“In order to survive in my line of work, you’ve got to know when you’re beaten. What you do then is change your tactics….I’m flexible, able to adapt to the situation.”
When you get to a third variation on a Mezco figure, it’s pretty safe to say you like it. Ascending Knight Batman went from a curiosity to a full-blown top contender in no time at all, and as you would expect, Mezco knows a good thing when they have it. Hence we have a standard black and gray version, a couple stealthy black ones, and now a very 1980s-90s- evocative blue and gray.
It comes as little surprise to those of you who have been reading my stuff for the last decade that the last one hit some special notes for me. The mid 1980s were a particularly good time in Batman comics, and it happened to be when I started reading. When we were talking about Dark Knight Returns a surprising couple years ago, I made mention of that classic page spread of Batman’s actual return. That shot of him, literally larger than life, descending on that getaway car in his classic costume, is seared on my mind, forever. There are honestly few Batman costumes I don’t like, but that one suit- especially that image- is really what I see in my head at the mention of the word “Batman.”
Not that this is a “classic” Batman, mind you. Really, it’s quite a departure, as the other Ascending Knight figures have been. But there is that unmistakable shock of classic color on this modern take. Really, a good (or yellow) oval and a few more capsules on that belt- after the early 90s, even the shorts weren’t a given- and he would be essentially there.
Oddly enough, there IS and oddly specific comic reference that makes this Batman nearly “comic accurate,” for those of you that worry about that stuff. The Batman: Man-Bat limited series of 1995. Sure, there are trunks, and he has the long gloves, but the colors, ears, and even the belt are strangely similar to John Bolton’s stylized version. It’s a very pretty book, by the way, and worth a read should you be able to track it down.
So, what are the differences on the figure, specifically? It really comes down to three color alterations: the obvious blue, a more “tarnished” belt (with a tinge of green in it) and a lighter gray on the vinyl parts of the suit.
The new blue cape had me suckered instantly. Just as nice as the black ones, and with a nice charcoal-ish inner color, it’s a great color and texture I hope they will use in future Bat-variants- became how cool would it be to swap heads and belts along the whole trilogy of figures? The blue on the mask, gloves and boots allows for some of the smaller details, like the black lining around the eye slits, the knuckle pads, and the boot laces stand out really well.
The beit is honestly my least favorite of the three I have. The standard version has the most detailed paintwork, and the black one has the cleanest, which leaves that greenish tinged gold on this one feeling a little weak. Looks fine on the figure, and as a standalone it isn’t noticeable, but when all three stand together, it’s a soft showing. And as for the suit, the lighter gray makes for a bit more contrast to the under parts, which makes the designs stand out a littis over the standard one. It can be a little off-putting, if you’re not fond of the design work. But for me, I like way the two ligher colors (the blue and gray) play off each other.
Your accessory loadout is the same, naturally. For this version, everything is just done in a brushed metallic finish. And it was messing with these a little for pictures that I made another nostalgic connection.
Now, like the other versions, Batman’s wrist launcher only fits in his right hand, but this blue instantly recalled to mind the Batman Return of the Joker NES classic! And thanks to the blue sprite work, I can totally claim him as game accurate, other than the right-handedness.
So, if I haven’t sold you on this Batman by a third variant review, it’s safe to say I’m not going to. The rest of you though, you really only should by the colors you need, since there’s no other difference between these great figures. In my case, yep, I needed all three.
