Revoltech Amazing Yamaguchi Batman - Arkham Knight

 I don't need to tell you about Batman in the Arkham Knight game. It's an amazing game with a great story and graphics, and it is the techiest suit I've seen in the series. It's also 11 years old at this point, so if you haven't played it yet, it's cheap in the Arkham collection on most game stores if you want to grab it. 

I started my very first toy collection by purchasing some 2012 TMNT figures and a 4 pack of Arkham City figures. I loved the games, and having some fun to play with representations was kind of like a little physical memento I could display on a shelf. It was all downhill into toy collecting from there! 

Out of all the Arkham figures I own, this may be the most excitingly poseable Arkham knight figure I've ever owned (that is under the Hot Toys price). The figure has a ton of dynamic movement and unique accessories I've never seen before, AND they really learned from their fragmented plastic shard cape fiasco from the 009 Batman figure by making this one with a poseable wired cape. 

This is only the second Amazing Yamaguchi figure I've owned, and while it is extremely poseable, it's almost a 3D puzzle to figure out how to get it exactly how you want it. I'm still not well-versed in this despite playing a bunch with the Ver. 1 of the Arkham Knight itself. As an aside, they are coming out with a Ver. 1.5 of that figure that actually has their two pistols and rifle. I'm a little tee'd to be honest that I bought the version previously, knowing how DC was being weird about it's license for figures that used guns. Sigh! Anyway, into the review!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Riddler - Arkham City

 I previously reviewed a version of this Riddler by DC Collectibles here. He's the smarmy C-grade villain here with an overblown sense of superiority and intellect. He supplies all the very simple riddles and traps for Batman to waltz through, frustrating him to no end. I love how somehow he must have millions of dollars to make these elaborate traps just to secure a hostage or two, or hide a trophy in odd places. With all that money you'd think he'd be wealthy enough to create Arkham City itself! 

This figure is a superior sculpt to the DC Collectibles version. Those pants aren't as weird, the face is less crazy sideways with the mouth, and the proportions are better. The paint is definitely worse though, and it has the McFarlane points that not everyone loves (flat knees/elbows, lack of paint on details, awkward ratchets and the diaper rubber crotch). 

McFarlane Toys Solomon Grundy - Arkham City

 

Solomon Grundy has a few different origin stories. I believe the name (but not the origin story) is inspired by the 1842 English nursery rhyme of the same name: 

Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.

This poem is quoted in the game, but the origins of the character differ. Initially, in the late 19th century, a wealthy merchant named Cyrus Gold is murdered and his body is disposed of in Slaughter Swamp. Fifty years later he comes back as a revenant type supervillain and occasionally anti-hero. He is initially a villain for Alan Scott's Green Lantern but crosses over and becomes a problem for other heroes. He's basically unkillable with both super strength and stamina. He seems to be partly made of the same life force as Swamp thing and is nearly invulnerable to fire, cold, magic and other energy attacks. 

In Arkham City his origin story is a bit different: first appearing in Batman: Arkham City, this version was a merchant who was murdered and had his body dumped in a swamp-like Lazarus Pit, where a strange thunderstorm combined with the pit's mystical properties to resurrect him as an effectively immortal zombie-like monster. He temporarily became part of a travelling circus before he was found by Ra's al Ghul, who realized the swamp's true nature and took him to Wonder City. Seeking to understand the pit's properties, Ra's repeatedly murdered Grundy until Wonder City was eventually shut down and Gotham City built over it, with the Iceberg Lounge being built over Grundy's prison. After the Penguin finds him, he uses Grundy to kill traitorous underlings and attempts to kill Batman, who eventually defeats Grundy.

McFarlane Toys Batman - Arkham City

 I have a lot of Arkham Batmen. Between DC Collectibles and DC Direct versions, I now own 9 different Arkham versions of Batman. Crazy! This one is better in a couple of ways than the Arkham Asylum version by McFarlane Toys, but disappointing in others. 

First, it uses nearly the exact same mould as the Asylum suit. The rivers and suit lines are the same, the arm and leg sculpt, and the boots, hands and neck build are identical. The articulation is almost identical except for one improvement and one stagnation. The Arkham Asylum Batman had these odd single jointed ratchet joint elbows that didn't move very far. Given that it was the start of McFarlane's venture into DC Multiverse licences and others, I let it go. Now though, everything, including shorter kid figures like Robin, has double-jointed elbows, so there's no excuse not to have that in all the figures. Hell, even Penguin had double-jointed elbows. It's insane that this Batman still uses the super old elbows. 

To the figure's credit, it's engineered slightly better at the torso. Now you can bend it better at the waist both back and forth and side to side. They must've raised the ball joint connection inside the torso because it is better that way than the Arkham Asylum figure. 

Other differences are the head sculpt, which has white eyes instead of the standard eyes in the game, but I don't mind that. The ears are still long while the face is a bit more reasonable in proportions. The gauntlets match the Arkham City suit and the cape has the side swoosh to emulate how the game has it drifting in the wind all the time in-game. The paint is much more lacking here than the other Arkham Asylum version, so that's also disappointing. It's an ok Batman figure, but given how many Arkham figures I have, I could have potentially skipped this one and gone straight for the Gold Label Solomon figure. 

McFarlane Toys Penguin - Arkham City

 I've previously reviewed the DC Collectibles version of the Penguin from Arkham City here. I do like this version in terms of personality and how it is Arkhamfied to fit the game's aesthetic and darkness. This release I mostly bought for the Solomon Grundy parts, not cluing in early enough that of course they would release a gold label version with some more interesting paint apps. Foiled again like one of Batman's C-class villains! 

This version of the penguin purports a more sneering angry face! His accessory umbrella is about the same with more brass instead of silvery paint. He's actually got moving joints on his legs! Wow! That said, Penguin isn't much of an action character, so while you can do some limited things here, it's not over the top. One thing I don't quite get is that his hat isn't removable. His bandaged hand clearly looks like it is meant to both tip his hat and carry it! He's a decent figure all the same if you missed out on the first DC Collectibles penguin or if you just wanted the Solomon parts and he was an alright addition! 

McFarlane Toys Ra's Al Ghul - Batman: Arkham City (Build-A-Solomon Grundy)

 I've reviewed a Ra's Al Ghul figure before for the more realism-bent Christopher Nola Batman trilogy, but today I finally have a figure of the Arkhamverse version. In an attempt to rid Gotham of its worst criminal elements, Ra's and his league of shadows secretly fund the plan to create Arkham City. Batman, on the heels of the last game having been poisoned by Joker's Titan toxin needs some decades old blood to fight off the side effects, and who better than Ra's to get it from! After a tense encounter, he defeats him and takes some of Ra's blood. He later meets Ra's again when, unsatisfied with how Hugo Strange is handling Protocol 10, sees Ra's plunge his sword through Hugo! The more I think about Arkham games (except maybe Arkham Knight) the more I realize they put in too many villains from Batman's rogue gallery, giving each of them not quite the time they deserved (or maybe too much in Riddler's case).

The figure is pretty close to the game appearance, with some pretty impressive details, such as the well done tattooed dragons on his arms. It's a pretty good figure, and miles better than what I saw of the DC Collectibles release back in the day! After getting Talia Al Ghul from the older figures back in the day and seeing how bad it was, I decided not to buy all the figures. He's got good articulation and is a welcome addition to the Arkham rogues! 

Kaiyodo Amazing Yamaguchi Arkham Knight - Batman: Arkham Knight

 

Amazing Yamaguchi is a line by Kaiyodo of action figures with hyper poseability. So much so that when I read or listen to reviews about them, the largest complaint is how difficult it is to get into poses due to all the joint rotations, but once you do, they look...well, amazing! Using the Revoltech joint system (two pegs with a ball joint swivel), they're able to achieve extreme poses, albeit with exaggerated proportions compared to the source material. 

This figure of the Arkham Knight from the game is pretty cool. Aesthetically, not as bulky or imposing in this scale, but maybe that's because there's no equivalent for this line for Batman himself. This is an expensive import though, and as such the quality is fantastic. The sculpt is so detailed and the colours are vibrant, especially the shiny bits. The figure is solid and fairly easy to pose around, though like many Amazing Yamaguchi figures, there are certain poses that show surreal gaps, especially raising the arms above the shoulders. 

There are so many great accessories here, specifically for switching the figure into the Red Hood version. The weapons are very odd here, and it's something that has put me off buying a lot of McFarlane DC Figures. He comes with a couple of laser swords and two kris knives....which...I gotta say I played the game 3 times and never saw him use a laser sword once or those knives. This is a weird choice, but it's pressured by WB's decision that started with a mandate to remove guns from their figure marketing properties. This effectively means that since February of last year, no figures sold using WB's license can be marketed using guns. I don't know how this decision came to be, but now toy companies are selling figures with trigger fingers that are supposed to use guns, but don't come with them. This makes it a harder decision: Do you buy them and then hope the decision is reversed? Hope McFarlane or other companies sell a weapons pack later? Do you buy them and use your own weapon arsenal to substitute in? For the most part (this figure being the exception), I don't buy them. 

This doesn't affect most figures, but I passed up on the Arkham Knight Red Hood by McFarlane because...well the character isn't much without the guns. The same goes with Hush or a multitude of other characters. I just have those already with guns, so I don't need to buy a newer one that comes with less, you know? 

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Titan Joker - Arkham Asylum

 The more I think about the first couple of Arkham games, Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, the more I think it's just a giant warning message about going straight to human drug trials. Most of the boss fights in Arkham Asylum directly involve the use of the Titan formula, kind of an untested mix between Bane's strengthening venom and poison ivy's control poison. The result is a crazy hypergrowth that creates insane henchmen. Joker, being the chaotic evil person he is, tries it on himself as a last resort to take down Batman, and becomes Titan Joker, a massive, clawed, mohawk-touting monster who also managed to grow like 10 feet tall. 

Not everyone loved the Arkham Asylum boss fight, though to be fair many of the boss fights were pretty simple in their attack and dodging patterns. I just thought it was funny to introduce this bane-ish Joker, then they manage to make it near tragic after-effect for the rest of the next game. This Joker is an absolute beast of a figure, and being a Megafig it doesn't come with anything but a card. No stand is going to hold this thing, are you kidding. It is EXTREMELY top-heavy, and I like the paint but the finish is so extremely glossy, it reflects a bit too much. I love the detail, but some joints are useless, like the diaphragm. I can't move mine at all. The elbow double joints are appreciated, but the plastic they used for them is really weak. Mine snapped off with just a couple of careful turns. They of course ratchet everything, which I get in practice since it makes it so big limbs don't just flop, but it was a bit too much. It grabs the joints to the point where moving it leads to weakening. I had to boil and pop the pin and rebuild the joint, and now am not too sure I'll be able to move it much at the elbow again unless I want to risk the same problem. 

Overall, it's a decent figure and I'm glad I got one that isn't a crazy aftermarket price like the original DC collectibles one. That one is like 300+ dollars everywhere I look, so it is nice this was made. 

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!!! 

DC Collectibles Azrael - Arkham City

 There's not a lot to dislike about the character design of Azrael. He's basically a modern-day knight with a massive badass sword. Sometimes his sword is flaming, sometimes his armor is arcane, but it's all cool no matter what. This design from Arkham City didn't make a ton of appearances except as cut scenes/dialogue for a side mission. I've reviewed a bit of his backstory here: Arkham Knight Azrael

This figure is pretty cool. He's got all the classic get-up of Azrael: armor, red suit, and cape (cape flanges?), a scabbard, and his sword. The sword is definitely not as imposing as the Knight version but still well done. This figure isn't as poseable as the Knight figure but still looks great on the shelf. The only design I don't quite get with the Arkham Azrael figures is the hockey mask. It's kinda Jason-y in optics. I always think of Azrael as more a holy avenger that sometimes is in the wrong, sometimes in the right. 

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.  

DC Collectibles Hush - Arkham City

 As things run rampant in Arkham City, a man matching the description of Bruce Wayne appears to be up and murdering folk. It's up to you on this side mission to find out, and of course, it is Hush. Thomas Elliot is a sociopath and childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. You discover who it is, at which point he manages to escape and you don't really hear much about him until Arkham Knight. He is an exceptionally skilled surgeon who hunts down people who have face parts that match what he needs. Seems like a super elaborate disguise to me! Anyway, his face is usually bandaged in comics for healing from whatever face grafts he has undergone or is about to undergo.  

This figure has all the classic looks of Hush, they didn't really change much. He includes his long coat, armored body look, and two pistols that can be holstered. He's not the worst for articulation, but the range in the knees and elbows is just ok. This figure was also made with clear plastic pegs for the joints, so one arm was broken and had to be repaired with a metal wire and glue. It worked out, just don't look at the inside elbow joint too long! The only thing I would otherwise wish here is that they had included the fake Wayne face with all the suture lines! 

DC Collectibles Batman (Detective Mode) - Arkham City

There's not a ton to say about this Batman I haven't covered in other Arkham Batman reviews. He's a lot like the first Arkham City Batman release (limited articulation, small hands, cape off the shoulders), and similar in articulation to this one: Arkham Asylum Batman Review. This model shows off the Detective Mode that Batman enters in the game that allows you to see through floors, walls, and ceilings. Everything is in a shade of blue, where enemies and traps are n some kinds of orange. It was an important game mechanic that allowed you to track crime scenes and enemies for stealth takedowns. I loved it!  

This one must've been a pretty easy paint job, but the sculpt is nice and I like how shiny the blues are. The only real bonus to owning this one if you already have others like it is the bat gadget he comes with: the REC (Remote electrical charge) gun. It was part of the set lot I ordered, so no loss here! You can still find him pretty cheap (20 CAD or less) in most places like eBay or third-party sites. 

DC Collectibles The Mad Hatter - Arkham City

 

Jervis Tetch is a delusional criminal who believes he is the reincarnation of Alice in Wonderland's Mad Hatter. He uses his background in hypnotist to commit crimes, and even has a device in his hat that aids with this (how? No idea). In the game, he is a side mission where Batman has to rescue a woman Tetch has kidnapped and dressed up as his "Alice". Later, Batman fights on a massive clock while battling goons with White Rabbit heads. It's pretty creepy! He also has a Most Wanted DLC mission in Arkham Knight. I like his design, with all the patchwork coat and generally grubby look. He's kind of perfect for who he is! I rarely enjoy appearances by him in comics, shows or films but in this case it was a fun little side story. 

This figure is a pretty good representation though aside the articulation, I wish the hat fit better. He is the Mad Hatter after all! 

DC Collectibles The Penguin - Arkham City

In the Arkham games, The Penguin (Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot), is very similar to what he is in any other media form. He's a short, long-nosed, corrupt little man who runs a black market of weapons and runs the Iceberg lounge as one of his larger business fronts. But this isn't just any game, it's Arkham, so as a design choice, Penguin has a broken bottle stuck in his head instead of a monocle. How quaint! 

The figure is super well done, but the articulation may be one of the worst out of the whole line, tied with The Mad Hatter. I appreciate that they made his top hat out of soft rubbery material so it's less likely to get damaged or fall and chip paint. He's a solid figure though, and looks great with the others! 

DC Collectibles The Riddler - Arkham City

 

The Riddler seems to be one of those villains that are rarely portrayed as a serious threat. He's the king of the B grade villains in the Batman universe; supposedly clever enough to start something, but rarely finish. His catchphrase is pretty well known among geek culture (Riddle me this...), but he's rarely accomplished anything of worth in the comics. There have been a few storylines where the writer has taken the character seriously, and he does create some pretty crazy inventions with very roundabout ways of defeating his enemies and specifically Batman. 

One that actually worked well was in the Telltale video game, Enemy Within. In the Arkhamverse, he really gets around town with his machinations. In the Arkham Asylum game, it's mostly just riddles and collectibles for you to find. In Arkham City, the majority of his appearance involves saving hostages to finally confront him in an end mission. Arkham Knight is the most insane, where he has somehow managed to completely revamp underground tunnels and passageways to make insane races SPECIFICALLY for the Batmobile tank. Like, in real life this would cost BILLIONS of dollars and several companies of crews to design. He does have a more prominent story role though, with capturing Catwoman and putting an explosive collar on her neck so Batman has to solve his riddles and save his burglar friend. This iteration of the Riddler is my favorite in a few ways. I like his suit, it's not over the top, but it's signature enough for him. My favorite is his cane design. It's very nifty looking, and most of his canes are pretty plain and kinda boring in showing the question mark design.