Review of Batman, Harley Quinn
Batman Animated Series Action Figures

Introduction

McFarlane Toys was once the king of the toy aisle. Having revitalized the very concept of the action figure, they could get any license, any property, and do pretty much what they wanted with it.

Like all kings, their reign ended. They scaled way back, and only ventured out into new areas once in awhile, poking their head out just long enough to check the scent. That appears to be changing, and they have started a much stronger push over the last year to become a force in the industry again.

Case in point, their new 7" scale DC Multiverse line. There's several figures in this first wave, but tonight I'm focusing on two of the animated series releases, Batman and Harley Quinn. These are popping up at Targets around me right now, and should have a pretty wide release. Expect to pay around $20 each.

Packaging - **1/2
These come in hanger boxes, with a large front window. There's some nice character specific graphics and text, but unfortunately they are not collector friendly. Removing the figure requires snipping one tie, but that's not the real issue. There are two accessories - the base, and the 'collector card' - that are heat sealed to the interior cardboard tray. You'll have to tear it up to remove them.

Sculpting - ***
I like the look of both of these, although they do remind me more of the later animated style than the earliest versions. They did a reasonable job marrying this design with the articulation, always a very difficult engineering feat for animated characters, and the detailing matches the style.

These are bigger figures than you've gotten before from this license. Both figures come in about 7" tall without their 'ears', and while that seems pretty good for Batman, it seems a bit tall for Harley.

The hands are designed to work with most of the accessories, and both figures have expressions that match their personalities on the show. Overall it's not amazing work, but it is well above average at this price point.

I do have issues with the look of a couple of the joints, particularly on Harley. Her knees are wonky, and both figures have some pretty obvious ankle balls.

Paint - ***
Both have minor blips on the paint work, but neither is extreme.

For Batman, the biggest issues lie around the face and cowl, where skin tone and black edges tend to get blurred. The work on his suit is much better, with a good consistency to the gray and black, and a well done, large bat symbol on his chest.

Harley has a much better face, with clean eyes, lips, and mask edges. There's a few slips on her costume though, particularly along some of the black edge work. Both figures also exhibit a bit of clumpiness and dirt in some areas, but it's not unusual for figures in this price point.

Articulation - Harley ***; Batman **1/2
These are the most articulated BTAS figures I believe we've gotten, but that doesn't mean all those joints equal perfection.

Harley is nice, with a very good ball jointed neck that allows for lots of personality. The rotating hinge shoulders, cut biceps, double pin elbows, and rotating hinge wrists all work great, allowing for some nice arm poses. The rolling torso and cut waist make it possible to break up straight lines through the center of his body, and the ball hips, double pin knees, half foot pin, and rotating hinge ankles have a ton of mobility.

My only real problem with her is the hips. The thick thighs have no cut to allow the legs to rotate in and out, making the other joints in the ankles and knees less useful.

Batman suffers the same issue. He has slightly different articulation at the elbows, where there's a single pin instead of double pins, but otherwise he's pretty much identical.  The ball neck doesn't have the same ability to move, thanks to the thick neck and cape, but the rest of the joints move in a similar fashion.  He gets a lower score though, because the hips are very, very loose. Keeping him standing even with the base (which attaches to one foot) is difficult. Hopefully this isn't a wider issue, but rather specific to just a few figures, but that's rarely the case in my experience. With hips this loose, the articulation is largely wasted, at least from the waist down.

Accessories - ***
Batman has six extras, while Harley has four. Both figures come with a small, round, black base and a standard size 'collector' card with some nice artwork.

Batman comes with an extra set of gripping hands (which swap quite easily thanks to long wrist pegs), and a batarang and grappling gun for the hands to hold. They are a bit thick and clunky, but they do the job.

Harley also has her trademark mallet with a terrific sculpt and paint job. She has a 'pop' gun as well, with the bang flag sticking out. I wish you could remove the flag, but it's a minor nit.

Fun Factor - Harley ***; Batman **1/2
The articulation and accessories allow for some fun, but Batman gets dinged here due to those damn floppy hips again. When posing gets too frustrating, the figure gets a lot less fun.

Value - ***
Most six inch figures are $20 these days, so getting these slightly larger figures in the same ball park is a solid value.

Things to Watch Out For -
Like many McFarlane figures old and new, the joints tend to be painted tight. Take a little care breaking loose the elbows and knees.

Overall - ***
It's great to see more McFarlane product on the shelves, but this line has a few early issues. Slightly better paint, no floppy joints, and both of these would have scored better overall. Still, it's solid B work, and I plan on picking up any other animated figures they release, along with other non-animated characters that strike my fancy.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - **1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - Harley ***; Batman **1/2
Accessories - ***
Fun Factor - Harley ***; Batman **1/2
Value - ***
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $20 as well.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other recent animated figures include the 12" Mr. Freeze from Mondo, and the DC Collectibles series, like Scarecrow.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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