The second wave just started hitting retailers, and it includes a Batman Begins version of Bats, as well as the Scarecrow from the first film. Just like wave 1, the more sadistic folks at Mattel decided to do a 'chase' figure, highlighted on the back of the package. This time it's Batman as seen by Scarecrow under the influence of the Fear Toxin. And no, just like wave 1's unmasked Batman, I have yet to see one in person.

I picked up the regular Batman and Scarecrow for a review tonight. These are hitting the usual retailers, and run around $12 or so a pop.

Packaging - ***
A huge improvement over the movie line, these cardbacks are eye catching and attractive. They could use a little more text, a little less emtpy space on the back, but from the front they are a winner.

Sculpting - Scarecrow ***1/2; Batman ***
Both of these were sculpted by the Four Horsemen, and both show their usual attention to detail.

I love the head sculpts on both, and in particular the Scarecrow. Lots of nice detail in the burlap mask and stitching, and it is designed to be layered over the eyes in front and hair in back, giving it a true three dimensional feel. The long flowing straight jacket - just the thing for fashionable whack jobs out on the town - has flowing wrinkles and folds, and is cut far enough up the back to allow for the body articulation to be useful.

The Scarecrow has hands sculpted as though they could hold something, but a) there's no accessories and b) even if there were, the hands are so deep in the large sleeves that it would be a moot point. The sculpted clothes under the coat are a bit plain, but the nice work on the overcoat makes up for it.

The Batman sports the Begins suit, with just about the right amount of detail. The Dark Knight suite has more texturing, while the Begins suit was made from more smooth materials. That is represented well here, and the sculpted hands could hold accessories if there were any to hold.

He scores slightly lower than the Scarecrow in this category though, largely due to the appearance of the torso. His upper chest is very thick front to back, almost making it round, and with the thin waist, it looks somewhat unrealistic and out of place.

Both figures stand great on their own, and more importantly, the sculpt doesn't interfere with the usefulness of the articulation, especially the ball jointed neck.

These are done in a 6" scale, slightly larger than the kiddie line currently on the shelves. They seem a bit small to me though to fit in with the DC Classics or DC Superheroes, two other lines also theoretically in a 6" scale.

Paint - Batman ***1/2; Scarecrow ***
Like many mass market toys, these sport far fewer paint ops than we've seen in days gone by, but what is here is quite clean and neat.

In fact, the Scarecrow figure looks very much like something NECA might have done a year or two ago. The wash and color of the jacket really reminds me of their work, as well as the detailing on the eyes and mask. The underlying clothes are quite dull (white shirt, black pants, black shoes), but that won't be the focus of your inspection anyway.

The stitching on the mask could be a bit better though, and like I said, it reminds me of something NECA would have done a couple years ago, not now. For mass market it's nicely done, but there are enough issues (and few enough operations) that it's not quite as nice as Batman.

The Batman wears the old standby, basic black. However, they did use a couple different finishes to add some visual pizzazz to the otherwise consistent uniform, and the paint work on the tiny eyes and lower face is extremely clean and neat.

Articulation - ***
Neither figure would qualify as super articulated, but they have enough articulation to be fun toys and be posable on the shelf.

Batman starts out with my favorite joint, a very nicely done ball jointed neck. Plenty of tilting and turning here, with little restriction from the sculpt. This gives any pose a ton more personality.

There are ball jointed shoulders, with a joint on both sides of the ball. These are also well sculpted to improve the overall appearance of the figure.

The arms continue with single pin elbows and cut wrists. For the first time that I can remember, Mattel has given me a mass market figure with a completely stuck joint - the right wrist. I know it can turn, but if I try any harder I'll tear it.

His torso is articulated with a cut waist and an ab crunch, but the ab crunch isn't quite as posable as I'd like. The hips are the same joint we've seen with the DC Superheroes and DC Classics lines, and the leg can move forward and back as well as outward and inward on what amounts to two joints.

The knees are like the elbows with single pins, as are the ankles. The leg articulation finishes off with a cut thigh.

The Scarecrow has that long coat, but still has most of the same articulation as Bats. There's the ball jointed neck, and once again the sculpt is very little impediment to the posing. He has single pin elbows, ankles and knees, but the restrictive ankle sculpts don't allow for much movement there. I'm betting there's also cut wrists, but you can't do much to turn the hands due to the long sleeves.

Underneath the coat, there's the same ab crunch, waist, hips, knees and cut thighs that Batman has. While the coat gets in the way a bit, the slit up the back allows for more posing than you might have thought possible.

Accessories - **
Both figures come with 'crime scene evidence'. This amounts to a batarang with Batman and a burlap mask with the Scarecrow, plus a small plastic bag with an 'Gotham City Police Evidence' sticker on the top front. The bag is designed to hold the respective 'evidence'.

The batarang is very soft plastic, and pretty much worthless. I can't see kids even liking this, and this is a line supposedly designed for collectors.

The burlap mask would be cool if it were in scale with something...anything. It's too small to use with an 18" quarter scale figure, and too big to work with the standard 12" sixth scale figure. Perhaps it will look okay with the larger 13" DC Direct Batman, but he's such a stinker it probably doesn't matter.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
These are supposed to be a collector's line, but they are excellent toys for kids. With great articulation, these guys can battle it out in all their violent glory.

Value - **
While I have to admit that these have the sculpts and paint of some specialty market toys, the lack of much in the way of accessories plus the 6" scale makes it tough to pay $12 - $13 a pop for them.

Things To Watch Out For - 
Watch out for stuck joints, particularly Batman's wrists. Use some hot water or the old freezer trick, rather than twisting too hard and tearing the pegs.

Overall - Scarecrow ***1/2; Batman ***
While the general scores for these two figures really come out about the same, with the Scarecrow doing better in sculpt but the Bat doing better in paint, I ended up scoring the Scarecrow slightly higher. When the two are next to each other on the shelf, there's just something extra about the Scarecrow that makes him stand out for me. He's one of the nicer Batman movie figures we've gotten, even if he isn't perfect.

Now if I can just find a damn Fear Toxin Batman...and a maskless Batman from wave 1...and whatever new Hell they dream up for me in wave 3.

Score Recap:
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - Scarecrow ***1/2; Batman ***
Paint - Batman ***1/2; Scarecrow ***
Articulation - ***
Accessories - **
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - Scarecrow ***1/2; Batman ***

Where to Buy -
These are popping up at stores now, but you may end up having to resort to ebay (try MyAuctionLinks.com to search) for that damn chase figure. Expect to pay around $12 - $13 for the regular figures.

Related Links -
I've looked at a few figures for the new film:

- I checked out the relatively weak 4" Batman and Joker.

- I also looked at the Batman and Joker in the 5" kid's line.

- Mattel also has a 12" version of the new suit, as well as a 13" 'action cape' version.

- and finally, DCD has the higher end 13" versions of Batman and Joker out.

Discussion:
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