DC Multiverse Dick Grayson Batman figure review

With the hype surrounding the McFarlane Toys DC line I figured I needed to wrap up my remaining DC Multiverse figures from Mattel starting with the Dick Grayson Batman figure. I wasn’t happy by the time I finished this review for numerous reasons. The main one really left my annoyed, but I’ll get to that later.

This was an odd inclusion in the line since Mattel never made a passable Damian Robin figure. I’d reached my tapping out phase of settling for sculpt deficiencies by the time he was released and never bothered to get him. Still, I enjoyed Morrison’s Batman run enough to get this version of Batman. At least now I have someone to pit against the previously worthless DC Classics Red Hood figure.

Packaging: The Multiverse packaging is solid with the various shades of blues and the angular base. I still question the need for the same image used four times.

The bio is solid eliminating any doubt this is the Morrison/Quitely Dick Grayson Batman. Everything is arranged well in the package although the Collect and Connect piece could stand to be more visible.

Likeness: I appreciate the effort to distinguish this from a Bruce Wayne Batman with the slighter body and oh so subtle smile. It fits with Dick’s Batman personality. The Quitely take on the costume is captured nicely as well with the unique utility belt. Dick’s gloves are segmented properly and the boots have the right amount of thickness.

Hasbro’s sculptors tend to do a great job keeping head sculpts similar from one character’s alias to another. Mattel did pretty well here as I see a lot of similarities with the Batman head sculpt and the Nightwing head sculpt. That’s not a big deal, but something that reflects well on the continuity of the line with regards to sculpting.

Now let’s talk about the cape. It’s a mess. For starters, it’s not draped over Batman’s shoulders. Ideally it looks like a shell engulfing Batman. Mattel opted to focus more on the articulation, but went to the extreme. The cape is made of cloth that is so thin you can see through it, which kills any illusion of it being bulletproof.

It’s a shame the cape is so crappy as the figure really would have been a standout if it was just a basic version of the standard Batman cape. For everyone clamoring for cloth capes this is a reminder that it can look real crappy too.

Scale: I really like how the Multiverse figures fit in with both the DC Classics line and the DC Essentials line. Batman stands at what I would consider the appropriate height to the DC Classics Red Hood figure and the way too short Tim Drake Robin.

MORE:

• Hot Toys Avengers Infinity War Thor figure review
• Bombshell movie review – not nearly explosive enough
• Power Rangers Lightning Collection Goldar figure review
• DC Collectibles action figure reviews

Paint: Mattel didn’t go too nuts with the paint job. It didn’t need an intricate one of course so that wasn’t expected. I do like the gold sheen on the utility belt and the flat midnight blue used for the cowl, gloves, tights and boots.

Articulation: As far as this wave goes, Dick Batman has really nice articulation and nearly being able to hit some nice acrobatic poses despite the limitations of the Multiverse body. This figure seems almost like the best use of this body and I was able to do hit some poses with him that I wasn’t with some other figures.

Dick Batman has:

• neck
• shoulders
• elbow (double-jointed)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories: Mattel really tried to catch up with Hasbro with this wave with the inclusion of swappable head.

For this one we get an unmasked Dick Grayson head.

The idea is pretty good as it includes a cowl to hang on the back, but the execution left a lot to be desired. In the sense that Mattel apparently didn’t understand the importance of having a strong neck peg that doesn’t snap when trying to swap the heads. The neck peg was way too thin for this kind of use. This is bad and I’m glad that was the final part of my review.

Batman also comes with the left leg of the Killer Croc Collect and Connect figure.

Worth it? Amazon has him up for $15. That’s a decent price for a figure McFarlane Toys is unlikely to get around to anytime soon if at all. He also gets you another step closer to completing Killer Croc.

Rating: 3 out of 10

It’s hard to praise a figure that already had some issues even before the broken neck peg.

Where to get it? Maybe your luck is better than mine and your figure will keep its head. There’s still the issue of the cape, but that could be replaced I suppose.