Arkham Knight is almost upon us, a series that redefined what a super hero game can be. DC Collectibles has been putting out figures for them all along the way, and Arkham Knight wave 1 is here. Right off the bat we get Batman, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, and the Gamestop exclusive Red Hood. It looks like the planned Arkham Knight figure was delayed until after release of the game. We’re going to run through them all this week starting with Mr. Wayne himself, Batman. Check out what we thought and over 40 shots of him saving the day after the break!
DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Batman
Pros
Solid construction
No breakages
Great detailing
Cape
Cons
Bent ear
Legs are a bit gangly
Torso a bit blocky
Seems very tall vs other 7 inch scale figs
Overall
Overall, Batman is the weakest of the 4 wave 1 figures. He isn’t bad per say, but we’ve had so many Batman figs over the last couple years just from DCC that it’s hard not to start nitpicking. The Arkham Origins Batman was a bit beefy in the legs, but overall one of the best Batman figs IMO, and here they seemed to go the other way. They are a tad skinny with limited hip articulation making posing a bit awkward. The torso also has limited tapering going down to the hips, so it feels a little long and blocky. This may be from the game models and work there, but here as a figure it just seems a little off. He’s also significantly taller than the rest of wave one and other DCC figures before it. All that aside, the sculpting and paint are fantastic. Lots of weathering and accents, they even mimicked carbon fiber grid for his shoulder pads and cape connector. The Batarang accessory pops and stays in the hand much better than previous Batman figures, and the alt hands for Batarang or grappling hook gun on either side is nice. The cape lands right before the feet so it’s easier to pose without it getting stuck on the floor.
Overall, not the best, but pretty good and will work in a stare-down pose if you want to rep the game on your shelves, or just add to your growing DCC Bat army like I am. Check out some key shots below and the rest in gallery mode after that!
Wave 1 is out now, including the Red Hood Gamestop exclusive. Check them all out over on Gamestop and pick up the set:
Batman
, Harley Quinn, Scarecrow, Red Hood – GameStop Exclusive
Kicking things off with Batman!
Wave 1 is solid, but Batman is the weakest of them all IMO. Still Batman tho.
Not bad but the one from Arkham Origins is still the best imo. Looking forward to the other figures. Especially Red Hood. He looks great.
Agreed. And, Red Hood really pops. Really, the rest of wave 1 is super awesome.
i might wait till they make another one i think arkham city had like 4-5 batmans maybe more
The Arkham Knight has been out the whole time. A quick check of Ebay or Amazon will tell you that. Pretty lazy to only look at whatever link Gamestop sent you (because they probably have the Red Hood replacing it in the cases they are getting) and assume it isn't out yet.
My copy:
1: Is the worst smelling toy I've ever owned like skunk and gasoline mixed. Does anyone else have this issue?
2: The belt pouches where missing from the left side. They painted the area nicely so you wouldn't miss them. I tried taking the other pouches off and the area doesn't get painted when the part is present.
3: I was taking pics of his belt issue and he tipped forward and fell face down on my desk. I stood him back up and found that the tip of his nose cracked off. The head is cast in flesh color so it looks really bad.
4: I tried to fix his left ear. I use water heated by a coffee maker. It's effective and won't scald me or melt the figure. Heating the ear only made it curl up like it was smashed in the package again.
5: At this point I don't feel like there is much to preserve so I try trimming the ears down. If you follow the curve of the back of the head you can make them just like the bale cowl. But then you find that nothing is compensating for how small the head is. It starts to look smaller than his fists.
The figure feels solid, I think this might be a sturdy line with Icons articulation in bigger 7" figures. I'm hoping there is a v2 batman or the 5 pack brings some older figures with less fragile joints.
Arkham Knight figures shipped to Diamond earlier in the year, but were held back. Between that time and 4/29, retailers were getting Arkham Knight figures by mistake when orders for reprints of Arkham Origins figures were coming in. Looks like someone at the Diamond warehouses didn't know the difference between Origins and Knight figures when pulling and some retailers got them instead. No one complained I'd assume.
They didn't officially release to comic shops via Diamond until 4/29. At that time, they only shipped Batman, Harley, and Scarecrow.
comiclist_for_04_29_2015 - ComicList Database
So, while these have all been out for a while, including Arkham Knight, due to mishaps and leaks, he hasn't officially been released. And Gamestop is listing him as a 9/2015 release date.
That's how I understood the situation. If I am wrong, just clarify and I'll update the post. And for the record, no one sent me anything for this round of reviews, links or otherwise.
Yeah, the Arkham Knight isn't officially released yet. BBTS and Entertainment Earth don't have it yet either and when my local Hastings opened up their boxes for wave 1 they only had the other 3 figures so it's not just because Gamestop has the Red Hood replacing the Knight in the cases or something like that.
The little head with the bent ear makes me laugh: reminds me of my cat's bent whiskers. "Poor Batman bwoke his ear, and now he's sad."
One thing I like very much about the Origins armor, besides the excellent head sculpt and the fact that the head fit the body (!), is the sense that everything about the armor looked realistic, simple, purposeful, pragmatic, a reflection of the character's gritty, to-the-point personality. Yeah, the torso was too long, and the limbs looked too heavy, but IMHO the pros outweighed the cons. Oh, and the shorter, straight cape lent itself better to different poses.
Since this one is ostensibly built to the same scale, I suppose you could pop off the Origins head and attach it to this body, but why would you? Pass. Thanks for the good commentary.
I've seen that Batman in 3 different shops and every single one of them has that bent ear. It's not like a soft plastic warping in the pack. Those are always like a (almost) natural curve. That ear looks like Bane went up to him and snapped it. That bent ear just looks sad.
Well as a reseller myself, I have dropped the DC collectibles line now for the lack of quality and articulation. Im spending more time investing in imported DC versions.
Huh. Well, these photos simultaneously relieve and aggravate me. When I bought the first Batman which I saw, I honesty felt like something was "off" about its look. I compared the one I had in hand to some of the promo images, and my suspicions were confirmed.
DC Collectibles Unveils Batman: Arkham Knight Figures - News - www.GameInformer.com
What jumped right out to me is that the paint apps on the abs of the retail figure are completely missing. The photos here of the retail figure look exactly like the one I got, so I guess this must not be a fluke or error. But seeing the prototype images make me really want to figure out how to paint in what is missing so that it looks complete...
Tony B.'s Scarecrow gallery is up now too. Check it out at the link below.
DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Scarecrow High Res Gallery - The Toyark - News
I've given up on most DC collectibles. Everyone I buy breaks, with little movement. They are crap. Take it back where you got it and buy yourself the play arts Kai version. It looks sooooooo good.
I bought the 7" Keaton batman from neca, poop! It broke too.
I wish good ole Kenner was back in business. They made solid figures.
Man I love this Scarecrow toy, personal bias here but it's easily my favorite of this wave. Also, that last picture of Scarecrow and Harley looks like they're about to do a musical number.
That is an unusually dark interpretation of Scarecrow. I like it too.
And, Harley is up:
DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Harley Quinn High Res Gallery - The Toyark - News
As I said earlier, I think the non-Batman figures so far are tops. Scarecrow and Harley are both awesome.
The Scarecrow, right now, looks like my favorite. Mainly because it looks so terrifying.
Still not a fan of her outfit but that is a great looking Harley figure.
that scuplt is really nice, but like the multiverse one, I'll be interested to see
if anyone gets her with the lipstick painted on straight. this one is close, but no dice.
Red Hood is up!
This one is my favorite of the bunch. Didn't think it would be, but he sits really well on the shelf.
DC Collectibles Arkham Knight Red Hood High Res Gallery - The Toyark - News
Red Hood definitely looks to be the best of the bunch and that's saying something since they all look like pretty great figures. I saw someone that cut the hood off of Red Hood's jacket but personally I don't have a problem with it.
Harley looks like a great figure but I couldnt justify buying another one when I already have the AA and AC versions of her especially when Im not too crazy about her new outfit.
Im glad I passed on the Batman as well, it didn't look great from promo pics and Im already swimming in Batmans from the previous games.
After seeing the Red Hood Gallery I feel reassured that taking the hood off was the way to go for me. I will say that removing the hood allows for the hood to be placed lower on the neckline and that helps the look a lot. I did not like how the hood "Floated" up so high on the figure. I still prefer to have the Red Hood hoodless. :-)
Keep reading: The Toyark's DCC Arkham Knight Galleries - Page 2
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