Ah, yes, more Play Arts for me to get my tattooed bear paws on. Mwahahaha. I LOVE Arkham Asylum/Arkham City. These games are the greatest comic-to-game translation ever, and currently one of my favorite versions of the Batman Mythos period (even over Nolan's films). So getting great action figures of great designs is a bonus for me, at this point. Read on to see how well these two fare.
Catwoman
Catwoman's game design didn't stray too far from the modern look in the comics, which is a huge plus. She's had a variety of designs over the years, being one of Batman's oldest adversaries, some being very silly, while others were more cheesecake (not saying this one isn't, of course), but Darwyn Cooke's turn-of-the-century "catsuit" costume, to me, makes the most sense. And this take-off on it, while it definitely sexes her up more than a bit thanks to Square's Anime styling, is probably one of the best female figures ever.
The Good: The overall look is great. The seams and zippers, buckles and laces are all sculpted superbly and painted appropriately, with little slop that I can find. Her hands swap out easily, and the included "googles-down" head would be a huge bonus, if not for something I'll get to momentarily. And while the figure brings plenty of vampy va-va-va-voom to the table, this kitten's got claws. It's very nice that she has TWO sets of extra hands, making three sets altogether: relaxed, gripping, and claws out. She can pose down and go blow for blow with any of your PAK, or even catfight Harley like miAmego did on the Fwoosh boards. Her whip fits well in both hands, and is made of a fairly flexible plastic if you want to ensnare other figures.
The Bad: I love swappable accessories on my action figures. It gives dorks like me plenty of options for
Otherwise, the normal portrait has a dark airbrushing that's a little distracting. It looks like Selina's makeup is running, and it seems like a widespread problem. It's not as bad as Kratos or even the Joker, but it may bother some. Her joints are all great, save for the the clicky-joint on her left hip and her right shoulder is a tad loose. The hip doesn't seem to be a big problem, as the joint still functions properly, but I fear her shoulder may droop over time and as it gets used for posing.
Overall: Catwoman is the definite winner of these two. If you already have the AA Bats and are leery of spending another sixty buck on the AC version, do yourself a favor and at least pick up Selina. Again, one of, if not THE best female action figures I've ever owned. The constantly-improving PAK articulation scheme really shines here, and you can get her into plenty of poses that don't detract from the femininity of it being a woman character, and the exaggerated Anime proportions definitely help with that.
Batman
Bruce here has seen a lot of PAK love thus far, and that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. I balked at another game-styled Batman at first, and then realized that not only was he significantly different, but that I'm a big enough dork for all things Batman to be suckered into buying him anyway. There are plenty of differences between this and the AA version, the most noticeable being his overall build and stature. He simply looks more imposing than AA Bats, and when placed next to each other, AC Bats is taller and wider in the shoulders.
The Good: Again, the stature and build are what really struck me on this figure. The upper body in particular looks much more like the game model. The bat emblem on his chest looks bolder than the AA, but still a little off from the game. The blue used on him, at first glance, seems the same as the AA Bats, but in better lighting there's a deep royal blue airbrushing going on that just makes him pop more. The cape sculpt is nice, but I have issues with it that I'll get to below.
His accessories we've seen before: The batclaw and a batarang. As far as I can tell, these are straight-up re-use from the original, as are his hands. The new accessory included, however, is a line for the batclaw that you can swap out and ensnare baddies (or Catwoman, I guess, if she's into that). The best accessory, to me, is the alternate portrait with a sort of snarling face. Normally, these sculpts can make it look like a toy is taking a shit. But this one is very well done. Just standing him on the shelf, posed cracking his knuckles, makes it look as if he's sizing up the rest of my collection and wondering who to hit first and exactly how hard. Bats poses pretty well, too, with some limitations, but looks great just standing there, ready to dole out some broken limbs to anyone stupid enough to fuck with the Goddamn Batman.
The Bad: The cape. The cape baffles me quite a bit. One of the great successes of the AA version, to me, was the clicky-joints that the cape was mounted on in two sections. The fact that this one is not only glued down but limits his articulation is a huge bummer. Yes, the plastic is pliable, but not nearly as much as I'd like. But the tradeoff is that the stiffer plastic can help balance Bats in a number of poses, and a softer material would have made that impossible, or at least exasperating when trying to get him to stand.
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| "I believe I can fly... I believe I can touch the sky..." |
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| "Fuck you." |
The extra head is a pain in the ass here, too; but unlike Selina, I can get my plyers in and pop the neck peg out to swap them, which is still something I'm not fond of doing. Good thing I like the angry head, I guess. Also, mine has some minor paint issues: several spots on the neutral head had either been worn off during assembly and packaging or simply weren't painted evenly to begin with, leaving dots of flesh-colored plastic showing.
While the color scheme has grown on me, it looks a little odd to see a blue and gray Batman without blue gloves and boots. The gauntlets and shin greaves are in a dark gunmetal with varying grays that make up the gloves and boots. So if you're looking for a more traditional looking Bats and the slightly shorter height on the AA doesn't bother you, this one may not be for you. Also, his build going down to the waist is a little strange. His lower torso tapers to the belt line, and then blows up to accommodate his huge legs. The proportions on the AA are a tad more realistic.
Overall: While I'm slightly disappointed, I still really like this Batman. The differences between AC and AA are enough for me to be satisfied with my purchase, even with the cape and swappable head issues. Since the AA Bats is going for $80 or more on the aftermarket, I'd say this is probably a smarter buy, especially if you happen to think like me that this one looks more badass, even with the posing limitations. Here's hoping the issues with both can be addressed in future releases (and hope that Square doesn't go the Hot Toys route in releasing new and improved versions of older figures twice every year), and if not, maybe they can send me extra neck pegs for both. But I doubt it.
Til next time, kids.
-Swift
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