Many people who don’t like superhero comics often give the argument that comic books contain nothing but mindless action and are geared towards people too dumb to appreciate more thoughtful literature. These people clearly have not read Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns. This classic graphic novel, which tells of an aged Bruce Wayne coming out of retirement for one last battle, is considered not only the greatest comic book in history, but one of the great literary masterpieces of the twentieth century. Funko recently adapted this story into a series of Pop Vinyls, and while not all of them have been released yet, the series has definitely started on a high note with this Armored Batman figure, based on the suit Bruce wears to battle Superman in the climax of the story.
This figure is extremely accurate to its source material, with the blue cape, stocky build, and angry expression that characterized Miller’s iteration of Batman. TDKR also sees the introduction of lots of cool bat-gadgets, and this Pop features the kryptonite gun which became so iconic that it was even adapted into the blockbuster Batman v Superman in March. Whenever I start to think that Funko doesn’t make enough figures based on comics as opposed to comic book movies, it’s really nice to see a figure like this that represents the comic book world so well.
The detail of the figure was great, including small ridges on the armor and clearly-defined flaps on each compartment of the utility belt. The wrinkling around the mouth area was very subtle and realistic, without getting overly thick and clumsy-looking.
I feel obligated to come up with some constructive criticism, but it’s pretty difficult to find anything wrong with this awesome Pop, so please pardon my flimsy excuse of a complaint: the paint around the belt has some patches where the yellow and gray bleed into areas they shouldn’t (but it’s not really substantial enough to notice or ruin the appearance of the figure). I’m giving this one a grade of 9.5/10 because it has the perfect balance of amazing design and respect to the comics, just like the Killing Joke Pop I reviewed last week.
I’m going to continue my pattern of letting the readers choose what they want to see reviewed, so for next week your options are two new figures, Doctor Strange and White Canary. Cast your votes in the comments!
Matt Norris