Official Solicit:

DC Armory Batman

The Scarecrow is a threat to Batman on any day, but when he morphs into the monster version of himself known as “Scarebeast” in BATMAN #630, the caped crusader finds himself in need of a special armored outfit to win the battle.

Based on unique armor designs from the most popular comics!
Each figure features multiple points of articulation and a base.

January 2008
MSRP $10.99USD

When the solicit says “based on designs… from the most popular comics”, I’m not fully aware of what those comics are. Sure, I’m a comic nerd and should know all this, but I just don’t. I do know the run by Judd Winnick and Dustin Nguyen in Batman was where this suit of armor comes from, even though I couldn’t bring myself to actually finish reading the arc or get to the part with the cool armor - yikes!

So you’ll have to forgive my slight ignorance on the overall topic of comics here, and just let me stick to what I know - tearing toys apart for review!

Right away you can tell the packaging for these is nice and stylized. The back of the card shows pictures from the other figures, as well as a quick recap of the story involving each characters need for armor - as well as another neat thing DC Direct has been doing lately that I love - listing the name of the sculptor for the figure. Jonathan Matthews, who also happens to have been the sculptor on the last DC Direct figure I reviewed (Batman and Son Batman), left me impressed with his craftsmanship but disappointed by the articulation issues with the figure - hopefully that isn’t a running theme. What is a running theme with DC Direct figures though is lack of accessories packaged with the figure. Batman has as you can see, only 2 accessories included (as well as a base/stand but I’m not counting that…), a regular and battle-damaged helmet to go over Batman’s mask. And that’s 2 more than most DC Direct figures I see, so maybe I should just count my blessings, right?

Given that the story indicated Batman had to armor up heavy to take on the Scarebeast (ugh), you think we’d get some more weapons for Bats to add to that. Bombs, batarangs, a baseball bat with a nail in it, something? Nope. DC Direct, you really need to start adding more accessories, especially if you expect nerds to go out of their way and preorder or track down these figures in the direct market, since these won’t ever be on the shelves at a Toys R Us, Target, Walmart etc etc. Factor in that collectors can end up paying 2 and 3 dollars (or more!) above the MSRP because comic shop owners have to make that much of a mark-up to even turn a profit to get them to us. 15 dollar and no weapons? Ouch.

That gripe aside, one thing DC Direct has been spot on about is the accuracy of the sculpt to the source material. Jonathan Matthews nailed the look and feel of Andy Kubert’s art in the last figure I reviewed, and he nails the look of Dustin Nguyen’s work here. The whole reason I even got Batman was because of how amazing he looked in the pictures I saw online, and in person, he doesn’t disappoint.

Out of packaged, Batman is around 6 and a half inches tall. As you can see from the pics above, range of motion is pretty good too. With around 20 points of articulation, this is one of the most impressive DC Direct figures I’ve seen yet in terms of posability. The chest pectoral armor is even on hinges, to allow for more range of motion if the arms want to come forward etc - nice touch! The sculpt itself, aside from the accuracy to source as mentioned already, is just amazing - no details skimped from the fingertips to the bottoms of the feet either. Paint apps are great, the flat blacks and grays against the shiny metallic blues are all good choices. Batman looks a little odd without his cape, but you get used to after a bit - although it’d be nice to have one as an option, yeah?

Adding the few accessories, the armored helmet slips right on top of Batman’s head and snug against the neck business (as you can see above). It’s not much of an accessory, but it adds to the overall visual coolness of the figure if nothing else.

As you can see, the battle-damaged mask is just the regular mask but with some slash marks across the face. It’s pretty good looking, although now it begs the question as to why we didn’t actually get a Scarebeast (ugh) figure too?

Overall, just taking the figure into account, it’s a great toy. Kids would enjoy it without asking too many questions about why Batman is wearing a suit of armor, and adult collectors will be able to appreciate the sculpt and accuracy as well. And even if the comic that spawned the figure is kind of goofy, I find myself liking it for maybe just that reason. Batman, or any “regular guy” characters donning armorized versions of their costumes is always a recipe for disaster, but for some reason it works here. If DC Direct would work on integrating accessories and maybe even vehicles into their figures in the future, they’d really be able to expand past the sort of novelty direct market line they are, or at the very least sell more toys to adult nerds. I know I’d have bought a Nguyen Robin, or even a (shudder) Scarebeast (ugh) to go along with this. Or can you imagine a Nguyen designed Batmobile? Yum!

DC Direct doesn’t really love us though, and usually only make cool looking paperweights. But occasionally they make some pretty bad-ass toys too.