McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse - Batgirl (DC Rebirth: The Art of the Crime)

So when this one was released I was a bit surprised "When did Batgirl get a suit change?!? I thought she got one already in DC Rebirth? (Purple and yellow biker suit). As it turns out, during an encounter with Grotesque, the microchip that circumvents her spinal injury --inflicted by Joker--  has begun short-circuiting. She is suitless at the time and she has to make an emergency stop at a hideout to retrieve an old prototype suit, which is actually inspired by her very first suit as Batgirl; the grey and yellow. The original had a blue cowl/mask, where this new version has a black mask that has the ears pointing through the hair. This change all takes place in the DC Rebirth comic The Art of the Crime where Batgirl is investigating a bunch of art thefts and murders all over Burnside. 

This is definitely not my favourite suit. Like with Batman, I prefer Batgirl, and subsequently everyone in the Bat-family to have some solid black clothes and masks. This looks pretty good but is a big departure from her original DC Rebirth appearance. It seems fans or maybe the artists didn't want to keep Batgirl as young and hip with her phone and Instagramming and switched to a more mature look. It's just not my favourite colour scheme, ok?!

The figure itself is pretty poseable and you can get more out of the hip swivel than most figures from McFarlane's DC Multiverse. The accessories are ok, but I'm not fond of the brick-sized batarang and squiggly rope from the grapple gun. Aesthetically the paint and sculpts are good though, so here are the numbers for those number lovers! 

Sculpt/Paint: 4/5 It's not perfect but definitely good. There are a few splotches or missed lines but overall they kept the paint clean and added nice shading into the cape folds and hair. I like how the ball-jointed ankles and wrists actually seem continuous with her arms and not so out of place (like Nightwing). The cape I wished they didn't have it as asymmetrical in the swoosh, but there are worse things. 

Articulation: 5/5 (32 points) Good range of motion here for all the typical DC McFarlane joints. Because of her slim arms and the fact they took the cape sculpt off the shoulders, she has full motion there. The neck movement is a little restricted by the hair, but it is a softer material for the hair that does have some give. The torso joints are pretty so-so here. I can get the diaphragm joint to do some side to side, but next to no crunch, even when combining the waist joint. I dunno! The legs have good movement and the hips have better than average swivel compared to other McFarlane toys which is essential to dynamic stances. 

Accessories: 2/5 (2 kinda eehh pieces): So they really just included a stand and card of her comic inspiration (standard), a piece of the Build-a-Batmobile (looks good), and two accessories: her Batarang and her grapnel gun. The Batarang is the exactly same, weirdly thick brick they gave the McFarlane Toys Batman (#1000) but painted in yellow gold. It looks pretty awkward and more like she'll bludgeon someone to death with it rather than throwing it to artfully slow down criminals. The grapnel gun is also the same as other Batman figures. I don't like it much. It's got the squiggle effect designed to make it look like it was just launched but....aesthetically I don't find it looks like much. The line looks so incredibly thick, it's like there's no way that's coming out of that gun to a length anyone believes. I realize it's a comic book figure but...yeah. 

Fun Factor: 3/5 Not bad! She can get some good poses and even balances for a kick on one foot. I appreciate this new Batgirl suit, but not enough to like it more than the Black/Gold or Purple/Yellow iteration. 

Verdict: 14/20 Good. Still in the good range, no regrets buying it, but if not for the build a batmobile piece (I already had Batman who Laughs and Nightwing so no point in not getting the last piece!), I might not have bought this one. Good work Mcfarlane, you sucked me in! 

 

I like the expression! Eyes are super well done
but the paint is like, slight off the mask

Not my favourite way to sculpt
a cape but look at that shade! 

Accessories! They're...ok!

A kick that is Better than Nightwing

Those splits though

That's gonna hurt when it hits

DC nearly always ships these two

So even with Arkham Knight pre-Oracle Batgirl,
McFarlane's is HELLA tall. That neck I realize is part of the reason.
Best mix of colours: Oracle
 Favourite colours: Arkham Knight Batgirl
Best face sculpt/paint: Mcfarlane Batgirl
My favourite: DC Icons Batgirl
Shiniest: New 52 Batgirl

In action!