When the promotion pictures of the Mafex Justice League Batman first hit, I was pretty hyped. He looked great, and as I liked the Batman V Superman Mafex Bats I figured this had to be just as good, if not better. I chose to pre-order the Mafex Bats instead of the Figuarts version mainly because I liked the proportions better, and so far, Mafex has been my go to for the DCEU figures. So at the very least, he’d fit right in. Now that I have him in hand, man I feel like I made a pretty damn good choice.
The packaging is standard Mafex. Big open blister package on front with pretty pictures and logos on the sides and back. I do dig the other JL members logos included on the package.
Out of the package I fell in love right away. There’s just a great build to this figure that resonates for Batman. He’s right in so many areas. I also like my Bats with a bit more padding or armor to his suit, so this guy really hits that sweet spot for me.
Basically this is a great figure. Besides being a pretty perfect representation of Batman from Justice League, this is just a really fun Batman figure. It’s not too stylized that it can’t just pass as a modern take on Bats. Which means he may end up as my default Bats on my main DC shelf.
The Justice League Bat-suit is alot like the BvS suit with some more armor added with a few other updates. It has the same basic design, but has more armor on his gloves, and a some added padding in his mid section and arms. It sports a darker tone to the gray of his suit, as well as a bit more gold on his gloves. Now while the suits are similar, you may expect the two figures to be close as well. That isn’t the case at all. This is an all new sculpt with better articulation and much better proportions. It just feels like such a step up from the first version. The details on the suit are crisp and match the source material, and the new armor and padding are all sculpted well.
Bats comes with two head sculpts. One is the usual stoic, grimacing Bats face and the other is a gritted teeth angry Bats. Neither showed up well in pics, and the gritted teeth mouth is a bit soft. A touch of paint would probably bring out the details a lot more. His new mask has a much deeper brow than his previous version which makes it a bit hard to see his eyes. They are there though and are painted really great. It’s not a perfect Bat-Fleck but it’s definitely a strong enough likeness to pass. Both pop on and off super easy and stay on once attached. Again a little bit more paint and the features would stand out more to really bring out the likeness.
The articulation is also updated with a little better movement in his shoulders and torso. No floppy or frustrating stuck joints here like some people suffered through with the BvS version. If you have a Mafex figure you should be pretty familiar with the articulation set up. It’s the same as you’d expect from any of today’s super articulated six inch stuff.
- Ball jointed head and neck
- Ball jointed shoulders with swivel at the bicep
- Double elbows and knees
- Ball hinge torso and ab swivel
- Ball jointed waist
- Drop down hips and swivel
- Ball jointed wrists and ankles with swivel
The cape is a type of pleather material on the outside with a softer texture on the inside. Truthfully I would have rather they kept the same type of material from the first Batman. Or at least used a wire again to allow for dynamic cape posing. It stays back off his shoulders when needed though. It’s heavy enough that it doesn’t float up around the figure when you don’t want it to.
He comes with multiple sets of hands, a grenade launcher, an explosive device, three batarangs, and his patented grappling hook gun. All of the hands pop on and off easily and stay on securely once they’re on.
Batarang holding hands, trigger finger hands, gun barrel holding hands, driving hands, open palm hands, closed fists, and device holding hands are all included.
All the weapons fit securely in the individual hands made for the specific weapon. I do wish they would have made a slot or two to be able to stash his batarangs, or his grappling hook gun. I always love when I can stash away weapons onto a figure. Less chance of me losing them if I can keep them in a safe place.
As for comparisons, you can see he just looks better proportion wise than the BvS Bats does.
He seems a bit less gangly, and his torso seems thicker like Batman’s should be. This shot also shows all the subtle yet noticeable differences in the two suits. Darker colors and a more form fitting streamlined mask also becomes obvious on the Justice League version.
Here he is with Mafex Party Harley:
Overall this is a really nice figure. He instantly became my favorite figure of the DCEU releases, and truthfully comes in as one of my favorite top five or so Batman figures period. If you collect the Mafex line, DCEU figures or just want a solid Batman figure for your DC collection this is your guy. Hopefully the rest of the Justice League end up just as good. It will make for a pretty impressive collection once they’re all released within the next year.
