Robin (Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane)) Review

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Robin (Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane)) Review

Robin
Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) (McFarlane)While I could care less for McFarlane's DC Multiverse line nowadays, I'm happy with their re-releases of the DC Direct Batman Animated line, bringing back older figures with new extras, and there's a second build-a-figure wave on the way, along with New Adventures figures. I've just now completed the first BAF wave with the other half of characters, Batman's sidekick Robin and the tragic villain Mr. Freeze.

Let's start with Robin first. He's been put out a couple times now, and McFarlane's re-release is the third or fourth time we've seen him. The sculpt is pretty nice and spot-on to the show's style, with a confident expression and one side of the cape draped over the shoulder more, but the rubbery material prevents it from hindering movement. They also did a good job with his hair, a design I assume isn't easy to replicate in three dimensions. However, he's too short, standing around 5 1/4". When you put him up next to Batman, and then compare it to their heights in-show, you'll notice the issue. They gave him cel-shading this time around, and it's a mixed bag. The lines and edges are clean, and the colors on the outfit are good, but the shading color used for the skin is just plain ugly.

The articulation, as with the others in this line, remains unchanged from the original release. Dick Grayson gets a barbell head, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists, and ankles, swivel forearms, waist, and shins, T-crotch and hinged hips, and hinged knees. The joints move well, but it would've been nice if they updated the mold to add some thigh or knee swivels so he could achieve more dynamic leg poses. For accessories, he gets three pairs of hands (relaxed, gripping, and closed), an extra right hand holding a grappling hook gun, and his bola, as well as the Condiment King's pelvis and legs, and a character card. Good selection of stuff here, though in my research, I saw the original release had an alternate cloth cape, which I would've liked to see again here.

Then there's Mr. Freeze, another re-release, of course. He's also one I'm glad is back out there, since he's one of my favorite villains from the show. He's another great sculpt that's accurate to the show's style, with a menacing, stern look and a unique costume. The dome around his head is removable, as is the backpack, and he stands 6" tall without it. Like Robin, McFarlane added some shading, or in this case, shine, to the years-old sculpt. The paint is rather clean and looks good overall, but if they're going for this style, they should've added some shading to the head. But considering how some of the shading they've done is either too dark or unsightly in general, maybe it's best they didn't.

Mr. Freeze is more limited in movement than Robin, with a ball-jointed neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, and wrists, T-crotch and hinged hips, hinged knees and ankles, and swivel shins. No waist, no thighs, not even ankle rockers. The elbows are very limited in bend due to the rings around them, and you'll really want to pay attention to how they bend. In the default position (as in lined with the rest of the "shine" on the arms), they bend towards the torso, and if you try to bend them forwards, you'll just rip the forearm out of the post (I made that mistake twice). Moving on from that, he comes with five pairs of hands (gun grip, gripping, grasping, relaxed, and closed), his freeze ray, another character card, and the Condiment King's backpack with condiment guns.

Now we get into the build-a-figure himself, the Condiment King. He comes from not BTAS, but rather its follow-up The Adventures of Batman and Robin, and he also wasn't in the original DC Direct line, so he's something new McFarlane did. He's broken up across the other four figures (Batman has his arms, Scarecrow has his head and torso, Robin has his lower half, and Mr. Freeze has his backpack), and most of the parts pop together no issue, but you'll need to heat up the shoulder sockets to get the arms in.

The Condiment King stands tall at 6 3/4", likely due to him being a BAF, but he scales well with Batman. He's accurate to the show as well, bearing a goofy outfit complete with his underwear on the outside, and a oblong-like head with a pickle hood, cause it makes him look all the more silly. The shading is clean, but there's still a bit of slop and marks here and there, and they could've chosen better colors. His articulation is in-line with what DCD did, with a ball head and hips, swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists (vertical hinge), and ankles, swivel waist, and double-hinged knees. Most of the joints move well, but the hips are very loose, which can make standing a hassle for him. He has no accessories, mainly because he's an accessory himself.

While Robin and Mr. Freeze are okay enough figures, the Condiment King, even with his own nits, is the stand-out here, since he's something we haven't seen before in a line that's mostly just reissues. Even if you have the original DCD figures, you can pick these figures up just for him, and sell off the others. Since I don't have the originals, though, I'll be satisfied with these releases, and I look forward to next wave, which should be out very soon.

- 1/26/24