DC Collectibles Robin - Arkham City

I've said it before, but Robin's design in the Arkham games is kinda neat I think. The issue with Robin if you're trying to hide your identity is he only has a domino mask. Not very identity hiding, to be honest. He's got a short cape so it doesn't get in the way of his acrobatics but still hides his profile a bit from the back. He's got his hood up to hide most of his head, and some armoured boots and gauntlets. He has a bit of a side mission in Arkham City where you play as him for a short amount of time in order to rescue Batman. I really enjoyed the mechanics of his extending staff and bullet shield. 

This figure in particular is quite a bit of an articulation loss when it compares to the Mattel Legacy Robin or the Arkham Knight Robin. The paint isn't bad, though they skipped out on some valuable shading. What I don't quite get is he comes with a black, featureless staff. In the game, it is supposed to be dull grey metal, with ridges throughout to indicate the extension capabilities and reinforced nature. This is just....a long piece of black plastic cut to size. Anyway! It's not the worst but if it wasn't for the lot I wouldn't have bothered even though it's my favourite design between his appearances in City, Origin and Arkham Knight.  

Sculpt/Paint: 2/3 There is a definite lack of shading definition on this one compared to others in the line. the skin tone, face, shirt and metal pieces are pretty plain. The sculpt is decent enough though with texturing on the shirt, and a nice shape to the cape that I prefer over the other two Arkham Robins I've reviewed. I do think the feet are too small and the hood flares out a little too comically. 

Articulation:2/3 (17 points) The articulation on this one kinda kills me because he is supposed to be even more acrobatic than Batman but is pretty limited. The head and hood actually spin as one, while still hiding the seam so that's not so bad. However, there is no waist twist. What? Why? It could've been easily hidden in the belt. Makes no sense. The shoulders have decent range, and he has a shirt cuff cut swivel, decent elbow bend and wrist swivel. The hips just have swivels, and then there's a knee bend and boot cuff. That's ok but not fantastic or anything. Lower body wise it's difficult to put him in a neat pose. His knees really don't want to bend much at all. 

Accessories: 0/1 I'm definitely marking this harder because I love the Bat-family and Robin in particular. The staff choice makes no sense. It's just...not his staff. It would've also been nice had they included his bullet shield and/or an unextended staff. 

Fun Factor: 1/3 He's not bad-looking on the shelf but stands out from other Arkham figures because he is missing that dark wash that evokes the grimy look of the video games. The stances are limited so that's also a factor in making him less. Also, he falls over like nobody's business even in a vanilla pose due to the tiny feet. 

Verdict: 5/10 Poor I would let a non-combative villain figure get away with some things here, but there's not a lot of reasons to make a figure this close but far enough from being all it could've been, even at its price point and time in the market. I just don't recommend this particular robin figure. I'm really hoping McFarlane will make a cool Arkham Robin figure! You don't need this one unless you're a completionist for Arkham City in particular. 

Sweet cape and I like the shininess of the finish!

Surprised I got him here without a stand! 
That cape is sturdy

All the Arkham Robins. It's kinda crazy how
wildly different in proportions they are. I think Mattel
might have the most sensible hood design. Knight has the best articulation and accessories. 

There's the three! Minus Batman's skinniness, 
they might be more or less of appropriate height with
Nightwing being older and maybe taller. His head is way big though.