Despite some less than stellar performances in the 4-inch figure arena, Mattel has recently decided to give it another go with their DC Comic Multiverse line — a hodgepodge line of 4-inch figures. According to the cardbacks, the line is “inspired by comic-based, character-rich entertainment sources, such as movies and video games” — which pretty much makes it a cherry-pickers paradise. I had managed to hold off on this line, but any 1989 Batman is an automatic instabuy. Has Mattel upped their game since the 4-inch Crisis and Green Lantern movie product? Let’s find out!
The packaging is pretty standard fare. It’s far more interesting than what Hasbro is currently offering with their Marvel Infinite series since it has some character-specific elements.
The sculpt is solid and I appreciate the effort in making it as Keaton-esque as possible. It’s definitely not an easy task as the head is only about ¾ of an inch long. The cowl is the strongest aspect of this figure and it looks great at this scale. I particularly love the sculpted bat-symbol that is unique to these Burton films. One thing that comes off a bit cheap is the rounded cowl ears and pointy bits on his gloves. They could definitely use a much sharper sculpt. Also included with the figure is the grappling gun as seen in the film. It’s made out of that cheap rubbery plastic and the sculpt is a bit on the weak side, but it’s always nice to have a unique accessory included.
The cape is made out of a thin cloth and looks a million times better out of the package. The outer portion has a faux-leather appearance that I definitely was not expecting, but was thrilled to find. It lies over the top of the shoulders but is cut in a way that you can easily pull behind them during action poses.
Paint can always be a bit dicey on figures of this scale, but the figure that I got was decent enough. That shouldn’t be too hard as it’s mostly the black plastic it was cast in. The eyes are done well and the cuts are clean on the bat symbol and utility belt. The biggest flaw that I can see is the cut around the face. It wasn’t terrible, but I did touch it up slightly before these photos were taken.
The articulation is well designed and executed, albeit a bit minimal for the price and for what the competition is offering in this scale. Batman has, what I assume to be, a ball-jointed neck, but it’s so tight it pretty much functions as a cut. Even though it’s not movie accurate, it’s nice that you can turn his head while posing. He also has pin-and-disc shoulders, single-jointed elbows and knees, cut wrists, cut waist, DCUC-style hips, and thigh cuts. This is a solid figure and all the joints are tight, but, like I said, there are just not enough of them. I can live without some of the more modern choices, like those fancy pivot wrists and double-jointed knees, but no figure outside of the dollar bin should have zero ankle articulation. I suppose they might think the thigh cut makes up for that, but boy, are they wrong.
Like most of its competition at the scale, this figure runs about 10 bucks. Based solely on the toy itself, I’d say it’s a slightly below average value considering the limited articulation. But I can’t help but smile knowing that I can walk into a major retailer in 2014 and find a Michael Keaton Batman on the shelf. For that alone it’s worth every cent.
Thanks for reading!
