McFarlane Toys is once again mining the madness that is the Dark Nights storyline from DC Entertainment and creating some of the most metal versions of their iconic characters. The most recent wave focused on the penultimate series, Dark Nights Death Metal, which built on what came before it in Dark Nights Metal, the Infected, and Scott Snyder’s run on Justice League.
In Dark Nights: Death Metal, the heroes had lost the war against the Batman Who Laughs and Perpetua, an ancient god who was inadvertently freed after the end of Dark Nights: Metal. The universe is remade by the Batman Who Laughs’ twisted whims, with most of the heroes imprisoned. Some, like Wonder Woman, reluctantly serve him in order to protect their friends and homes. Wonder Woman has a plan, though, and along with Batman, Superman and a few other heroes, they fight to stop the Darkest Knight and restore the multiverse before it is too late.
The first figure we will look at is the Batman. This is the second figure of Batman in his Death Metal outfit (he came with a scythe and was released at the same time as the Death Metal Batcycle.) Like that figure, Batman is wearing a black trench coat with spikes on it. Underneath he is in his Batsuit, with a belt with chains on it. He has spiked gauntlets and, if you look at his left hand, he is wearing a Black Lantern ring, which is uses to raise an army of dead heroes. For accessories, he has a stand and a electric guitar, which looks like it is Plastic-Man in disguise. I believe this was from one of the variant covers.
Next we had the Robin King. This is a version of Bruce Wayne that killed his parents himself, then went of to kill all the heroes of his world. He was recruited by the Darkest Knight and turned into one of his Groblins, but managed to retain his independence. Robin King is in a black Robin costume, with red and yellow accents. He wears a thorny crown and a fur collared yellow cape. His face is chalk white with black lips, a result of the Groblin conversion. Lastly he has green gauntlets and a utility belt, in which he keeps his deadly weapons. His only accessories are a pair of fists and a stand.
Next we have Superman. Separated from the other heroes after being captured, Superman was held in a solar prison on New Apokalips and tortured by the Dark Father. The figure has Superman with long hair and red eyes. His right arm is grey and stone-like, a side effect of being exposed the the Anti-Life Equation. His Superman tunic has the sleeves torn off and the tatters of his cape are used to wrap his left arm and wrist. He has black pants with a chain belt, with large red boots finishing the outfit. He accessories include the basic stand and two open hands to replace the fists on the figure.
Next we have Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman is the one who led the fight against the Darkest Knight, hoping to restore the Multiverse and save her friends. Her outfit looks like a cross between her modern outfit and something off the artwork of a heavy metal album cover. She wears a multi-horned tiara and black eyeliner and lipstick. He hair is black with blue highlights at the ends. Her outfit is red, gold and black, with a blue and gold skirt and a gold belt. She has blue and gold leggings and gold boots. She wears shoulder pads made from lizard skulls and has gold bracers. Her outfit is topped off by a red cape. Her accessories are the stand and the Chainsaw of Truth, a weapon she forged from her invisible jet and golden lasso.
Lastly, like the Last Knight On Earth wave, each figure comes with a part of a build a figure. This time it is the Dark Father, a Batman who became like Darkseid through the Anti-Life Equation and took over Apokalips. The figure is bigger than the rest in this wave and looks like a Batman with a stone face and arms. He has blue in his cowl, cape, trunks and boots. Instead of gloves, he wears black spiked bracers. He is not the weirdest alternate Batman, but hs still makes for a striking figure.
The articulation on all of these figures are standard for DC Multiverse. All figures have heads on ball joints and ball joints at the shoulders. All figures have double elbows (except Dark Father), double knees and hinge and pivot joints at the ankles. Wonder Woman and Robin King lack a torso cut as well. Like most McFarlane Toys figures, they can be a little stiff, but are solidly made.
Dark Knights Death Metal was one of my favourite stories I read earlier this year. McFarlane Toys was smart to continue to mine this series for figure ideas, though a comic accurate standard Wonder Woman would be awesome. I am happy with the build-a figure this time, as Dark Father is just as articulated as the standard figures. He assembled easier than the Bane one from a few months back, though I did have to use the hair dryer trick to assemble him. All the figures look awesome too, with Superman and Wonder Woman being my top two.. Death Metal Wondy has an advantage over Last Knight Wondy as, even though both capes are unremovable, Death Metal Wondy’s cape is not as heavy and does not plug into her back.
I recommend this set to DC Multiverse collectors or anyone who is a fan of the Dark Nights series. Like the source material, these figures are over the top and crazy, and will leave you wanting more.
DC Multiverse Dark Nights Death Metal figures from McFarlane Toys are available from various stores. Check online for details.
This Review is for entertainment purposes only. I have not received anything from McFarlane Toys, Amazon.ca, Toys R US Canada, or anyone else for this review. The items were purchased by myself with my own money. All opinions are mine and any pictures were taken by me and are for review purposes only
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