If there’s been one persistent “Elseworlds-type of question” to dog the DC Universe for years, it has to be this one: “What if NECA had the DC license instead of ‘x’?”
In a move that shocked all but the hardest of cynics, NECA got a chance to answer a little of that hypothetical with the very clever inclusion of the Micheal Keaton 1989 Batman in their NES-based video game line.
Batman + retro-gaming plus + NECA = awesome, right? End of story.
Well, not exactly. But it is close.
If you’ve purchased any others from this line, you don’t need me to tell you how excellent the packaging is for these figures. I own the Robocop and Predator figures as well, and this is the only line’s boxes that I keep. Batman continues that trend by faithfully recreating the NES packaging, complete with weathering. If you’re into retro gaming, you know how few NES boxes survived into their 30s, and the few you find are rarely unscathed.
The window panel displays the figure just fine, and the pixel background makes a good case for maybe getting an extra to leave on card. But let’s get to business.
First, the sculpt is NAILED. The cowl, face, costume details, and body armor are excellent. The body itself is a little odd in proportions here and there, but a lot went right. The colors are the major focus of this figure, as with its line-mates, and there is something completely silly and undeniably enticing about the purples and blues. And it does mimic the 8-bit game sprite well.
The interchangeable hands are a great touch, and the included batarang and grappling gun work and fit perfectly.
I’m a little let down on the articulation, I’m sorry to say. While he has the same standard articulation as NECA’s Dutch and Rambo figures, he didn’t get quite the same range of motion in most joints. Some of this is due to the costume, like the torso overlay, but a lot of it is just not taken as far as it should be. Like the knees.
Scale is an interesting note as well. Of course, outside of the movie world, we know Micheal Keaton isn’t a super-tall guy. Batman comes in significantly shorter than the other game figures and even looks a little small next to Rambo, another not-tall actor. This might be another selling point for customizers, though, since he would be very close to a more standard 6-inch scale.
And there’s the temptation, I suppose. 1989 Batman is a veritable customizer goldmine, whether that’s just in changing the paint colors, or taking all the of the bat-parts and moving them to another base body, he almost feels designed for it. But as a figure in his own right? He’s a mixed bag in some executions, but his overall quality and charm make him hard not to enjoy.
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