MFJ is a brand I don’t think I’ve looked at before! They've been plugging away at a Dark Knight Returns series of figs the last few years that have recently caught my eye. So here I am with two of their Bat-figs!
MFJ did a neat job translating the harsh art of Frank Miller’s Batman without over-complicating it!
Well… except for maybe those belts? They’ve got a rather high detail for everything else about these figs. To be fair though, that’s a bit of how Batman looks in those books. I had to double check myself, and yeah, ol’Frank Miller’s belt design has a ton going on!
I think perhaps if MFJ would’ve printed their belts with darker yellow? Maybe even something closer to a warm tan with a dark tan outlining? Keep the detail, but lower the contrast yeah?
I really do appreciate the 360° wrap for those belts though! Going all the way around the torso! Looks nice and complete for color blocking!
The custom parts are great too! I love those capes with all the wrinkles and tatters in them!
Even the overly wrinkled cowl matches Frank Miller’s art style greatly, giving these figs that proper worn down “Old Batman” look! The insides of these elements are also nice and clean!
Both figs also came with a set of batarangs, arranged so you can do the thing! The thing he does in the book with the batarangs!
The vambraces are also nice! Good shaping overall!
Again, I picked these two up second-hand for about $100 each, which feels pretty reasonable! I think they went for about that price when they first went up for preorder back in 2023, so not a bad deal! I’m pretty happy to have finally found them both!
Oh and while hunting around for them, I also managed to pick up an old color variant of Hades' Armored Batman that we’ve looked at back in the day!
Other than some minor color swapping and a different emblem, it’s mostly the same fig! I hope it’s okay I didn't re-review it just because it’s a color variant! I just wanted to tack it on at the end of this review so I can use that fig and its parts in some upcoming shots! 😅
It’s actually quite fun to compare the two! Two different, yet valid interpretations in their own ways!
And even more fun to mix’n match em!
Speaking of parts! Here’s what MFJ’s Blue Batfig compares to that old Dark Blue Hades fig (plus the sudo official Lego design)
So many Batman figs and yet somehow the Official Lego version is the worst! 😵💫
Anyway! There’s more in this MFJ Dark Knight Returns series of figs that I hope to look at soon! So keep your eyes peeled! 🦇