Figure Review: Modern Age Batman (Batman Legacy Edition)

As far as I know, the Batman Legacy Edition figures were launced sometime last year, so this figure's actually pretty recent. From what I've seen, the figures are based on -- visually speaking -- their comic book counterparts. I haven't bought any recent Batman figures at all even though I intended to. I went to a toy show in my area last weekend and picked up the Modern Age Batman figure since he was along the lines of what I was looking for.

To me, the Modern Age Batman is reminiscent of the look that Frank Miller and Jim Lee gave the character. As the storylines got dark and gritty, so did the look of the Dark Knight. When I hear the term "the Dark Knight, " I don't think of the '60s Adam West Batman, but rather the intimidating and brooding Batman. The Modern Age Batman is the Batman I'm most familiar with and I'm glad I have the opportunity to review the figure. Anyway...

Sculpting - 9/10

Modern Age Batman is, for the most part, a comic book accurate sculpt. All the details are there and nothing looks too big or too small. I like the fact that the gloves have that kind of rough leather texture near the thumbs and palms as well as on the boots. Gives kind of a neat effect when the figure is under light. The folds on the cape look great too.

Paint - 9/10

The paint on this figure doesn't look bland. That is due to the fact that on the gray part of the costume, the muscles look like rounded forms with the dark paint around them, which complements the light areas quite nicely. The same applies to the pockets on the figure's utility belt. My only problem -- which is a minor one -- is that on the figure's shorts, some of the black paint seems to have gone over the edges a bit, but it doesn't look too bad.

Articulation - 8/10

From what I gather, the figure has about twenty six points of articulation...

• rotating neck
• ball jointed shoulders
• rotating biceps
• hinged elbows
• rotating forearms
• hinged torso
• rotating waist
• ball jointed legs
• rotating thighs
• hinged knees
• hinged and swiveling ankles

For this particular figure, it's not expected that Mattel would go crazy with the articulation. With that in mind, I don't see myself trying to pose the figure in a variety of ways. The only problem is that the utility belt limits the waist and let movement, which means Batman can only really be posed with his left leg kicking if one wanted to pose the figure in that manner. Good luck trying to get him to stay in that pose without having him fall over, though.

Accessories - 3/10

Unfortunately, this figure lacks really any significant accessories. He comes with a display stand and a comic book cover poster (not pictured), but since his left hand looks like it's holding a batarang, it would've been nice if he came with a batarang or two or at least a seperate hand holding a batarang. From what I've seen, other figures in the line do come with accessories and I feel that Modern Age Batman got the short end of the stick.

Overall - 8/10

Other than the fact that the lack of accessories drags this figure down a bit, I'd still recommend picking it up. I've seen the figure on Amazon, but if you happen to hit up your local comics shop on a toy or comic convention, you'll probably spend $15 to $20 for it. Either way, this figure makes a great display piece and a nice addition to any Batman fan's collection.