Okay so I got my figure in today and I have some thoughts. First the positives:
1) the figure is pretty solid. The paint details are nice, the costume is sewn together nicely, the accessories are really high quality and the wired cape is phenomenal. I haven’t messed with a Batman cape this nice since the Mezco Golden Age Batman.
Also one other thing to mention; while this is a personal preference for me and I understand some might argue this holds the figure back a little….i have to say I don’t think that this figure has a 1:1 likeness to Jim Lee’s interpretation of Batman. Either from hush or another point in his career. Now the reason I don’t think this is a bad thing is because while I do enjoy artist specific versions when it comes to Batman figures, it’s nice to have a cookie cutter version that more or less represents Batman in his classic post crisis blues and grays that doesn’t feel pigeonholed into just Jim Lee’s tenure.
He’s worn this outfit across 4 decades from the Legends of the Dark Knight comics in the 80’s, the post NML period and now the modern era of comics and it deserves to get the cookie cutter treatment.
Now onto the negatives…
For starters while I think the costume is well put together, I feel like the thread count on the fabric itself could be somewhat better quality when you factor in the cost of this figure. This costs roughly $110 if you already buy directly from overseas and could cost even more if you buy from a different merchant. But this Batman looks like he’s wearing a thermal the threads are so visible. It’s not the greatest.
My second complaint stems from the fact that the body could be a bigger build than the one that was chosen for this figure, for a Batman figure that is supposed to represent him in his prime, he looks a tad skinny. For those of you are familiar with the blank bodies that are typically used for 3rd party pieces and customs that are made by cottage industry professionals and amateur artists, this figure feels like it’s using the V-Toys standard male blank buck that is relatively favored in the 1:12 scale custom community. Especially from those groups that specialize in Mezco styled soft goods and 3D fabricated parts. I feel like if Gong Studios really wanted to stand up against the competition they could have given us a larger build for their Batman and with a costume that better accentuates his muscles and peak human physicality. I feel like even against the upcoming LPZZ Hush Batman, this Gong Stufios version is going to play second fiddle. The one redeeming aspect is though that if this is the V-Toys body, they’re known for being pretty durable and the articulation is crazy good. Although…no butterfly joints if that’s a deal breaker for you.
And now my last complaint. We should have gotten more accessories given the price of this figure. Yes I know I’ve already harped on the price, but when you factor everything that this figure comes wirh, besides Batman himself you get two extra heads, a downed mask effect piece (with no additional neck) three sets of extra hands, plus an additional single hand that has his grapnel molded in place, a bandage accessory, two grapnel attachments, and finally 3 batarangs. We’ve seen more accessories from Mezco when they make something like this. I feel like we should have gotten more. Give us a display stand or a diorama piece at least.
Bottom line I’m not sure if this is going to be the grail piece that collectors were expecting but it will provide you with a nice piece of shelf candy if you’re tired of the Mafex Hush Batman and you want something that looks a little more handmade. And if you love the fact that this isn’t a true Jim Lee Hush Batman, then I think you’ll be satisfied with this figure. But just bear in mind that the figure you are replacing costs more, comes with less accessories and will probably only scratch that itch until something better comes along.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
