McFarlane Digital Batman (No Man's Land) & Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) review

The McFarlane toylines have gotten a bit of criticism of late, and it's not from the usual crowd of NPCs who still bring up the same complaints that likely haven't been relevant after the first few years. This time, the prices figures go for have crept up, and the Digital side or things has them going for $27.99 a pop. When you consider how prior figures have had a healthy dose of accessories, it makes the Silver Age trio of Superman, Two-Race, and Doctor Fate questionable with how they handled their limited number of accessories. Now we have to look into whether or not a figure makes up for being a reuse by doing more than the bare minimum or repeat the same mistakes Hasbro does with Marvel Legends. For this wave, I have two of the three figures I bought in a single wave (sorry, Monarch; maybe next time), each consisting of different ears. These two members of the Bat Family consist of Batman as he appeared in No Man's Land and the Stephanie Brown version of Batgirl! 

Here we have Batman in-hand. As mentioned before, this is how he appeared in No Man's Land, though it should be worth mentioning that the trunks were ditched during this story arc. Personally, I think this kind of costume specifically looks better without them compared to modern suits like New 52 or Rebirth. As a reuse of the Knightfall buck, this retains the more classic proportions associated with Batman, however, we have the smoother torso that allows for different logos to be stamped instead of depending on replacing the sculpted piece molded separately from the torso. We saw this before with Dick Grayson as Batman as well as Silver Age, Night People, and Task Force pixel sweater versions of the buck, and this time, we have a version of Batman that looks fairly normal with a cloth goods cape...more on the latter aspect in a bit. Apart from that, the trunks are new with an era-specific belt.

His head sculpt is also new for this version, and I think it looks even better than the regular Knightfall head with the navy blue, narrower eyes, and ear length making him appear more grim in appearance than the first version of the Knightfall head. Maybe it would look even better with the SDCC shading. The articulation and accessories are the same, which is annoying since the more splayed open hands that came with the Silver Age version, the scowling head that came with Knightmare 2-Pack & Task Force, and a grapnel gun would have helped him feel more worthwhile as yet another reuse.

The worst thing about NML Batman is the fact that it does NOT include a bendy wire within the cape, making it feel flaccid and lifeless. It also doesn't help that the shiny materials used for Batman capes doesn't look that great without bendy wires to make them more presentable in a vanilla pose. To make things go from worse to inexcusable is that the reveals said the capes would be wired, but all samplings lack the integral component, and McFarlane said nothing. That being said, many customizers found that while you SHOULDN'T have to restore a feature that a toy manufacturer removed after claiming it's included, adding a bendy wire is much easier than you'd think. And this review shall go over how one disassembles their figure while installing a bendy wire in the cape. I'm sure everyone has their own preferences, and sizes may vary, but I used the UTILE Armature Aluminum Wire 100 ft 18 Gauge 1.2 mm Anodized Craft Bendable Wire for this project. It's cheaper than I expected, but for an item used for arts and crafts, the value is easy to justify.

Firstly, you'll need to pop the arms and rotator cuffs off the torso, and then afterwards have everything from the abs down removed. Use a beat gun or hair dryer at a high setting and use it around the neck of the toy. This allows the plastic to become more flexible, and that will be important for the neck piece as you try prying it off the torso. If it keeps resisting, keep blowing it with the hair dryer until it starts to peel off much more easily. If you hear a snap, don't panic. That's the glue being pried off instead of the tabs used to hold the neck in place breaking. If the cape is glued at the base of the neck, carefully peel it away so you won't risk any tears if you plan to use the same cape.

From here, guide the bendy wire through the edges of the cape via the holes at the tips on either side until you have them even in length for both sides. Be sure to carefully snip any excess wiring after doing so as well. From there, add the cape back on the torso, add super glue on either the tabs or the inside of the neck piece, attach everything, and let it dry until the rest of the figure is ready to be reassembled.

And voila! Your No Man's Land Batman has a bendy wire cape! Admittedly, the millimeter size of the wiring I used is a little thicker than the usual materials used by McFarlane Toys, which may explain why the neck piece isn't as flat as it should be on the upper body. It's not too distracting, but do keep in mind that you may want to experiment with other bendy wire sizes if you have either custom fodder or your own stash of bendy wire pieces to work with. You can do the same with the solid black Platinum variant of the figure, which is our third stab at a solid black Batman that looks vaguely like the Michael Keaton iteration! Though while the neck piece being blue on Batman helps separate it from the grey of his costume, I will need to look into how this wire should work with New 52 Superman if I get around to fixing him.

As for a size comparison, here we have him before his cape was modified along side fellow blue and grey Knightfall buck users in the form of Silver Age and the original version with a plastic cape and a molded logo. The darker blue and grey, combined with the shape of the logo we have, visually make this my favorite version in the mold history, especially compared to the. Righter blues and greys of Silver Age and the more off shades for both colors used on the original that make him look more yellow in tint. Best of all, he doesn't have his cape dragged on the floor, though Silver Age always has a bendy wire in his cape while OG came with a molded version.

For an idea of how Batman would change his costumes during my version of DC events, I imagine NML being the costume he wears in the first few years of his career while Cowardly Lot represents him in a new costume alongside Nightwing, Tim Drake Robin, and Barbara Gordon Batgirl before he helped form the Justice League. It's like how the events turned out in the DCAU! That being said, my love for the color scheme and new head along with how it would fit in my fan fiction still doesn't excuse how cheap this figure turned out. Budget cuts and price increases are already a common problem with toy manufacturers, but to give us the bare minimum on a figure that should have had at least more accessories AND a bendy wire in his cape after this serves as another reuse of the Knightfall buck is outright criminal. Unless you're either willing to add the wire, a fan of these colors on this buck, or are a completionist for the line as a whole, skip it and stick with Cowardly Lot (though I doubt you'd buy even that figure if you're still part of the usual anti-McFarlane NPCs rooting for the bigger conglomerate known as Mattel to take over the license soon).

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As for Batgirl, it should be worth mentioning that she clearly lacks the cowl that would denote her as a normal Batgirl. She was the daughter of the Cluemaster, a villain who would later get his plans spoiled by her as she takes the identity of Spoiler. Real name Stephanie Brown, she would later date Tim Drake when he was Robin despite not knowing his secret identity, become Robin, and later have a play in becoming Batgirl during Batman Reborn while Barbara remained paralyzed. This all changed when the New 52 rolled around and she returned to being Spoiler as part of a Batgirl team. While many would probably want her in a proper Batgirl costume, my guess is that Todd and company wanted to distinguish her from the other Batgirl figures we had in the past, especially with how most of them are masked and are usually black, blue, and/or grey. The purple is a nice treat, but I do wish that the details on the sides of her torso and the thighs are raised in relief, especially with how much of this figure already reuses parts from. Cassandra Cain Batgirl. Sure, the forearms, boots, and head are new, but a few steps further would make what is currently a decent figure even better. The belt belongs to Art of the Crime Batgirl, but the pouches match the ones on Stephanie loosely.

Her head sculpt, however, has a whole lot more effort put into it, from the etched detailing on her hair to a wash accentuating it, and the face cover adding to her rough and rumble life as part of the Bat Family. And unlike with Green Arrow, her good is not only a separate cloth piece but it can fold away AND is wired much like her cape. So maybe that's where all the wires intended for NML Batman went. Even the ponytail is a separate point of articulation! Otherwise, her range and points are about the same as with her wavemate and pretty much every other McFarlane DC Multiverse figure with a few exceptions. Her grapnel gun and Batarang are reused from the same AOTC Batgirl, though the latter is oversized and the former has a thick wire that looks out of place on a little thing like that. It's as ridiculous as the one that came with Detective Comics 1000 Batman, aka one of the worst and dated figures McFarlane made.

For a female BatFamily member comparison, here we have her along with Huntress, also from New 52. Honestly, having these two along with Cassandra Cain Batgirl and Barbara Gordon if she isn't Oracle makes this version of Stephanie Brown feel more logical as the go-to approach for McFarlane. Sure, a proper version of her as Batgirl would make people happier, and the figure could use a few more raises surface areas and better accessories, but I see this as the best figure of the wave that I bought. I can't comment on Monarch but he may be better. Shame the current wave sucks when it comes to accessories and delivering what was supposed to be included. We'll see how Nightwing turns out, that's for sure.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Age of the Primes Cybertron Sideways review

The Cybertron series turns 20 this year along with Revenge of the Sith, Batman Begins, the 2005 Fantastic Four movie, and Pac-Man World 3. What a great year it was, certainly better than 2015 and 2025. While people out there would still have their beef with the Unicron Trilogy, there is at least a healthy dose of praise towards the Cybertron portion. Not only did it have more polish in its story telling and dubbing than prior shows (mostly with Energon being weak), but the series itself also had a toyline that was the right balance between play features and articulation/engineering. Sideways is another instance of the line doing this right, with a badass character design and altmode that only has his gimmick in his weapon, without being limited in articulation like with most Armada and Energon characters. We get a new version of him from the Age of the Primes line, and despite fans initially thinking he was a goner after their preorders got canceled at Walmart, we have him with us without depending on import sites. Let's see if he's worth getting at the store claiming to be about saving money and living better.

Here we have Sideways in his Cybertronic space ship mode. It's said to be designed after the Batwing given how Hasbro designers were thinking about Batman's cinematic return with Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, no doubt a much bigger time for a new iteration than either Keaton or Pattinson (apart from Affleck since he was part of a crossover instead of a standalone story). Between the bat shape of the wings, the tail fins resembling the ones you'd find in a Batwing, and the head having a vague shape similar to the front section of the vehicle, this and Cybertron Megatron are examples of how to pay tribute to the Dark Knight without going into Collaborative territory. I also love the black and orange color combo we have for the rest of the vehicle mode, which makes him feel more fitting for a Halloween theme now that it's getting closer (as of this writing, August is almost over and stores are putting up decorations and costumes earlier.while the cockpit could benefit from having clear pieces, the rest of the vehicle mode still looks as great as it did in 2005. 

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here we have him next to the Unicron Trilogy version of Starscream. While I believe Cybertron Starscream is bulkier than his Legacy United version, I believe Sideways keeps the same size between the 20 year decrease in plastic/increase in price.

Transformation is nearly identical to the original version of the figure we got in 2005, though the wings and weapon now have to be removed. It's the kind of partsforming that the old toy never really had since it was meant to have the weapons on the left arm and lower legs. The rest being faithful to the original version is at least appreciative, much like with Starscream and Hot Shot. The robot mode is just as accurate to the old toy and show model as the vehicle mode. From the orange midriff to the ball shaped hips, this is almost as close as you can get without copying the old mold or using its engineering 100%. For example, the hips are now universal joints instead of ball and socket, while the shoulders are now pinned in addition to the forearms utilizing 5mm ports. Regardless, he maintains the same sleek and deadly design that contrasted his more G1-esque Armada design. 

His head sculpt is as faceless as Soundwave was in Transformers Prime, and I love how the whole visor and the horns on top make him feel like an evil Power Ranger. I kind of wish the orange paint was more metallic to sub for translucent plastic. With his cyber key inserted and the gimmick deployed manually, his articulation consists of a ball jointed neck, swivels for the arms front and back as well as the biceps, wrists, waist, and thighs, hinges for the shoulders moving in and out, elbows, knees, and ankles, with universal joints used for the hips as mentioned before. His arm blades can be held together or individually, depending on what suits you best.

Though the gimmick is manual this time, you still have the option to switch between Autobot and Decepticon logos. A simple lever found on the back of his weapon does this in lieu of a spring loaded feature, thanks economy crisis.

Here we have him along with Starscream in robot mode, with the size difference being fairly close to how they appeared back in Cybertron proper. I'm kind of curious on how a new version of Soundwave will turn out given both represented Planet X. Overall, Age of the Primes Sideways is easily going to be a stand out mold from the line thanks to his faithfulness as well as having some improvements in his articulation in spite of ditching the spring loaded gimmick. With how pricey the old toy is in the aftermarket, you should be able to get this figure, even with the issues that were thankfully resolved with canceled preorders.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Or maybe stick with the original if you still have it and all the parts included. It may be slightly better given the clear plastic and denser materials overall beat the current stuff in some ways.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Age of the Primes Alchemist Prime review

We already know about the Thirteen Primes, but do you know about the member known as Alchemist Prime? A giant robot wearing glasses may have people triggered at the sight of Wheeljack in ROTB, but a character like AP goes as far back as the beginning with the lenses he wears; they not only help him see anything further ahead of him beyond the average human glasses, but he also has the ability to see through the souls of other beings. He would later have a new lease on life as a bartender known as Maccadam, who we saw every now and then in prior media before having a more prominent role in the Cyberverse cartoon! Now that the bartender of TF history is back in his old form, let's see if he's another worthwhile addition to the current line.

Here we have Alchemist Prime in his vehicle mode. TFWiki claims it to be an armored car, but the design feels more like a militarized SUV than anything, really. Hell, it feels more like an Earth mode than all the other Primes we got so far. Between how the back is shaped like any truck canopy and the front of the altmode resembling a Land Rover model, it's almost like this figure is set to have a reuse in the near future despite Hasbro designers saying no such plans are on the table. It even has a bit of a TFP Bulkhead vibe, albeit with a hint of Trialbreaker mixed in. The Thrilling 30 version seen in the IDW Comics. Other than the exposed robot knee guards and the alien elements like the lack of proper doors, this is the least Cybertronian out of the alt modes used by the Primes.

His fists jut out a bit from the back, and this is due to a design flaw on this figure: despite the instructions telling you to fold them all the way in, the figure not only can't do that properly, but attempting to do so results in stress marks developing. While there may be a fix out there somewhere without damaging the forearms, we should NEVER have to fix our toys.

The lenses can split in half if you want to have an attack mode of some kind. It's almost like the world's weirdest police siren set up with added guns on top in case the criminals try to fire at them.

For a size comparison with all the other Primes we have so far (other than Star Convoy), here we have him with Megatronus, Prima, and Solus. He is a Deluxe scale vehicle yet has a bit of a Voyager bulk to him with a size closer to Prima's.

Transformation is fairly simple out of the Primes we have so far, with an arm transformation sort of similar to how they work on the Earthrise Cliffjumper mold and leg being made from the back of the altmode with panels filling the backs done with most other Transformers at the time (think of the Siege Ironhide mold). It's not the most inventive sequence for a conversion, but the resulting robot mode is where we have more talking points; it combines elements of his Marvel design (colors primarily) while using the Cyberverse design heavily for inspiration. You can especially see that with the stocky proportions, leg design, and similar chest detailing. I think this design may already be a favorite of mine since Maccadam is already a character I lived in Cyberverse, and it's great seeing what he once looked like before we see him as the bartender of present day. Hell, even the colors work wonderfully on him as an attempt to mix up his prior looks, and he somehow makes for a better Bulkhead toy than the Legacy version!

His head sculpt amalgamates the elements of the Marvel, Covenant of Primus, and Cyberverse designs, primarily the mustache coming from the former and the vague head shape as well as lenses coming from the latter two. Not a bad way of paying tribute to more than just one version of the character. His articulation consists of a ball joint at the neck, swivels at the shoulders moving front and back, biceps, waist, and thighs, hinges for the arms moving in and out, elbows, knees, and ankles, and universal hips.

The lenses can be held either as weapons of some kind or combined into the actual item work by him. They are meant to scale with human faces but are as effective as the average magnifying glass on G1 Perceptors. Interestingly, they include his personal emblem, the Ancient Autobot symbol, and the insignia of Unicron first seen on the Blentrons.

Here he is next to his Cyberverse counterpart, showcasing how much influence this toy took from his surprise cartoon debut. While the series may be corporate mandate-feeling at first glance, it is always appreciative seeing someone like Maccadam show up along with Sky-Byte and Rack'N'Ruin as genuine surprises in a sea of slightly tweaked evergreen designs. The Maccadam figure you see here doesn't transform due to him being a BAF, but then again, how would Hasbro replicate the altmode he used to keep the war out of his bar?

And here we have him along with the other Primes minus Star Convoy once again. With how most of them use a mix of grays and purples except for the Titan Class's Optimus Prime color palette, a forest green robot is appreciative in the long run. We'll see how much color break up will be implemented with later Primes, but Alchemist Prime makes for a marvelous addition to not just the cast of thirteen original Transformers but also as a figure altogether. While he may not be that inventive for the transformation and has a more Earthly altmode, the personality of the robot mode and the amalgamated elements of Alchemist himself and his later Maccadam alias make him an easy recommend. That and he does the "ancient God turned being living among us" trope much better than Rung's quirky self insert looking ass.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

SH Figuarts Dragonball Super Android 18 (Universe Survival Saga) review

The average person unaware of the lore behind Dragon Ball would probably think that only the males get the focus when it comes to them only getting in the fights. Of course, what else were you going to expect for a series aimed primarily at boys and teens? I'm sure this complaint is brought up by those who care more about 80s Dragon Ball for those mood screencaps or quirky "rebellious" t-shirts, but Android 18 shows that even girls can get dirty in some of the most aggressive anime fights out there. She was once fully human before receiving cybernetic implementations that later led to the Android Saga, where they aimed to rid of Goku and his allies before they all went berserk. All this would later reach the end as she would slowly develop feelings for Krillin, and while she can't be fully human as mentioned by Shenron, she can at least be free from a ticking time bomb after her redemption. Now we shall review the girl who fights harder than Chi Chi and is as helpful to the Z Fighters as Bulma!

Here we have Android 18 in-hand. The outfit she has on currently is based on her appearance in the Universe Survival Saga from Dragon Ball Super; it revolved around our heroes entering the Tournament of Power where they, along with 11 other universes, compete for their own survival. Ultimately, Universe 7 wins, and all the other entries are restored. While Android 18 normally wears the more iconic tomboy-esque outfit in the past, she currently wears a magenta jumpsuit that kind of compliments her pretty well. That being said, the sculptwork on this is pretty minimal compared to how some figures would normally have linework or raised surface areas. The zipper and the stripes are painted on, and while the slight bit of detailing representing her pockets and the uneven collar are able to distinguish this as her jumpsuit, it's almost comparable to how Hasbro normally used blank bodies for their comic characters in contrast to the higher budgets used on the MCU characters. Admittedly, there isn't much to work with for an outfit like this, but the vibes are kind of similar with the minimal sculptwork. That being said, the feminine proportions are done accurately to.the character while not making her petite, though I'm positive her butt isn't that small (probably moreso than Chi Chi's booty and especially Bulma's Bubble Butt). And while the stripes and zipper are purely deco, they are at least applied properly as one would hope for a more expensive item. So not the most impressive sculpt (at least compared to her classic outfit), but it works fine enough with matching how she appeared in the show.

Her head sculpt is unique amongst the females in the series due to the nature of her haircut and her eyeshape being a reminder of her former life as an antagonist. She is softer as a heroine, but not that soft. Her tray of alternate accessories feature faceplates that go from stern glare to gritted teeth to yelling, 5 pairs of alternate hands, an alternate hair piece that is messier somewhat, a blast effects, and her arms crossed as seen with Piccolo and the two Outer Senshi, Sailors Uranus and Neptune.

The display options are already appreciative for a figure like this, especially when most Figuarts you'd find characters who have just faceplates and slightly fewer hands compared to Android 18. Granted, most cheaper Figuarts are for casual collectors tend to have the bare minimum, but this is always appreciative for anyone wanting to go beyond the usual Goku and Vegeta.

As expected, her articulation consists of three points at the neck (head-tilting, rotation, and hinging for looking up and down), ball joints at the shoulders with outward hinging for the arms, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, wrists that can either move in and out or up and down, a double ball-peg torso, ball joints at the hips, slight thigh rotation, hinged knees, and ankles that can swivel, hinge, and pivot.

For a look at her with her beloved husband and a figure that would better fit the version of Krillin we see the most, here we have the couple together and a stock photo of regular Android 18 with a more saturated shade of yellow for her hair. The original version of the character would go well with the Krillin we have here, but it should be worth mentioning how getting her at a cheaper price is outright impossible. The same goes for Android 17. That being said, if you're already a fan of the character and don't want to be too upset over not getting the original version, this jumpsuit-wearimg version should work fine enough. After all, you're more likely going to complete the Tournament of Power cast than you would the complete roster of good guys.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐