DC Collectibles has had some huge success with both the Arkham Asylum and Arkham City toy lines in the past few years, so there was no doubt that the third installment in the series would also get us some great figures.
While the figures from both Arkham Asylum and Arkham City were very nice, they weren’t the most articulated figures. Instead of the super articulation, they had more of the standard DC Direct articulation scheme. Now, they did release a super-articulated Batman from the Arkham City game, but that figure pales in comparison to what we’re getting from Origins.
Out of all the figures from the Arkham Origins line, Deathstroke is the one that stood out for me.
Now, if you’re not familiar with the Arkham series video games, each character in the Bat-universe kinda got a redesign. The Arkham series tends to lend itself to packing more armor and weapons onto the characters. With a character like Slade, that suits me just fine.
All armored up from head to toe, ol’ Slade is ready to handle business. While he still has his patented blue and orange costume scheme, but gone are the boot cuffs, floppy gloves, and chain mail. They’ve been replaced with kevlar, steel, and multiple pouches and packs to carry whatever he needs for battle.
There is a ton of highly detailed, well-sculpted pieces on this guy. Each and every part of his armor looks perfect. There are also well-done pouches and packs all over him. There are some really nice straps and buckles too. Now, while this may not interest the casual toy fan, I love seeing that kind of detail in a figure like this that could definitely use it.
The high level of detail continues even under the armor or, on parts where the armor does not cover. You can see his body suit underneath, complete with seams and cloth wrinkles. He even has pockets on the back of his pants. Hey, you gotta have your license and your debit card when going out into Gotham to kill Batman, right?
Besides the armor, Slade is also bringing into battle his three main weapons that are usually associated with him. He comes complete with his staff, a sword that tucks into his scabbard on his back, and a pistol, which also fits snugly into his holster on his leg. The holster in particular stands out to me for not only being a very highly detailed sculpted piece, but for also simply being included. I just have a thing about my figures that use pistols not having a holster. You can’t just carry that thing around in your pants. You’ll end up shooting your johnson off!
The head sculpt is one of my favorites from this line. Slade’s usual one covered eye is, of course, here, but, again, he’s wearing more of a helmet than just a mask. One side is black and smooth, while the other reveals his one good eye, and although it is only one eye exposed, it’s painted perfectly. You can still manage to get the sense that he’s coming for you by looking into that one green eye.
Articulation is where DCC has been raising the bar on its figures, and Slade is definitely an upgrade from the standard DCC articulation. He has the usual ball-jointed neck and shoulders, but he also has a great working ab crunch, swivel, biceps, single-jointed elbows, hinged/swivel wrists, hinged hips, swivel thighs, double knees, and ball-jointed rocker ankles. Basically, all the articulation you would ever need to get him in some great fighting poses.
While the armor is sculpted and painted supremely well, the one nitpick I have about Slade is the silver lines painted onto him to simulate battle damage or weathering of his armor. I get the desired effect they were going for, but I don’t know if it translated into the final product. Mine comes off looking more like a silver camouflage pattern than damage. Definitely doesn’t harm my opinion of this figure too much, but it’s something I may go back and repaint.
If you collect Batman figures, or are a fan of the previous Arkham figure lines, then you probably already have this guy in your collection. If not, go right now and get him! He’s well worth the coin you’re going to spend. Hell even if you hate Batman and have never played any of the Arkham games, this figure is still highly enjoyable.
He can be found at your local comic shops, on amazon.com, or on Bigbadtoystore.com.
