Mafex The Dark Knight: Joker 2.0

In The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan, one thing stood out above all the rest in the film regardless of whether you are a superhero/Batman fan or not: the performance by the late Heath Ledger.  He was amazing as the Joker because he put such a unique take on the character's personality and appearance while also keeping to the essentials of what Joker's motivational psychopathy from the comics.

Mafex Medicom The Dark Knight Rises Batman 3.0

I really thought that Christopher Nolan did a great job of his Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises set of films. They were meant to be his own universe and his own slightly more realistic (as realistic as you can get with a superhero) take on Batman. There have been a few releases of Mafex Batmen from these movies, and out of the few I've seen, this one from The Dark Knight Rises seems to be one of the best all around. I much preferred the second film, but I enjoyed them all in their own way.

This and the Joker are my first Mafex figures, so I was really excited to have them and see what Mafex has been doing. They didn't disappoint. The details in sculpting and paint seem often superior to what S.H. Figuarts does, the articulation is top notch and the accessories are plentiful.
Also, this is my first figure that has a bendy-wire cape! So much fun what you can do with this guy!
This one has definitely become a top figure in my collection.

Mattel Multiverse - Batman (Batman Forever)

Batman Forever and its sequel, Batman & Robin, are not the fan favourites. In fact, most fans soundly denounce them. I recently rewatched Batman Forever for the sake of this review, mostly to compare scenes and likeness to the figure. I was a bit surprised that Forever does, in fact, do something better than the other films, such as a much longer romance and dialogue between Bruce and Dr. Meridian. His combat scenes are a bit more interesting to watch, though this may be mostly due to the improvement in the bat suit for the actor. Keaton couldn't turn his head in the cowl, so they had to use less dynamic fight scenes.

Regardless given that this is a 30 dollar figure, his likeness isn't too bad. They captured most of the look in the mask, even if the paint is a bit thick and lacking any shading/highlights to bring out the rest of the facial features. The general shape is pretty good, though I find the neck is a bit too thin. This may be mostly to allow some (albeit very limited) head movement.  I've held off on buying many Mattel figures for DC but I'm finding lately they have quite improved on the articulation and sculpt for their figures. This one has actually a ton of articulation points and even (a bit of a flimsy) toe hinge! Wow. The accessories are extensive enough and the best part (in my collector mind) is that the storage for all the pieces can fit in the stand he comes with. Bravo! That's classy, Mattel.