McFarlane Toys Jason Blood/Etrigan - Demon Knights New 52

Jason Blood is an expert in the occult and demonology from the 6th century. When the demon Etrigan was ravaging the area, Merlin bound the demon to Jason. From then on, Jason of the Blood has become an immortal being who can transform from man to demon upon uttering the rhyme:

Change! Change! O’ form of man!

Free the prince forever damned!
Free the might from fleshy mire!
Boil the blood in the heart for fire!
Gone! Gone! O’ form of man!
Rise the demon Etrigan!

His human side curbs the evil malevolence of Etrigan and the end result is a bit of a bawdy antihero. Jason Blood is immortal to the effects of age, able to use a wide variety of magic, and has all the martial knowledge of 15 centuries...which is a lot! This particular iteration of Jason Blood is from the Demon Knights comics. This is set in the Medieval era of DCU's universe, where Etrigan is working with Madame Xanadu through an exciting storyline that involves Hell, undead knights of Arthur's court, Vandal Savage and the murder of Merlin. Cool stuff!

This figure was bought just out of a pure desire for a really cool-looking demon figure. I have no particular attachment to Etrigan, though I do love his rare appearances in DC animated movies (which is the only decent way DC can do shows or films, fight me!). 

McFarlane Toys Arkham Origins Deathstroke Vs. DC Collectibles Arkham Origins Deathstroke

 In full credit to Toy Galaxy's youtube channel for when Dan did comparisons between two of the same figures from different companies or lines, this is a quick comparison of the two Arkham Origins Deathstroke figures. A note: This comparison uses an unhelmeted DC Collectibles version vs. a McFarlane version I actually added paint to because it lacked so much paint. 

Here are our categories!     Sculpt and Paint
                                            Overall Accuracy
                                            Accessories
                                            Articulation
 

McFarlane Toys Deathstroke - Arkham Origins

 

Probably the coolest of all the DC Villains after Joker, Deathstroke is the Batman (with extra experimentation!) of the villain world. A gadget and martial arts villain, he really shines in the Arkham Origins game. The fight scene at the beginning is probably the best cut scene in the game hands down, and later on, he is the toughest boss in the Arkham franchise, especially if you play New Game Plus mode. 

I've previously reviewed Deathstroke from DC Collectibles here: DC Collectibles DeathstrScuoke. That figure did some things better than this one, some worse. I actually like the darker tones on the figure BUT there were a lot of areas that were not painted compared to both that figure and the game source material. Like, the left chainmail rib side wasn't painted at all. It's just so weird! Why McFarlane? Why you gotta rush your process so much? I actually went ahead and painted silver for the ab plating outline, the chainmail, and black over some of the battle damaged textures. It wasn't great but it looks much better than the plainness that was there before. I would much prefer McFarlane make fewer figures of higher quality and price than do stuff like this honestly. ANYWAY, it's decent for posing, the blade is bent but of a good sculpt. He is a bit lacking in accessories though, since he really only comes with the blade and that's it. No staff? Also, the nicely painted gun is sculpted and not something that can be removed from the holster. Missed opportunity! 

For all my gripes it is a decent enough figure and I like having a helmeted version of the character from the game that can scale well with the other McFarlane Arkham figures. 

McFarlane Toys Arkham Knight Batman Vs. DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Batman

In full credit to Toy Galaxy's youtube channel for when Dan did comparisons between two of the same figures from different companies or lines, this is a quick comparison of the two Arkham Knight Batmans: DC Collectibles vs. McFarlane toys. A note: This comparison uses the Battle Damaged version from DC collectibles as I never got the original! 

Here are our categories!     Sculpt and Paint
                                            Overall Accuracy
                                            Accessories
                                            Articulation
 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batman - Arkham Knight

 I've previously reviewed a DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Batman here: Arkham Knight Batman. It was a pretty decent figure with some flaws. I hadn't realized at the time to check, but that was a battle-damaged version with some mud and paint details added. My main complaint with the DC Collectibles one was the head size: it was way too small. In general, the proportions on that one weren't great though I will say it did have good paint detail and very shiny shoulder pads. I will do a comparison post shortly. 

This one is far nicer in many respects: Decent proportions, the sculpt details clearly show all his armoured parts, and he's got the bulkiness in the right places. He's fairly well-articulated but has fewer paint details. The accessories are enough here but no paint and AGAIN, no punching hands. This is a character you play in a video game that is literally punching enemies all the time when he isn't using gadgets or the batmobile.

DC Collectibles Firefly - Arkham Origins

In the Arkham Universe,  Garfield Lynds is a former FX artist for Panessa studios and raging pyromaniac. After being fired from his job, he later gets a job working for the military developing torching weapons. An accident causes him to be lit on fire, burning part of his body. He steals a military-grade suit and jetpack and causes havoc to the city. In Origins, he is hired as one of the 8 assassins to kill Batman. He plants bombs under a bridge as a trap for Batman and tries to burn him up! It does not go as planned. 

I quite like this design for Firefly. Most of the time he's got a strange skin-tight suit, regular-looking jetpack, goggles, and a flamethrower. This one is neat in how his wings have fans and reminds me a lot of how they did Vulture's wings in Spiderman: Homecoming. He helmet with goggles and other armor pieces add to a much cooler-looking Firefly. That said, he's not super poseable, and the wings and tubing that leads to his gun can be frustrating to the point where I actually glued the wings in place. I was able to get him for a lot cheaper than he is sold online. This is HARD to find. I feel like I spent three years searching for this one for under 100. Now, the 8 assassins are complete!!! 

Mattel Vampire Batman - Batman Unlimited

 

There have been many famous toy lines that have inspired tv shows and film: Transformers, He-Man, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony to name a few. Certainly less famous, yet still inspired by a toy line, is Batman Unlimited. Spawning several direct-to-video movies and three seasons of a show, there have been a few different action figures in different styles. I own one, Batgirl, in her classic New 52 uniform, and now this Vampire Batman. It's too bad he never appeared in the show, because he looks amazing. There have been many comics where the temptation to make Batman a vampire has been too great: the Batman & Dracula trilogy to name one. I get it! Imagine Batman as a super-strong mutant that can fly! Reall would it have been so bad if that was Batman all along?? 

Anyway, this figure is a product of 2015, with pretty classic Mattel articulation. He comes with a single accessory, some kind of red dagger/cross which I don't have since I got this in a lot sale. Regardless, he's pretty cool and I couldn't resist a clean-looking, undead version of Batman to go along with my many, many other iterations of the character. 

Bandai 2003 Kakashi Hatake - Naruto

 We're back with another figure of Kakashi Hatake, only this is an extremely rare one. If you hadn't seen my most viewed post ever, Bandai 2003 Sasuke, you may not know that this figure is part of the same limited line that was made in 2003 alongside Naruto, which for the life of me I can't find anywhere. At the time, these were the most poseable figures from the show released in Japan. The character of Kakashi I've gone over quickly here (SH Figuarts Kakashi) but in case you didn't know, he is the teacher and leader of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha from the anime Naruto. This is one of my favourite characters alongside Shikamaru and Naruto himself. He is a famous ninja in the world, using a wide array of techniques mastered over his years in the ninja wars. 

Like the Sasuke figure, he is chock FULL of accessories including the art scroll which someday I will find a way to hang so that it doesn't get exposed too much to dust and light. He is shorter and less poseable than the SH figuarts Naruto line, but that doesn't stop this figure from being pretty great in its own rights. 

IN OTHER exciting news, SH Figuarts is revisiting the Naruto line with exciting new face plates and advanced articulation. From the promotion pics I'm pretty excited. ESPECIALLY because they are finally making a female figure for the line, Sakura Haruno. You can be I've already preordered all three even though I have a few Naruto figures at this point and one teenage Sasuke. Visit Hobbylink or Tamashii nations directly to see promo pics and preorders! 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Damien Wayne - Teen Titans

 There have been many Robins over the years, but four stand out namely: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne. I like Dick Grayson better as Nightwing, Jason better as Red Hood, which leaves the other two. I really like Damian Wayne. Is he somewhat sociopathic? Sure, but that's because he was raised by Talia and his grandfather, Ra's Al Ghul. I think Tim Drake is still the best Robin on paper though. Smart, tech-savvy, excellent detective, and a really good leader. 

This is a pretty good scale and look for robin. He's got the yellow fringe and red, the nice black cape, hood, and long green gloves and boots. Everything you need! He also has the green mask, something that is standard for Damian as opposed to the other robins. I like his somewhat surly downturned mouth look, captures that contemptuous nature of Damian. What I'm not fond of is his sword. It's really supposed to be Deathstroke's sword but I would've much preferred Robin's katana. This one is too long and it's almost everyone's reviews and pictures I can see --including my own-- it's bent like crazy. 

McFarlane Toys Primaris Space Marine Hellblaster - Warhammer 40,000

 

Ral Partha and Warhammer/Warhammer 40K were the first things that got me into the miniature painting hobby. Typically 28 mm in scale, assembling, painting, detailing and putting decals on these was an obsession of mine in high school. It was just fun! I did actually play a few games after building up a small army of Blood Angel space marines, but never quite had the money for anything large like a tank or dreadnought. Anyway! Noticing McFarlane has been making a few of these, I passed on most of them, but there's a couple I'm interested in. I had to pick this one up because it just SANG Blood Angel to me. A few things have changed since I played the game, namely the Primaris title. I guess they are an even more advanced space marine. Ok! 

There are many cool people that do this hobby, but unfortunately, it does seem to attract a lot of bigots. To be fair the primary story doesn't really make you feel morally good about any particular side. Everyone is basically just teams of space colonizers in one form or another, or being oppressed by Space Marines. 

That said, this is a huge, bulky, and amazing figure representation. I love the colours, detail and I'm very very surprised at how easy it is to pose. It may have a lot to do with the weight and heft, to be honest! I probably won't collect lots from the 40k line, but at least a few Zer...I mean Tyranids! and maybe any more Blood Angel-looking ones. This one also had a gold label Lieutenant release which looks great. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Dark Father - Dark Knights: Death Metal

 

The Dark Father is a Batman from one of the Dark Multiverses that defeated Darkseid and acquired his powers as well as mastery of the Anti-Life equation. He even changed the parademons into pararobins! Interesting. Anyway, he is put in charge of powering the sun or at least making the captured Superman of the new world power it anyway. The Death Metal Batman and Wonderwoman infiltrate...the Sun I guess! and free Superman, who punches Dark Father out into space! Theatrical to say the least. 

This figure isn't what I was looking for, but overall it's not bad. After buying the Death Metal figure line, you assemble all the pieces, and they fit pretty nicely, but not so tight you are worried about disassembling him. He has pretty decent range of motion, especially in the legs. The cape is a bit boring, flat with a peg in piece at the back and front to keep it from flopping everywhere. I do like the cracked skin details and metal look to him, though it's not like, a very strong presentation. I kinda wish he came with his Omega beam gun from the comics and maybe a smirky look instead of the blank look we got, but what are you gonna do?

McFarlane Toys Batcycle - Dark Knights: Death Metal

 

This just an amazing vehicle that I couldn't pass up. I did pass on many of the other McFarlane vehicles, mostly because they don't really fit in my collection vision. I am very tempted by the upcoming Batmobeast, an evil Batman who is a sentient car (this Dark Knights line is so crazy), but it's so huge I wouldn't know where to put it. If I'm going to get a vehicle that big, it'll be an actual Batmobile I'm looking for. 

This one has amazing sculpt details in all the bone textures, the bat face, and the details of the bike parts. It's hard not to criticize some things in my head like "uh, that's not how those bones look...and those shouldn't even be bones!" but I push it aside because it just looks so neat. The bike completes the Death Metal look and makes me want to get the scythe death metal Batman version (probably won't unless there's a sale). The bike has working wheels that are well made, and turn at a swivel point too! 7-inch figures look pretty comfortable on it, but six-inch and true six-inch figures make it look a little too big. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batman - Dark Knights: Death Metal

 

The Death Metal comics wouldn't be metal without a sweet Batman in a spiked trenchcoat and a crazy scythe guitar, amirite?! This version of Batman only appears as a variant cover for the Death Metal comics. Taking place in the time after Perpetua is freed and the Source Wall falls, he struggles with the other heroes who survive to take back control of the Multiverses. Batman in this verse uses a black lantern ring to resurrect the dead and leads his army of zombies astride his Batcycle to fight the Batman-Who-Laughs. Pretty sweet imagery!

In the comics, he is mostly portrayed holding a scythe while riding a skeletal Batcycle (guess which review is next??), but I couldn't pass up on this version. He is fairly well articulated despite the trenchcoat limitations and obviously, the guitar is hella sweet. They did a pretty decent job of the paint, but once again miss some small areas like the lack of paint on his shoulder jacket spikes.