Monday, September 30, 2024

McFarlane DC Multiverse Batman v Superman Batfleck review

Batfleck is my favorite live-action version of the character, much like how Kevin Conroy is my favorite animated version of the character. The way we don't focus on the origins of the character beyond the opening and whenever his PTSD is focused on, his Arkham-esque combat skills surpassing other iterations in the movies, and the fact that he gets to interact with other DC superheroes in a way not commonly done in prior team-ups. Seeing him ascend to redemption after his dark path made him break his rules was also great, especially after witnessing Superman's self-sacrifice. I once took a look at the ZSJL version of Batfleck, but now we have the BvS version to look at! Let's see if it's worth revisiting in spite of the Tactical suit already being great.


Here we have Batfleck in-hand, representing his TDKR-inspired suit majestically...for the most part. I say those last few words because of key aspects regarding the figure in question, notably the coloring of the suit and the proportions. For the former, the gray is closer to a bluish shade than how it was normally depicted in the movie. While the movie's lighting was done in a stylistic manner that contrasts the usual reference photos, regular set photos didn't make the gray closer to the bluish tint we see here on the figure. It kind of fits him well but I don't think would be accurate if you saw the suit outside of the film. Proportions are also an issue, mainly with the upper body not being as broad as it should be combined with the neck being longer than it should be on Batfleck. I know he was taller than every iteration other than Adam West (who was just as tall), but not with a longer neck that contrasts his physique. The cape this time is made of cloth, but it sadly lacks the bendy wires McFarlane recently implemented to make it more dynamic for photography and display. At least it's better than the Mattel ones.


His head sculpt is mostly good, though it does lack that certain something that completes the look of Batfleck in the movie. Not the slight paint mishap near the left side of the mask but mostly the mouth region and maybe the proportions of the mask being somewhat narrow. The mouth appears to have a better likeness to Ben Affleck's unique facial features, though the butt chin is far less noticeable and almost makes him younger without the five o'clock shadow. His articulation consists of the usual McFarlane DC Multiverse range, such as the double-ball jointed neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, washer joints that work similarly to a ball joint for further movement (butterfly joints, bringing the arms inwards, and further moving the arms upwards), bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, a double-wrist joint that allows either laterally or vertically joints for both the upper and lower torso regions, hips that move front and back, in and out (both of which are much stiffer here than on my Tactical Batfleck), slight thigh rotation that is somewhat hindered by the tightness of the joints and the PVC waist, double-jointed knees, vertical ankle movement, ankle pivots, and toe joints. The tightness of the hips combined with the left shoulder not being as tight as the right shoulder is making me wonder if my copy has weird quality control, making it hard to pose him properly (and that's without the cape being on bendy wires).


One of his accessories, beyond the alternate hands made for holding weapons, includes a grapnel gun that I wish came with the Tactical version...in theory. See, the size of it, while more fitting for a sci-fi blaster, looks oversized in his hand. My theory was that McFarlane intended the larger scale to be for the Kryptonite Grenade Launcher used initially against Superman and then against Doomsday, but then there was a reminder that Warner Bros and DC demanded there be no realistic guns in their figures, meaning they were instead forced to use the grapnel gun without altering its size. As a result, the width of the weapon-holding hands means he cannot give this to the Tactical version without trying to mod the hands or using hot water to remove them. At least the grapnel gun isn't as ridiculous as the Batarangs. If you thought the ones that came with earlier McFarlane Batmen were bad, then this is even worse with how thick they are! Were they also not altered to be in their proper dimensions?


Here he is next to his ZSJL counterpart. The Tactical suit version was already my favorite McFarlane DC Multiverse figure of all time, thanks to its impressive sculpt work, a nice level of paint apps, smooth articulation, and matching the unique Batfleck proportions we haven't seen other figures do right. This new BvS version should be an even bigger winner since I like the regular suit more, and while it is good, this figure doesn't manage to be as good as the Tactical suit we got in 2021. With a few tweaks in the proportions, adding some gold on the knuckles, and a cape that could make the figure feel dynamic (either that or stick with the cape we got in 2021 since it fits Batfleck perfectly), we might get the perfect 2016 iteration of the character. Getting an up-close look with their batarangs in their hands shows how the Tactical suit not only has better batarangs, but the head sculpt manages to look more like Batfleck even with less of his face being visible. That butt chin and the somewhat rounder head shape scream Batfleck, and it's ironic how that version is proportionately closer to the BvS version than the actual BvS version!


And here he is next to Superman from the 2021 ZSJL wave, which was a Target-exclusive recolor of the black suit version seen more prominently in the movie while this regular color version was instead seen in Josstice League, though you are free to have this be the BvS version since it's the same suit (and by extension, Superman in the Knightmare). With McFarlane now altering how figures articulate and look, it makes me wonder if there are plans for a future wave of Snyderverse figures coming soon that were from earlier movies. With these two already present as well as Wonder Woman from the 1984 and Shazam 2 waves waiting to be modified to match her present-day appearances, it makes me wonder if we'll get figures like Zod, Faora, metahuman footage Aquaman, Knightmare Flash, Doomsday (maybe in a 2-pack with Lex Luthor), and other Batfleck suits. I doubt it given how DC today is (and considering it's being ran by a jammed gun), but with the Nolan trilogy and the Schumacher Batman movies getting dedicated waves, we'll see if the pre-2017 DCEU movies will get the McFarlane treatment, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Until then, this is a figure I would recommend, but not without some alterations to make him better than he currently is.


Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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