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2-20-00 DC 9" Batman Beyond!

Picked this guy up tonight at our local Warner Brothers store.  $15, same as the others so far.  On with the review!

Packaging - **
Okay, it's serviceable, but that's about it.  I prefer the square style, and there are less twisty ties, but you still have to ruin the package to get him out.  More importantly, he looks terrible in the box.  Most of them are kind of scrunched over or up...he doesn't fit well inside.  This is a figure that looks a million times better out of the package.

Sculpting - ***
It's dead on, although the head is large again.  This is probably time to admit this is the style of the line, and all the figures will have larger heads than the FC's normally do.  I can live with it - as a matter of fact, I can't imagine this one with a smaller head - but I know others won't be able to.

Articulation - ***
Improvements over the other DC 9" include a ball joint in the neck - although the head doesn't move backwards very well, probably due to the mechanism required for the retractable rope (more on that later).  Also, the bicep cut joint that others complained about is gone.  The hands aren't articulated either, and yes, this is an entirely NEW body.  The chest, legs, everything appear to be new.  Still has ball jointed shoulders and
hips, waist, ankles, knees and elbows.  Another important point on the body - the legs are longer and thinner, making him seem more imposing from the waist up, and making his arms seem less stubby.  Also, I suspect the new arm sculpts make a difference.

Costume - ***
This is a much nicer costume than previous attempts.  The seams are all hemmed - neck, wrists and ankles.  The symbol is clean and sharp, no problems with crackling like Cap's.  The belt is dead on, and the suit itself
is a MUCH tighter fit than the previous figures.  The wings are not removable, but have ball joints where they attach to the body, giving an extremely wide range of motion.  Also, they are made of an excellent material that should stay fairly straight over time (no wilting problems, aka McToys).

Accessories - ***
Other than the aforementioned wings, there is also three batarangs with a firing device which can be attached to his arm via an elastic band.  The firing mechanism on mine is actually pretty good, unlike some of the more recent ones that are lucky to get a projectile more than an inch thru the air.  Also, built into his back is a retractable rope and batarang.  Pull it out, attach it to something and ZIP up he goes!  This works fantastic - my only complaint is that the line could be longer - it's only about a foot long - and that the mechanism actually works TOO good.  It's so tight that he slams into whatever he's heading for.  There is no stand - which is fine with me.

Overall - ***
Easily my favorite of the DC 9" figures.  A great figure, although I'm sure some people will have problems with the size of the head.  I can't imaging what else they could complain about though, and I'm hoping that the fact that he has a completely different body means we'll be seeing even more variety in size and shapes of 9" bodies from Hasbro.

Here's a shot for size comparison - DC 9" Superman, DC 9" Batman Beyond and FC Reed Richards.  I had to take these shots at night, hence the flash...


Figure from the collection of Michael Crawford.

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