Here we have The Joker in-hand, being a reuse of the 2023 version we got as part of the Bane BAF wave. While the figure may seem identical at first glance, the figure comes with paint for the inner coat, making it orange instead of leaving it purple like the rest of the suit. While the colors of these figures are generally accurate, I will admit that they may be a bit more saturated than they normally are depicted in the film. It could be partly blamed for the lighting in my camera, but at the same time, the clothes Joker wore are far from flashy. Still, the general proportions Heath Ledger had during filming are accurate, and I appreciate that the jacket isn't too too wooshy so it would look fairly natural without being in a closed in sculpt that inhibits leg articulation. I'm sure Todd could have done he figure with a removable jacket with alternate sleeves, though, especially with how easy it is to remove the arms of any McFarlane figure.
The headsculpt is mostly fine for the greasy makeup used on the hair and face, but the eyes as well as the mouth do look a bit more opaque than they normally would be. They just look a little more amateur with how thicc they come across when they should be a bit faded from being on there for so long. With a gun in one hand (that should have he clip shifted in place) and a knife in the other (one of the alternate hands with a good grip meant for it), you should probably know by now that the articulation is the same as all the other ones.
Other accessories we have for the Joker include an uzi (or an equivalent to it) as well as an alternate left hand with his signature card sculpted on it. Thankfully, it is painted unlike the Digital Silver Age Joker. He also has a left fist and a rocket launcher, which I wanted to mention because it and most of the weapons are a little too flexible for comfort. I know a lot of people are in the right to complain about how flexible Hasbro's Marvel Legends are of late, and while the joints on the McFarlane figures are thankfully not gummy, I have complained about how the same can't be said for the accessories. The rocket launcher is the worst offender since I swore it looked bent in the reveal photo like one of Maximum Deadpool's guns. Beyond that, the accessory count is much higher than what we had with the original version, who came with a stack of dollar bills (that I wish we got with this version), but the accessory count keeps going with not just the usual bad we've seen before, but a special display base for the trading card as well as a mini poster. These are new for the Theatrical figures yet should have been included in the first place. Who knows if any subsequent ones will be made, but the print work on the black stand with "THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY" with the symbol in the middle could be a bit crisper.
We also have an alternate side for the mini poster, one with the iconic "why so serious" phrase associated with this Joker. Oh and he also has a left fist and an splayed open right hand. All of this is generally good bang for your buck, yet we should have gotten this treatment for the Batman Returns characters (idk if the same happened with the shitty 2025 Superman movie characters because fuck that movie).
No doubt thanks to the character's popularity from the movie, we got plenty of different releases under McFarlane Toys. We have the traditional outfit he usually wears in the movie as part of the 2023 Bane BAF wave, where the alternate hands and head of the character were included along with a stack of money as mentioned earlier. The figure also infamously came with no weapons, not even a knife! The figure also had a redundant Jokerized repaint that feels closer to what Mattel used to do with their Dark Knight toyline back in 2008, only without a cartoony head to not scare kids back then.
We also have a Sonar version based on the brief moment where Batman's eyes were solid white to look for the Joker without being detected. It's one of those things you are most commonly getting from the Black Series Hologram figures, but without the base to light him up. He has even less included with him, it's almost throwaway. The same can't be said for the bank robbery version, who comes with an alternate masked head. Would be nice if he had a gun or a suitcase full of money, though.
And if that wasn't enough, we have an interrogation version without his jacket and using the sleeves most figures would later use, such as BvS Alfred. He came with plenty of alternate hands, a set of handcuffs, a phone, a table, and a pair of chairs. Would have been nice if he was included with a Batman, but at least the head is slightly altered for the damage he got when Batman confronted him.
As for Bane, we now have this as a standalone release rather than as a build-a-figure, which I will always appreciate given he doesn't really feel as fulfilling when it comes to that mark as the average BAF, be it Hasbro or McFarlane. This sculpt is getting very good, even if some may have complained that the proportions may not be 100% accurate to what Tom Hardy's physique was like while filming The Dark Knight Rises. I'd say it does a generally better job at fulfilling a real world body builder shape than what Hasbro does with their MCU figures, but that's a low bar with how they turned out (mostly Wolverine and Tobey Spidey), but at least it better captures how the actor looked in the movie compared to Batfleck's BvS figure. Still, while the paintwork is a little held back from fully recreating how he looked in the film, I still appreciate that we have slightly enhanced wash to accentuate the military gear he wore to loosely nod the outfit he usually wore in the comics. I know Bane has been complained about for not being a hulking monster compared to Batman, and Tom Hardy is a bit shorter than Christian Bale, but the design at least fits the realistic vision Nolan was going for, and hey, the performance of the character beats the average DC movie villain we got since 2019, and I'd rather have a Bane who looks very little like the comics yet acts like him than have a Lex Luthor who looks sort of like him but is always shouting 1A like a little bitch.
The head sculpt has a slightly enhanced paint job that doesn't look as sloppy as the original version, nor is it too saturated and as a result looks more worn and weathered. As for the actor likeness, it is pretty close to Hardy back when he was bald and mostly expressed himself with his eyes. I always like how the tubes around the mouth area vaguely resemble teeth or the white spot on the comic versions, makes for a cool nod while adhering to the Nolanverse aesthetics. While articulation is the same as usual, not only is the rubber military vest hiding his torso articulation yet still providing enough range, but the figure's wrist joints have not been misassembled wrong where the go in the opposite holes.
Much like Joker, he comes with his own collector card stand as well as a mini poster, but most of his accessories go to the hand department. While I am happy to have the figure, I don't think I got my money's worth with the accessory count here as much as I did with the Joker. Hell, Christopher Reeve Superman had a few more hands, a bendy wire cape, and an alternate hand, all for $5 less than the Theatrical Deluxe version (ironic because that would later be a thing for him).maybe an alternate torso piece so you can display him shirtless would have helped? After all, we got a similar thing to switch the capes on both Year Two and Night People versions of Batman, so what's stopping McFarlane from giving us a bare torso meant for a shirtless Bane?
That alternate side is making Bane himself wonder why he couldn't come with a broken Batman cowl, because in addition to the fists and splayed open, gesturing hands, he has trigger finger hands with nothing to hold, so he can only scratch his head in confusion.
While not as frequent as the previous movie's villain, Bane had had a couple of previous releases prior to this: the aforementioned BAF with slightly worse paint apps and the misassembled wrist joints. Because the whole wave was Jokerized, the same happened to Bane's parts, making hi look like a G1 Constructicon. We also had an SDCC version with a leather jacket, complete with white fur underneath. I don't care if putting it with the set devalues the con exclusive; we should have had that included with the Theatrical set.
Here they are alongside the titular superhero himself, who is in his Begins costume instead of the suit he wore later in the trilogy. I should hunt down a version with a wired cape. Anyways, I am pretty happy to own fully poseable versions of the Nolan trilogy cast bit by bit, but while Joker was worth every penny in spite of his flaws, Bane could have had a bit more going on to justify the $35+ price tag. While yes, Joker's weapons could have been less flexible, at least he has a higher part count than what Bane has to offer. A broken cowl and a coat would have made him more complete. With these being easier to obtain than the previous releases, and Bane not being a BAF anymore, I recommend Joker wholeheartedly while Bane only for a discount.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Joker)
⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Bane)
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