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! 

S.H. Figuarts Naruto Uzumaki - Naruto Shippuden

 Naruto is the title character, so here's the best for last! I love the character, and even though the latest show is about Boruto, his son, they put so much of him in it anyway cause they know what the fans want! If you don't know about Naruto, he had one of the most powerful chakra creatures in the world sealed inside of him as a baby, was ostracized by his village and yet kept under watch at the same time. Through trials and the irresistible power of his friendship, he managed to overcome and rise to become a hero of the village. 

 This version is the base form of the Shippudden character: the teenage, pre-Kurama and pre-Sage mode versions. Don't let that deter you though, this is my current favourite Naruto figure and the best engineered and proportioned in my collection! This one comes with a lot of great options and does so many things very well. Believe it! 

S.H. Figuarts Kakashi Hatake - Naruto Shippuden

 Kakashi is definitely one of my top 5 favourite Naruto characters. He's cool, extremely knowledgable, calm to the point of seeming catatonic, and has some interesting parts to his backstory. Add to that that he became Hokage, the leader of the Hidden Leaf Ninja village for a period of time. He's capable of taking down nearly any character in the Naruto universe with the exception of Moon people and Tailed beasts, though I reckon at the height of his power he could give them a pretty good run for their money solo. Here I though the previous SH Figuarts Kakashi was super well done, this one is better in most every way! 

He's got superior articulation and range as well as some more interesting face swaps. I have one minor issue with the articulation and one major one with the accessories. I love that they extended the shoulder pads out and gave you more posing options here. 

S.H. Figuarts Sasuke Uchiha - Naruto Shippuden

 I didn't love Sasuke's character in Shippuden. He seemed more irrational and less relatable than ever before. In Part 1 you could understand his motivation and really get it even though he wasn't particularly likeable. He had episodes where he showed a more childlike or human side to himself that made you understand, even in the battle at the end. 

Shippuden's writing needs to make more sense. That said, the character grows and he does get some pretty sweet lighting and doujutusu (eye) abilities that make him an intense force to be reconned with. This figure is of him post-Itachi fight, in his gray collared shirt, armbands, blue robe and purple obi rope belt. 

They did kind of an amazing job with all this clothing junk he has on his outfit. First of all, amazing range for the arms, neck, diaphragm and legs, especially when you consider how the robe restricts movement. The belt bows move independently which is nice! He has a very clean place to put his sheath, with or without the sword in it. His chidori effect is pretty good, though not any better or worse than the previous release. There's quite a few differences between this release and the last Sasuke release they had (Itachi Battle ver.). He comes with a lot more face options, and some nice sword options to go along with his chidori (lightning). I'll be comparing the other Sasuke by SHF which I'll refer to herein as SFB (Sasuke final battle). 

S.H. Figuarts Sakura Haruno - Naruto Shippuden

 

I'm super excited to reintroduce new figures for the Naruto line! I didn't know this would ever happen, so thanks to one of my readers for alerting me to this earlier last year. To be fair, most of them are figures we've seen before, but with entirely new engineering, facial expressions, and prices. They initially released Shippuden versions of Kakashi, Sasuke, Naruto, and FINALLY SAKURA. It only took forever to release female character. With this, I finally complete an original team 7. I don't know why it took so long to make a female figure, especially considering how easy it is for some of their builds and accessories, but here we are. SH Figuarts ALSO is making kid versions of Naruto and Sasuke, which I have preordered out of Japan. 

This is fantastic stuff, and the very first I want to go over is Sakura Haruno. Sakura's parents and origins aren't featured much in the original two parts, and this is mostly because Kishimoto is 1) Bad at writing female characters and 2) Thinks they are secondary to males, so they never get as much screen time or good fights. Sakura DOES get one or two good fights in Shippuden, but mostly she's around to beat up Naruto, have interrelational conflicts with Ino, and swoon over Sasuke. Gross! This is a shame because as one of the new Sanin, Sakura is absolutely a powerhouse. 

Early in the series, she is a genjutsu sensory expert and learns early on from Tsunade the art of healing and concentrating chakra so pointedly she can break through the earth with her punches and kicks. Later on, in the Boruto series and the light novels, it becomes clear Sakura is even stronger than that, and can completely regenerate using the same principles as Tsunade by banking chakra into a diamond seal on her forehead. They definitely do female characters dirty in Shippuden and Part 1, but at least Sakura is featured more than most, what with being a crush on Naruto and a main team member of Team 7. 

The figure is fairly simple, but very well done. The proportions are nice, and the articulation they've put on all these figures is also very well done. Sakura has some good engineering, and while she doesn't have a ton of accessories, it's enough for her character and what she does in the show. 

Mafex Hush - Batman Hush

 

Hush is a villainous foil to Bruce Wayne/Batman who tried to kill his parents as a child. He grows up a bit of a psychopath and uses his surgeon skills to literally impersonate other people by sewing on face parts to infiltrate, cause chaos and assassinate others! This is Face-Off but upgraded! In the Hush storyline where he makes his first appearance, Hush is first thought to be Jason Todd in an epic battle at the end, then melts to be revealed as Clayface, THEN the real Hush eventually shows up, and is shot by a reconstructed Two-Face (aka One face now! hah!). 

Hush makes a bunch of appearances after this, because what is a Batman villain if they can't escape and do more crime again?! Anyway, this is a pretty great figure. The joints in the foot/knees are a bit loose on mine, but a lot of range here! There's a ton of extras (some of which are VERY small and loseable!!), and they've done some things to make the figure more flexible: the pouches on the belt actually have a hinge that flips up, and the coat is a softer plastic that allows some movement. Being able to swap out the chest decal and belt is a cool feature! 

Mafex Medicom Superman - Batman Hush

 

Superman in Batman Hush plays in another bizarre event in the comics. Amongst all of Batman's rogue gallery, all of whom are acting strangely, Superman adds to the list. Poison Ivy has managed to use her pheromonal control and is manipulating Superman into killing Batman. Batman notices that Superman is subtly resisting Ivy's control, and after a classic Batman v. Superman fight, triggers him into wrestling control back. He gets Catwoman to drop Lois off a building. Jeez. Anyway, so he breaks free from Ivy's control to save her, so good thing that worked! 

I only own a few Superman figures, but this is my favourite. It has all the classic look with lots of poseability, a wired cloth cape, and a few different head sculpts. The proportions are nice, and the paint is really clean. 

Mafex Medicom Catwoman - Batman Hush

Catwoman has always walked a tightrope between being a burglar-style villain and an antihero that helps out Batman and his allies. I have always liked her character in the comics because of how she balances and foils Batman's way too serious demeanour and tone. The Hush comics put Catwoman front and center to a whole wack of crazy plots, including ones that go against and for Batman's goals. Catwoman starts off by being mind controlled by Poison Ivy into stealing some ransom money, but eventually is freed from her grasp, and gains the trust of Batman. He reveals his identity to her and a romance blossoms in the story. 

This Catwoman has a classic plain black suit with goggles that became popular post-post-crisis storyline. The whip is more ropelike than the typical black whip you see in other iterations. This version sports the large belt buckle and nice sturdy boots as well, which REALLY helps keep the figure stable. It comes with a handful of accessories and is probably the most poseable Catwoman I own. The feel of the figure is a bit light but the joints are solid and neither stick nor are they too loose. Yay! 

Mafex Medicom Batman (Black ver.) - Batman Hush

 

The Batman: Hush storyline is an iconic Batman series of comics from Oct 2002 to Sept 2003. It's a pretty convoluted back-and-forth storyline, but it all boils down to a mysterious villain Hush who is manipulating Batman's villains and allies to destroy Batman. These involve pretty elaborate schemes that cause his typical rogues' gallery to behave in unusual ways, all cumulating in the final reveal: Who is Hush? 

I read the story and while I liked it and the art, like many comic book stories it's all over the place and tenuously connected. That's just the reality of comic books it seems, no hate! The version of Batman here is very plain and classic: blue and grey with a yellow utility belt. I prefer black and grey so when Mafex offered the alternative, I had to scoop it up!

This figure is fantastic: well-painted and sculpted, poses smoothly, comes with a bunch of accessories and is fun to play with. Unlike the original blue and grey release it comes with a cool gargoyle piece stand! Makes for some iconic posing! Unfortunately, it doesn't come with the unmasked Bruce Wayne head, which I think is one of the best comic forms of his face in figure form!