SDCC 2012: Mattel - Batman: Power AttackThe Batman: Power Attack line made a rather large showing at SDCC with its own oversized, dedicated diorama. While pretty much everything you see here is already at retail, this is the first time that Tomopop has given coverage to the line so it very well may be new to you. Batman: Power Attack is something of a successor to a previous action-oriented power armor toyline geared more towards youngsters. That line usually had ugly pegholes all over the figures to accommodate snap-on armor, something thankfully abandoned with this newer line. While Batman: Power Attack still suffers from most of the figures in the line being Batman, there is a fair assortment of villains and the line itself is broken into "mission" themes. Despite being predominantly geared towards kids, the general art style may also appeal to older collectors (the packaging art is really neat) and there are definitely a few figures in the line that collectors should give a serious look. Hit the jump to learn all about it.
The display case emphasizes the mission concept well. On the second shelf from the top you'll notice Mr. Freeze and an Arctic Batman from an ice mission. The missions seem to have four figures in them, at least one of which will be a villain and a Batman variant (often several Batman variants). On the bottom shelf you'll notice the weirdest basement ever, which seems to replicate the swamp mission (starring Killer Croc).
The line is split between Basic and Deluxe figures. Basics like Robin here have a MSRP of around US$8.99.
Deluxe figures include a larger accessory and retail for a bit more. Offhand, I think the MSRP is around US$12.99. The Deluxe selection is mostly just Batman variants. I can't recall seeing a single non-Batman Deluxe at retail.
There's just something really cool about the style for these, especially where the villains are concerned. Many of the villains feature some sort of a revamped look, most often in the form of a new, goofy element like Two-Face's gauntlets and shoulder-pads. Then again, that might be part of the charm. Two-Face's outrageously large gun is certainly an amusing choice. You'll also notice that the line is really light on articulation, just opting for hinges at the shoulders and hips, pinned elbows, with a cut waist and neck/head for rotation. This is probably the most bothersome aspect, especially since ball-socketed or jointed shoulders wouldn't have been difficult yet could have added so much.
Killer Croc is definitely among the most impressive figures seen in the line thus far. It's worth noting the villains have monikers just like the Batman variants, which may have been done for style reasons or because other versions might appear in the line. "Swamp Raider" Killer Croc features metal implants for his jaw and shoulders. I don't recall the packaging even explaining the change, which adds to the camp value. I already own this figure and you can expect a review within the month.
The Mr. Freeze is also very cool. With his translucent arms, exposed skeletal chest cavity (seriously, what? Why?), and ice covered head (like in The Batman), he makes for one ice display piece. But I imagine that you don't need to be cold how much of a chill it would be to own this. Before I forget, what killed the dinosaurs? THE ICE AGE!
The Joker probably impresses me the least from the villains that I've seen. It basically looks like a re-do of his Hero World appearance. It's still a great-looking figure. The overall diorama seems really impressive. As always, though, it's stuff not sold by Mattel. Probably wouldn't be hard to track stuff like it down, though.
It's also worth quickly pointing out that they did a Batomobile. I assume that it can fit the figures but wouldn't really be surprised it didn't. I've seen it on shelves but never really paid attention to it. Personally, I think the Batman: Power Attack line has a fair amount of potential. So far we've had a few solid designs which, sadly, can be hard to find with all the Batman pegwarmers. Are there any characters that you want to see in the line? Personally I'm hoping for a Penguin and Scarecrow. Did you know? You can now get daily or weekly email notifications when humans reply to your comments.
6:00 PM on 06.17.2013 Play Arts Kai Final Fantasy 'Warrior of Light' sees itSquare Enix has had fun with their Variants line. There's the DC lineup and then there's the intrigue of the original Final Fantasy. The first such figure we got to see was that of the Warrior of Light. While only being treat...
12:00 AM on 06.16.2013 Next TF MP is G2 Sideswipe, after that it's fans' choiceAt the Tokyo Toy Show 2013 Takara Tomy made two big announcements regarding the Transformers Masterpiece line. The first is that Sideswipe will be getting his third repaint. This time around he'll be in G2 black and feature n...
8:00 AM on 06.15.2013 Hit play for a second turn at TF Masterpiece SoundwaveNo doubt that Transformers Masterpiece figures are popular. Be it from Hasbro or Takara Tomy they have a tendency to sell out pretty quickly as pre-orders, to say nothing of their actual release date. It's pretty common for t...
9:00 PM on 06.13.2013 TF Masterpiece Smokescreen speeds into pre-ordersWay back in January news of Transformers Masterpiece Smokescreen found its way onto online shops well before Takara Tomy had actually announced them. Initially we thought it was Prowl and Smokescreen that were coming first, b...
10:00 AM on 06.07.2013 Max Factory wants to teach you how to be a poserfigma are great. For my money they're the premiere posing figure. But as fun as they are to pose it can be a little tricky to get them looking juuuust right. Well worry not as Max Factory has returned once again with their fi...
8:00 PM on 06.05.2013 Max Factory offers another preview of SAO's Kirito figmaStill excited about the release of more Sword Art Online figures? The anime series finished a few months ago, but a lot of figures that were announced during its broadcast are just now seeing release. Case in point is figma K...
8:00 PM on 06.03.2013 Custom Made Monday: It's a me, MarioWell, it's almost time for E3, so I guess Custom Made Monday ought to get with the times and showcase a little bit of gaming-themed customs. Of course, I say a little bit because there's others that draw their inspiration from movies, and yet others from food and piracy. Not the online kind. I'd suggest hopping past the jump to check them out ... because you really can't otherwise, can you?
1:00 PM on 06.01.2013 Hasbro reveals a bunch of Predacons Rising exclusivesHasbro appears to be acting uncharacteristically ambitious with their Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters exclusives this year. Last year it took a lot of fan outcry to get them to release a series of highly sought after exclus...
8:00 PM on 05.30.2013 Last look at figma Dead Master comes with a warningfigma blog posted a final gallery for their new Black Rock Shooter anime figma Dead Master for its release this week. There isn't a whole lot new to see here, though the figure definitely speaks for itself. There's a lot...
1:00 PM on 05.29.2013 New Transformers scans plus some info from Takara TomyUsually when we see our monthly magazine coverage we get some pictures and a little blurb about what we're seeing. This time around Figure Oh is featuring an article with Takara Tomy that reveals a few things about the design...
Facebook SharesFrom other sites around the web |