The Dark Knight Movie Masters: Survival Suit Bruce Wayne Figure Review

From my previous purchases with MattyCollector.com, I've come to a sobering conclusion that anything I buy from them will yield nothing but lost cash and broken dreams.  Despite all this, I decided to purchase a few figures from them yet again to see if anything had improved.  From their available choices, I opted to purchase Survival Suit Bruce Wayne (it was made available for sale via MattyCollector.com on December 15, 2009 for public consumption).


The Good:

• Survival Suit Bruce Wayne has 19 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel upper arms, hinged elbows, swivel hands, ab-crunch joint, swivel waist, swivel/hinged legs, swivel thighs, hinged knees, and ball-jointed ankles.
  

• The belts and straps that make up Bruce's "survival suit" are detailed enough that it gives the illusion of a separate sculpt from the rest of the body (if you examine under the belt from the back of Bruce's torso around the waist, you'll see that a thin piece of black plastic is molded in-between the waist).

• The "ski mask" accessory actually fits Bruce's head.  When I first saw images of this on various toy websites, I was worried that the mask would make his head look bigger than the rest of his body.  It seems Mattel addressed this issue by making the "ski mask"of thin rubbery plastic that actually fits Bruce's head and doesn't make his head look big.

• Although the Bruce head sculpt has been re-used (it was first used for the Batman "Chase/Variant" unmasked figure) it accurately portrays a very concerned or very pissed off Christian Bale.  Just looking at this figure's face reminds me of Bale's rant on the "Terminator Salvation" set heard all over the news.
  

• We finally got a Survival Suit Bruce Wayne figure!  How about that?

The Bad:

• I haven't mentioned this before, but the package design (if you can call it that) is very boring.  The words "Dark Knight" and the bat symbol smashing through the top-center of the packaging is the only dynamic piece, everything else is plain.
  

• Let's talk about accessories.  Repeating the mistakes of the previous Movie Masters figures, Survival Suit Bruce Wayne comes with an over-sized accessory (which in this case is the "ski mask").  Despite the fact that the "ski mask" is made of pliable material, I doubt (and rather not risk) the over-sized accessory can fit on anyone of those larger figures, such as Hot Toys.  In a more brilliant move, this "MattyCollector exclusive" doesn't come with an "evidence baggie" as seen in the previous releases of their Movie Masters line.  The removable "ski mask" for Survival Suit Bruce Wayne is a nice touch, but it needs a little more, such as a few scaled-down batarangs that can fit in Bruce's pre-posed hands.

• Although the mask fits perfectly over Bruce's head due to the material used, it also attracts dust and all sorts of grime like a magnet.  The over-sized mask accessory also has the same "dirt attracting" problem.

• Despite the $5.00 decrease in overall price, $15.00 (not including S&H and taxes) is still too much.
  

• The paint application is all over on this figure.  Bruce's left eye has a bit too much white paint, which gives him a weird look that I really can't describe.  Also add a very visible dab of brown paint right next to his left eye.  Lots of black dots all over Bruce's left ear as well.  The paint applications on Bruce's "survival suit" (mainly the belts and straps) are carelessly applied: too much black paint, too little gold paint, etc.

• For some reason, there are specks of gold paint splattered all over the top of the over-sized mask accessory.
  

• Bruce's left wrist joint is stuck (my Batman Begins Movie Masters figure had the same exact problem with his right wrist and it broke off).  That is unacceptable.

• Bruce's swivel/hinged legs are way too loose for a new figure that's just been removed from its packaging.

• You'll notice that SS Bruce is leaning on his left foot.  This gives him the "hunched over" look.  This looks more like a design flaw than an intended sculpt because it makes Bruce Wayne look like... an over-roided Carrot Top.

• As you can see from the picture above, Mattel's quality control team is sleeping on the job (what is the Joker as Gotham City Thug doing on the back of the Survival Suit Bruce Wayne figure?).

The Ugly:

• I mentioned the $15.00 price-tag earlier, but I'll mention it here again.  If I'm expected to cough up that much cash, then the quality control and level of sculpt should match that price.  Who's ever heard of paying $15.00 for a mass-produced toy?  Mattel must be out of their minds.  There's no way of justifying the sale of an action figure of this quality for $15.00.  There's just no way.

Additional Notes:

• Survival Suit Bruce Wayne is noticeably shorter than both his unmasked (Dark Knight suit) and masked (Batman Begins suit) counterparts.
  

•  Although SS (Survival Suit) Bruce Wayne re-uses the same "unmasked" head sculpt as the chase/variant figure of the "Dark Knight," SS Bruce's face is noticeably less tan (or more pale), whichever way you look at it.

I purchased this figure online via MattyCollector for approximately $23.00 (price includes S&H and tax; I recommend purchasing more than one figure if you find something else you like mainly because it "justifies" the S&H costs).  I recommend waiting for these figures to be released at Toysrus around sometime in May 2010.


NOTE: I DO NOT REPRESENT MATTEL.  I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID TO MENTION THEIR NAME.

Because of the overwhelmingly negative aspects of this figure, this is a definite "pass" for me.  Paying approximately $23.00 for this sub-par figure is absolutely ridiculous.  For a toy line pretentiously named "Movie Masters," it has absolutely failed to live up to that name.  The high price and interestingly (and quite questionable) "kiddie" accessories (oh sorry, I meant accessory) makes this line a complete failure.

Score: (out of five)

The Dark Knight Movie Masters: The Joker as Gotham City Thug

Admittedly, I've come a bit late to the Movie Masters scene. However, there are perks to being late to the game. For instance, I managed to snag some great deals on most of the Dark Knight and Batman Begins figures. When I saw pictures of the upcoming prototypes of MattyCollector exclusives, I knew it had to be mine. Like most of you, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Dark Knight," but the bank robbery scene was one of the most memorable. Thankfully, Mattel has finally come to its senses (sorta, but more on that later) and decided to release the "Joker as Gotham City Thug" figure (this was made available for sale via MattyCollector.com on October 15, 2009) for public consumption.


The Good:

• Gotham City Thug Joker has 20 points of articulation: ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders, swivel upper arms, hinged elbows, swivel hands, ab-crunch joint, swivel hips, swivel/hinged legs, swivel thighs, hinged knees, and quasi-ball-jointed ankles.

• The details on Joker's shirt are AMAZING! The pattern of various shapes on Joker's shirt are done in a consistent manner. Even the buttons are sculpted as well! I also like how they enhanced the "grouchy" clown mask by adding "dirty" paint applications to it, as seen in the movie.

The Bad:

• Let's talk accessories. Like previous Movie Masters figures, Gotham City Thug Joker comes with one (lousy) accessory: the "grouchy" clown mask that Joker wore while robbing a mafia-run bank. This mask is particularly useless because it isn't scaled to fit anything. To further add insult to injury, this mask accessory doesn't even come with a "evidence baggie"! Also the over-sized mask seems a bit wider than the previously released mask (found with the Gotham City Thug figure). More useful accessories that would've improved the overall figure include: a blue duffel bag, a weapon for Joker to use menacingly, or even an alternative "unmasked" Joker head!

• This also pertains to "accessories," but why on Earth are Joker's hands sculpted to hold something? Is he supposed to hold two imaginary guns to scare everyday civilians into giving up their hard-earned cash? I just don't get it.
  

• The $28 price tag is too much. Although the Four Horsemen sculpts are amazing, the $28 is a whole lot of cash for not a lot of thoughtful packaging and product. I was quite underwhelmed when I viewed photos posted on a toy forum. The packaging looked... empty. It was as if something was missing. I can tell you that my $28 is what's missing. That and Mattel's common sense.

• (At least on my figure) Joker's right eye is kind of missing. Or maybe it was deliberate to make it look like Joker's right eye is glimmering. Yeah, like I'll believe that one.

• There's some stray paint here and there. Joker's got some blue dots on his mask's lips. There's also some missing paint where Joker's green hair and his white clown mask meet. (I apologize if I sound like I'm nitpicking, but for $28, my figure better be near damn perfect).

The Ugly:

• I mentioned the $28 price-tag in the "bad" section, but the more I think about it, the uglier it gets. There's no way of justifying the sale of an action figure of this quality for $28. There's just no way. Unfortunately, I'm a toy collector and toy reviewer, so there you have it. Yes, I got screwed.

Additional Notes:

• Gotham City Thug Joker uses the same parts as the previously released Gotham City Thug: hands (Joker's gloved hands don't have his knuckles painted), body/coat, pants, and shoes (Joker's shoes have a different paint scheme).

I purchased this figure online via MattyCollector for approximately $28.00 (price includes S&H and tax; I recommend purchasing more than one figure if you find something else you like mainly because it justifies the S&H costs). I don't recommend searching through eBay for this because these price-gougers are (excuse my language) bat-shit crazy selling these figures with prices ranging from $35 to $65 a piece. Cut out the middle-man and buy it yourself, or if you're lucky enough have another trustworthy collector purchase one for you.

NOTE: I DO NOT REPRESENT MATTEL OR eBAY. I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID TO MENTION THEIR NAMES.


Overall, this is just an "okay" figure. We've already been bombarded with leftover Movie Masters figures at mass-market retailers as well as online stores. The $28 price tag by itself is a major turn-off (no surprise there). Also the constant lack of useful accessories continues to hurt this line. What can a collector do with a non-scale clown mask? Why are Joker's hands sculpted as if they're supposed to hold something? Mattel could've included a weapon, a blue duffel bag, even an alternative unmasked Joker head! But nah... Mattel continues to insist upon their ways. I was under the impression that "Movie Masters" was for [serious] collectors (adult collectors), but with these constant stupid accessories, I may have been mistaken.