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Batman vs The Joker: After being framed, Batman is forced into an uneasy partnership with The Clown Prince of Crime!

At long last, Mattel has given us some DC Comics heroes to mingle, mix, and match up with and against Hasbro’s Marvel Super Hero Squad!  From the hit cartoon on Cartoon Network, comes Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Action League!

Action League…Pint-Sized Power!

Product Line: Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Action League
Series: Wave 3
Company: Mattel
Release Date: November 2009
Packaging: Blister Card Packaging
Where to Buy: Pretty much any retail store with a toy department.
Price: US $6.97 (Wal-Mart)
Points of Articulation: 3 for each figure.
Height: 3 inches each.
Paint Job: Both Batman and The Joker feature excellent paint jobs.  This Batman is one of the “regular” costumed figures.  He is in his blue and gray costume with the black Bat Logo circled in yellow.  He’s also sporting black underwears with his classic yellow utility belt.  No colors are bleeding to where they shouldn’t be and his trademark DC animation square-jawed face is a good flesh tone.  All the paint on Batman is in a flat finish.

The Joker is featured in a purple suit and green shirt.  He’s got some spiffy, glossy black shoes.  The flower on his lapel is spot-on perfect.  His red smile bleeds just a tiny bit on the white face, but you have to be looking really hard to notice.  He’s got a little funky green highlight in his black hair.  This Joker is well tailored and well painted.

Durability: These arch-rivals are both built solidly with no hollow parts.  Batman has a thin, molded plastic cape.  Each of their points of articulation move flawlessly, except for Joker.  His molded plastic jacket tails keep him from turning to the right at the waist.

Poseability: Both of these figures, like the Marvel Super Hero Squad figures, come already posed in action.  You can move their arms and waist, but that is about it for posing.  Batman is rendered in somewhat of a walking pose.  His balance is ABSOLUTLEY TERRIBLE!  Nintey-eight percent of the time, Batman is falling down!  The remaining two percent of the time, if your hand is perfectly steady, you can get him to stand up.  But overall, I think his pose is meant to be in a push-ups position.  He can’t stand up for NOTHING!

The Joker, however, maintains perfect balance no matter what you do to him.  He comes ready, gripping a big green mallet.  The mallet has a goofy grin and the handle is the nose.  Mallet up, mallet down, mallet flipped all the way around, the Joker stands tall through it all!

What’s Awesome: The fact that this Action League series of action figures matches the price and height of the Marvel Super Hero Squad, is down right awesome!  That gives way to all kinds of nerdgasmic crossover team-ups and showdowns.  What I like about this particular two-pack, is the Joker figure.  He is well painted and with his big green mallet, he can easily kick this Batman’s ass!  He also is the perfect size and in the right pose to be handsomely displayed anywhere as a treasure of your geekness!

What Sucks:

Overall (Part 1): Batman: 1 out of 5.  I give this incarnation of Batman one thumb up.  Actually…it’s not a thumb.  It’s the middle finger.  I give this Batman the bird!  He looks good.  I mean, he really does look nice!  His appearance and occasionally being able to stand up, save him from the goose egg.

Overall (Part 2): The Joker: 5 out of 5.  I give this Joker five thumbs up because I can find no fault in him whatsoever!  He’s just awesome!  This one is the best Joker action figure I have ever seen available in a retail store!

So there you have it, Comic Attackers!  This installment of Gotta Have It!  Figure Edition, features the highest (tied with Nightwing-in-the-box) and lowest scores I have ever awarded.  Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Action League: Batman VS The Joker.  Gotta have it?  Yes!  Keep the Joker for yourself and trade the Batman to the neighbor kid for his color-changing Zartan!

Until next week, I leave you with a parting gift.  The fruit of my frustrations. Behold: WhackABat! (<— CLICK ME!)

Aron White
aron@comicattack.net