Review – Batman Unlimited “Arkham Origins” Batman

Mattel’s Batman Unlimited action figure series (Amazon.com search*) ranges from meh to wow, and this Arkham Origins Batman falls somewhere right in the middle of that spectrum. Awesome sculpt, but the articulation has enough issues that I cannot classify this as Mattel’s best Batman action figure ever. Hell, I wouldn’t even place this in the Top Five . . .

Articulation

I’ll just get this out of the way so we can move on with life. The Arkham Origins Batman figure has plenty of joints — see the review at onepercase.net — but it’s the way they all seem limited in range of motion that makes the joints less useful than you would expect. I think the issue is the bulky design of the suit; plastic meets plastic way too soon when you bend a leg or arm at a joint.

Now I’m maybe alone in being unhappy with the articulation. If you see the Dark Lord Dungeon review of the toy you’ll find:

“But really the joy comes when you find out just how high his articulation is . . .”

And there are a series of Dark Lord Dungeon review pics in the review to showcase the toy’s articulation, but in my opinion we’ve seen better Mattel Batman action figures before. I expect restricted and limited articulation with the more stylized and child-targeted figure designs, but for this continuation of the “Adult Collectible” DC Universe Classics line I have higher expectations for the articulation. Maybe I’m too picky.

Sculpt

One thing I love about the Batman Unlimited action figure series (Amazon.com search*) is that the toy’s look incredible. Just fantastic in most instances, with beautiful sculpts that bring the characters to life. And the Arkham Origins Batman does not disappoint in the sculpt department, with lots of little details that make the armor plates, face, and overall look of the toy as amazing as I expect from the series. Seriously, this is a beautiful-looking action figure!

Paint

As fantastic as the sculpt! I love the little silver rivet details that really pop, and the overall look of the toy is only improved by the high-quality paint apps. This Batman action figure is the complete opposite of the Beware the Batman figure (review here) when it comes to paint, and I think if you click on any one of these photos you’ll see that the sloppy spots are few and far between; great work for a mass market action figure! It helps that I love the colors of the basic character design, but to be fair the factory also put some serious effort into making this look great.

Closing Thoughts

Mattel’s Batman Unlimited action figure series (Amazon.com search*) was a great line for Batman fans. Several cool figures, including completely new sculpts, and this Arkham Origins Batman action figure was a great way for Mattel to start winding down all of their years of DC Universe Classics-style toys.

It’s not easy to find these days, but if you see this (or almost much any figure in the Batman Unlimited) line at retail I say grab it. I’m sure we haven’t seen the end of Batman action figures at retail, but as these get scarcer and scarcer the prices climb and this toy really makes a cool addition to any Batman action figure collection. That articulation is a bit annoying, but the look of the toy is too fun to ignore.