In the year or so since the collapse of the Mattel DC Universe Classics line, DC Collectibles has made some big strides toward filling that vacuum. While most of their offerings have stayed contemporary, focusing on video games and the ubiquitous New 52, a lot of folks were more than a little surprised when they announced a Batman line based on Bruce Timm’s groundbreaking animated series from the last century.
The results are really no less surprising. DCC does pretty good work, but, man oh man, did they connect on this one in ways I wasn’t expecting.
The packaging is clean and classy, keeping with the box styles of the current lines, but returning to the old blister and card. I didn’t pick this up at the store, but, rest assured, I wouldn’t have been able to walk past one if I had. It’s impressive how much stuff they were able to pack into this thing without making it look at all cluttered.
And they packed this sucker full, to be sure. Extra hands, extra cape, batarang, grappling gun, and a display stand are all nicely tucked in with this striking figure, and add value to an already sweet deal at under $20.
I had an instant, tactile reaction to this Batman as I carefully worked him out of the package. I was reminded instantly of the opening of Combat Belt Batman some decades before and becoming instantly enamored with the smooth lines and clean sculpt of this figure. He completely captures the feel of the series in 3D form in ways that almost feel effortless, from the dead-body sculpt and proportions to that iconic dour Bat-expression that make this unmistakeable as the The New Batman Adventures Dark Knight. The only oddity I can really see are the exposed pegs in his hips. Using the hinged DCUC style makes perfect sense, but where the Mattel figures used a captive pin in two halves of the thigh, DCC uses a single piece thigh pegged to the hip, and it is a little glaring next to all the other smoothness.
That kind of perfect sculpt can come with some serious hurdles when trying to make an action figure. Articulation is the arch-enemy of clean lines, but most of the points on this Batman make me think some kind of peace accord was reached to get this guy through. Like a spoiled toddler with stuff in both hands, I would’ve maybe liked a little more articulation here and there, but I’m not sure I would loosen my grip on what we’ve got to pick it up.
The biggest hurdle in particularly the The New Batman Adventures designs has to be the narrow feet and ankles. Keeping such a scary-accurate silhouette means these parts are very thin, and there are many horror stories of breakage. Mine and Robo’s both appear to have made it through without trouble, but being able to inspect the package before opening and then very carefully working those joints free is a must.
Once you get everything very, very carefully opened up, the articulation works very well. Great range of motion in the hips are helped by a flexible belt, and the swivel joints combined with the ball-jointed hips make him very expressive. Add to that hinges on the wrists and ankles, a ball-jointed neck, and cut joints on the waist and boots, and you’ve got a solid articulation set for this line to work in.
Style and scale are hard to dial in exactly right now since this is the first figure of the series, but he feels more traditionally 1/12 scaled, which makes him currently best friends with Gentle Giant’s animated Hellboy, or he would if I had kept that damn figure. I can’t remember why I sold it, but I wish I hadn’t now.
Enough rambling on my end; Let’s check in with Robo for a video breakdown: