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. 

Mattel: Batgirl - Batman Unlimited

Batgirl has had a wild ride in comic books. She's had a significant impact on readers since The Killing Joke where she was paralyzed, and became the paraplegic computer tech assistant to Batman, Oracle. The Batgirl mantle has also been worn by a previously female Robin (Stephanie Brown), Betty Kane,  niece to Kathy Kane (Batwoman), and Cassandra Cain, a mute Asian from the League of Assassins. There are a couple of others too! The most iconic one, and the one this figure represents, is Barbara Gordon, daughter of Commissioner Gordon.

I have to say I much prefer Batgirl as a fully mobile character who can hold her own. It seems to me that The Killing Joke really set her character back for years. In New 52, they kept the older storyline but allowed her recovery after a few years after having a neurotransmitter chip placed in her spine. Now, in the DC Rebirth, she is hearkened more back to her pre-flashpoint era style, meaning she is not paralyzed.

Let's be honest, toy collectors are like birds: we see shiny things and want to pick them up. The shinier the better, and this figure is all that and a bag of chips. She's got very high gloss black, very shiny yellow gold pieces, and nice face and hair paint. She is fairly light and her cape, while solid, doesn't get too much in the way. She has those dang Mattel figure crotches that look unnatural when spread, but that was their shtick and they stuck to it. She has some elbow and knee joints which don't fully flex 90 degrees...and yet they flex BACKWARDS as if she had broken her limbs at the elbows and knees...odd!

Mattel Robin: Arkham City Legacy

In the Arkham City game, Tim Drake is Robin, and I have to say his costume is my favourite version of Robin, ever. Seems more modernized, with duller reds that make it seemed both toned down but also gives Robin a less adolescent teen look and more of an adult one. Does he need both a mask AND a hood? I don't know, but it looks great. I also appreciate that on top of his acrobatic fighting in the game, his retractable metal staff with unfolding bullet shield makes him not just a less equipped version of Batman. Robin isn't playable in the main game, but he is a lot of fun in the DLC for Arkham City Harley Quinn's Revenge. 

This figure is like the other Legacy figures. This one has more paint details than Batman and Catwoman. His leg articulation is great, and I loved how they made his cape a soft plastic that rotated with the head. The hood is glued onto the head, so not removable, but it still gives him a good look.
Like other Legacy figures, he came with no accessories. That said, I liked the look of this figure so much, I couldn't help but let him borrow Arkham Knight Robin's staff while also drilling a hole into the punching hand in order for him to hold it.

Mattel Batman and Catwoman: Arkham Legacy City 2-Pack

So after acquiring a few highly detailed, but much less poseable Arkham Asylum and City figures, I tried my hand at getting a more articulated Catwoman. The fact it was a 2-pack sold on eBay for much cheaper than it was originally was just a sweet bonus. The Legacy figures scale back on the detail and are generally smaller than the DC Direct or Collectibles figures. They have the added bonus of tons more poseability and fun though!

The Catwoman does have some nice texture to the suit, and I like having a figure where her goggles are down. She has her classic whip accessory shaped well, but unpainted. The Batman figure doesn't come with any accessories and has mostly decent articulation.

Since the articulation, price and other categories are inextricably linked in these two figures, they will be evaluated as if they were one!