Review – Batman: Witch Hunter

Released back in 2011 (first mentioned here), this DC Direct Batman action figure was priced so low that I just had to give it a try. I haven’t been all that favorable when it comes to DC Direct/DC Collectibles action figures in the past — Mister Freeze review, Flashpoint Batman review, Black Lantern Superman review — but this sculpt was so neat that at under $10 I had to grab it.

Gorgeous Sculpt!

The Witch Hunter Batman* action figure has looked fairly neat from Day One, if only because this “Solomon Wayne” is heavily inspired by Robert E. Howard’s Solomon Kane as he is often illustrated these days. Also referred to as “Puritan Batman,” the figure’s clothing, cloak, and all of the accessories decorating the costume are fun to look over and my only real complaint with the sculpt is the face doesn’t look quite chiseled and tough enough for the character.

I especially love the soft plastic cloak and how the “fabric” covers the shoulders; that entire piece — especially when combined with the soft plastic lower portions of the jacket — gives the design a lot of depth and makes a good sculpt into a great semi-poseable collectible. Semi-poseable? Yes. It seems that Witch Hunter Batman* suffers from the DC Direct curse of limited and questionable articulation.

Articulation

One of these days I need to write my thoughts on the different articulation needs for childrens’ action figures vs the articulation needs for collectors’ shelves. The two are very different beasts, and since this Witch Hunter Batman* is definitely aimed at collectors I’ll say the articulation fails. And it’s not even the number of points of articulation; no, it’s more the exact articulation of the joints that is the problem.

• Head – A ball-jointed neck should be just fine, but that awesome cloak really keeps the head from looking up much at all.
  
• Torso – No articulation at all. A simple waist swivel would have been appreciated.
  
• Arms – Swivel-hinge shoulders and a swivel where the gauntlets meet the arms covers all of the arm articulation. No other arm joints.
  
• Legs – The hips and boots are swivel joints. That’s it. No other leg joints at all.

That’s not quite enough articulation to really get the Witch Hunter Batman* action figure into many different poses. And what’s worse is the shoulder portions of that cloak — and the soft plastic lower portion of the jacket — obstruct what little articulation there is.

Paint

Fortunately, just as with the sculpt the Witch Hunter Batman* action figure’s paint work is excellent. Click the various photos here to enlarge them for a look at the paint details. Some drybrush would on the figure would have made it even cooler, but the paint’s clean and helps the toy look great. I may be unhappy with the articulation, but in a display of Batman action figures this one really adds to the overall look of the shelf.

Closing Thoughts

This Witch Hunter Batman* action figure looks great, but the articulation — plus the fact that you must use the stand to keep the toy upright — make me unable to recommend this to anyone. A Batman fan looking for a great design for a display case may want this if he already has several Batman action figures, but if you only have a small collection you should pass on this. There are lots of choices when it comes to Batman action figures so go with a great toy long before you choose this attractive and semi-poseable design.