S.H. Figuarts Kid Naruto Uzumaki - Unexpected No. 1 Slapstick Ninja

 

Ever since they restarted the Naruto line for S.H. Figuarts, I have been more or less all in! I missed out on some web exclusives like Jiraiya, but they are doing so well at releasing new figures for this line, I am preordering things left, right, and center. I got this version of Naruto a while back, and am finally ready to review it. 

This version of Naruto is featured in Part 1 of the anime, preceding Shippudden and running for roughly 220 episodes. It had some missable filler, but I did enjoy it when it featured other members of the 12 main Konoha kid ninjas. This Naruto is 12-13 years old here, and is still coming into his own, learning from his teachers and trying to reckon with the demon fox creature sealed inside of him by his parents before their death. 

He is a lot more comedic in this part, pulling pranks, being loud and boisterous, and really letting out his feelings! This is well represented in this action figure. He comes with tons of hands, his rasengan energy effect, a kunai knife, and the best face plates featuring expressions and includes his fox cloak face form and hands. As per the other figures in this renewed line, Naruto has amazing articulation aided by hollow caps and waist areas to allow a lot more posing and flexibility. Also, they've managed to hide the jarring hip swivels a bit better here. 

Mafex Medicom Poison Ivy - Batman Hush

Poison Ivy has always been one of the most understood villains to me. Extreme? Yes. A little more murdery at times than necessary? Maaaaybe! But ultimately her motivation is fighting for the ecosystem that humans have ruined. I get it! This version is from the Hush comics, where she has managed to use her powers to control Superman. That is pretty wild! In this case, he is commanded to kill Batman, but luckily he has a plan with Catwoman to drop Lois Lane from a building, forcing Superman to break his compulsion and save her. 

This figure from Mafex is stellar as usual! Excellent details on the face, simple design and many extras to attach to create vine effects throughout the figure. I don't love how all the vine effects are fairly loose, I feel like they could have been better off with other attachment pegs that might be held at the back of the limbs and torso. The alternate hands, money case and heads are also a great addition. 

McFarlane Toys Robot Batman - DC Retro Batman '66

DC did a run of Batman '66 comics that continued the run of the class Caped Crusaders from 2013 to 2016. An interesting addition to the Batman cast is Professor Overbeck, a genius scientist/inventor who creates a giant, metal crime fighter: Robot Batman! 

The scale is pretty crazy. If the comic cover is to be taken at face value, the thing appears to be over 20 feet tall. He can fly with jetfire boosters and has claws to grapple criminals. I never read the retro comics released but it seems like a neat idea (though admittedly this is not even close to the first time a robot Batman has been created and used by either side of the fight in Gotham).

This figure is very limited in poseability but it is still amazing that it was made at all. I will give McFarlane one thing: They dive deeply into many of their comic-related and other media-related lines. At this point, they've surpassed the DC Classics line for both the number of figures and variants on the figure colours and sculpts. Looks-wise, it is an awesome addition to your shelf. 

McFarlane Toys Blight - Batman Beyond Future's End (Build-a-fig)

 

This is another figure that I would not have picked up if not for completing the Jokerbot, but at least it's an aesthetically pleasing one! Blight is the villain name picked up by Derek Powers, the corrupt CEO of Powers tech who later also acquires Wayne Enterprises to merge into Wayne Powers. He is exposed to one of his own extremely dangerous chemicals in an accident, and decided it would be a brilliant idea to then try to cure himself with unchecked levels of radiation. Scientists in DC are really off the wall! It's always "lets use this jackhammer to take out a chipped tooth or something with these guys!". They are highly overboard in their approach. 

Blight, with his entire body being a radioactive dump, has himself sealed in a suit to control his radiation bursts. He can blast out radioactive energy, and his body alone has enough radiation to melt most physical attacks on his person. 

The figure comes with the wing/claws for the joker bot, a glowing grasping hand, and a regular one to swap out as well as the card/stand. I will say (and I need to remind myself of this next time I buy a figure) that McFarlane nearly always releases a single version of a figure with different parts. In this case, the Meltdown version of Blight that isn't a build-a-fig comes with two energy effects to put on his fists, which is a much better deal if you don't care about the build-a-fig. 

Mcfarlane Toys Shriek - Batman Beyond Future's End Build a fig

The Future's End line, except for Batman Beyond and Batgirl Beyond, is something I would never have purchased otherwise. That said, I enjoyed the animated series and dig the character design. Mostly though, I bought just enough to buy parts for the Jokerbot I figure what does it hurt to buy two more?! Capitalism wins again. 

I never knew about Shriek, maybe I missed the episode? Anyway, Walter Shreeve, a sound engineer drove his company into the ground, lucky for him Derek Powers acquired his company. He built a sound suit capable of demolition using sound waves, but Powers had other ideas. He commands him to kill Bruce Wayne, who is luckily saved by Batman. 

The look of the figure is pretty sweet. Whether you know or like this character, he seems to sub in easily for robot minion cannon fodder. I like how they handled the energy effect and the lights. Other than that, doing just a few colours with textured suit pieces is definitely McFarlane's wheelhouse. 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Midnighter - DC Classic Gold Label

I was completely unaware of this character until I read the Grayson volumes of comics back in 2017. I always loved Nightwing as a character, and this was a sort of new phase of Nightwing's career as an Agent 37. He works for Helena Bertinelli's (Huntress) spy group Spyral, and he encounters Midnighter keeping an eye on Spyral. They initially clash, and later Grayson convinces Midnighter to join him in his fight against a cult group, the Fist of Cain. 

But Midnighters story is more or less that of a normal human bioengineered and enhanced with neural implants to give him abilities. He was initially part of a covert group, then transitioned to The Authority, which watches over world governments. He hasn't directly dealt with Batman, but he has with many of the Batfamily. He is usually depicted as a pretty violent, brutal fighter with superhuman speed, resilience, pain control, and strength. He is equipped with a neural implant that allows him to process every possible combat outcome. Basically, if there's a possibility he can win, he will!

The figure is pretty good, and this simple design and colour palette is exactly McFarlane's wheelhouse. I love that he comes with punching hands, but where were those with EVERY Batman figure?!? I also like the batons, but I don't remember him fighting with these; he was just using a bo staff.