Hot Toys - DX12 - The Dark Knight Rises - Batman
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The premier review of dontbegaunted.com!
​​​​​​​​​​ The Hot Toys DX12 The Dark Knight Rises: Batman
I have been waiting too long for this figure to arrive, and the excitement just kept building up until the moment the box was in my hands.
This figure does NOT disappoint.
I've seen the complaints on forums and in some reviews, I do agree with some of them, but when it comes down to the definitive piece for your collection.. this has to be it.​
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All ratings are out of 5, click on images to enlarge. Click the arrows beside the thumbnails to see more in that category(when applicable).
​Packaging & Presentation - * * * * ​
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​​ When it comes to this category, Hot Toys never disappoints. The perfect combination of subtle, creative and protective.
The DX12 box has "The Dark Knight Rises" cracking logo in the centre. When you flip it open you are met with the blueprints for the Bat. When you move that panel you have your Batman figure and accessories. And below that layer, the base, cape, and instructions.
Sculpt - * * * * ​
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​​I've heard people complain that the head is too wide, gauntlets too big, shoulder pads too long… Space between the abs and chest is off... etc etc… And for a collectible in the $260 range they have a right to complain about these things.
In the case of the DX12… I can SEE these issues, but in all honesty, this thing looks PERFECT on display.
The head looks fat if you light it a certain way in photos, but it looks normal to me in regular light.
The shoulder pads… gauntlets… really not a problem.
The gap between the abs can get annoying but you can fix that if you wiggle it around a bit.
I think the Batman head sculpt is great, not perfect, but certainly the best you'll find. The mouths have great sculpts but I can't get around the smirking mouth… I don't know why it exists, I'm not sure we've ever seen Batman smirk and to be honest... it just looks... perverted to me.
The Christian Bale head sculpt is very well done as well and the figure looks excellent with the Bale headsculpt.
The PERS system is easily accessible and is great to have on the figure, though it does get wonky eyed in some positions.
The figure is approximately 32 cm tall and has 32 points of articulation
Paint Application - * * * * .5​
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​​ I want to say… flawless.
The flat black… I can't imagine them messing up, but the flesh tones on the mouths and on the Christian Bale headsculpt are eerily human. The hair on Bale can use a few more tones to liven it up, though.
While playing around with the PERS system I noticed that if you move the eyes too far to the left or right, they actually have veins painted on them… insane. Completely unnecessary yet an amazing detail to include. Details like this blow my mind.
Articulation - * * * * .5
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​​ Hot Toys took a pretty big jump when it comes to how they make their costumes for this one.
All the other Batman figures they've made have had a one piece rubber-ish material which limited the articulation of the figures and also had some sort of oily leaking problem.
The way they've made the costume now improves the articulation of the figure drastically, although you may still have problems with crouching positions or bending the knees/legs/abdomen, it is still a significant improvement and gives you a range of poses you may not have been able to pull off with the DX02.
When comparing it to the MMS71 I noticed that the MMS71 has a wider range of motion in the legs, where as the DX12 can not crouch or sit if you wanted him to, whereas the MMS71 can. ​
Accessories - * * * * ​
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​​Per Manufacturer:
- Two (2) interchangeable heads including:
- One (1) Batman head with patented Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS) and three (3) interchangeable lower part of faces capturing his classic facial expressions
- One (1) newly developed head sculpt of Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in the movie with accurate facial expression, detailed wrinkles and skin texture
- Three (3) pairs of interchangeable gloved palms including:
One (1) pair of fists
One (1) pair of relaxed palms
One (1) left open palm
One (1) right palm for holding batarang
- Two (2) interchangeable belts including one (1) detailed utility belt with cell phone and accessories and one (1) magnet featured utility belt attaching to the sticky bomb gun
- One (1) grapnel gun
- One (1) transformable sticky bomb gun
- One (1) light-up electronic gun
- Two (2) batarangs
- Two (2) mini mines
- One (1) adaptor for connecting Batman and Batpod
- One (1) deluxe stone-like light-up figure stand with steps, Batman/ Bruce Wayne nameplate and the movie logo
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The hands and accessories really give you all the options you need.
- The batarang and mini mines are nicely detailed.
- The grapnel gun is improved, the top portion can spring front and back like a pistol would.
- I'll admit the light up electronic gun looked cooler on the prototype, as each individual light appeared to light itself, but the final product has one light at the top that seems to make it appear like all the other lights are lit up.
- The transformable sticky bomb gun is fantastic, really cool that it can be added on to one of the utility belts.
- The newly developed utility belt is a thing of beauty and likely the one that will be put on display for most collectors.
- The detail on the base is great, you may even try blowing off some of the painting on snow. Great addition.
- The mouths I covered in the paint application, but again, greatly detailed, but the perverted smirk was unnecessary.
I'm giving this product a 4/5 because although it comes with a variety of accessories, it still feels like it's missing something, notably; a hollow cowl.
Costume / Wardrobe - * * * * .5​
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​​Flawless.
For me, anyway.
The mixed fabric/plastic suit makes for more of a lifelike costume that looks amazing on display. The details are amazing and it doubles as a more functional figure for posing and displaying.
I strongly dislike visible joints and figures like this are right up my alley. I love when you can't tell in a photo whether you are looking at a person or a toy and this one can certainly sell that "human" vibe with the costume.
The one real flaw about this costume is the cape.
It looks really cheap on, a bit too bulky on the shoulder and then too paperlike throughout. The stitching in the shoulder area is sloppy. I have purchased a custom made cape from an ebay seller ( lforigno ) for display purposes, and it's MUCH more presentable. (Pictures of DX12 Batman with lforigno cape are below next to Fun Factor)
Notable Cons
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- Wonky eyes. When adjusting the PERS the eyes don't always match up to where you want them to be.
- Cape. Cheapens the figure as a whole, for the price these are listed they should come with a quality cape like the custom made ones you can find online.
- Limited articulation waist down. I wanted a noticeably tired, crouching position for Batman's fighting stance but it was a challenge to get him to bend too much in that area, and there's a risk of tearing the suit (mentions in the instructions)
Fun Factor - * * * * .5​
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Too much.
The use of articulation combined with the assortment of accessories makes for a great time. This is one of few figures I own where I've kept some accessories near the figure on display because I plan on changing up the pose frequently. For example, the Keaton Batman (DX09) has a plethora of accessories, yet all of them remain in the box because it doesn't really pose well due to the limited articulation. That said, I planned on having him standing statuesque regardless so it wasn't a dealbreaker for me. I wanted him looking more iconic and less in motion. I digress….
DX12, fantastic.
Price Point - * * * ​
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​​I've seen this figure listed from $249 - $299.
I'm not a fan of the price, but I understand that a lot of that may be attributed to the effort put into the costume, the base, and the detailed accessories. It's worth the $250, but for that amount of money, they could have added a hollow cowl and put more effort into the cape which cheapens the whole product.
Overall - * * * * .5​
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​​- In the beginning of this review I called it the DEFINITIVE Nolan Batman figure. I stand by that comment. If you own the DX02 you are likely content, but if you're still shopping around for your Dark Knight Batman figure, this is the one you've been waiting for.
Summary
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Packaging & Presentation - 4/5​
Sculpt - 4/5​
Paint Application - 4.5/5
Articulation - 3.5/5​
Accessories - 4/5 ​
Costume/Wardrobe - 4.5/5
Fun Factor - 4.5/5 ​
Price Point - 3/5
Overall - 4.5/5 ​