McFarlane Toys Robin (Damian Wayne)- Page Punchers

I've reviewed a few Damian Wayne Robin's before, and even one from McFarlane, but I specifically ordered this one for a couple of reasons.

1) My old McFarlane Robin had a broken arm after some light handling, and despite gluing and drilling in a metal peg, was still too wobbly so it's permanently glued in place now. 

2) I didn't love the weird lopsided grimace on that one

3) The weapon he came with was really a Deathstroke blade and was bent as hell in the package. 

4) That figure's joints aren't doubled at the knees or arms and have limited motion

So here we are, I had never bought a Page Punchers figure from McFarlane before, but this one sold me pretty well! If you've never bought one, Page Punchers include a comic book featuring the character. I liked the comic, Batman and Robin. It takes place in the Reborn line where Bruce is dead and Dick Grayson has taken over as Batman. I never actually assume in comics that Batman is actually dead, so we'll see how this turns out! The main featured villain is Professor Pyg, thus the included accessory!

The figure does really well at giving Damian a new look. He's got better articulation, a sword that is actually meant for him, a removable, fabric hood attached to it, and a fabric cape that all have bendable wire in it! It's not the smallest stitching I've ever seen, but it works and adds more dynamism to posing. 

The main cons here are that he could be a more complete representation of his look in the very comic he comes with! The boots in the comic are longer, the belt is completely bright yellow like his cape, and I don't see any artist lines for his red tunic on the left and right of center in the comic. Strange. Yet, the cover is pretty close to the figure. I don't know what that's about, maybe his costume changes later in the line. The other con is because the sword is a bulky plastic, it is once again very bent. Hopefully, some boiling water and an ice bath will fix and straighten this out. 

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 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!!! 

4th Annual Top 10 Most Viewed Figures!

 It's a few (*coughs many coughs) months late but I've finally gotten around to the 4th annual most viewed figures! This year I've dived headfirst into the absolute INSANE world that is McFarlane toys in a big way. As in, I've had to really push myself away from not collecting EVERY DC Multiverse toy that came along. Some were easy decisions (often mediocre face sculpts from live-action DC films) and others were tempting but from comic lines, I had never read nor cared a lot about (White Knight, Last Knight on Earth etc). Advance warning this list of 50% McFarlane, 20% import, and 30% older figures I recently got hold of. I did recently get a Spiderman PS4 figure THINKING it was the real thing but sadly it is a knockoff. Maybe one day if I get the real one I'll do another comparison. 

So here are the ten that you liked clicking on! 

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. 

DC Collectibles Clown Thugs - Batman: Arkham City

 

Nothing makes an Arkham game like random minions that populate a completely empty city, asylum or sector! Not only that, but they colour-match their outfits to the villain they are a member of! It's kind of funny how basically each villain has their own gang that either just roams the streets causing mayhem, or guarding some building with hostages/devices. I was kinda disappointed that we didn't get more villain minions than the two clowns. There were plans I believe to make Arkham Knight Tyger Guards, but they got cancelled and never made it to production. 

That said, these are super well detailed! Not extremely articulate, but the weapons look good and they are menacing enough to make a couple of good vignettes with Batman fighting. For whatever reason, these are generally extremely expensive but I managed to get them in a pretty decent lot of older Arkham figures and NECA movie TMNT figures. 

DC Collectibles Killer Croc - Arkham Origins

Killer Croc, Aka Waylon Jones is a character created in 1983 to add to Batman's rogues' gallery. He has a rare disorder responsible for his condition aided by a kind of metagene; this allows him very tough skin, incredible strength and a keen sense of smell among others. In most comics, he is taller than the average person, but in the Arkham game series, he is MASSIVE, standing at about 11 feet tall. To add to that, in Arkham Knight's Most Wanted DLC, he is experimented on to further exaggerate his reptilian traits to make him even more monstrous and crocodile-like. 

The Arkham games also make him far more cannibalistic and vicious (not that he ever wasn't these things per se). He sports teeth that grow beyond his mouth, a massive frame, and has is basically singularly focused on eating and killing. He must use money for something though because in Arkham Origins he is part of the 8 assassins that seek to collect 50 million dollars for Batman's head. 

This figure is the craziest, largest 7-inch scale figure I own and unless I get Clayface, Solomon Grundy or Titan Joker, likely the largest I will ever own. He is glorious.

DC Collectibles Deadshot - Arkham Origins

 After seeing some very reasonable sales on Amazon I've managed to acquire more of the 8 assassins from the Arkham Origins video game. Was it as good as any other in the Arkham series? No, but it still had some great fights and cutscenes that were motion captured by stunt people and gave me a tideover snack, if you will, before the Arkham Knight game. 

This look for Deadshot is a lot closer to his comic book look than the Arkham City game. In the game, he actually saves Batman a few times for the selfish purpose of being the one to kill him personally and collect the 50 million dollar bounty. He is eventually defeated via Batman breaking both his arms and leaving him for the police! 

As was DC Collectibles way further into the line of Arkham figures, this one has improved articulation compared to Arkham City and Arkham Asylum figures, but like the others was barebones on accessories. Masterful painting, shading and sculpting though! 

DC Collectibles Bane - Arkham Origins

 

I am usually not on the lookout for much when it comes to action figures. The only collection I really look at completing is my Arkhamverse one on a 7-inch scale. The deluxe or larger figures in this scale on the second-hand market are usually INSANELY expensive. Despite that, I continue to monitor sites like Amazon, eBay, and FB Marketplace for deals. When I noticed this figure and the Killer Croc from the Arkham Origins at near original MSRP, I had to snatch them up (about 70 CAD for each). 

This is the first appearance of Bane in the Arkham games, so while he is super muscled, he's not bulked up by the Titan formula yet. He is one of the 8 assassins hired by Black Mask (Joker, in reality), to kill Batman for 50 million dollars. Needless to say, he doesn't succeed but does manage to beat the snot out of him initially. He has many of the classic looks of Bane: black and white mask, insanely bulky body, giant in stature, tubes of green running from a device to various ports on his body. Unlike cartoon or some comic book appearances, he doesn't have red eye lenses, but just holes for his eyes and mouth. He also is wearing more of a tactical gear type look, strapping on a few extras like grenades and the like. 

He plays his classic role in the game as he does in many comics and shows: smart tactical leader, a former inmate who basically grew up in a prison, ruthless brigand who can easily tear a regular person's arms off! Despite all this, he's still designed with all these very vulnerable tubes sticking out! 

The figure here is superbly painted and sculpted. So many details in it are top-notch. The articulation is fairly abysmal, however, even by early DC Direct/Collectibles standards. Definitely, some of this is a product of his bulk, but as you'll see with the Killer Croc figure review later, that can't be the only reason. He also doesn't come with much for accessories. Given how large the package was that he came in, I wouldn't have minded an alternate head or hands for punching. 

DC Collectibles Harley Quinn (Arkham Knight)

By the time Arkham Knight rolls around, Harley Quinn has been on kind of a wild ride. In Origins she lives her classic story from a psychiatrist in training under Hugo Strange. In Asylum, she is the assistant to Joker's plan to turn the Asylum into his own funhouse. In City, she goes between being the assistant to the mourning girlfriend who manages to capture Batman, leading a fun play as Robin in the Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC. In Arkham Knight, she takes control of Joker's gang and joins Scarecrow, not for the big overall plan, but simply to destroy Batman.

This appearance and look for Harley Quinn definitely is more in line with the Arkham City version. She has the two-tone leggings with diamonds, hair in two side ponytails, and her baseball bat. One thing added was the puffed shoulders more in line with her Asylum appearance. She does still have the white makeup, but not as much else typical of her previous appearances. For a figure I wasn't sure DC Collectibles was going to give a good treatment of, I'm pleasantly surprised. It has decent articulation and quite a few fun accessories.

DC Collectibles Red Hood (Arkham Knight)

Jason Todd aka Red Hood plays a big role in the Arkham Knight series because, spoiler alert...

...he is the Arkham Knight!

The voice acting is awesome and I do love how they handled him in the game. His DLC was waaaaaaay too short and I felt they could have added his origin story from the time he was awoken after dying at the Joker's hands. He is super fun to play though and I wish developers had allowed you the option to free-roam as Red Hood. Apparently, there is some cheat to do that?

 Anyway the point is, I finally got it! Red Hood has been on my holy grail list of Arkham figures for quite a while. After over a year or so of looking at eBay, I found one and bit the bullet on the price. It was ridiculously high for that particular figure but to be fair it was only sold at Gamestops. Some scalpers charged an insane amount for what is essentially the same moulding and plastics process that created the other 40 dollars CAD Arkham figures. I discovered my holy grail limit is about 100 considering the original price. Learn something new every day!

Now to make matters confusing, this is NOT the Red Hood that is basically the Arkham knight with this head minus the hood. This is much rarer and harder to find. He's a really cool figure and I dig the aesthetic they went with to create this version of Red Hood. The voice acting for him in the game was great, and I enjoyed the (all too brief) side mission where you play as this version of the character.

This officially completes the Arkham figures I wanted for the Bat-family in the game. I think one of the neatest, though really impossible, things I like is the two massive pistols he has. They combine and link to transform into his sniper rifle, and while they didn't do that here, you can imagine with the Arkham Knight's sniper rifle. His range of movement is pretty good and he has a good weight to him like the Azrael figure. The hood I would've preferred to be removable and the jacket a little softer to allow his ab crunch to move him backwards. Otherwise, his paint and sculpt is great, and am having tons of fun with him in various two gun poses.