I think the reason for the sculpted logo vs the painted one is that the new Knightfall Batman is reusing the Catman version of the Knightfall body buck. It must've been easier reuse the Catman chest that was already molded to work with a cloth cape and just print a logo on it.
I preordered this set because I wanted that Batman but I cancelled it. I already have the previous Bane so I don't care much about this one. At first glance it looked good to me on the promo pictures but when I saw some in hand pictures, it looked very odd to me. Something looks off about the shading and the head portrait. Also the cape looks too clean for a "beat up" version of this figure. The blue tone bothers me a little bit, It's too bright. Anyway, that's just me. Overall it's a great set for people who didn't get the chance to get the previous Bane. Adding the diorama is a nice touch.
GameStop sent an email saying these will be available soon! I do have the mafex batman and bane coming in July plus the first McFarlane bane but have to have this two pack and any other version that comes out of knightfall or bane. I can't find the blue chase knightsend bats though. I do prefer the first bane because it mire so matches the Arkham games which i prefer to the comics.
I think this is the best two pack McFarlane has released by far! Even though Bane is the obvious star of the two pack, Batman is a really great figure in his own right. The headsculpt and cape are excellent and I like the colors a lot more than the original Knighfall Batman. He's gonna look so great on a shelf battling Bane and the rest of his rogues gallery! I hear a lot of people complaining about the cell shading on Bane, but honestly, I love it! Knighfall was the first Batman comic I ever read and to this day it is still my favorite, so the blue highlights on Bane from the pages of the comics really stick out in my mind, and this figure represents that perfectly! So glad Bane comes with fists this time and an added bonus that they are painted so well! I preordered mine from Gamestop and it will be shipping soon. Can't wait to get it in hand!
I got the first version of that Batman and use him in classic justice league. I would like a wired cape more but it’s okay. I’ve got the first bane. I don’t like to double dip unless I would make the figure into some custom.
I love shading when done well. It is not particularly good on either fig. Shadow around Batman's eyes is silly. There's no angle / lighting condition under which you get a fully illuminated head with a uniformly heavy shadow around both eyes. (Even in the comic panels, they generally did a heavy shadow under the eyes and just a bit above, not this.) And the shading on Bane is, frankly, lazy and non-sensical. Shading is meant to convey shadows or highlights resulting from a light source. The placement and symmetry of the shading on this fig is more like someone asked a child to "Add some blue on this figure." Yes, there are elements of this that are outstanding, like Bane's mask, for sure. But this 2-pack is an example of why I so often find myself looking at a McFarlane product thinking, "Wow, this is really cool, but WTF did they decide to (insert something about the fig)?!"
What I do find sort of funny is when some people say this Bane is “too big” and he doesn’t “look like he did in the comics.” Yeah, not the panel art but this Bane absolutely invokes the Kelly Jones cover art.. which when I think of Bane or Knightfall.. I think of those comic covers. So he’s pretty comic accurate.. maybe not panel art accurate but absolutely cover art accurate. And that’s what I love about this Bane. It is what I seen when I was a kid in the 90s seeing these books on the shelf. I’m undecided on if I’m gonna keep this celshading to Bane or not. I may because I’m definitely gonna add some shading to his muscles. A lot of people are crapping on this guy and talking about how good the Mafex Bane is and.. I have him too and just don’t love him. His head is WAY too big, his feet are clown shoes and he has a pitiful amount of accessories for his price.. the face plates are not great either. As for the Batman.. I hate the face.. so I took a spare Knightfall Batman head from the original release (since I also got the black version) and painted it up with some Vallejo paints to match the blue on the figure and now I’m happy. Considering taking away the battle damage too.. just because I hate battle damage figures and the cape is pristine lol.
Cant wait to get this set. I love the blue and grey batman. The belt is a little plain so I'm thinking of switching out the utility belt with something a bit more ornate.
Debating on whether getting that Batman, he's going for cheaper than the regular Knightfall one. Although I already have that one, I never really considered double dipping.
One thing I will never understand is how the fuck do RU-vid reviewers recieve these expensive, hard to find figures as samples??? Do reviewers pay any money for their collection??? If so wtf.
I have paid many thousands of dollars for the figures in my collection and every now and then I get sent some review samples to support the channel. Can’t speak for other channels. The really big guys make money off their channels and/ or get sponsored by the toy companies or toy retailers. There’s no set rules. One thing I can promise you though is that when I get samples I review them as if I paid for them with my own money.
