on the wait list. I'm hoping we'll see a lot of the wait list folks convert, since it doesn't make sense for Mezco not to meet initial demand. They are just leaving money on the table when that happens, and I know it drives them nuts.

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

Where to Buy 
Most places are long sold out of this guy, as well as the PX exclusive version. Both were generally $85. Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
As I said, this is the third design in the trilogy of Mezco's unique Batmen.  The first was the Ascending Knight, while the second was the Sovereign Knight. The Ascending Knight has a Mezco store exclusive, PX exclusive, and a Toy Fair exclusive. The Sovereign Knight had the Mezco store Onyx version, as well as the PX exclusive I never reviewed.

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

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!