#77: Batman Unlimited - Batman and Cyberex

This is probably the most toy-ish thing I have bought recently, but it's just so ridiculous that I couldn't resist. It's Batman riding a robot dinosaur. This is part of the Batman Unlimited line, which I guess ties in to some animated movies. It doesn't really matter. The Batman figure is about three to four inches, has no cape, and has limited articulation. He's mainly there to sit on Cyberex's back. Cyberex is a pretty good size, over a foot long. His main feature is that if you squeeze the tail, a big disc launching cannon pops out of his back. The discs can store in the legs when not in use. Also, his chest can be used as a holding cell for whichever archvillain Batman is fighting at the time. And his tail ends in a big bat shaped blade. So ridiculous. In the best possible way.

#93: Batman Unlimited - Vampire Batman

Continuing with Christmas gifts, here's another from friend of the blog AJ, Vampire Batman. This is one of those figures that I like, but would never have bought for myself, so it was perfect for a gift. I believe it's mostly a reuse of the Deadman body, so he's skinny (for a superhero) and slightly dessicated looking, plus he's got double hinge elbows as well as wrists with swivel-hinges. The coolest part about the figure is the addition of bat wings. It's totally ridiculous, yes, but they do add an interesting touch. They are unattached in the package and plug into his back and function as swivel joints. The holes they plug into are a little hard to get into because the cape gets in the way, so I won't be removing and replacing them. He also comes with a bat-stake.

#79: Batman Unlimited - Batman (Arkham Origins)

Despite being a fan of Batman in general, and the Arkham series video games specifically, I never bought any of the Batman figures based on the previous games. I knew that DC Collectibles had a line for Arkham Origins, but the Mattel figures based on the game were a surprise, showing up around the same time as the game's release. It's a pretty solid representation of Batman as he appears in the game. The cape is billowing dramatically, perhaps from the wind, or perhaps he's coming out of a glide to swoop in on some unsuspecting goon. The cape is a fairly soft plastic, but it's massive enough to throw off Batman's balance and make him a bit back heavy. Articulation isn't the DCUC standard. Instead of bicep swivels and hinge elbows, Batman gets swivel/hinge elbows. He also gets double hinged knees, and the head can actually look up or down. Although the array of gadgets is one of the aspects of the game that really helps it feel like you are Batman, the figure has no accessories at all.

#19: Batman Unlimited - Planet-X Batman

Although I pre-ordered Planet-X Batman with the Dark Knight Returns Batman, and they were presumably part of the same case, Planet-X Batman didn't ship until this month. But it's finally here, so yay. This figure is based on what was originally one of those crazy Silver Age stories where Batman meets his counterpart from another planet, who has a crazy fashion sense or is perhaps colorblind. This figure wouldn't exist if it had stayed at that, but because Grant Morrison the costume more recently showed up in comics as a sort of mental backup in Batman's brain in case of tampering. So, crazy hobo Batman!

For such a crazy looking design, this is actually rather a well done figure. There are actually some newly sculpted pieces used for him. The cape in particular looks cool. The face has some nicely sculpted stubble, much like Catman from a while back. For an accessory, there aren't any batarangs this time around, but there is a baseball bat. That marks the second DC universe figure in my collection to include one.

Also included is Bat-Mite. If you saw my previous post, you will recall that his leg came off. When I took him out of the package and was testing the joints, I thought his left leg seemed oddly loose, which is when it came detached. Rather than dealing with the hassle of sending it back for another figure, I opted to superglue the leg back on. The legs are on an angled swivel, so he wouldn't really be able to sit anyway, so I can live with one leg not being mobile.

"Batter's up, Batbrains!"

#11: Batman Unlimited - The Dark Knight Returns Batman

The Dark Knight Returns holds a special place in my mind as the first Batman comic I ever owned. I was way too young for it at the time, of course. Mattel is apparently using the retail Unlimited lines to put out story based variations of Batman, so we get a Dark Knight Returns version. The interesting thing about it is that it's basically a Masters of the Universe Classics body rather than another DCUC body repaint. It's a good way of reflecting the artwork, and Mattel gets some retail use out of the base body. I'm not sure exactly which pieces are reused, but the forearms, trunks, cape, and head must be new. I'm guessing the boots are new too. The head has a nice grumpy old Bruce look to it. This would be an easy repaint to the blue and grey costume with the bat symbol on a yellow oval, which Batman wears early in the story. Maybe they could do a Superman using the MOTUC base body as well. Lately the Mattel figures have been trending towards including fewer or no accessories, but Batman at least gets a Batarang in this case.

"I don't remember the Mutant leader being so slim."

#111: Batman Unlimited - The Penguin

Along with Batgirl, the Penguin gets a new release in the Batman Unlimited line. Originally, the Penguin was released in the first wave of DCUC. At the time, I wasn't sold on the idea of collecting 6 inch DC figures, so I only bought Batman. By the time I changed my mind, Penguin was too expensive for my tastes. I figured that given the very low chance of parts reuse, there would inevitably be a re-release, although it was a big longer than I was expecting until it happened. For this release, the Penguin was repainted in a color scheme more reminiscent of his old Super Powers figure from the 80s. If I'm remembering correctly, I think that figure was repainted for the Batman Returns toy line. The other change, which I was not aware of until the figure arrived in the mail, is that he gets a completely new head sculpt. The original figure's head was a bit more monstrous, while this one is more cartoonish and cheerful. You can tell this Penguin uses a lot of bird puns. Fortunately, he also comes with an accessory, an umbrella with a machine gun attached.

Penguin commandoes work so much better with a Penguin to command them.

#110: Batman Unlimited - Batgirl

Since the demise of the DCUC line, Mattel has continued to release DC figures, mostly through the subscription service, but also through a couple of non-lines, none of which have caught on yet. The latest is the Batman Unlimited line of which one of the first releases is the New 52 version of Batgirl. Initially, I thought it was a straight repaint of the previous Batgirl and would be easy to pass on. But it turned out to be an almost completely new sculpt, due to the level of armor detail on Batgirl's current costume. I think that the only piece that is possibly a straight reuse is the lower part of the thigh, even the cape is new. Unfortunately, there are no accessories. At least a batarang would have been good. They're not even doing the stands any more.

Twins!