Mafex Medicom Bane - The Dark Knight Rises

I'm a big fan of things Batman in general, and The Dark Knight trilogy is one of my favourite live-action Batman films (yes, I did also very much enjoy The Batman as well). The first film was great, the second was even better, and the third was...ok. Despite wanting to collect this Bane figure played by the very talented Tom Hardy in the film, this was more for the completionist's sake than my love for how they wrote Bane. Overlooking the interesting voice he uses for the film, this Bane is far less imposing and threatening than your average venom-roided Bane. He is portrayed as a clever villain, which fits his character, but he just wasn't that interesting to watch in Nolan's Batman universe. 

That said, Mafex absolutely nailed this figure's rendition. His articulation is great, the digital face printing and paint details are very accurate, and he comes with pieces to swap out his jacket for bare arms. I can't think of any way they could improve the figure honestly. 

3rd Annual Top 10 (11!) Most Viewed Action Figures!

It's that time again! I first posted on this blog on April 27th of 2017, so here's to year three!
I've bee admittedly far less active this year for blogging, though this time has given me more chances to do so recently. This year I've been branching out more into collecting some less mainstream toy lines as well as diving heavily into the Mafex Christopher Nolan Batman Trilogy figures. I did mention the last year that I'd be buying the S.H. Figuarts version of PS4 Spiderman but that never happened (it is really hard to find and ridiculously expensive now)

Honourable mention also goes out to the Do you Even Bootleg Mafex Batman Justice league post that actually garnered the most views out of anything else, but isn't technically one figure! Also, note one entry has two figures because it came in a two-pack I reviewed together, so technically this is 11!

Without further ado, here are your most viewed of 2019-2020!

Mafex Batpod - The Dark Knight

Ok so in keeping with The Dark Knight trilogy I couldn't pass up a slight discount on Hobby Link Japan for a 1/12th scale Batpod. The crazy motorbike-ish design first featured in The Dark Knight. The idea of the front two wheels of the Batmobile turning into a motorbike was apparently so complicated that it was computer-rendered when it emerges, despite Nolan's desire to have things as natural as possible.

I won't be reviewing this the same way as I do an action figure since it is, in fact, a vehicle! You can't evaluate points of articulation the same way (especially since it barely has anything that moves when manipulated).

Mafex Joker (Police ver.) - The Dark Knight

I've already reviewed the Joker here before, and that figure was fantastic. The actor was also obviously fantastic in the film! He did have several costume changes throughout that made him appear disturbing in each and every one! He begins appearing as a bank robber with an angry clown mask then in his standard wear, then as a police officer (no makeup) and then a nurse. Mafex and SH Figuarts has released quite a few of these versions.

I normally am not a big fan of variants or versions of the character that appear so briefly in a film or comic. They are a bit unnecessary and a bit of a money grab usually. THAT SAID....I definitely bought this figure for the alternate arms and head for the original Joker from the interrogation scene. Two for one!!

Mafex Selina Kyle 2.0 - The Dark Knight Rises

A lot of people didn't necessarily love The Dark Knight Rises. It had its share of good moments, and while I certainly enjoyed it, it didn't feel as new (at the time) as Batman Begins nor did it feel the high stakes and amazing Joker appearance as The Dark Knight had. It did tie up some loose ends from the last film and added some interesting characters. Tom Hardy as Bane was well done. I might be one of the few that enjoyed Selina Kyle's character (and she is never called Catwoman outright, but that's fine since that might've taken more time to work in in a way that kept with Nolan's vision of a realistic-ish Batman franchise).

Some people compared her too much with the other more beloved Selina Kyla (no, not Halle Berry), Michelle Pheiffer from Batman Returns. I feel that both Catwomen are drastically different in their character approach. I did love Pheiffer's unhinged, seductive and dangerous Catwoman with a handmade costume. Anne Hathaway did a respectable job though, had some good fight scenes, and I enjoyed that she became more of an ally at the end. I also liked the new look and costume they designed, it was neat (though I still don't get why everyone in film, media, and comics still puts a cat burglar character wearing very high heeled shoes...seems super impractical). It was unfortunate there was quite a bit of jumping between characters like Bane and others so you didn't get the best grasp of them all.

Mafex Ra's al Ghul - Batman Begins

Ra's al Ghul is the leader of the League of Shadows, a secret organization that seeks to cleanse the world of its crime and impurities. Ras himself has appeared in many comics and notably as the main villain in Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan's first Batman film of the trilogy. I enjoyed Liam Neeson's performance as Ras, and to be honest there are days when his ideology doesn't seem too radical! That said, he doesn't concern himself too much with innocents vs criminals in the movie, so naturally, he has to be stopped!

This figure, in particular, is the outfit he wears while training Bruce Wayne in the art of Ninjutsu. He has his black padded armour, back hooked bracers, ninja sword, and you can alternate between his masked head and unmasked face. The unmasked head is a great look-alike to the actor! And the sculpt and paint is also pretty on point, though granted they didn't have to do anything much with that given it is mostly black with mixes of matte and shiny finishes. The biggest disappointment here isn't the number of joints exactly but how very limited the range of motion is in this figure compared to nearly every other Mafex I've collected so far. It's kind of bizarre, to be honest! Not the worst figure but far, but probably the least posable import figure I've seen.

Mafex Scarecrow - Batman Begins

Dr. Johnathan Crane is a psycho-pharmacologist who probably should have had a psych eval done on him before he became a professor or anyone who is allowed to come in contact with people in general! He is the secondary antagonist in the first film of the Christopher Nolan trilogy, Batman Begins. He is one of the few characters to appear in all three Nola films in one role or another with his biggest role in the first movie.

As per classic Scarecrow, he is using his fear toxin to experiment on people as a psychiatrist at Arkham. He is in cahoots with Ra's al Ghul to destroy Gotham. In exchange for conducting research and testing out his toxins, Scarecrow releases the inmates to cause chaos in the streets. Wouldn't be the first or last time inmates get out of Arkham. The terrible security at that place is like, 50% of Batman's work.

This figure is once again an amazing representation of Scarecrow and Dr. Crane. The likeness is incredible, the articulation is once again great and the accessories are everything you really need. To top it off (and yes, this is some of the reason I bought the figure), it includes an alternate cape, head and hands for the Mafex Batman Begins figure to replicate his fear toxin look when he doses Crane with his own gas (also a classic staple of having Scarecrow as a villain...eventually he gets a taste of his own medicine).

Mafex Two-Face - The Dark Knight

I've already talked a little about Two-Face in my previous post on the Arkham City version (if you haven't seen it, look here! Arkham Two-Face review. I find him to be a much more dramatic and powerful character in The Dark Knight than I have in other movies or shows. He also has a true purpose for his wrath, as opposed to just for the sake of being a small-time criminal. Aside from his character's motivation, I think Aaron Eckhart delivered a good performance, and I don't say that often about him!

This is one of the few figures I own that is in a suit and tie, and I have to say Mafex really pulls it off well. With a figure like this, you don't need a ton of articulation, but it is surprisingly good despite some limits, such as on the jacket bottom. He comes with every accessory possible for his role in the show with the options of changing him into pre-burnt Harvey Dent!  His sculpt and facial features are actually fairly close to the actor, though the eyes seem to be overly squinted for either head sculpt.

Mafex The Dark Knight: Joker 2.0

In The Dark Knight directed by Christopher Nolan, one thing stood out above all the rest in the film regardless of whether you are a superhero/Batman fan or not: the performance by the late Heath Ledger.  He was amazing as the Joker because he put such a unique take on the character's personality and appearance while also keeping to the essentials of what Joker's motivational psychopathy from the comics.

Mafex Medicom The Dark Knight Rises Batman 3.0

I really thought that Christopher Nolan did a great job of his Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises set of films. They were meant to be his own universe and his own slightly more realistic (as realistic as you can get with a superhero) take on Batman. There have been a few releases of Mafex Batmen from these movies, and out of the few I've seen, this one from The Dark Knight Rises seems to be one of the best all around. I much preferred the second film, but I enjoyed them all in their own way.

This and the Joker are my first Mafex figures, so I was really excited to have them and see what Mafex has been doing. They didn't disappoint. The details in sculpting and paint seem often superior to what S.H. Figuarts does, the articulation is top notch and the accessories are plentiful.
Also, this is my first figure that has a bendy-wire cape! So much fun what you can do with this guy!
This one has definitely become a top figure in my collection.