“I shift my legs to keep them from cramping and watch night settle like a ceasefire on the city of Gotham.”
As a kid, my introduction to the Dark Knight Returns came sometime in 1988. I had only recently been introduced to comics themselves, and even at the $1-an-issue pride of the ongoing series at the time, my collection was a bit meager. So it’s a bit of providence that my dad, who has never read a comic book in his life, would come across some Batman paperbacks at the library by his work and checked them out for me.
Among those books was, of course, The Dark Knight Returns.
I have no idea how many times he stopped and re-checked out this book on my behalf, but it was obviously enough that he bought me my own copy soon after, probably at a comic book store. The only thing weirder than my dad at a library would have to be my dad at a comic shop. The stuff you do for your kids, right?
So, obviously, I have an attachment to “old man” Batman, due in no small part to my old man introducing it to me. And the one image, above all others, seared into my brain for all time when it comes to this Batman, if not just Batman in general, is this one:
His massive frame, filling the entire page, descending like a bat out of hell on the getaway car. At this moment, at the beginning of his epic return, this is Batman at his most powerful. His costume, contemporary by the 1986 standards, looks more epic, like it’s barely containing its huge owner. But there it is, instantly recognizable as the Bronze Age blue and gray, an explosion of cool colors on a night sky.
Depending on how your shipping rolled, this is the second or third Batman version coming our way from Mezco, and it’s a personal favorite of mine. At this point, we’ve touched on the nuts and bolts of this figure through the Black/white and black/gray versions that precede this review, so I will just briefly focus on the differences here. If you have questions, though, definitely check my or VeeBee and Matt K’s previous looks.
As you would expect, the big draw to this version is the “classic colors” uniform. To paraphrase something Phineas Curmudgeon said on the boards, this is a Batman costume we associate with Super Friends, and he gets to run around punching the crap out of people.
The blue has been a topic of some debate, since it seems to change from picture to picture. In hand, it has a pale light-blue look to it. Under direct light, though, it takes on more of an aqua-blue tinge, so I tried to get some shots indoor as well as outdoor in “neutral” light, to see if shows in pictures. It’s impressively bold, and it really holds your attention. As far as accuracy goes, it does seem to match up almost perfectly with the “Book One” colors, particularly those in the bank heist chase.
The yellow oval is done in the same rubbery vinyl as the black bat, and it’s execution is impressive . It’s got great sizing and coloring, and, combined with the blue, it makes this version the most visually engaging.
The accessories line up with the “standard” version with a few changes: the heads, hands, stand, and grappling hook are the same, but this Batman substitutes the Webley and boot holster for a rifle and thigh pouches.The rifle is an interesting contention, since Batman seems to ironically use guns throughout the book, sometimes right after deriding their use in general. But Mezco was especially justified in this one’s inclusion, since it features prominently in the fight with Two-Face.
It’s nicely sculpted with the attention paid to the bolt-action, scope, and stock much appreciated. I’ve tried to conclude the model of this rifle for years, much like the revolver. Hard to say what Frank used for initial reference, but I think Mezco’s guys used the Lee-Enfield, based on the stock’s unique grip-cut. It reminds me of some sportsterized versions I’ve seen, with the stock trimmed from the barrel after the sling mount. This also makes sense if the revolver is a Webley — they would’ve been a regular pair in the hands of World War 2 Tommies. What Batman is doing with two British guns is an interesting question all its own… maybe they’re Alfred’s?
The thigh pouches slide over the boot on either leg and have some texturing on the back to help hold them in place. They are the same material and color as the utility belt, and they match up just like you’d expect.
While I think every one 1/12 collector — and most 1/6 collectors as well — owe it to themselves to pick up at least one of these, the variants are more of an individual case-by-case sell. I can tell you this, though: if you like the colors, or if you are just on the fence about getting a second version, I would go for it. There are already horror stories about the secondary market prices on this exclusive.
