With a property as big as something like Batman V Superman, you just knew multiple companies were going to try and capitalize on the movie by making toys of all shapes and sizes. Medicom is the first overseas company to get their versions out, and I was definitely excited to grab them for myself. I was super disappointed with the domestic offerings from Mattel. The DC Collectibles and the Mezco versions are still a bit away, so, for now, these were my go-to figures to get from the movie. The promo pics made me instantly want them, and although I have had some issues with Medicom Mafex figures in the past, I still set my hopes high.
Now that they’re in hand, I can say I’m completely happy with one and completely shocked that the other figure came from the same company, or even the same factory.
I’ll start with the figure that just leaves me feeling not-so-happy. Superman:
To start, the packaging is nice. Pretty pictures on the back and sides and a nice clear window to see what we’re getting. Seeing these awesome pics kinda make me even more bothered by how the figure turned out. I mean, he looks so awesome in those pics!
Now, to be fair, this figure isn’t some complete turd that should immediately be tossed in the trash. It is, however, lacking in some key areas that really knock it down a peg from its counterpart. If anything, it’s just disappointing that he didn’t come out as good as I hoped.
Superman is a pretty nice sculpt. When he is just standing in a vanilla pose he really does look fine. The costume details are nicely done, and overall it’s a good sculpt. The head sculpt is a pretty close likeness to Cavill too, it could just be better. My one gripe about the overall sculpt is that his lower legs seem a bit thin, especially in his calve and boot parts. They seem almost a scale smaller than the rest of the figure. At the very least, he looks like a dude who really likes to skip leg day. This could be just a nitpick that I can’t get past, but it definitely stands out to me as a drawback.
As for his articulation, all the needed points are there.
- Top and bottom ball-jointed neck
- Double ball-and-hinge shoulders
- Double elbows
- Ball-hinged wrists
- Ball-and-swivel torso
- Waist swivel
- Ball-and-socket hips
- Double knees
- Ball-and-socket ankles
- Hinged toes
You can see the articulation breakdown by checking out the soothing sights and sounds of Robo’s video review.
The real problems with Supes arise when you try and use all those articulation points. He has a stuck limb or two and some joints, like his hips and knees, are super floppy. The articulation works, it just doesn’t work as well and as fluid as it should.
The head sculpt, like I said before, is a pretty close likeness to Henry Cavill. Problems here start with his skin ending up a bit yellow-ish. Perhaps some darker paints on the hair and eyebrows would’ve helped too, like in the pretty pictures. Sigh.
As for accessories, Superman comes with two extra sets of open hands. One is open and one is … really open? It’s hard to even tell the difference, truthfully. I wish they had gone with a more flat open hand for a flying pose.
The other accessory is much cooler. It’s an alternate head with heat-vision eyes and a more scowling expression. I like the angry head a lot and it’s definitely great to use for battle play.
The cape is big and red and has a wire attachment inside it. Sounds good so far, but the problem here is that it’s sewn in at the base of the cape ,which kind of makes it all bunch together. Another curious decision because putting it along the sides of the cape would have allowed for much more poseability with the cape. The wire at the bottom definitely makes it hard to even get him in standing pose without the cape getting in the way.
Even with the cape and articulation issues, you can still achieve some pretty cool poses with Supes. He can be fun to play with, but, at the same time, he can be frustrating because of the issues. He can be a little fiddly, but if you’re patient, he can be fun to play and pose with.
Now hopefully you’re still with me after that not-so-enthusiastic review of Supes because for me this is where it gets good.
Batman:
Just like Supes, the packaging consists of a clear window displaying the figure and all his accessories (and it’s a lot of accessories) on the front with some pretty pictures of the figure on the back.
Now this is more like it. Bats completely matches the promo pictures on his box that got me all hot and bothered for these figures in the first place. No weird skin color or lack of paints here. His costume details are perfect and the paints are crisp and clean. I know it’s mostly gray and black, but the little gold bits really pop.
The texture of his suit is done well, and the little raised seams and lines on his gloves and boots make them stand out than more than just painted on.
I mentioned earlier that Batman came with a lot of accessories and I wasn’t kidding. Just for weapons alone, he comes with his grappling gun, his kryptonite grenade launcher, a gas explosive, and, of course, a Batarang.
To hold all those wonderful weapons, Batman is gonna need some extra hands, and there are no lack of extras here. He comes with two sets of fists, with one a full clenched fist and the other with an exposed thumb like he’s pressing a detonator, or maybe imitating Bill Clinton giving a speech. He also comes with a set of open, more expressive hands that can be used in fighting poses or to touch the ground in crouching poses.
He also comes with a two-finger exposed hand that can hold his Batarang like he’s gonna throw it, and two sets of some more open, grippy hands that he can hold stuff or maybe even drive the Batmobile with.
The two finger hands could also be used to pull off the Bat-tusi.
I actually think the Superman likeness is done a bit better than Batman, but the head sculpt is still pretty awesome. The mask is perfect, and the eyes are painted well and detailed. My only gripe is that the neck seems a bit too thick, but in the film it was really thick too.
His articulation is the exact same as Superman, but it works so, so much better. The joints are tight and move perfectly. He has excellent range of motion in his arms and legs to allow for some really great posing.
Unlike Supes, his cape is a huge plus — not a minus. It’s big and black but it’s wired at the sides instead of the bottom. This allows for all kinds of poses.
It doesn’t hinder articulation and can lay flat when you want it, but it can really become dynamic and flowing when you need it to be. It’s everything a cloth Batman cape should be, and the only one I’ve seen done better is the Mezco DKR Batman cape.
Even with Superman’s faults, these two still look really great together and will work fine in your display. As far as overall figures go, Batman is light years ahead of Superman, though. Maybe I just got a dud and other collectors will get a Superman without so many issues, but for me Bats is the clear winner of the two, and I can’t recommend him enough.
Both these guys will fit right in with most of your other 6-inch scale lines. They’re about the same height as the basic Marvel Legends male body. They’ll also have no problems fitting in with your newer Mattel DC movie figures. If you’re a fan of the movie designs, I can’t recommend scooping up Bats for your collection enough. Supes doesn’t come as highly recommended, but it’s kinda hard to have one without the other.
You can still pre-order both of these guys at Big Bad Toy Store.
