Package contents: Action Cape Batman, cape mechanism, Batarang & instruction sheet.

Mattel have produced the toyline for the recent Batman Begins movie. While the majority of their action figures were 5½ inches, they produced one 14 inch figure. With (at my count) 30 points of articulation, this is one of the most jointed Batman figures out there. There are a couple of issues with his joints, but on the whole they are well designed and aren't overly obtrusive, although a couple are redundant, (why does he have 2 different ankle swivels?). Also I believe this figure has been rotocast (ie, ie hollow) so its very light for its size, and while this figure appears very similar to the smaller Batman Begins figures, this larger figure is much more detailed, from the armour to his utility belt. (It doesn't quite look like Christian Bale though!) The plastic this figure is amde of is quite smooth and shiny, it would have been nice to see this figure in the same matte rubber finish Mattels 5½ inch collector figure.

The main gimmick for this action figure is his cape, and what a feature! Most Batman toys have capes that appear to be after thoughts, just little bits of cloth attached to his back. Action Cape Batman on the other hand has an extremaly well thought out cape. Normally his cape is attached to his back, with a sprung loaded mechanism attached as well. This mechanism sits attached to his back, holding the cape edges in position and when activated it springs open and outward, simulating Batman's glider cape in the movie. In the open position the pinions can be rotated around, enabling the cape to be able to sweep backward, the fact that this rotation is allowed is a nice touch. When collapsed the mechanism tries look innocuous but is quite visible, but the whole mechanism is fully and easily removable. Once off, Batman enters a whole new dimension.

Batman's cape has always been an integral part of Batmans suit, the comparison figure in the first picture (5 ½ inch Batman Begins collector Edition figure) is the only other Batman Begins figure with a decent cape, but while the smaller figure has wires inserted into the cape, the Action Cape can be completely free, allowing it to be much more dynamic, and the extra material allows for for very dynamic poses. One thing I should mention, although the cape mechanism is removable, its not mentioned on the box at all. The fact that the sprung loaded mechanism is removable is documented in the instruction sheet, but because of the lack of packaging information I almost didn't get this toy, I had to rely word of mouth that the cape could be free to find this out before I bought it.

While this figure is the most articulated Batman figure to yet come out it's not perfect. His elbow and knee joints are single jointed and can only bend up to 90 degrees, perhaps would have been better if these joints were double jointed. Also, his shoulders have quite limited movement, an extra swivel joint in his shoulders would improve movement immensely. Batmans torso can only turn around at the waist, the fact that he cannot bend his torso at any point does limit his posability. Its always a tough decision to balance articulation versus aesthetics, some other super articulated figures out there look a total mess, but the larger scale of this figure should have allowed better articulation (in my opinion).

Action Cape Batman has only one other accessory, his Batarang. To be honest, at the price point this was being sold at, I would have expected more than one accessory. While I understand that the detailing and scuplt of this figure is very good, I would still have expected more accessories. For instance I would have liked to have seen Batarangs (plural), his rappel gun (which could have a magnet to clip onto his belt, like in the movie) communicator and mines all able to be stored on his utility belt.

I mention some of these because the Japanese Takara Microman figure from Batman Begins has a slew of accessories, and while I understand that the Takara figure is a lot smaller, I've still been spoiled by them. What gets me, is that a lot of these accessories could have been simply taken from the accessorie of Mattels 5½ inch line, at no extra development cost.

There are a few other Batman figures out there, the most expensive figure is the Japanese collectors figure from Medicom, around £100. Also availible are DC Directs deluxe figure, and as previously mentioned Takara's Batman. Mattel also have a slew of other toy figures as well as a special Batman Begins Collector figure.

In closing, this figure is a good figure, its sturdy, fun, and makes a great toy, but I've marked it as average because at £20 I think its too pricey for what you get. If you can find it at marked down, change the score to 4 out of 5. So if you can find an Action Cape Batman for cheap, it's well worth considering. .