Bringing back the same Batman Who Laughs you know and love (see review here if you missed who the Batman Who Laughs is: Batman Who Laughs review), McFarlane toys made him part of the Build-a-Figure The Merciless because he's a much cooler iteration, and THOSE WINGS THOGH.
Alright, let's rewind a second. Sky Tyrant is Hawkman of Earth 3 (No, not -3, just 3), where good and evil are reversed. He's of course hella evil and kills to prolong his own life. He actually dies on this Earth, but Hawkman of Prime Earth does end up being infected by The Batman Who Laugh's toxin and unlocks these memories and violent tendencies of his Earth 3 alternate self. He eventually becomes part of the Secret Six alongside other infected heroes.
The reality is, Batman Who Laughs never actually rips off Carter Hall/Hawkman/Sky Tyrants wings and uses them. That's just a variant cover for Hawkman #18. It is cool though! I like how they mixed up the chest gear and wings for Hawkman into Laughs. The sculpting as usual is both unique in places, amazing, and highly detailed. They really left out some paint here that they would have previously put on though, which I think is a product of Todd rushing through figures as fast as they can be made. Not complaining, but definitely, it's noticeable the product painting is less detailed than usual lately. He comes with the wings, The Merciless head, shoulder pauldrons, blade, and of course the stand and card.
Sculpt/Paint: 2/3 This one is definitely missing some little details to make the big robe stand out, as well as a muddily painted abdomen clasp. He's still great overall for paint, but none of the buckles or studs on his coat are painted. I will likely do that myself, and wouldn't usually notice it except the first Batman Who Laughs has all those details done up. His face sculpt and paint is amazing though. Far better a head than the first Batman Who Laughs. I would also note that his wings have a nice dry brushed layer on them.
Articulation: 3/3 He's still very mobile. His head has a lot of range, as do his knees and wrists. The wings can go just about anywhere as well! The soft rubbery cloak doesn't restrict his shoulder range much at all. His ab does have a hidden joint that allows a bit of crunch forward and more bacwkards. The only limited range pieces are the hip range and the ankles are a bit funny in that they are harder to pose than other figures in the line. I've also realized lately I'm not a fan of how intense they sculpt the treads on the boots for the Batman Who Laughs figures and a few others. They are uneven and make the figure unstable. As usually, he comes with toe hinges.
Accessories: 1/1 He doesn't really need much. Batman Who Laughs is a near-omnipotent being at points in the comics. He doesn't actually need wings either since he can both time travel and levitate. The wings are awesome though, and the Merciless parts are well done.
Fun Factor: 2/3 He's got a lot of cool options for the wings, but because of the hip and ankle restrictions, plus the cloak to a smaller degree, you'll likely pick a pose or two and keep him in those. He's pretty unbalanced, with the wings surprisingly being the point you can help manipulate to keep him standing. He does look super cool though.
Verdict: 8/10 Worthy! This is a very worthwhile figure. Even if you don't care about the Merciless build a figure, or Batman who laughs in general, he still looks great and the wings you could always use for other figures! I am 100% sure customizers out there are happy to have really nice articulated wings for whatever figures they are working on. Let's see if they make a Darkest Knight version of him now. Won't be super interesting since he's an omnipotent all shadowy black figure who can challenge multiverse Gods, but why not! That's never stopped McFarlane before.
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| Muy excellente head sculpt. I love the attention to detail with the open mouth, teeth and washes |
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| Oh glorious wings! |
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| Accessories |
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| Still balancing! That's shocking. I can't get my SH Figuarts Injustice Batman to do the same with his plastic cape "wings". |
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| Accessories from the first Batman Who Laughs still fit in his hands FYI |
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| The right is superior in nearly every way, but for whatever reason, you'll notice they painted the buckles and rivets on the first released but not the second. Strange. |
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| Robin slave! This combined with the outfit smacks of some BDSM in the dark multiverses! |
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