INTRODUCTION:
Batman is a fictional superhero who appears in his comic book series by DC Comics. The character was originally created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and made his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939).
Batman's alter-ego is Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy and philanthropist who lives in a fictional city called Gotham City.
When he was a child, Batman watched helplessly as his parents were murdered by criminals. Driven by a thirst for vengeance and justice, he swore an oath to protect the city from criminal and those who would do harm.
But unlike other vigilantes like Marvel's The Punisher, what makes Batman different is his disdain for guns as well as well as a moral code to never kill his opponent.
What makes Batman truly stand apart from other characters in the DC universe like Superman or even the Green Lantern is the fact that he relies on his genius intellect, physical prowess, science, logic and detective skills to carry out his mission.
He's that one superhero who's always ready with several contingency plans, and the only who knows everyone else's weaknesses.
I also think the reason why Batman resonates with so many readers is because he represents the duality in all of us.
Every one has a secret, a secret life or identity that they keep hidden from the public, or even aspirations that they wishes they could set out to do.
Batman takes it a step further and showcases in many story arcs the struggle between the two roles he juggles to portray, and leaves us wondering just exactly who is wearing the mask- Batman or Bruce Wayne?
Medicom's latest offering for its Mafex line is the Batman Begins figure, based on Christopher Nolan's version for The Batman. The character was played by actor Christian Bale to great critical acclaim, and Nolan's three Batbale movies were box-office successes.
PACKAGING- 7/10
Medicom's Batman comes in your standard packaging for the Mafex line.
He comes packaged in a slipcover box designed for collectors, where are compartments to store the accessories if you want to keep them safe and not run the risk of losing them.
ACCESSORIES- 8/10
Mafex Batman Begins comes with:
- 1 unmasked Christian Bale headsculpt
- 3 batarangs
- 6 interchangeable hand parts
- Alternate chest armor
- Masked headsculpt
- Chest armour and cape
- 1 figure stand
FIGURE-7/10
Ah, Mafex, Mafex. You're like that itch on my back that I told myself I'd never scratch again, or that bad restaurant near my house I'd promise myself never to go to again....and yet I still went back for more. And more. And more.
I told myself two years ago that I would never, ever purchase anymore Mafex figures, especially their Nolan Batman line after the clusterfuck that was the Batbale 1.0. Arm joints were so loose it could hardly stay attached to the damn figure, and it eventually broke last year.
Mafex been getting a lot of heat and bad press due to its well-publicised QC issues. Broken/loose joints, unfinished fading, these are what they has been notorious for in the past and many collectors are well aware of that.
BUT (and there is a silver lining here), Mafex seems to have taken note of the shortcomings of its previous figures and quietly improved the various QC issues. Recent releases like Knightmare Batman and Spider-Man Homecoming have been favourably received by toy collectors and critics alike.
And I must say I was pleasantly surprised when I got the Batman Begins figure in hand. I admit I was paranoid and extra careful in handling it for the first few hours for fear that a joint might break or fall out of piece. But it didn't. And its actually a really, really solid figure, with good articulation, weight and a decent masked headsculpt and paint.
You'll probably need to heat up the ball joint hole of the unmasked Christian Bale headsculpt to get it to fit in nicely on the figure, or else it won't fully go in and the figure will just look weird.
What does this mean then? Sigh. It means I'll probably end buying the rest of the figures for this line :)
ARTICULATION- 8/10
There is enough articulation in this figure for you to get Batbale doing a variety of poses, but its not as articulated as the SH Figuarts Dark Knight figure. Which is OK because that's how the Batman Begins/protoype suit was meant to be- a little less agile, more like a body suit.
There is some left and right rotation for the masked headsculpt, but no upper or lower rotation.
But what makes this figure is the wired cape, and unlike SHF's version, Mafex's cape is more wiry, less stiff and of a softer fabric variety, which allows the figure to do a lot of cool cape poses.
POSEABILITY-8/10
There is a lot of fun to be had posing this guy. No issues here, except that his utility belt is a separate piece and can get in the way of some poses (minor annoyance), but all you have to do is to re-position the belt.
This is how Mafex Batman Begins looks alongside the SH Figuarts The Dark Knight:
VALUE- 8/10
I'd recommend getting this figure if you're a fan of the Nolan Batman trilogy, but if you're a casual toy collector the SH Figuarts version should suffice.
I'm kidding. Just get him, he's worth his weight in (plastic)? Hahahaha!
Big Bad Toy Store still has him on pre-order for US$ 74.99 (RM304.57).
OVERALL SCORE- 7.7/10
Like my review? Leave a comment below.
Check out my previous reviews of the Mafex Knightmare Batman, and the Mafex Deadshot figures.
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