The first character to wear the mantle of Azrael was in 1992's Batman: Sword of Azrael. He is a deeply psychologically conditioned assassin/hunter for the Order of St. Dumas. Jean Paul Valley slowly works his way up to becoming an ally and even replacement for Batman. In the Knightfall storyline, Batman has his back broken, and allows Valley to replace him as Batman. However, Jean-Paul's methods are more brutal than Batman's, and he even reinvents the Batman suit to include claws, lasers and other more deadly gadgets.
The second character to wear the mantle of Azrael was Michael Lane. He is introduced in 2009s Azrael: Death's Dark Knight. Equipped with the Lazarus pit dipped Suit of Sorrows and the Sword of Sin, he is the champion for a different order.
In the Arkham games, Azrael is a mix of both character histories. He is Michael Lane, but works for the Order of St. Dumas. He sees himself as a prophet, and tells Batman he is seeking to observe if Batman will be the warrior who will save Gotham at the cost of his own life. In Arkham Knight he sees the prophecy is coming true, and asks to be trained by Batman to replace him as Gotham City's protector. Then, shenanigans ensue!
This figure is really well done. His articulation gets somewhat limited by the soft rubbery plastic of his clothes, but even with that said, it is very decent. The paint details are fantastic on this figure, and I can't really think of any other way it could be better. The sword accessory is great as well. Overall, a very solid figure. I wasn't explicitly looking for him, but seeing him at original prince to add to the nicely developed Arkham Knight line, I couldn't help myself!
Sculpt/Paint: 10/10 Fantastic This figure has a TON of detail. Just as much paint wise and sculpt wise. There might be some minor paint flaws, but honestly he is a superb in-game representation, and the details are not even a little neglected.
Articulation: 7/10 Good. 21 points. He has double jointed knees, and good ankle and wrist articulation. His elbows are single jointed, but still have 90 degree bends, and another swivel. The diaphragm crunch is pretty decent as well. Cons: It is REALLY difficult to swivel the head inside the hood. I didn't have this much trouble with Robin. There is no thigh or boot cuff swivel and the legs do not spread very far. The arms are difficult to put up horizontally as well (though it is possible...careful of the soft shoulder pad materials though!
Price/Availability: 7/10 Good. Many online stores and the occasional collectible store will still have this figure at regular price. I picked this one at a city collector store, and also found it online for its original price.
Accessories: 2/5 Okay. He has a similar number of gadgets in the game that Batman does, but he only comes with the sword. That said, the sword is great. Very large, solid, well detailed and painted. Extra hands wouldn't have been a bad idea though!
Fun Factor: 3/5 Good. As a newly bought figure, he gets an easy three. He is pretty stiff to maneuver but this is offset by the incredible amount of details he has. Plus, sword!
Verdict: 29/40 Good. Very well done figure is many aspects, some limited articulation, but ultimately a great addition to the Arkham collection, despite his smaller role in the games.
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| Really good job on the paint and sculpt here. |
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| Pretty low kick, but he's balanced |
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| Thrust |
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| Nice details on the shredded cape |
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| Action pose! |
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| He was pretty fun to use in fights in-game |
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| Training days! |
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| One possible outcome in the game |
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| I have the POWER!!!! |
Azrael is a character that's really a gap in my knowledge of the DCU. I was peripherally aware of him but never followed his story. This figure looks pretty neat though. The Knights Templar-esque design is cool and I can see some callbacks to his 90's-tastic costume with the cape and even the spikes on the sword. The mask reads a bit too "goalie mask" for me but otherwise an interesting look.
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