by Chris Troy
Well I managed to make it like, 2 weeks without talking about the big, bad bat. That’s impressive, as I think that’s the longest I’ve gone without discussing Batman related-merchandise on this blog since I’ve talked about things that weren’t Gundam related. But thinking it over, it makes sense, as the Bat is DC’s main cash cow, with children, fangirls and man-children all fans of the Batman. And with a ton of amateur “Dark Knight Rises” photos hitting the internet to help build hype for 2012 biggest non-Marvel movie, it makes a ton of sense for DC & Mattel to be pumping out a ton of merchandise.
Up first is the recently released DC Direct “Batman Inc” line of figures, based on the Grant Morrison penned series that’s running late and may actually mess up the DC reboot/relaunch if the 3 remaining issues don’t ship by 8/31. The first wave consist of Batman in his Morrison/David Finch redesign (sans shorts!) costume, Damian Wayne Robin, The Knight (England’s Batman) & the native American Batman Man-of-Bats. Note: Bruce was out of costume for over a year, and despite 2 toylines that revolved around that fact, not once did we get a Dick Grayson Batman. DC, I am disappoint. That being said, this line is pretty cool. Bruce actually has ball-jointed shoulder joints, making arm movement for the figure easier. Damian is the smallest, making him in-scale with the other figures and comes with a staff and a sword, both of which a taller than he is. Man of Bats comes with a tomahawk (not sure if racist) and the Knight, who 1st debuted in Morrison’s JLA run (available in 4 glorious hardcovers) over a decade comes with nothing, but the stand. I’d complain more, but it’s the Knight, who I never expected would get his own figure, let alone an awesome mini-series written by Paul Cornell of Doctor Who fame, so I’ll take my victories when I can get em. Each of the 4 figures retail for about $20 a pop, and with fan-favorite characters like Damian and The Knight involved, you’ll want to pick them up ASAP.
Moving on from Damian to Dick Grayson, FPNYC also has the 1st 2 deluxe Young Justice figures in stock! These figures are very much in the same mold of the DCU Classics line, as they’re larger and far more articulate than the previous Young Justice offerings. The first wave includes said Robin, as well as arrow-slinging Artemis. I have 2 problems with these figures. Despite coming with a ton of new character specific accessories and a new head sculpt, Robin is, for the most part, a re-released Tim Drake Robin from the DCU line, with some slight sculpt/paint changes here and there. Luckily, Artemis doesn’t share that problem with her namesake’s figure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some reused parts in there. My other issue is the price. These figures come with deluxe stands, with some sort of action feature, which jacks up the price to around $30. It’s a tough call to make for me personally, as the improved quality figure (and in-scale with their DCUC counterparts) , massive bases, and variety of accessories justifies the price, but those trying to be space conscious may suffer for it. Either way, seeing how new DCU Classic fly off the shelves upon release, you should come get ’em while you can!
