This version of the DC character is modeled after the
Knightfall series of Jean-Paul Valley(1992-1994), who takes over the Batman mantle after Bruce Wanye's back is broken by Bane. Valley becomes violent and estranged from Commissioner Gordon's Gotham City police force, however, and Bruce Wayne has to resume the Dark Knight duties to defeat Azrael.
There are several other characters who used the Azrael alias, named after the Biblical angel of vengeance, including Jean-Paul's own father, Ludovic. Trained post-hypnotically under The System method, a split personality is achieved where the warrior gains superhuman abilities when in costume, believing he is truly the "enforcer of God's will".
I pre-ordered several of this DCUC Wave 16 for a good price on Amazon back in November, and have yet to see one of them. Three weeks ago and already late, Amazon finally e-mailed to say they weren't sure when they'd get them. I'm still waiting. I had not ordered this figure, and so bought him loose on eBay in mid-January while waiting. I wasn't initially interested in him, but his unusual features grew on me- he's really cool up close! While the softer plastic the wings are constructed from have some mild warping, I was surprised they turned out as good as they did. His upper body armor and gauntlets restrict his movement in the wrists, elbows, and shoulders, Azrael Batman does have the double-jointed knee, standard hips, and abdomen joints.
The spines on his calves are a separate piece made of a soft plastic, like the blue chest overlay and gauntlet power strips. It should be interesting to see how these hold up. Take a close look and make sure yours has his belt and all his parts intact- he comes with no accessories. This is a cool and unique figure that I'm glad to have in my diverse DCUC collection.
*DC Direct's
Nightfall series Azrael action figure for comparison.
*DC Direct's
Batman Reborn Azrael action figure for comparison.
*Mattel's DC Superheroes (pre-DCUC)
Azrael action figure.
Still haven't got them? lol, this is what happens when you don't use Mike :p. Az is looking pretty good, though, can't wait to see some pics of Bane when you get the other toys and assemble him :D
ReplyDeleteNo, I wasn't interested in Bane- didn't get Creeper or Jonah Hex either, and Az Bats here didn't come with a BAF part.
ReplyDeleteYes, I will never preorder from Amazon again- I'm afraid to cancel the order, but every day that goes by I start to wonder :(
This guy looks great! I hope to find him someday. I'd like to build Bane someday too so keep me in mind if you do get some of his parts :)
ReplyDelete...i'll remember for ya, Buddy
ReplyDeleteI think i shall put this action figure on my list. He looks very cool and am trying to build up a "Bat-Shelf" in my action figure collection.
ReplyDeleteOh and Bubba if you are reading this i have one of Bane's arms that came with the Creeper i recently won so if you want it you can have it buddy. : )
I had the same problem with Amazon. I pre-ordered DCUC wave 16 and the first set of Green Lantern Classics when they first went up back in August. I ended getting GLC1 from Toys R Us last month and have since cancelled both orders from Amazon. It's weird because they were doing pretty well with the "Adult Collector" figures for a while, I never had a problem with them before.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, cool blog! You have a new regular reader!
Cool figure, NICE pictures :) i much prefer the original Azrael by Joe Quesada before he took on the mantle of Batman
ReplyDelete