I'm finally getting around to the rest of my DC Universe Classics Series 4 reviews, and Batman Beyond is the feature in this one. This character is based on the TV show of the same name that so many people seem to love. You'll also notice I'm giving away a Batman Beyond figure in my latest contest. This figure is a good action figure aside from some very severe quality control issues that drop his score. He's a good rendition of Terry McGuinness for all those Batman Beyond fans out there and I would recommend him to any Batman fan as well, if you can find one that doesn't break. 

Sculpt

  Batman Beyond's sculpt is a very basic one just using a basic DCUC body like a lot of these figures. Reusing body sculpts usually doesn't bother me as long as it suits the character and for BB I just wish they had used a slimmer base body, he looks a little too bulky to be quick and agile to me. The only sculpted extras on here are the blades coming out of the back of his forearms, which look fine and his very simple belt, which also works but doesn't amaze. His head sculpt is functional too, and looks like the character, but is still pretty simple.

Sculpt Score: 6 / 10 - Nothing particularly special about the sculpt, base body, just a few details, working head sculpt but not fantastic.

Paint

Batman Beyond has a paint job as equally basic as his sculpt. About 96% of him is just painted in this same shiny black color. I personally think the glimmering black looks good but some people wish it had a more matte quality, and I can certainly understand that because the character didn't really shine in the show. He looks like he just walked through a lube factory and came out the other side through an olive oil convention. His red bat symbol is well applied with tight lines but some of the black shows through very vaguely, so thicker coverage would be nice. The silver paint on his belt works with a little bit of slop and looks fine. His eyes and teeth are an easy white but at least they didn't mess them up.

Paint Score: 6 / 10 - Nothing spectacular, questionable shiny quality that some may hate, generally good details in the few spots that need them.

Articulation

Batman Beyond has the same old standard DCUC articulation which is just about perfect in my eyes. It's not as much as a lot of Marvel Legends stuff, but it works for me. All of his joint have full ranges of movement allowing for good poses and fun play situations. A couple huge quality control concerns show up here. First off, his right elbow is frozen, which is a big problem with the last few DCUC and Movie Masters figures I've purchased. That can usually be fixed but the next issue is a little worse. His left hip suffered from the standard gummy feeling (notice I said standard, which it is anymore with DCUC). Usually this works out fine for me and I kind of just leave it for fear that it will shear off. Not 10 minutes after I finished taking pictures of this good fellow did his leg do just that, slide right off at the hip. It finally just gave way, and had a kid been playing with it, it wouldn't have last 30 seconds. Problems like this just aren't acceptable in $10-$12 action figures anymore. I'm just glad I picked this one out and hope the one I'm giving away in the contest doesn't suffer a similar fate. 

Articulation Score: 6 / 10 - Most of the articulation works great, lots of points, score would be a 9 without quality control issues, so you can hope that your figure is better.

Fun

Any character with the "bat ears" is a pretty fun character in most people's eyes. This figure does indeed have the stereotypical Batman look and that's fun in itself to a lot of collectors and kids. He also has a great articulation model which makes him fun to mess around with. Although no action features are present he does come with a small batarang and that adds to the fun level. Some more accessories or play features are all that's holding Batman Beyond back.

Fun Score: 8 / 10 - Fun character design and story, lots of articulation, at least one accessory, no play features.

Value

Batman Beyond cost me around $11 to $12 which is about average for a 6" figure these days. He's just an average sized figure and doesn't have a lot of accessories so it feels a little overpriced. Considering he fell apart pretty quickly and came with frozen joints, he seems even more overpriced. One great thing is that he does come with a collect and connect piece to build Despero which is like getting 1/5th of a $15 or $20 figure.

Summary

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Overall Score: 68 / 100 - This is an Okay Toy

Batman Beyond would be a pretty good figure if he could overcome Mattel's increasingly annoying quality control issues. He's fun, is a good value and would have great articulation without stuck and broken joints.

-The Articulated One