REVIEW: DC Direct's "Batman and Son" Wave

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Batman and Son is based on the new comic series where Batman and Lamont run a junkyard in Los Angeles. Or it’s a four-issue story where Talia mutates the League of Shadows into a Man-Bat army and presents Bruce Wayne with Damien, a son which may have been conceived in the “Son of the Demon” graphic novel. One or the other.

I had reservations about this wave of DC Direct figures. Since reviewing Mattel’s Clayface wave, I wasn’t sure I needed another Batman, Robin or Joker so soon. And the “Batman and Son” story was ultimately disappointing, with no clear ending (it seems to be rolling into the “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” crossover as I write this) in addition to Andy Kubert’s premature departure from the series. I pre-ordered online so I winced when my credit card was charged, but rejoiced when I saw the final product.

Batman is HUGE. Not too tall like the "Crisis" version, but wide. While the design is very close to the Jim Lee “Hush” design (which has been re-released every six weeks for the past three years), this is an entirely new sculpt. I love the sharp lines across his cheeks, a signature of Kubert’s style since his 90’s X-Men days.

Articulation is decent for the line. There should be a waist joint and better range of motion in the shoulders, but I could say that about nearly every DC Direct product. The cape is well rendered, the first that drapes to the ground. It’s a little narrow where it meets the neck piece in the back but from the front it’s perfect. It makes him top heavy, so use the included stand.

The Joker is unnecessary. He only shows up for three comic pages in a seemingly unrelated thread. I’d much rather have had a Talia figure, since she’s the main villain and a character DC Direct has never produced. Luckily, Joker is fantastic. He has a waist joint, proving DC Direct knows they exist. I love the tension in the shoulders and the closely cropped hair. The red wash around the eyes is a little heavy and the eyes are lazy but it looks like mine was an isolated incident. The crowbar is story specific but it’s hard not to think of the death of Jason Todd (back when he was dead). The accessory makes the figure even more iconic on the shelf.

I’m not a big fan of the new Robin costume, but this figure nails it. The ball jointed head screams Tim Drake and the heavy black cape drapes over one shoulder more naturally than any cape I’ve ever seen. The cape drapes to the ground like Batman's, but the yellow lining stops at the knees. I’ve seen it drawn both ways so I’m assuming this is another idiosyncrasy of Kubert. The arms and legs come off squarish, which seems to happen on thinner DCD figures.

Damien is included, but he’s not quite right. While I expected the smaller size and reduced articulation, the hunched shoulders and short neck make him look unnatural and in a perpetual shrug. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a “Resurrection of Ra’s al Ghul” version with Damien’s pseudo-Robin outfit in the future. Until then, it’s nice to have a brand new Batman character for a change.

The Ninja Man-Bat is a new character since it’s not Kirk Langstrom. Technically, it’s an army builder as there were four of them. He still looks enough like the original Man-Bat that you can consider him a replacement or a pass. The wings are one piece in the back with flaps to hold the two swords. Innovative, but biologically impossible. The articulation includes a wide range for the ball jointed shoulders, perfect to pose the wings. Elbows would have helped, but they may have hindered the look of the full wingspan. The mouth is also a separate piece, but mine doesn’t move. I can see a blob of glue in the jaw so whether it’s a defect or a joint that was scrapped, I’m unsure.
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These figures are a perfect representation of Kubert’s brief run on Batman, but they aren’t meant to be replace anything. As you can see from the photos, they are noticeably bigger than Mattel’s DC Superheroes. If you’re into that line, none of these will take the place of your Four Horseman figures. In fact, if you’re looking for definitive versions of this characters, you can pass these up. But, if you love excellent sculpts and artist versions of the classic "Bat" characters, these are the figures of the year.

Review and Photos by Jon Clarke