Sideshow Collectibles Sixth Scale Batman

I had my eye on this incredible Sideshow Collectibles Sixth Scale Batman for several months, finally ordering him when I did my Hot Toys Amazing Spider-Man, another favorite character that warranted having a premium format figure in my collection. Like that figure, this Sideshow Batman is in a class above what I normally buy. I found one for $189.00, shipping included, and finally caved (pun intended). I'd normally feel guilty about paying that much for an action figure, but not after having him standing there in front to me- pretty impressive. Batman came with a respectable number of accessories as well: three sets of extra hands and one kryptonite ring-bearing fist, an extra head with longer ears, two interchangeable face expressions, four batarangs, a grapple gun, and a figure stand...

What appealed to me about this Sideshow Batman was his "evergreen" quality- he's not a movie franchise Batman, nor is it an homage to any particular artist's rendition of the character or reference to any published story arc. He just a classic, comics-inspired Batman in Silver Age blue and gray, and I like that...

This figure isn't quite as articulated at the Hot Toys Amazing Spider-Man, but he does plenty. The neck has decent range, and his ankles have rocker joints that make wide stances easy. While the torso swivel is somewhat limited, the pelvic joint completes the figure's needs. The single jointed elbows are fine as the biceps are too muscular to allow for much more range there. The knees have nice double joints, his hips a hinged swivel with an additional swivel at the top of the thigh, and the shoulders have a butterfly hinge inside the torso that adds subtlety to the figure's range in this area...

Batman's grapple gun has a rope incase you want to display him with the hook deployed, which has three articulated claws at the end. His hand grips it quite snugly... 

I've warmed to the New 52 Batman without boy shorts and grew to love the all-black '89 Batman, but grew up with the traditional Dark Knight garb. I like the seams down the front of Sideshow Batman's shorts. The utility belt is military-style with lots of great detail, it's lined pouches inspired by Frank Miller's Dark Knight. I prefer the short eared cowl, which features lots of nice shading repeated in the gloves and boots. Cast in plastic, the sculpted stitching and creasing in the gloves and boots is extremely detailed...

The clenched facial expression can be plugged into a hole in the mouth of the cowl, adding a great deal of personality to the figure. Sideshow Batman's eyes are silver without pupils, set deeply into the cowl under a furrowed brow like in the comics- a feature I admire in a Batman figure.

Sideshow Batman comes with three smaller shuriken, and one larger batarang, which he holds pretty well, their wings fitting snugly between his thumb and curled forefinger...

And a starring feature of this figure is, of course, the cape. What could be more important on a Batman figure? It's satiny outer finish looks appropriately leathery, it's seams running from his cowl to it's scalloped ends. The enormity of this cape is notable, yet it drape over the Dark Knight's frame quite nicely. It's really something. I've seen some reviews that criticized it for not having wires inside the seams for posing, but I'm personally glad it didn't.

An action figure like this deserves more than one post, so I'll retire here with a promise for that in the future- this initial photo session was executed right out of the box and there's more to do. If you are a sixth scale collector, pick this one up. If you are a Batman fan, buy this action figure. There is little to nitpick about with this Batman, and it is without a doubt the best in my collection now. While I regret not ordering the Hot Toys '89 Batman awhile back, this Sideshow Batman makes up for that.

More Later- Make It FUN!