REVIEW: MCFARLANE TOYS DC MULTIVERSE YEAR 1 - PART 2!
TOYFARCE REVIEWS:
MCFARLANE TOYS DC MULTIVERSE YEAR 1 - PART 2!
It’s Wednesday. You know what that means… ToyFarce review!
We’re continuing the McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Year 1 reviews, with part 2. Full disclosure, I skipped the Wonder Woman wave, because I didn’t think they looked great, and was waiting to see what a MAFEX or SH Figuarts would look like before getting one, and now that we’ve seen the movie, well…I won’t be getting those either.
I had already typed a very nice and long review for each figures, but my browser crashed right at the end and I don’t have time right now to rewrite it all, so this will be a bit shorter than the last one. Apologies to the 3 people that actually read it!
BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM WAVE
The “Batman: Arkham” video game franchise is one of my favorite video game franchises, and I already did collect most action figures that came out from those games, so when those were announced, it was a no-brainer.
BATMAN (ARKHAM ASYLUM):
Great figure, very simple and basic Batman, which is never a bad thing. The only issue everybody had were the eyes, that are basically just a blue/black dot. Some people did an amazing job repainting them (either white or more detailled).
Comparison with Hot Toys, Square Enix Play Arts, and DC Direct Arkham Asylum Batman figures
THE JOKER (ARKHAM ASYLUM)
Finally, the first Joker from McFarlane Toys! When I first saw the promo pics, I was a bit concerned about the head, which looked a bit odd, but in the end, he looks pretty great. The expression looked goofier on the promo pics.
Comparison with Hot Toys, Square Enix Play Arts, and DC Direct Arkham Asylum The Joker figures
* insert epic music *
Generations of Arkham Asylum Batman and Joker
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT WAVE
Batman: White Knight was a fantastic comic book by writer/artist Sean Murphy (Punk Rock Jesus, The Wake, Chrononauts). When that wave was announced, I was very excited to get big 7” figures from that comic book, with that design.
BATMAN (WHITE KNIGHT)
This figure looks like it walked right out of the comic book. It is SPOT-ON. It also has a nice range of articulations so can recreate many poses from the comic book and covers (we've all seen the pictures at this point). It comes with a grappling gun and 2 different ropes for it (rolled or straight). There is a peg on his belt to attach the rolled one, which is a great touch.
THE JOKER (WHITE KNIGHT)
The headsculpts, especially the Jack Napier (no make-up) one also look like they came right out of the comic book. The outfit is the GTO (Gotham Terrorism Oppression) uniform from the comic book. Not the most memorable, but it is nice to have variety, so I'm not complaining!
“KAPOW!”, “CRUNCH!”, “BAM!”
AZRAEL (CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT)
The sequel to Batman: White Night came out a year later (2019). In the comic book, Jack Napier/The Joker recruits Azrael to help uncover a dark secret of Gotham. That figure is an amazing representation of that Azrael. It comes with his sword with a fire effect, and it looks incredible.
Batman: White Knight wave
DARK NIGHTS: METAL WAVE
It was very expected that McFarlane Toys would do action figures from the Dark Nights: Metal comic book, especially since Greg Capullo, Todd's old Spawn comic book buddy, did all the designs, and they did not disappoint! The figures look exactly like in the comic books, and one of them is indeed a lot of plastic!
BATMAN (EARTH -32) aka DAWNBREAKER
In the comic book, a young Bruce Wayne is recruited by the Green Lantern corps right after losing his parents. He tries to reanimate them, but can't, and his will, anger, and grief override the Green Lantern ring. He then decides to fight crime…lethally. The figure comes with a flight stand and a bat-construct made of green light.
BATMAN (EARTH -44) aka MURDER MACHINE
This is what happens when Batman asks Cyborg to create an A.I to replace the recently deceased Alfred, and it becomes a virus, taking over Bruce Wayne's mind, becoming a lethat weapon that will kill anything that could be a threat to Batman (friend or does). The figure is the simplest one of this wave, but the details are very nice.
BATMAN (EARTH -1) aka DEVASTATOR
Devastator is from a planet of the Dark Multiverse where Batman used the Doomsday virus on himself in order to defeat Superman. The virus ends up spreading and he cannot save his world. That figure is part of the “That’s a lot of plastic!” figures that Todd McFarlane talked about in his interviews. It reminds me of the Overkill figure from the very first Spawn wave.
THE GRIM KNIGHT
The Grim Knight is the Punisher equivalent of Batman. When his parents were killed, young Bruce Wayne managed to get the gun from his parents' killer and shot him dead. He would then become a vigilante that relies heavily on weapons, and killing. A lot.
WAVE… 6? (MISCELLANEOUS WAVE)
A Flash, a Joker and an armored Azrael? Well, why the hell not? Let's gooooo.
THE FLASH (REBIRTH)
That is a very decent Flash figure that is only made better by the addition of the lightning effects (yeah, the one from the two-pack with Red Death doesn't come with those, so you need that one too. Damn you, Todd!). His facial expression, a smirk, is pretty nice for a Flash figure. (The one from the two-pack has an angrier face).
* All the single ladies, all the single ladies 🎵 *
Comparison with DC Collectibles TV, Designer Series Greg Capullo and Essentials Flash figures
THE JOKER (REBIRTH)
Now that is the one that I was the most disappointed with, to be honest. I had high expectations for a comic book version of the Joker from McFarlane Toys. I understand it's a call back to the Super Powers figure color-scheme, which is nice, but that head sculpt and paint really suck (in my opinion). He doesn't look anything like the Rebirth version. The red eye make-up is awfulb(once again, in my opinion). I guess I'll wait for the next one… the figure still had decent articulations, though. Crowbar + long gun as accessories.
Comparison with DC Direct Hush, Designer series, Tamashii nations Injustice, DC direct New 52, mezco Joker, DC Collectibles Essentials, Kotobukiya, DC Collectibles Icons and Comics Joker
AZRAEL (CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT)
Beefed-up Azrael from the Curse of the White Knight storyline? Yep. The figure looks awesome but the articulations are pretty restricted. Still a great looking figure.
Comparison with all DC Multiverse White Knight figures
Next time, part 3 will go up to the Flashpoint Batman.
More news at 11:00… That’s a lot of plastic!
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