Review of Batman Beyond - Batman Black & White statue

Introduction

Geeks love to debate the intricacies of the absurd - who's faster, Superman or Flash? Who'd win in a fight between Hulk and Superman? Where does Aquaman poop? You get the idea. Often, one of those questions was what would happen to Batman when he got too old to be Batman?

The 1999 animated show Batman Beyond was one attempt at an answer. Youngster Terry McGinnis took over the helm under the tutelage of Bruce Wayne. While it wasn't the best animated Batman series ever, it was one of the better, and we've had some nice collectibles based on the show over the years.

The latest Batman Black and White statue is just such a collectible, designed by Dustin Nguyen and sculpted by Jonathan Mathews. It shows off Batman at his most gymnastic, and is certainly one of the most dynamic designs of the overall series.

This guy is just shipping, and you should be able to pick him up for $60 - $70 at most retailers.

Packaging - ***
The simple box shows the basic info - no limited edition designation any more, no Certificate of Authenticity, all not on the ugly largely white box. At least the sturdy interior trays do the most important job, keeping the one piece statue safe.

Sculpting - ***
Wow - talk about your dynamic designs! I have to admit that it reminds me a bit of the DVD cover for season one of American Horror Story, but that's probably just me.

The statue stands about 8 inches tall, fitting in nicely scale-wise with the rest of the series. The base is not removable this time - it's all one piece out of the box.

This figure is all sharp lines and angular cuts, with plenty of muscle definition. It's a great look for Batman, and helps offset the somewhat boring single piece uniform.They've cut the edge of the symbol as well, very sharp and deep.

Also offsetting the basic costume is the wings under either arm. They've used a clear plastic, sculpted with texture, and the material looks great. Unfortunately, the fit isn't so great, and messes up the seamless look.

Add in some rather nubby rounded ears. and the score ends up dropping to a B overall.

Paint - ***
This statue doesn't quite have the shades of black to white that others have had, but that's largely due to the onesie style of costume.

They did give us translucent plastic wings, and I love how they catch the light. 

There's a few sloppy cut lines though, with some blurry edges on the eyes and symbol. They are minor issues, but with so few paint ops what's here needs to be dead on.

Value - ***1/2
I suspect that the limited nature of the statues was dropped to allow them to keep costs down - efficiencies of scale, don't you know. I have no idea how many of these they've produced to get the price down, but I don't mind the trade off at all

Prices on these were getting into the $80 - $90 range, but the last couple releases have dropped a good twenty bucks, back to the $60 - $70 range. Nice!

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing.

Overall - ***
I really live this pose - it's distinct, unique, and eye catching. Unfortunately, the poor joint between the wings and the sides of the torso really brings the overall look down.

While it would be easy to say this is specific to just mine, I'm betting it's more widespread than that. If you do manage to get one that doesn't exhibit this problem, you can add another half star to the Sculpt and Overall scores.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***
Value - ***1/2
Overall - ***

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $70.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other reviews include - 

- the recent Bolland Joker and the Jock  and Cooke versions of Batman.

- before that was the New 52 Jim Lee Batman, Sam Keith version, the Mignola variant, the humorous version based on artwork by Sergio Aragones, the Gleason and Chiang versions, the Finch version, the Bermejo Joker, the Tony Daniel Batman, the Arkham Asylum version, the cool Man-bat, and don't forget the other black and white Joker Jim Lee.

- before that, we had the Quitely version of Batman, the Bermejo, the McGuinness version, the Dave Mazzucchelli version, the Penguin, Gotham Knight 2 version, the Bruce Timm version, the Ethan Van Sciver version, the Aparo, the Neal Adams and George Perez versions, the Gotham Knight, Bob Kane, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Matt Wagner, Mike Mignola, and Kelley Jones. *whew*

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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