I ended up getting this three pack, since I found it for a pretty good deal.
The star of the show is, IMO, Batman. The first wave Batman was stuck in an awkward midway point between classic Detective Batman, Hush Batman, and Rebirth Batman. I would have preferred the Hush look, as that's my favourite comic Batman look. And while the Batman from this set isn't a perfect Hush Batman (he has the wrong kind of belt, and he's got too much padding and armour on his boots and gloves) he's still probably as close as the kids' Core line will get. That solid black bat symbol with no gold outline? Perfect.
Nightwing is always a welcome sight. There seems to be some debate over what Robin the wave one Robin is supposed to be. His general costume reflects Dick Grayson's updated Robin look from the ongoing World's Finest book, but the presence of the staff and the 90s style Robin logo put some people in mind of Tim Drake. To me? It's a clear case of splitting the difference. Mattel will likely do dedicated Dick Grayson and Tim Drake Robins in their upcoming collectors' line. This Robin for the Core series is just a generic Robin who shares enough elements across different mantel holders that he could be anyone. So with a Nightwing on board, he's firmly Tim for the time being.
Nightwing is just very solid. He's got more or less a blank body with a painted on costume, so he's not the most complex figure out there, but everything's as it should be and his belt has storage for his escrima sticks. Which is far from a given when it comes to Nightwing figures. So that's appreciated.
The final figure is Bane. Not sure what else to say... he's just... Bane. He's a very solid comic book style Bane. I will say that he's got an impressive amount of detailing on his torso with his veins, and the texture on his gloves, pants, and boots. McFarlane's strongest area as a toy company is sculpted texture. Mattel was never going to match them 1:1 on that, especially not in the kids' line, but this is far and beyond what I was expecting.
Got this new Hush-lite Batman with the Core Superman and DC Icons Wonder Woman from the old DC Direct label. Since Mattel doesn't seem to be in a rush to introduce ladies to their line quite yet.
creations.mattel.com
