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Battle Armor Batman- Batman, Mattel
Meat and Potatoes; 4.7
Perks; 4.9
Homer Factor; 5.0
Description; ah, Batman get the Four Horsemen treatment with a few extra gadgets stuck to him.

The figure is approsixmaly 7" tall and is a simple but well-scupted representation of the Dark Knight; well muscled but not OVERLY done with solid articulation.

Batman's Battle Armor is composed of a removable chest-plate and gauntlets.  There is also a removable weapon on the chest-plate tne Batman's utility belt.
FINALLY!!!!!!!!  After seeing promo-shots from a dozen toy shows, after being TEASED by ads in Previews, and seeing 'sold out' on tons o' e-tailer sites, I HAVE BATMAN FIGURES FROM MATTEL!!!!!!   ... ok, ok, so in the galactic scope of things, this doesn't rank with world peace.  Hey, I'm a toy collector.  So there.  Nyah.  Anyway, Mattel's new Batman line is finally appearing, and we get to see what someone can do besides Hasbro with the Dark Knight.  So what's the big deal?  Hey, don't forget the Four Horsemen are involved here.  Ah, NOW you remember what the big freaking deal was.  Ok, we're past the hype... was it worth it?  Well, it's pretty close...

Considering the work was done by the same dudes who revitalized He-Man, you would expect STELLAR, AMAZING meat and potatoes.  Well, you get good on this one.  No this is not a dead-on duplication of Jim Lee's take on Batman,
but rather like the Superman piece it's a combination of everyone's take on the Dark Knight; Wayne Boring's big chest, Jim Lee's face, you get the idea.  A nice touch is easing up on the musculature.  Sure, Batman is buff, but he is NOT covered in muscle lines, which was the problem with the 'Legends of Batman' line from ages ago.  Sure, the sculpting was cool, but after a while, you just look and go 'Um, are you SURE there's a muscle there?'   Articulation is ok, but could have been better.  The shoulders have a nice ball-joint in them to give a large range of motion, and knees, hips, waist, neck, and wrist are nice, but I wish they could have just thrown in some elbows as well. 

Ah, but what sorta a perks does this Batman come with?  Now that's a nice plus.  Before, Batman figures seemed to come with rejected accessories from 'GI Joe' and the figures were painted VERY garish colors, and the special 'armor' was often sculpted right on to the figure.  You got a Batman figure who looked more like Iron Man carrying a giant bazooka.  This time, it's a little different. 

In Battle Armor Batman, you have a base figure that looks like a regular Batman figure, just a slightly different paint scheme (Brown cowl, gauntlet and boots, the rest is black) and the accessories are attached like armor; a chest plate with a removable weapon and detachable gauntlets with MASSIVE blades on them.  Ok, this harkens back to 'Spline Cape Batman' from Hasbro's old 'Legends' series, BUT the difference is there's still a pretty normal looking Batman figure beneath it.  Big difference?  Yes, since you kind of have TWO figures in one pack; the regular Batman PLUS the extra stuff to help him kick some SERIOUS ass.

Homer Factor?  Well, as you've noticed, I'm a weeeeeeeeeeeeeee bit of a Batman fan.  ... ok, so I'm a bit OBSESSED WITH THE TOYS AND CHARACTER.  ... ok, I feel much better admitting that.   Hey, the character rocks and Mattel has been producing some good stuff. 

So what does your cash get you?  Well, it's not the PERFECT Batman piece by any means.  I still think
Dark Knight Detective Batman is THE Batman figure.  However, Mattel is going in the right direction with these figures; cleaner, more realistic sculpts and cooler ACCESSORIES rather then just permanently sticking stuff to the figures.  Hopefully this is a sign of VERY good things to come.  Now if only that dang MOVIE would come out...