Remember when the word “MAFEX” made you kind of flinch, like you wanted the toy but kind of knew that it would treat you badly in some way? I’m glad we’re past all that because really, at the end of the day, I just want good action figures. Bane from The Dark Knight Rises continues that trend we’ve been seeing for the past year or so.
I’ve seen some talk of scale issues though, and let me say that there is no size screw-ups here, but there is a problem if you mix different MAFEX properties. Stick with me for a minute…
Christian Bale is 6′. Heath Ledger was 6’1″. Tom Hardy is 5’9″. Will Smith is 6’2″. Margot Robbie is 5’6″. Anne Hathaway is 5’8″ (!). Okay, that’s out of the way.
For some screwball reason Medicom made the Nolan Trilogy figures a smaller scale than the Suicide Squad figures. Harley, Deadshot, and Joker all work within their own little group. The same can be said for Selina Kyle 2.0, Batman Begins, Joker 2.0, and this Bane. But you can’t mix the two lines. Deadshot towers over Batman, Harley over Bane.
Why?
And don’t think Bandai is doing the toy gods’ work either. Their Nolan Trilogy S.H. Figuarts Batman is a LARGER scale than their Suicide Squad figures, or even other movie lines.
Why?
The strangest thing about all this? The MAFEX and SHF Nolan Trilogy figures are scaled to each other, or at least close enough to mix and match.
WHY?
Not necessarily a bad thing for those wanting to build that Bale Batman display, but probably is for those who mix all the DC movies together.
Anyway, Bane is amazing. He just oozes attitude on the shelf. His bare arm configuration isn’t that great though. The torso looks a bit small without the coat and the shoulder sockets are ugly as hell. I have to believe this was an afterthought. They NAILED the coat look and then thought “Shit, Bane doesn’t have accessories, extra head, nothing. We gotta come up with a gimmick to make it worth the price we’re asking for these things.”
While I appreciate the effort, I will never use them again, more than likely. The coat is where it’s at. This could have been a simple figure but the sculpting and even paint is amazing. You’ll find something different every time you look at it. I didn’t even know the costume had blue and green bits, or all the different colors to the mask thing. Whatever that is.
I know some people hate this version of Bane. I’ve always been kind of enamored with it and Hardy’s quirky take on the character. This figure makes me like the portrayal even more.
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Alternate arms:
Separated at birth:
Accessories:
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Action:
