#1 by Wes Grogan DC Direct Hush Batman

I like Batman a lot. I really do. Why? He's badass, of course. Superman isn't anything special. He has all of these powers, is invulnerable, and almost never gets his butt handed to him. Batman? The dude was crazy enough to punch Orion AND Darkseid. And he's just a basic human with serious psychological issues. His issues have issues with his issues. So, that means that I've been on the hunt for my first solid Batman figure. I got the DC Universe Classic Batman (Gray and Black All-Stars version, though really they're all the same except for paint) and I was really disappointed with it overall. That's why I was so happy to discover this Batman at the flea market at went to this morning, and couldn't resist the chance to snap it up!

I've got to say first off, it's a good thing that I'm not reviewing this over at my site, isitfun.net because he would not make the grade based on the packaging alone! I understand that twistie ties are going to be a big part of the toy experience. For the most part, I understand that necessity. But when I opened up the box, thinking how nice it was to be able to open the flap rather than have to tear through cardboard and plastic, was I in for a surprise! Not only was everything twistie tied, but the twistie ties themselves were taped over on the back! If I hadn't stopped chewing my fingernails a while back, this could have been disastrous! Luckily, I was able to dig through it, utterly and completely ruining the package in the process. But out of the experience, I managed to get a Batman, a stand, and an extra hand/forearm. And I hope to never, ever see taped over twistie ties again. Seriously, what was the point of doing it like that??

Thankfully, though, the figure itself is absolutely amazing. The articulation isn't exactly breaking new ground, as obvious inclusions like a cut waist are missed altogether, but the sculpting is really, really impressive. The lines are smooth and clean, and the muscles are present without being overly defined, making it look like he's actually wearing clothing instead of just having a gray color painted on. His bat symbol is sculpted, his pouches are present and well defined, and his boots and gloves have all of the required sculpted elements. After so many DC Universe Classics figures, it's refreshing to see something completely new! He also has a removable hand, which comes with a fist attached. This can be replaced with a fist holding the iconic grappling gun (Thanks, Batman: The Animated Series!) which, for me, is the preferred look. Raise the arm up, adjust his ball jointed head, and you get a fantastic look.

This being Toy a Day, I've got to do a comparison, so I decided to compare this Batman to the DC Universe Classics Batman by Mattel. There really is no comparison, though. The DCUC Batman might be able to move more, but his paint is terrible and the joints have more issues. But really, it comes down to two things: The base and the cape. The base that this Batman came with is designed with the classic Bat logo with lettering, while the DCUC just came with a blue, translucent oval. And then the capes: Someone tell me why we're aren't getting this kind of cape with all of the DCUC figures? The Hush Batman comes with a very light rubber that is sculpted into the classic bat cape form, while the DCUC Batman has a very heavy rubber cape that has no flexibility at all. The CLEAR winner is the Hush Batman, primarily because of that incredibly awesome cape. Seriously, why the hell aren't we getting these capes all the time?? Overall,, great figure, terrible packaging, world record holding cape.

Wesley Grogan, formerly known by the online pseudonym Garp, has his own review site at Is It Fun.net.  He also contributes to a variety of other review sites.  This is his first review for Toy a Day.