DC Multiverse White Knight Wave - Batman, Joker, Azrael Gallery - The Toyark

McFarlane Toys have been pushing on with the DC license since they took over earlier this year. Round 1 gave us a taste of everything – modern comics, animated and TV. Later in the year we got two Wonder Woman pieces from the upcoming WW84. Today we are looking at their latest offering – figures based on the DC Comics Batman: White Knight mini-series. This is a DC Black Label story out of the main continuity, which has the Joker being “cured” and becoming Gotham’s savior, while Batman becomes it’s villain. The art has it’s own unique style, and these figures are very faithful to that look. To the casual fan who just wants a standard “works for everything” Batman – this isn’t it, on purpose. If you know the source material – it is dead on. Read on to check out our pics of the figures and some additional thoughts, courtesy of McFarlane Toys!

McFarlane Toys DC Multiverse Batman: White Knight Batman, Jack Napier / Joker, Azrael

Overall Thoughts

So, when I first saw these I was like – huh? I try to stay up on DC as it’s my preferred comic universe – but this series slipped under my radar. When the toys came in I picked up the graphic novel and did some research, and it turned out to be really good. The figures are very faithful to those books. There is a second mini series in the same universe called Curse of the White Knight – and that is where Azrael is from. The trade for that drops later this year.

On to the figures – they are legit great. Aside from the style – that may not be for everyone. But functionally as action figures – on point. Batman has great sculpt head to toe, it’s sharp. Matte paint is present throughout, applied clean. Articulation hits all the key points, except for the elbows. Those are single jointed. I do not understand – perfect in every other location including well done knees, but they skip out on the elbows. Here is a note for any devs reading – we don’t care if it breaks up the look. Functionality > form. Just do your best to streamline it, and we can overlook breaks in the silhouette. Back to the positive – Batman’s ab crunch is what we need from McFarlane going forward. It has the ball joint, moves around, but is streamlined to the lower torso, no significant gaps like on Batman/Superman 1000 from wave 1. Aim for this, and no complaints here. Bottom line, after being in hand, it’s one of my favorite Batman figures to date. I would love a standard Batman – Rebirth/modern style in a traditional suit, executed this cleanly.

Joker – same deal. Less exciting, because the Jack Napier head on a swat uniform body is kinda generic. It’s great if you know the story, but otherwise it’s whatevz. The Joker head is a bit cartoony, bright colors, and in story it wasn’t present as much as normal Jack. The engineering however – top notch. This thing hits every single point of articulation with flying colors, has a soft rubber torso that allows bending and rotation, all while keeping it streamlined and using matte paint head to toe. Really solid figure. Again, shoot for this method going forward and McFarlane DC is gonna be great.

Azrael – from the preview art he also looks very faithful. This is a modern version of his first appearance look. In the Curse of the White Knight mini series, he does also suit up in a Blue / Yellow armor as well, which I think a lot of fans know and prefer, so hopefully we get that down the road. Articulation wise – again great. He’s got a beefy stance and mold like a Hulk would, so range is a bit limited but normal for the type of build he is. The paint is great, varied across the figure with a good amount of wash. The hood and “cape” are rubber so they move around with posing. The best part is the flame effect on the sword, really well done, and removable.

So yeah, I dig the wave! Execution wise as figures, a big step up from round 1. It’s diving deeper into DC comics lore, not just current movie or hot thing, which is good. Yes, it’s more Batman, the McFarlane DC Multiverse so far has been really heavy on Batman. I get that, and hope it diversifies down the road too. Waves like this – unique modern takes on other characters, artists and stories would be perfect – Flash, Superman, Green Lantern, Titans, etc. It’s got the vibe from DC Collectibles Designer Series, but at mass retail, and I dig that. Hopefully we can get that applied broader down the road. Dark Knights Metal is in upcoming and hopefully we get some Death Metal stuff too, as that has the whole DCU in crazy alt looks.

Pick these up if you dig the look, they are hitting stores now! Check out our shots, 50+ below!