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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: one of the greatest assets McFarlane Toys has with their DC Multiverse figures is the variety of characters and traits they represent. More than that, they draw on all kinds of entertainment media, from comics to video games to movies and television shows. It seems like there’s hardly any bottom to the source they go to for inspiration, and this week we have some great new numbers from multiple different sources. Read on to see what we think of their latest video game, television and movie offerings.

Arkham Knight

I just realized something: McFarlane made a lot of Jason Todd characters. We’ve covered something like four or five so far, and now we can check off another Jason figure here with the Arkham Knight.

Oh. Spoilers for a seven year old video game. Jason Todd is the Arkham Knight.

And the Arkham Knight is a pretty sweet action figure to boot. The sculpting and paintwork are both incredibly accurate, capturing the look of the video game antagonist. Despite having a mostly dark gray color scheme, the different pieces of his outfit look like different materials. The armor on his arms and chest looks smooth and sturdy, while his pants have pleats like you would expect from fabric. It’s not surprising work by McFarlane, but still fun to watch.

For a fairly bulky figure, Arkham Knight is well balanced and stands quite well on his own, although the larger arms and legs mean his range of motion is a bit limited. He can’t be put in as many different poses as some other figures, but since Arkham Knight is all about harassment and vibes, it makes sense.

It comes with three accessories: two smoke grenades and a grappling gun. All three fit pretty well in any hand, although the thin pull tab on the grenades feels quite fragile, so I had to be careful not to misshapen or even snap them. Still, they’re solid accessories for an incredibly solid action figure.

Available at Entertainment Earth.

batgirl (Gotham Knights)

Following the video game theme, we have the first of two figures from the Gotham Knights game due out later this year. I’ve already reviewed Red Hood and Nightwing, so the first in this series is Barbara Gordon herself, that Dominoed Daredoll Batgirl.

Out of the four figures in line, Batgirl has the costume closest to one of her comic book looks, and I really appreciate that. There’s some extra armor and piping here and there, but it doesn’t look too crowded or extreme. Instead, it looks like a faithful update of her Burnside suit.

The sculpting is really good, and I like the way the purple and yellow colors stand out against the black accents on her legs and arms. Her hair in particular looks fantastic, with lots of volume and a bit of tousled tangles with a few stray locks here and there. She’s got that weird “side-eye” look, which is almost becoming standard procedure for most McFarlane characters, but if it bothers you too much and you’re good with a brush, it should be a pretty easy fix.

While the figure looks great and is quite agile, she is very thin and doesn’t have much of a center of gravity. That, along with her tiny feet, makes it quite difficult to get her to stand on her own, so using the included base is almost a must. To be fair, both Nightwing and the next figure in this review have the same issue, so it’s not just a Batgirl thing.

She’s equipped with a riot stick, which looks pretty cool, but is a little too big to fit comfortably in either hand. There were times when I thought I’d curl her fingers and patiently move the handle in her hand to get some of these shots. Those drawbacks keep the figure from real greatness, but she’s really good nonetheless.

Available from Amazon and Entertainment Earth.

Robin (Gotham Knights)

Now we have my husband Tim Drake, with one of Gotham Knightsmost drastic redesigns. While I’d argue that you really can’t improve on any of his suits from his first running (the original and the “One Year Later” red-and-black outfit), I actually kind of like this one?

I don’t know what it is either, because at first glance I didn’t think it would work. I love a Robin suit with a tunic, but here it’s been redesigned as a hoodie of sorts, with long flaps in the front that run down his legs past the waist. The hood is a nice touch, but that’s interrupted by a chunky red cape that almost ruins the look as it just looks too much.

And yet… I still like it. No, I don’t want him to adopt something like that in the comics (although it looks better than any outfit he’s had in the last ten years, and that includes his current suit), but it grew on me the more I took pictures of it . The tunic hoodie in particular looks great on closer inspection, with its classic R symbol and a neat interpretation of the yellow “stitching”. The black blocking on his arms and legs breaks through red and green respectively without looking crowded or distracting, and his gloves look solid without being too bulky.

Tim comes with a bo staff, as it should be, and it’s solidly constructed and fits well in one or both hands. Although made smaller than Nightwing, he is taller than Batgirl and also has better balance. That makes it easier to get him into some cool poses, but in the end I still had to use the base more often than not to make sure he stayed upright.

Even if DC doesn’t know what to do with Tim Drake, I know what to do with this Tim figure: put him in comedic poses next to my other Drake pieces.

classic.

Available from Amazon and Entertainment Earth.

The Flash (TV series)

Even if you don’t watch the show you gotta give The flash some credit: Over its nine seasons (the finale of which airs next year), it has delved into some really bizarre and obscure corners of the DC universe, which I love and respect. The series’ protagonist, Grant Gustin, has also grown into the role over the years, nailing the bland dorkiness that defines Barry Allen.

Not so bland or goofy? This figure is based on the look from the TV series. While my timeline is a bit fuzzy, I’m going to put the suit’s look somewhere in season 6 or 7, as it looks more refined than the previous seasons, but lacks the golden boots he’s recently adopted. No matter where it comes from during the show’s period, it’s a great looking piece and roughly comparable to other Flash characters I’ve reviewed.

The red of the suit is a bit more muted than those based on comics or cartoons, which is pretty accurate for the show. The gold accents on his belt, around his torso and on the top of his boots and gloves break up the color nicely, and his logo looks particularly good against the white background. He also looks quite a bit like Gustin, which is impressive as the mask covers much of his head and face.

Flash comes with three lightning bolt and energy accessories, which are quite fun. Yes, the idea that he could convert speed into a lightning lightsaber was beyond silly, but who cares? This is strip TV, and I’m here for it. Both bolts fit pretty well in his hands and can be used as melee style weapons or as speed effects in a running pose. The third energy popping accessory fits around his shoulders to add a nice net effect as well.

Of the five figures in this review, Flash is the best on its own without the need for support, with the exception of the upcoming final figure. Still, it has the advantage of being able to move, so you can get great shots from the flash without too much effort.

Available from Amazon and Entertainment Earth.

king shark (The Suicide Squad)

Yes.

Yes.

l love this figure so, so much. As much as I loved The Suicide Squad and all his characters, Nanaue the King Shark absolutely stole the show, thanks to his fun and terrifying personality at the same time and Sylvester’s great vocal performance “should have won the Oscar for his performance in Beliefs“Stallon.

This mega-sized figure is just as awesome and sweet as his on-screen counterpart for obvious reasons. I mean, he’s a giant shark man. How can you not love that?

He’s quite tall, standing quite a few heads taller than most of the other figures, but still shorter than Swamp Thing, and has quite a bit of weight and bulk.

In other words, he is heavy.

That doesn’t limit the possibilities and playability factors though, because even with limited articulation, the figure has a ton of personality. This is mainly due to its hinged jaw, which allows you to open and close its mouth. He can only show his bottom row of teeth for a welcoming, wacky smile, or you can open his mouth all the way to reveal his top row of teeth, making Shark look quite sinister and menacing. Hilarious (and grotesque), he comes with severed arm and leg accessories, perfect for both harassment and nom-noms. There’s also a gold foil trading card on top of a gold base, which was pretty neat.

Nothing else that I say or show should be said or shown to convince you of the greatness of this figure. Even if it’s the only one The Suicide Squad figure you pick up, it’s worth having King Shark as part of your collection.

Say goodbye Nanaue!

What a champion.

General: A diverse group of figures based on popular characters from a variety of media, there is something for everyone here. Whether you want a beloved hero, a menacing villain, or a walking, talking shark voiced by John Spartan himself, you can’t go wrong with any of these pieces.

Disclaimer: McFarlane Toys has provided every figure for this review.

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