Review – Batman Unlimited “52” Batman

I haven’t had the greatest luck finding Mattel’s Batman Unlimited action figure series (Amazon.com search*) in Austin, but last week I found this 52 Batman in a Connecticut Target. Yeah, I had to go to a different part of the country to find an action figure.

I’m Glad I Found Him!

With as popular as Batman is I always figured he would be easy to find in stores, but Mattel’s DC Universe Classics, Batman Legacy, All Stars, and now Batman Unlimited action figure lines have never been all that simple to find in the Austin area, and Batman figures especially seem to be challenging to locate. So finding this toy (and two other Batman figures) in Connecticut and New Jersey was a real treat for me and I can say it’s these buys that finally pushed me into running a special Batman theme week.

A Leaner Batman

The 52 Batman action figure isn’t as thick or bulky as other Mattel Batman action figures I’ve reviewed (review list) and as Michael Crawford’s review of this figure points out this is simply a repaint of the All Stars Batman. But since I never bought that figure this is my first real look at the sculpt and I’ve gotta say it’s neat to have a thinner, still-fun Batman sculpt to display with the beefier Batman figures Mattel has produced.

Sculpt

Excellent! The symbol on the chest, detail lines extending from the symbol to the shoulders, and the gauntlets and boots are all fantastic and really make this a Batman action figure. As always the toy’s very muscled, and the head sculpt is everything I’ve grown to expect from Mattel’s Batman action figures. No complaints at all with the figure’s sculpting work.

Paint

The review at That Figures mentions that paint has been rough in this line, but as with the toy reviewed there mine turned out very nicely. There’s a smidge of black on the face and a few minor spots here and there, but overall the paint applications are just fine. And I love that slightly-silver color used for the bodysuit; and gloss on everything except the face was a nice touch.

Articulation

If you’ve ever held a DC Universe Classics action figure (Amazon.com search*) then you know what to expect, but for those of you unfamiliar with the line let’s take a quick run through:

• Head – A ball-jointed neck.
  
• Torso – Ab crunch joint and a swivel waist. For reasons I cannot explain the ab crunch on this particular figure works way better than I usually see; it’s tighter and holds poses quite well.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders, bicep swivel, hinged elbows, and swivel wrists.
  
• Legs – The standard — and still (to me) kinda weird — hips, swivel thighs, hinged knees, and hinged ankles.

Overall, Batman has plenty of articulation and all of the joints are tight and work great. The head may be slightly too tight, the cape restricts movement a little, but in general this is one of the better Mattel action figures I’ve seen at retail since not a single joint is floppy or too loose.

Closing Thoughts

As with Newt’s review at Infinite Hollywood I’m going to say that this is one of the best Mattel Batman action figures I have encountered in quite a while. The sculpt is great, I love the paint (especially that silver), and everything about the toy works perfectly. I wish he had an accessory or two, but even without those this is a Batman I’ll happily recommend to Batman fans. This shouldn’t be your only Batman action figure, but if you have a collection then this should definitely be in your display.