I’m back again with another Gold Label Edition of Closer Look, this time featuring the Amazon exclusive box set containing the trio of Clayface, Batman, and Batwoman. The MegaFig of Clayface and Rebirth Batman are both re-released repaints while Batwoman sees her debut release in the McFarlane DC Multiverse line. Is this “new” set worth its 69.99 price? How do these stack up with their counterparts? Is it worth purchasing just for Batwoman? Let’s take a look and see.
I’ll start off with a very quick look at the packaging. I can’t really state enough how little packaging matters to me, as beyond a very small amount of special releases, it all goes straight into the trash. I do try to look at things from other points of view, such as the in-box collectors.
With this set, as a sealed box collector, you get basically nothing. The window packaging front of past multi-packs is gone and this set comes in a plain, black DC Multiverse box. On the back you will find comic art, I’m guessing from the trading card. The reason I am guessing is because this set comes with zero trading cards. And while we’re at it, there’s no stands included either. I’m beginning to wonder if the plain black DC Multiverse boxes aren’t going to become more common as it’s the third new release multipack I’ve received recently to have shifted to this format. And to be completely clear, the packaging is not a slip-cover that you can lift to show off the contents. Once opened the figures are in their plastic prisons in a very non-display friendly format.
Now let’s get to the trio of figures from this exclusive set. These are based on DC Rebirth, I believe on the Detective Comics run where Clayface, Batwoman, Tim Drake, Spoiler, and Cassandra worked together as a Bat-team. While the team had potential for some really cool stories, overall it didn’t deliver. But that’s a story for another day, we’re here to take a look at each “new” figure.
Up first is Basil Karlo, aka Clayface, who saw his debut to the McFarlane DC Multiverse line in Spring 2022 as a MegaFig release. MegaFigs retail for 39.99, which is worth keeping in mind when making your purchasing decision. These are the exact same figures, including the head sculpt. The only difference is in the paint applications. The individual release of Clayface is a darker brown color with some various dark colored highlights mixed in. I would consider the Gold Label Clayface to be more of a normal brown color this time with orange highlights. I will also note the shoulder joints on the Gold Label were very loose while my mainline release joints are still holding strong. This could be a case-by-case issue where it only affects a very small amount of collectors. But, it also may not be. I have no way to confirm one way or the other at the moment, but did want to include this as part of the review just in case of the worst. If you don’t own the first release, Clayface comes with decent articulation including knees, wrists, elbows, shoulders, chest and abs, hips, neck and best of all – his lower jaw! Being able to open and close the mouths of action figures gives me a scary amount of enjoyment. Also worth noting on the big fella – the bottom of his feet are two decent sized flat piles of squashed clay. This means that standing Clayface on your shelf is pretty easy, which is a really good thing as this set does not include figure stands.
Batman is up next. There’s not a whole lot to say on the Batman, he is a repaint of the mainline release of Batman in Rebirth batsuit. With this repaint, McFarlane went with a very light shade of gray, which is a huge contrast to the previous release. I did alot of homework on what the correct color of Batman’s Rebirth batsuit should be. The “norm” seems to be a gray somewhere in between of these two releases we have. The darkness of his suit does change alot due to his work in the shadows, but I could not find any time where his suit was this bright. While I’m not personally a fan of this bright look, the head sculpt isn’t too bad. It features cleaner paint applications on it as well. The original release included a batarang and grappling gun. This set includes two batarangs and two grappling guns which are interchangeable between Batman and Batwoman.
Last but not least is the debut of Batwoman to the line. With McFarlane’s reluctance to add female characters to the DC Multiverse line, the arrival of a new one is somewhat of a big deal. Batwoman matches her Rebirth look, especially from her solo book. From what I have found, it seems the red buttons on her cape were used in her solo book and not as much in Detective Comics (and other books). It’s a very minor detail, and it is Rebirth designed as advertised. Batwoman has what I would consider standard articulation for the handful of female releases: decent shoulders, arms, legs, abs with elbows and knees with double articulation points and the ugly wrist and annoying ankle joints. Due to her large head of hair neck articulation is pretty limited with it mainly turning to one side. Above I mentioned there are two grappling guns and two batarangs included in this set. Below is a comparison shot of each, as well as a look at the brown/black paint job on the batarangs. I’m unsure if this paint scheme is saying the batarangs are made from Clayface’s clay? Or are they just partially covered in them? Or am I overthinking this and they are just dirty? You decide!
This all leads us to the big question…Is this set worth picking up for 69.99?
I don’t feel like the new paint job on Clayface is better than the original. Neither are bad, both are shades of brown, and it’s the exact same sculpt. So this one comes down to which look do you prefer? And for me, it’s the darker first release. As for Batman, I don’t like the bright gray at all. The original release easily wins this one for me. Which leaves Batwoman. It would be shocking if we did not have a single release of her now with different paint applications by this time next year. This set is for:
- Hardcore Batwoman fans
- Collectors who haven’t picked up Clayface and/or Rebirth Batman yet
- Collectors who get one of everything
- DC Multiverse collectors who can’t wait for a single release
At 69.99, if you don’t fit in one of the above, I can’t really recommend this set to you. Do keep in mind though Amazon pricing is similar to watching the stock market. Odds of this set decreasing some in price, especially as the holidays approach, are very high. As the price drops the overall value of the set definitely rises, so we’ll see how low this one gets. But also remember, there is no guarantee these will last long enough to see a price drop. If you are interested in purchasing the set now, click here. And stay tuned for the next Closer Look article – there’s definitely more Gold Label madness in the near future!