Batman (Gray) (Batman - New Adventures (McFarlane)) Review

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Batman (Gray) (Batman - New Adventures (McFarlane)) Review

Batman (Gray)
Batman - New Adventures (McFarlane) (McFarlane)When Batman: the Animated Series moved from Fox Kids to Kids' WB, it was retooled into "The New Batman Adventures." There were a lot of changes abound, with Batgirl becoming a major character, Dick Grayson becoming Nightwing, and an overhauled art style. Having completed the series lately, I will admit I like the atmosphere and stories of TNBA better, likely due to the WB allowing them to do more. Still, the overall feel of BTAS is hard to beat. DC Collectibles gave equal focus to both when making some enjoyable figures in the late 2010's, and although I haven't gotten any of the originals yet, McFarlane has re-released a few TNBA figures. These don't have build-a-figure parts like the concurrent BTAS reissue line, but they also aren't exclusive anywhere, making them easier to find.

Rather than blue cardbacks the original releases had, these figures come in black window boxes, with equally simple graphics. While I believe they'll take up more room, they still look pretty good, and fit the license well. There is a lot of tape and ties, however, in addition to some of the extras being sealed to the back by plastic, so it can take some time getting everything out.

Batman's going to be first, of course, and compared to BTAS, TNBA had a sleeker, more angular art style with top-heavy torsos and darker colors. Standing about 6 1/4" tall, Batman is a spot-on recreation of Bruce Timm's signature style, and although McFarlane doesn't credit their sculptors, DCC did, and he, along with I believe the rest in this wave, was sculpted by Irene Matar. The proportions are accurate, and he maintains the angular look of the show. He's got his usual no-nonsense expression, and the bat emblem on his chest is sculpted to protrude a bit. The paint is clean and consistent, aside from some fuzziness around the black on very top of the legs. Thank heavens McFarlane didn't tack on the same crappy shading the BTAS figures have been getting.

Incorporating useful articulation with these designs may sound tricky, but DC did a good job. Batman gets a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, swivel waist and shins, T-crotch and hinged hips, and hinged knees. Although it looks like there's swivels at the knees, they only bend, and I went as far as to pull one of them out to see what was going on in there. The lack of thigh joints is the only limitation here, but he moves well regardless, and the soft plastic cape doesn't restrict the shoulders much. Batman has three sets of gripping hands, in addition to closed hands, as well as an extra right holding a grappling hook (with a removable hook), the grappling hook by itself, and a batarang.

The other hero in this assortment is Batgirl, who as mentioned before, was a more minor player in the show prior to the retool. At 5 1/4" tall, she's smaller than the Caped Crusader, but like him, the proportions are spot-on to the show. As with almost every other woman in the show, Barbara has round cheeks and an hourglass figure, with hair coming out the back of her mask and a short cape. The paint is mostly good, but the eye holes in the mask are done poorly, looking more like big, tan eyebrows on her mask than visible skin showing through it. The original was like that too, and it's something McFarlane could've improved.

Batgirl's articulation is a bit more limited than Batman's, as her head is a single ball peg, with restricted movement due to the hair, and she lacks torso movement, likely to preserve the sculpt. The ankle hinges have little tilt, but she gets a unique and very useful rocker in the form of swivels midway through the foot, with the sole being sculpted as a part of it. The rest is the same as Batman, but expect some balance issues due to the thin feet. She has a whopping ten hands, with two sets of grips, fists, relaxed hands, one left holding a grappling hook (colored yellow instead of black for some reason), and another left for holding a batarang. There's also the grappling hook by itself… but only half of it, a smaller batarang, and a BTAS-styled batarang, for some reason.

All of these figures come with a stand similar to the original releases, but now all black with the show logo on the base; no character model sheets or clear posts. While they're a step back visually, they're a step forward functionally. The clamp not only moves up and down on the post, but is also spring-loaded, allowing it to get a tight hold on the figures. It's definitely useful for these designs, due to the big chests and thin legs, and it's most needed for this next figure.

Two-Face didn't change too much from his BTAS design; they just made him match the new art style more. At about 6" tall, he's more top-heavy and angular than before. The sculpt is great, possibly my favorite here, and the disfigured half of his head is well done. The paint is a bit of a step back from the original, as while he has clean lines and a consistent finish, the left eye is white instead of yellow, and the very bottom of his head is white as well. His open right hand has a coin on the palm, but they didn't bother to paint it here. What gives, Todd? The articulation is similar to Batman, but the wrists and ankles only turn, no hinges or rocker there. It's only a minor limitation, and he can achieve some good poses as long as you don't mind the limited range in the head.

The accessory department is where Harvey Dent really takes a hit, due to the smaller amount compared to before. He still has three sets of hands - gripping, closed, and relaxed - a mask, a watch, and an opening satchel, but he lacks the pistol, machine gun, and canisters the DCC release had. The omission of the guns I understand, since WB is less eager to include firearms nowadays compared to when DCC was initially around, but the canisters I assume is because they don't have the molds to them anymore. These are pretty old figures, so I imagine McFarlane doesn't have access to every mold they've done. I thought they hid the canisters in the satchel, but alas, it was empty.

Lastly there's Killer Croc, and out of everyone here, he seems to be the most drastically redesigned. His skin isn't as lumpy, his chest is massive, his mouth isn't skull-like, and he as a whole is more angular and green. Not as croc-like as before, but still pretty menacing. The tallest figure here at 7", Croc's angular frame is carried over well in plastic, but his skin and pants are just cast in colored plastic, and have a shiny look, making him look cheaper than the others. On the positive side, his expression is great, and the black lines on the body are clean. He doesn't have waist or even knees joints, but he has an ab crunch combined with a swivel chest, allowing for some great hunched-over poses. He has clawing hands by default, but they can be swapped for gripping hands.

Croc actually includes another figure in the form of Baby Doll, a nod to "Love is a Croc." Bit of a weird pairing, but they made it work. Baby has a simplified design compared to her first appearance, with more geometric hair, a rounder head, and pink clothes instead of purple. She actually looked more like a doll than before! At around 2 1/2" tall, Baby Doll is accurate to her later design, and the paint is clean as well, but the eyes seem to be misaligned judging by the sculpted lines. She has swivels at the head, shoulders, and waist, as well as a T-crotch, but the small feet and apparently uneven legs makes it tricky to get her standing. She and Croc come with a chicken and a baby bottle, but not a wad of cash or gas ball like the original release. I'm guessing it's another lost mold situation.

Something new here that wasn't included with the originals are the cel reproductions. These lift screens from specific episodes, with Batman and Two-Face getting ones from "Sins of the Father," while Batgirl and Croc get theirs from "Love is a Croc." Spanning 7x5", these aren't really cels, per se, but rather screenshots from the show behind a plastic film, and encased in thick white paper. The back of the "cels" provide information on the episode, as well as a tab that can be used to prop them up. They're nice extras, and help make for a unique display.

Although the BTAS reissues are neat with their build-a-figure gimmick, I will admit I like these more, since they aren't hindered by ugly shading, and benefit from the inclusion of bases and faux cels. Granted, the lack of certain accessories and cheaper look of the villains set them back a bit, but the figures overall are fine aside from some movement limitations and poor stability. These are great for those who missed out on the originals, especially since they managed to keep the prices about the same as before, and hopefully McFarlane gets more of them back out there.

- 5/29/24