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| image courtesy Warner Bros. |
Back in December, McFarlane Toys released a promotional image of their upcoming Batman Beyond figure for their DC Multiverse line. I had expressed hope at the time they'd make more from that spin-off series with further hope of some villains. This week, Todd himself released a video on his Facebook page announcing just that, with a couple twists in the usual release format.
First off, the Collect-to-Build figure will be Joker-Bot. This two-sided head can swap between Batman and Joker faces with a modified Bat-suit body, a Borg-like arm, and massive skeletal metal wings. The parts for this will be spread across four figure releases but not arrive at the same time or in the same case assortment. Instead, these are on a scheduled release spanning every other month from April to October of this year. The April release is Batman Beyond and in the video, it's shown already in package with the accessories and Joker-Bot torso. Extra hands, two Batarangs, and stand all seem to be present, the blast effects for the boots may be below the packaging panel.
Shriek is next with June release window. First appearing in the Batman Beyond cartoon series, this villain uses an offensive sound-wave suit to disorient and attack but at the end of their debut episode, is rendered deaf due to an accident with said suit. The myopic and sleek design in black and white really pops here and is one of Batman Beyond's' more iconic baddies. In August, Batwoman Beyond should be available and this seems to be right from the comic continuity. Touting poseable wings for the figure, not much else was shown for accessories but the sculpt and paint look spot-on. Lastly, Blight will arrive in October with the remaining parts of the Joker-bot figure. This translucent terror plagues Batman and Neo Gotham with his criminal enterprises. No prototype was shown but McFarlane claimed the design will be based on the armored look from the comics.
Overall, this experiment in releasing figures individually will be interesting to monitor. We will see if it helps collectors and fans get the figures they want without the case assortment short-pack issues and shelf-warming.
-SC