Superhero Times: a service of Action Online
I received a box in the mail late last week. Upon opening said box I discovered to my pleasant surprise two amazing 1:6th scale figures from DC Direct courtesy of Urban-Collector.com. The Dark Knight Batman and Joker are two of the most amazing figures I have owned and I was a little giddy upon pulling them from their brown shipping box.
Right away the packaging for these two pieces is simply spectacular. Batman and Joker are displayed in full color on the front of the boxes from the waist up and posed in dramatic fashion. The back of the boxes give you an even more dramatic view of both hero and villain. The shadows on these pictures are deep and rich which add a feeling of mystique to the figures within. The side panels of the box give the characters name as well as displaying the bat symbol which is the logo for this film.
The front of the boxes open up, giving you a view of the figure and all it’s accessories through a plastic window. The inside of the flaps give you yet another look at the character and a small description of the film.
Popping the tops of the boxes and pulling the figures and accessories out and I found myself with a table full of coolness!
Let’s begin with the Dark Knight himself...
Batman comes with some very nice accessories, all of which are movie accurate…I think. We get an extra set of hands which have bendable wires in the fingers for posing, three small Batarangs and one larger Batarang, a Grappling Gun, a small communicator that looks like an IPod, a device called a "Pneumatic Wrangler" and a nice display stand made up of three separate pieces. We will take a look at these pieces in detail in a few moments.
Batman himself is a sight to behold. The figure has 28 points of articulation and is dressed in his new suit from The Dark Knight. DC Direct has really outdone any of their previous work here on this scale. His armor plating is an intricate work of art. Crafted from rubber, it sits atop a fabric suit. The armor plates are designed to bend and twist with the figure and are jointed at several places which allow greater realism to the movement as you pose the figure.
Batman’s detail is so great that it’s hard not to admire the craftsmanship. His cape is very well crafted and is actually posable as well. The small wires built into the cape allow some very interesting possibilities when giving Batman life.
The head is very cool, although it doesn’t have a lot of movement to it. It really only moves left to right and has no up or down motion. The eyes and mouth look just like Christian Bales face.
Batman comes with a pair of closed fists attached to his body. Changing these to his other hands is rather easy. The hands pop off and the new ones pop on. It’s very simple.
Then there is the utility belt, which actually has several places to store some of Batman's weapons. The Grappling Gun hangs from a hook while the Batarangs can be stored in small slots in the middle of the belt. Also, the small communicator can be plugged into two small holes on the belt.
His accessories can all be held in his posable hands. Bending all of his fingers down, you can slide the three small Batarangs in between them to give him a very dangerous attack pose. The Batarangs are made of plastic and painted to appear golden. They are actually sharp on their points, surprisingly. The Grappling Gun fits into these hands as well, if a bit oddly. He does look nice holding it aimed at the sky, and the detail on the gun is superb. It almost appears that it could be fired for real.
The Pneumatic Wrangler is a different story. Having not seen the movie, and considering the figures come with no directions, I’m not 100% sure what this device is for. So I attached it to his arm. Editor Jeff Saylor said it ”appears to be some sort of power clamp,” but neither he nor I have a clue if it is being used correctly in the pictures. We will just have to wait for the film for the answer. Batman also comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
Moving onto the Joker, this figure is loaded with so much fun stuff that is makes one giddy with geekness! Let’s see what he comes with...
Joker comes with a removable Thug mask, three different knives, a 9mm pistol with a removable clip, three small sets of playing cards, a set of closed fisted hands, a set of open hands, and a display stand made up of three separate pieces.
Joker himself is a much nicer figure than Batman in my honest opinion. Heath Ledger's eerie portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime is recreated here in accurate detail. The Joker arrives with 28 points of articulation and is dressed to make Batman’s life hell.
He is fitted in an amazing recreation of his film wardrobe: A purple long coat over purple pants with a grey suit jacket, dark green vest over a light purple shirt and a speckled tie. He appears ready to stroll down the streets of Gotham while a hospital burns behind him. The jacket can be removed easily, as can the grey suit jacket, although I never took mine off. The tie and vest are nicely tailored here. The vest appears buttoned up by three small buttons, but it actually clasps together by two small metal buttons hidden under the material.
His shoes appear to actually be tied - a very nice touch. Most companies would go the cheap route and simply sculpt shoelaces on. Not DC Direct, they went the good route and put forth the effort to give a bit more realism to this piece.
Moving up to his face, Heath Ledger’s likeness is evident here. The face is so creepy to stare at; the paint applications here are flawless. The sculpting on Joker is dead on, giving detail to the scarring around his mouth as well as his almost hollow in appearance eyes. The hair is sculpted here, but done very nicely. We have seen in the trailer that Joker has very dirty and stringy hair and it is actually portrayed here in this very fine sculpt. Much like Batman, the head doesn’t have a whole lot of range in its movement, but it’s a small gripe.
Taking a look at the accessories, we start with the clown mask. Now, the mask can actually go on Joker’s head allowing you to re-create the bank robbery scene in the film, which is a VERY nice touch. The mask slips over his head and is held in place by a small elastic band. The paint apps on the mask help in giving it an aged and filthy look, which once again adds to the realism on this piece.
Joker comes with three knives which can be held in his hands, although not very well. I had some initial trouble getting the knives to stay in his hands as they tended to slip down through his palm and fall to the ground.
He comes with what I believe to be a throwing knife, which is all black in its coloring, a large hunting knife and the small switchblade type knife he is seen several times with in the theatrical trailers.
The 9mm gun he comes with is amazing for its scale. Not only is the detail phenomenal, but the barrel itself can be cocked back just like the real thing. It also has a removable clip which has bullets sculpted into it. The bullets are very small but once again, detail, detail, detail!
The three sets of small cards are amazing. They all sport different faces and include a few different Joker cards as well. Surprisingly, Joker can actually hold a spread of these cards in his hands.
Joker comes with more hands then Batman does. He has the set of hands attached right out of the box which are posed to hold weapons and such. The second set is a pair of closed fists, and the third and final set is a pair of open hands. The hands can be popped on and off with little difficulty by pulling them off at the wrist and placing a new pair on to the small ball joint beneath. The open hands can’t be posed, which is kind of sad really. But the extra sets are a nice touch and make up for it somewhat. He also comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, just like Batman.
The display stands for both figures go together very easily. You simply snap the pole onto the base, and the arm actually has a small locking peg that can be withdrawn by the press of a small button on the back. You slide the arm over the pole and the peg locks the arm to whatever position you like via the holes in the pole. The figure's waists slide into the arm well, holding them securely onto the base.
Overall, these are some of the finest DC Direct offerings in the 1:6th scale to date. I can’t recommend them enough. If you love Batman and are hunting for awesome swag from The Dark Knight then these figures are for you.
They can be acquired from our friends over at Urban-Collector.com for the cool sale price of $79.99 each. Visit here for Batman and here for The Joker
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Pictures and Review by Jason Devall
Review Samples Courtesy of Urban-Collector.com