Jay's Toy Shelf : McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse

The mother of the Anti-Monitor, Over-Monitor, and World Forger is kind of the villain of the Omniverse. Perpetua is a highly feared super celestial being, and not to be trifled with! She is responsible for creating the "Dark Multiverse", a set of multiverses made of all the bad decisions and nightmares conjured up by every other multiverse. Unlike other Multiverses, which see the light of day, the Dark Multiverses are constantly deteriorating and dying. It is out of these that we get the stories of the Dark Knights: Metal storylines. In one of these many nightmarish worlds, an amalgam of Batman and the Joker has created The Batman Who Laughs; a nightmarish tall ghoul dressed in black leather strips, a spiked collar covering his eyes, and controlling several "Robins" kept on chains. He is one of the Scions of Perpetua. He combines the tactical prowess of Batman and the nihilism of the Joker, along with his dark metal "collar" which acts as a visor into future events. He also has a weakness to Nth metal.

The figure is one I had to have because...well it's the first Batman Who Laughs action figure. Reading the comics and seeing how McFarlane Toys is pretty much making every Dark Multiverse villain character required that I start collecting them all now!

The figure is pretty great. It has really good poseability limited only slightly in the shoulders due to the sharp shoulder pads, and the neck due to the collar. These are design elements though, so no biggie. The psychotic look is so cool, and I can't wait for the version with wings and "Robin" figures that will be released. He comes with a few weapons which is always a welcome addition.

Sculpt/Paint: 4/5 Don't be surprised if this number doesn't really change between any of the McFarlane figures. Basically, they do a good job of the paint details, the shading, and accented parts but always have some scuffs or some parts with sloppy paint mishaps. They mix a good amount of glossy and matte black to highlight parts of the costume. I love the smile and teeth expression painted in. He is perfect in that he has the all-black, armored look of Batman with the lanky body and sharper look of Joker.

Articulation: 5/5 (32 points) Limited range in the neck and head joints, and some limiting in the shoulders are really all that interfere with the figure's range and articulation points. They've hidden an ab crunch in the rubbery leather of the figure as well as a waist swivel. Arms and legs have double joints in all the right places. I forgot to mention in the Joker that both that figure and this one have bicep cuts that allow a better range and because they are mostly straight arms, doesn't break up the sculpt too much. The trademark McFarlane hip joints are there that allow full splits and some decent back and forth as well as a touch of the hip swivel. He's also got those toe hinges! They don't really do much to help with anything in particular.

Accessories: 3/5 He comes with a sickle, a knife, his stand, card, and a piece of the build-a-batmobile that creates a small scale Batmobile. They are all well paint and sculpted enough and look cool when he's holding the weapons. I would've liked it if they had included his chain with the batarang attached and some fist hands but you know! That's gonna be my wish for nearly any figure. The hands I mean!

Fun Factor: 4/5 He's so neat, and posing him with some real chain and getting those "robins" is going to make him a game-changer. He looks great placed in a menacing attack pose on the shelf against Batman and Joker, and even if you've never read the comics, he's a sweet design to pick up, so get him today before the price gets artificially jacked on Amazon or wherever you buy it!

Verdict: 16/20 Great Another great figure by McFarlane, and I suspect most of my ratings will stay the same for these going forward. I highly recommend getting this character especially it being the first one. Wait too long and the scalpers will come for you! This type of fear-mongering is exactly what a Jays-Who-Laughs is bound to do.