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Batman Begins - Demon Batman and Scarecrow
Special limited edition 10th anniversary set from Hot Toys
"The
following is a guest review. The review
and photos do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michael Crawford
or Michael's Review of the Week, and are the opinion and work of the
guest author."
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Once in awhile, Hot Toys does
something that makes collectors groan. One of those moves was the
recent extremely limited released of two more figures in their Batman
series, and Jeff Parker is here tonight to give us the lowdown. Take it
away, Jeff!
Hot Toys have had a pretty meteoric rise to the top of their particular
field, as to any serious collectors of 1/6th figures it is fair to say
that this one company has come to dominate the market with an authority
that makes the competition quake. And in so doing they have become such
a part of the collectibles landscape that it’s also beginning to feel
like they have been around forever. But in reality they have only
legitimately existed for a mere ten years. And so to mark the first
official decade of Hot Toys existence they held a massively impressive
retrospective in Tokyo over the Christmas holiday period of 2010. To
say it was a lavish affair would be an understatement and also do it a
huge disservice, but the great and good of both the creative and
collecting scenes in Asia were in attendance (Eddie Wong did some great
coverage that you can see here).
I was lucky enough to receive an invite, however being based in the UK
with a wife and two small children, it might not have gone down too
well if daddy had been away for the whole Christmas break, even if in
the spirit of the holiday period it had been to check out the coolest
toys on the planet. But Jeez Louise would I have loved to actually be
there, for a geeky fan-boy like me it looked like a dream gig!
Not only did they display the entire back catalogue of the figures
released to date, but also a few prototypes that never made it to
production, and on top of that a handful of sneak peaks of what will be
coming our way through 2011 and beyond. There were also Q&A
sessions with the creative staff and a chance to get them to sign your
goodies.
But regardless of all this, one of the biggest draws for many
collectors was the selection of ultra rare limited edition figures
available almost exclusively only to attendees. There were four figures
available as three sets. The selection divided fans, making some angry
at the exclusive nature of these releases while others were mystified
by the choices period!
The figures were the mysterious Friend from Naoki Urasawa’s seminal
Manga ‘20th Century Boys’, then there was Michael Jackson based on the
look he sported in the ‘Beat It’ video and lastly a double pack of the
Demon Batman and Scarecrow from Batman Begins.
Many in the West scratched their heads over the ‘Friend’ figure, but
the Manga was huge in Japan, even spawning three blockbuster movies, I
guess you could liken it to the phenomenon that The Watchmen had on its
original release in the West. Next up there’s Michael Jackson who has
always divided opinion, so for every naysayer baying for blood in the
crowd there was an equal number of people who were ecstatic with the
choice (whilst being concerned they would never actually get their
hands on him). Then lastly there was the Batman Begins set. I think its
fair to say that a lot of people were wondering if any Hot Toys figures
from this movie would ever see the light of day other than the original
Batsuited versions, and here at last they did, but in such limited
numbers that it was immediately obvious some people would end up pretty
disappointed, miffed and unhappy.
But to be fair to Hot Toys, you don’t make an exclusive that no one
wants, and it would appear that due to either cost or licensing issues
the Scarecrow either wouldn’t or couldn’t come with a Cillian Murphy
portrait, and the Demon Batman was seen so fleetingly in the movie as
part of an induced hallucination that it was always only ever going to
appeal to the hardcore Batman fans anyway… only trouble being THERE ARE
A LOT OF HARDCORE BATMAN FANS (just ask Michael).
I see these sets as a thank you to the hardcore supporters, but also an
exclusive carrot that could be dangled seductively under the noses of
the addicted, luring these people to the exhibition for their fix of
their chosen opiate. And so under the stewardship of Howard Chan,
Franck Dubois and the promotions teams in Hong Kong and Tokyo I think
they made a great job of it. It certainly had the collecting community
talking, and there’s no such thing as bad publicity (unless of course
you are Charlie Sheen, or perhaps Mel Gibson, or… I’ll stop there).
So at the end of the day here we are, I’m fortunate in having all the
10th Anniversary sets, but I wasn’t sure which of the figures in these
three releases to cover first, however the amount of requests I was
getting on Face Book and on the forums soon made me realise that the
Batman set was proving by far and away the most popular, so lets kick
off with that and break it down.
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Packaging
- ****
Classy, very, very classy! That was my first reaction when I saw the
packaging that the 10th Anniversary figures came in. They all follow
the same basic construction, but have colour coded interior slip cased
containers with unique graphics. Bats and the Scarecrow come in a
double slipcase, the outer shell being textured black hardboard.
The front even has a metal badge and seal letting us know that these
units are limited to 2000 each in Hong Kong (and a further 2000 for
Tokyo of course) but could that little bit of ambiguity lead to some
sets being released to a Western market, say around SDCC time? I guess
only time will tell!
Another cool detail that some might overlook in their excitement when
un-boxing these figures is that the interior of the slip-case even has
graphics, in the form of a rather moody comic book style Gotham city
skyline. Things like this are the sweet details, and keep Hot Toys so
consistently at the top of the game in all the aspects of their
productions.
Two ribbon tabs protrude from the side, which allow you to slip the
inner boxes out. The Batman figure is in a dark blue/purple box while
the Scarecrow is nestled within a reddish brown one, the fronts have
images of the characters in a simple monotone style behind a distressed
bat sign. This front section now opens up like a book cover and once
exposed you lift out a sheet of protective black foam to see the fully
dressed figures within (well, you need to put Bats cape on which is
housed beneath the figure), everything else is held gently in a die cut
foam surround just like the M-Icon and DX series of figures.
To put it succinctly, Hot Toys pulled out all the stops to make every
aspect of these 10th anniversary releases as impressive as possible,
and they have managed it handsomely, the boxes alone are an understated
work of art… but enough with the boxes already, we want to see what’s
inside, so lets open them up and take a look!
Sculpting - Demon Bats ***3/4,
Scarecrow ****
When we see the demon Batman in the movie he is a seething mass of
paranoid hallucination with some pretty extreme lighting and post
production effects, so gauging just how good this sculpt is was gonna
prove tough. But then I found these rather nifty test shots for the
suits used in the movie here then
I also discovered these pics of a maquette bust sculpted for the
production here which
also helped a lot. I think Hot Toys have gone for a middle ground,
somewhere between these static representations of the suit and what we
saw on screen, and I for one am very happy with the result. The facial
sculpt is the work of Joseph Tsang and is in a beautifully observed
contorted grimace, as if the cowl is made flesh and able to show the
tortured and malevolent features of its wearer, its teeth are bared in
a snarl and look almost ready to bite… this is not the caped crusader
you would want to meet down a dark alley!
The mask is then (as is the upper half of the suit and weathered cape),
made to look damaged and distressed, as if the surface has been
corroded by acid or fire. It’s a striking effect, and if you are lucky
enough to own a figure of the original Batsuited figure, this makes for
a stunning companion piece. He also comes with a selection of seven
hands in various poses, but its my guess that unless you want to
display him holding one of the special black Batarangs, just about
everyone will go for the two hands in the more extreme ‘claw-like’
poses, as they certainly help set the vicious and vengeful tone of the
figure perfectly.
As I already stated, we get no Cillian Murphy/ Dr Jonathan Crane sculpt
here, what we get is a pure representation of the classic movie seen
Scarecrow. The main area is obviously the head, this is also the work
of Joseph Tsang, and he’s done a great job of representing the old
distressed hop-sack material, with its criss-cross of ‘Frankenstein’
stitches and seams. The mouth is like a crude rip, but also manages to
look like a nightmarish maw, incorporating the shape of jagged shark
like teeth through the use of long angled stitches. Then there are the
eyes, these work really well, kind of like the old Resi Evil 4 Ganado
figure I reviewed here.
Meaning you get the juxtaposition of the sculpted smooth wet eyes and
flesh, playing against the dry, dirty textures of his sack mask. The
rear of the head also carries some nice details where the frayed and
tattered parts meet the rope and straps that are supposed to hold it in
place on the head. I guess by Hot Toys and indeed Joseph’s standards, a
portrait like this is a walk in the park, but that is not to diminish
just how effective the overall final look is. Like Bats he also comes
with a selection of hands, but not quite as many. We get a pair of
relaxed hands attached to the figure plus a pointing right hand and an
open gesturing left, not a huge selection, but enough to alter the mood
of the figure depending on what pose you go for.
Paint
- ****
These two figures required two very different paint apps. Bats is
primarily very dark, and the paint is there to add texture and
definition to the underlying sculpt, where as the Scarecrows paint is
far more detailed and has to work much harder in defining the differing
colours, tones, materials and textures of the implied ‘mixed media’
mask.
So in a nutshell the Batsuit is made of a dull matte rubber but has
paint effect weathering and glossy highlights that look like tears are
running from the dark eyes and also help in making the teeth contrast
with the rest of the cowl. That really is pretty much it for the
darkest knight.
The scarecrow however is far more complex, as all the details I
mentioned in the sculpt category are picked out. The blue eyes are
glossy and bright against the dull dirty weathering that the sack is
given, and the leather straps at the back are also given a convincing
finish. The only slight oversight seems to be that the small flash of
hair visible at the back of the head, protruding from beneath the mask
is given the same treatment as the sack instead of darker brown tone.
The hands are also treated to look grimy and dirty and then lastly his
boots are fully painted to mimic the antique style work boots that the
character wore.
So there you have it, two completely different paint apps with hugely
different degrees of complexity, but as both were overseen by the
modern saviour of 1/6th paint apps ‘Mr JC Hong’ we end up with another
faultless addition to the line up.
Outfit
- ****
Bats outfit is in many ways like the original suit primarily
constructed of black rubber/silicone. However, unlike the first suit,
this one is made to look ravaged and distressed by fire or chemical
attack. In the movie you only ever really see the top half of Bats
during the hallucinatory episode that the Scarecrow has, and so Hot
Toys have focused all the damage to this area, but the basic form and
function is the same as the classic suit previously released. It’s made
up of rubber boots with solid plastic soles, rubber trousers with solid
plastic knee protectors an upper long sleeved rubber shirt that goes
over the groin area and links under the crotch. Over this he wears a
dark tarnished coppery coloured belt and on the lower arms he wears his
gauntlets that are also given the distressed and corroded look. The
last item in his wardrobe is the cape, this isn’t made of the same
fabric as the earlier versions, and this seems to have been chosen for
the fact it doesn’t fray when the edges are cut, so the tattered and
torn fringes remain crisp and can define the shapes sliced into them.
It also has some dark green stains and textured corrosion painted and
welded to its surface. There are wires inside the two ‘arms’
that stick out at the top, so to actually fit the cape you
will need to pop the head off then curve the wires to fit snugly over
the shoulders and insert the ends of the wires into the pre-made holes
in the suit. Now just pop the head back on and futz till everything is
to your liking. The new cape doesn’t drape quite as heavily or as well
as the old style ones, but with minimum tweaking and arranging it can
still look pretty darn convincing.
The Scarecrows outfit is pretty much all fabric. We have some moulded
high-laced boots into which his suit trousers are tucked when in
‘straightjacket’ mode, or can be draped over the tops of the boots when
just wearing the suit. Next up is his white collared shirt, blue tie
and suit jacket. All the garments have working pockets and scaled
buttons. The jacket is held closed with two small poppers and the
general cut and finish to the tailoring is up with Hot Toys usual
standards. The straightjacket is made from a scaled canvas material and
has webbing straps that wrap around the body through a series of loops;
it also has leather straps hanging from both of the wrists. To take it
off you will need to loosen the straps and undo the five plastic popper
studs that run up the back. It’s a far easier job if you remove the
head and hands as you can leave most of the straps in place if you do
it this way. The whole garment is airbrushed and weathered to look
grubby and tattered and wires are inserted along the bottom hems to aid
in the posing. All in all it’s a very impressive and striking looking
outfit that stands well alongside Two-Face and the various Joker
figures to add to the line up of Bat Mans foes.
Articulation
- Scarecrow **** Bats ***1/4
Both these characters come
with a basic True-Type body underneath their attire, so the only thing
hampering its poseability is the outfit. Bats outfit is the same basic
construction as the classic suit I reviewed here so expect some
‘limitations’ at all the major joints. But ‘limitation’ is the word,
he’s certainly no static statue, and by working with the design of the
suit and some gentle coaxing you can get some pretty impressive poses.
Its also worth pointing out that due to the nature of the cowl’s
design, especially where it spills down over his back, that the neck is
virtually set in one position. There is a minor amount of movement, but
hey, that’s one of the main reasons why Wayne redesigned the suit for
The Dark Knight anyway, so that’s perfectly excusable in my opinion.
However what Hot Toys take away with one hand they giveth back with the
other, and one of the features I love on these suits is the use of the
soft rubber boots, meaning the ankle articulation is excellent.
The Scarecrow is far more poseable than his nemesis, as we have what is
primarily a fabric dressed character based around your classic True
Type design. Admittedly he has multiple layers when fully kitted up in
his full outfit, but as usual the scaling of the fabrics used along
with the superfine 1/6th tailoring that Hot Toys utilise mean we end up
with a representation that not only hangs well and looks natural, but
can also strike pretty much any pose that you could if wearing the full
ensemble. If I had to be picky then I guess its worth pointing out that
the boots do limit ankle articulation, but it’s a slight by-product of
the design, and wont effect my score for this category.
Accessories
- ***
Neither of these guys are exactly what one could call laden with
goodies, but we get everything we need to portray the character on the
shelf. I know a Dr Crane portrait would have put the cherry on top for
the Scarecrow figure, but alas it wasn’t to be.
So all we actually get is a selection of hands, an impressive seven for
Bats and an average four for the Scarecrow. Bats also gets a couple of
black Batarangs and both get a classic black figure stand, but that is
essentially it. I guess it would also have been cool if the Scarecrow
had come with the toxic nerve gas dispenser that he had concealed up
his left sleeve, but I guess the fact it was ‘concealed’ means it’s
something of a moot point anyway.
So, they have what they need to display well, but not enough to merit a
full score.
Value
- ***1/2
Now this category is basically open season out there on the secondary
market, with some online retailers asking for some fairish prices and
some rogue scalpers asking for the deeds to your house and your first
born (and I fear some will be getting them). The official asking price
for this set at the Tokyo event was JP¥ 28,000 (about $336) meaning you
could break it down to $168 a piece which though far from cheap, is
still in the ball park of the ever rising ‘going rate’. That said, I
have linked below in the Where to Buy section to some eBay traders
asking just $300 for the set which at $150 per figure is an even better
deal (but then I spotted the hidden shipping charges of $150, so we’re
back to square one!).
So, I base my score on the actual price charged at the event, and
though I don’t give them a perfect score I have a feeling that those
paying the secondary market prices might think $336 is total bargain!
Fun
Factor - *** 3/4
There are so many factors that will without a doubt insure that these
figures never ever actually get played with by a child, and they are-
1- Rarity
2- Price
3- Fragility
4- You would have to be mentally disturbed to let a kid even look at
these, let alone touch them!
5- Did I mention the rarity and price?
So these are almost certainly going to end up exclusively in the
possession of collectors (and serious collectors at that) who will
either keep them mint and boxed in an hermetically sealed chamber, or
carefully displayed on a shelf/cabinet (preferably behind glass, those
rubber Batsuits are a dust magnet donchaknow!). So it’s hard to think
in terms of actual fun ‘playing’ with them ‘per se’. But in terms of
the actual joy and smug self satisfaction that you would get from the
simple ownership of this set is almost immeasurable. To the 1/6th
collecting community, especially the Batman fans within those ever
swelling ranks, then these are the equivalent to a pair of Fabergé
eggs, and as such it’s difficult to gauge them as any thing other than
at least ‘approaching’ perfection, and I for one love’em!
Overall-
Bats ***1/2, Scarecrow ****
This is a cool set whichever way you look at it, comprising of two
figures that will have pretty much any fan of the Nolan Batman movies
champing at the bit. Plus they have the added bonus of being from the
first movie which so far has been much underexposed in terms of hi-end
figures. I’d never dream of telling Hot Toys what to do (after all they
are the kings of all they survey and I am a lowly reviewer), however I
(like so many other fans) would so love to see figures of Gordon and
Alfred (maybe even a limited edition Lucius) to really make the Batman
line complete. Is this likely however? Well are bears catholic, I guess
not, but a fan boy can dream!
So
in terms of what these bring to the table, I am very happy. Truth be
told even if we had got a Cillian Murphy portrait, I probably wouldn’t
have used it, and the Demon Bats is such a strikingly cool looking
figure he’s a bit of a ‘cult’ classic. That said I have already had
‘friends’ say, “WTF is that”, and “when did Batman ever actually look
like that?” And so after explaining the scenario and plot back to these
people (people who have actually seen the movie, people with memories
like a goldfish) they tend to give knowing nods and say things like “ah
yeah, that was cool, now I remember”. Needless to say, these are not
the people who feel the necessity to own this set… but there again few
people actually do. In point of fact, the reason that you will need to
own this is because you, like me and a select few others are sad lost
souls, totally addicted to not only geeky fan boy movies, but also
severely addicted to Hot Toys 1/6th… we are a lost cause, I rest my
case!
Where to buy
If you weren’t in attendance at the 10th Anniversary show, or you don’t
have the kind of good connections who know where to score the top
deals, then this is a bit on an unknown quantity.
However
eBay is as always an option, but be prepared to part with as much as $800
right down to what might seem like a reasonable deal, like the pair for
$300
, but then I noticed that they had a whacked a $150 shipping charge on
top of the $300… so just ignore that one!
However
with the popularity of the whole Batman franchise I can’t see the
prices on these going anywhere but further and further north! You can
always search eBay
for yourself, looking for a new deal.
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This product was provided free for the review by the manufacturer.
Photos and text by Jeff Parker.
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