Batman v Superman merchandise is hitting retail now. I found the basic assortment of action figures at Target today and picked up the
Battle Armor Batman figure!
No matter what comes of the movie itself, this Batman action figure is a pretty faithful representation of Batman in The Dark Knight Returns, when he armors up to battle (distract) Superman. No matter what you think of Batfleck now or after you see the movie, I think fans of TDKR will still be very pleased with the visual aesthetic of this figure and will find it hard to resist.
This Battle Armor Batman is from the basic 6" line. There is also a Movie Masters line ala DCUC which includes Battle Armor Batman with more articulation and a grapple-gun BAF piece. Figures in that series run around twenty bucks each. I haven't seen them in person yet, but
She's Fantastic has Wonder Woman already!
Target is charging $9.99 for this standard series, which seems fair nowadays. Iron Batfleck isn't very articulated (single hinged elbows, knees, hips, shoulders, wrists and a ball-jointed head) but he does come with an accessory - which would be ridiculous since it's a gun...unless it's a sonic blaster like in The Dark Knight Returns!
Or maybe it's a rocket launcher. Or a marital aid. Time will reveal what it does in the movie, but if you are a fan of TDKR all you need is a little imagination to see it as a sonic blaster. Or you can toss it because Batman doesn't use guns. Whatever floats your boat.
Batman's cape is vinyl - I would have preferred cloth, but the cape does remind me of the original Kenner Darth Vader's vinyl cape, so it wins point in the nostalgia category. Just be careful taking Batman out of his packaging; I cut the plastic away from his cape and freed him without pulling on the cape to avoid damaging it.
There is very little by way of paint on this Batman figure. His armor is all cast in metallic plastic. His eyes, face, and belt are the only parts with any paint. basic, but effective.
This wave also includes a standard Batman, a standard Superman, a kryptonite gloved Batman, and not shown on this cardback the wave also includes a Superman variant (which I don't recall the name of) and a standard Wonder Woman and Aquaman.
Sadly Wonder Woman was not there when I found Batman. Aquaman was there, but I wasn't terribly impressed by him. He didn't look like Momoa at all. But seeing him was still better than seeing another Supes or Bat variant!
Batman is covered in sculpted details. this figure really is a thing of beauty, and his appearance as such in the film a testament to Batman v Superman's comic book faithfulness (visually speaking, at least.)
Batman's boots are even spiked like in the comic book, for Superman-face-stompin' fun!
Battle Armor Batman really is a great looking figure. If you are unsure as to how deep you plan to wade into the Batman v Superman pool, I suggest you start with this basic version. He's simple, relatively inexpensive, and doesn't come with some massive neon-tinged movie-inaccurate accessory.
Might I add that it's kind of amazing that this figure does not include a bat-symbol. I mean sure, the comic version of this costume (as well as the film version) do not include a bat-symbol either, but it's pretty rare for a basic line Batman to not include a bat-symbol, regardless of film-accuracy. Someone in Marketing probably jumped out a window when they decided not to add one.
