Dark Knight Rises - CATWOMAN!

MAFEX No. 009 - The Dark Knight Rises - Catwoman - Medicom Toys 2015

The MAFEX line from Medicom has come a long way since its beginnings in 2014. This specific Catwoman figure is the 9th release from 2015. And while this figure is very nice, it pales in comparison to the 2021 Hush Catwoman I recently opened. In fact, there is a version 2.0 of this Dark Knight Rises Catwoman released two years later in 2017 (MAFEX 050), that appears greatly improved. Unfortunately, that 2.0 figure's secondary market price is often in the hundreds of dollars. (But meanwhile you can easily get this MAFEX 009 version for $25 bucks today). I was really happy to finally open and review all my backlogged DKR Catwoman figures. I've had this one for seven years and she looks great finally displayed on my Catwoman shelf. My desire to do a group photo with the new McFarlane DC Multiverse figure made me finally dig all these figures out of the depths of my closets and finally give them the attention they deserve. Let's check out this (long-neglected by me) Mafex DKR Catwoman below!

Dark Knight Rises - CATWOMAN!

S.H.Figuarts - The Dark Knight Rises - Catwoman - Tamashii Nations/Bandai 2018

This figure sent me on a crazy internet-searching frenzy this week. When I was photographing this figure, I had the sudden realization that she looked exactly like Sarah Michelle Gellar. This idea got so implanted in my head that I couldn't unsee it and created the (fictional) idea that Gellar was possibly considered for the role before Hathaway was cast. We see a fair amount of toys that are based on pre-production design, so my theory had merit (in my mind). Alas, I was wrong and the likeness is just a coincidence. But, wow, there is a lot of fancasting out there for Gellar in the role of Catwoman. For a long time, this S.H.Figuarts figure from Bandai was the nicest DKR Catwoman out there. She has great textural details, excellent articulation, and perfect proportions. Plus she was the victim of some bizarre merchandising practices and was heavily clearanced at GameStop for $30. This purchase started my obsession Mafex, S.H.Figuarts, and Figma (which I had always avoided). Let's check out Catwoman below!

Dark Knight Rises - CATWOMAN!

Dark Knight Rises: The Bat 1:12 Collectible Set - Hot Toys/Sideshow 2014

This figure was the Bane of my existence for years (pun intended). As a surprise pack-in figure for the gargantuan deluxe The Bat vehicle from Hot Toys (MSRP $779.99), she was simply unobtainable for me. I had hopes that someone would split up the set and eventually sell her cheap(er) on eBay, and a mere eight years later I finally had her. Beyond the general character appeal and my obsession for collecting variations, I also wanted this figure as a rare example of a 1:12 scale figure from Hot Toys. As a company known for its large high-end 1:6 figures and smaller SD Cosbaby line, a traditional 6" scale figure is an oddity. And while she's not as detailed or articulated as her Mafex and SHFiguarts versions, she is still a fantastic rare figure. Her face and eye details are especially amazing. Although she kind of looks like she's about to cry with that Hot Toys' signature glassy shine and pink-lined eyelids. She probably saw her pricetag. Let's check out this rare Dark Knight Rises Catwoman below!

Dark Knight Rises - CATWOMAN!

DC Multiverse - Catwoman (Dark Knight Rises) Platinum Edition - McFarlane 2024

I had a provocative thought recently. Sometime in the past 12 years that amazing code-switching scene from Dark Knight Rises where a confronted Selina Kyle says "Oops. Nobody told me it was uncrackable" has become as iconic to me as the Michelle Pfeiffer "Meow" explosion. An almost blasphemous statement, I know, but I feel what I feel. The YouTube clip of that scene shows up on my playlist all the time because I've watched it so much. I think I, along with the rest of nerddom, was apprehensive about Princess Mia Thermopolis stepping into the coveted role of the greatest femme fatale of all time (imo). But that scene was when I breathed a sigh of relief and realized Ms. Hathaway could handle that responsibility just fine. This McFarlane figure is pretty great and has prompted me to open photograph a handful of other DKR Selinas I've acquired over the years. I will post them all in quick succession this week so bear with me. Let's check out the McFarlane DC Multiverse DKR Catwoman below!

Dark Knight Rises Mini-Busts - CATWOMAN!

DC Comics Batman Universe Bust Collection #32 Catwoman - Eaglemoss 2019

I figure with The Batman movie currently filming and Zoë Kravitz soon to take on the role of Selina Kyle in 2021, the Anne Hathaway Catwoman from Dark Knight Rises will soon be a thing of the past (at least as far as merchandising goes). I still fondly remember my surprise at seeing Hathaway's amazing performance. I'll be the first to admit that my expectations weren't very high. At the time, I had only really been exposed to her acting in more lighthearted fare (despite her having several super impressive roles under her belt already that I just hadn't seen yet). But her interpretation was fun, entertaining, and sexy. I only wish we could have seen more of her. These Batman Universe Busts from Eaglemoss have been pretty amazing. While they haven't all been winners (ahem.. Ivy), the majority have been awesome (Batwoman, Batgirl, Bluebird, and Catwoman especially). I have a feeling the line ended with Issue #35 which is a shame because I was really enjoying them. Let's check out DKR Catwoman below!

Decool BootLEGO - Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN!

Decool Super Heroes - DKR Catwoman Brick Figure - Decool 2014

I've had an interesting change of heart in the past six months or so.  When I started collecting LEGOs a few years ago, I was instantly frustrated by the questions of authenticity when purchasing figures on eBay.  I started my collection with the second round of DC Superheroes in 2011.  I quickly bought up Harley, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy in stores.  Then tried to hunt down the old 2008 releases only to consistently confronted with fake versions.  I hated it.  I vowed never to buy a fake LEGO.  But that was before a few very interesting 3rd Party manufacturers started to produce characters we would likely never see in an official LEGO set.  My first cave-in purchase was the Fantastic Four, quickly followed by Stargirl.  Then about a month ago this little Catwoman started appearing on eBay.  This is the first BootLEGO character that was a definite must-have for me.  I must say that she is of excellent quality and I will now be keeping my eye out for future figures like this.  Let's check out DKR Catwoman!

Dark Knight Rises Exclusive Blu-Ray CATWOMAN!

Dark Knight Rises Limited Edition Blu-Ray Figurine - WBShop.com 2012
 
This exclusive figurine took me by surprise when I discovered it in April of 2013.  It was released 5 months prior and had since sold out on WBShop.com (apparently it was a limited edition of 1000) and it took me a while to acquire one on eBay that wasn't overpriced.  This 4" figurine also came with Bane and Batman figures in the same exclusive combo.  Unlike other DVD/Blu-Ray figurines, these guys were polybagged in little plastic trays and included separately from a regular edition Blu-Ray (is.. no special window packaging and definitely no display potential.. especially since the polybags have black printing on them).  There were other Blu-Ray and DVD exclusive releases that featured either Bane or Batman (or both) in nice display boxes, but as far as I can tell, WBShop offered the only Catwoman.  Surprisingly, this Selina is actually articulated at the shoulders.. I'm pretty sure that's a rarity for newer (ie - post Infinite Heroes) DVD figures.  She's a great little addition to my DKR Catwoman shelf - and possibly the last since I got the Play Arts Kai figure a few weeks ago.  Let's check her out below!

Play Arts Kai - Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN!

Play Arts Kai - Dark Knight Rises Figure No. 3 - Catwoman - Square Enix 2013

My second Play Arts Kai figure is a hit!  My first figure was the Arkham City Catwoman that I reviewed back in January.  I didn't know what to expect when I got her soon after Christmas, but I was smitten with the brand as soon as I took her out of the packaging.  This follow-up Catwoman does not disappoint either.  I think I might go as far as to say this is the ultimate Dark Knight Rises Catwoman collectible.  Sure, the Hot Toys figure looks pretty much perfect, but the rooted hair and soft materials turn off a lot of collectors (me included) - not to mention the price is about triple what this Square Enix figure will cost you.  This Catwoman though, she's detailed, extremely poseable, lots of swappable body parts, moderately priced (for a higher-end collectable) and she just looks great.  I've been extremely happy with all my Play Arts Kai purchases so far (perhaps I'm foreshadowing my next two reviews...).  My only issue with this figure is that she's annoyingly difficult to photograph.  Something about the semi-translucency of her skin (which is fantastic in person) washes out under photo lights.  Let's check her out below!

TOY FAIR 2013 Coverage - SQUARE ENIX!

 Play Arts Kai (Arkham City, Dark Knight Rises, DC Universe)

Hot Toys DKR Cosbaby CATWOMAN!

Dark Knight Rises Catwoman Mini-Cosbaby from Hot Toys

There's a new contender for the cutest freakin Catwoman ever!  I thought the DKR Funko Pop would be the reigning champion for the foreseeable future, then along comes this pesky little Cosbaby to mess things up.  When the first DC Cosbabies came out in 2009 (from DC Direct & Hot Toys), I would have wagered some serious money that the line would not be successful at all.  I sneered at them, I mocked them, I ignored them, I paid twice MSRP for them a year later when I reluctantly caved.  They're insanely cute. This new Catwoman is from a new series of 9 Cosbabies from the Nolan film trilogy just hitting the market now. Run out and grab them asap before you end up a victim of the secondary market like I did.  My figure came blindpacked -which seems a little crazy at a $9 pricepoint -but most online toy retailers seem to be offering them individually or in sets of 3 grouped by movie.

Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN Movie Masters!

Both Versions of Mattel's 6" Movie Masters Catwoman - Mattel 2012

If I confessed how much gas I wasted driving around trying to hunt down these two figures you would be ashamed of me. I broke down and ordered them on Amazon for $16.99 each (free shipping) a few weeks ago. I ordered two and luckily received both variations. I don't know why I hesitated so long, I think next time I will order right away, although I will always wax poetically about the thrill of the hunt. These figures are arguably the best Anne Hathaway Catwoman products made so far. They don't have a perfect likeness, but when you consider price, playability, and overall aesthetics, they really can't be beat. The two versions are "Goggles-up" and "Goggles-down."  There was some talk about the variation actually being the same figure, just with a packaging variation, but I assure you, the goggles do not move and they are indeed unique headsculpts (or at least different head-accessorizations).  They apparently have equal distribution, so no inflated "chase" prices should affect either one in the secondary market.

Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN BEARBRICK!

Bearbrick Series 24 Secret Figure from MediCom Toy Inc

The Medicom Company of Japan makes the most wonderfully quirky toys.  Their line of Kubrick brick figures continues to amaze me with adorable representations of some of the most randomly awesome characters.  Where else will you find a toy of Gumby's mother, Edward Scissorhands' topiaries, or Audrey Tautou as Amélie?  The whole line is a collector's dream because nothing about it is predictable or boring.  Their Bearbrick line is somewhat less appealing to me.  This line uses a standard buck of a potbellied teddy bear, which in my humble opinion can tend to limit the aesthetic of the toys, especially when it comes to female characters.  When the first DKR products started being revealed, I started googling for a Catwoman Kubrick from the movie (which I still assume is inevitable).  One fateful day my search returned images of this Catwoman Bearbrick.  She was a "Mystery Figure" meaning that she wasn't included in the Series 24 solicit images (which had been circulating for a while) and only became known once she hit the stores.

DC Collectibles Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN Bust!

Movie-Accurate Likeness of Anne Hathaway on a Mini-Bust from DC Collectibles

I love collecting Catwoman Busts.  Of all the DC females, Selina has had the most distinctive and differentiating looks from era to era.  If I had a collection of Wonder Woman busts, you know almost all of them would be the traditional longstanding star-spangled red, blue, and gold.  Catwoman, however, keeps reinventing her appearance every few years, yet there is never any doubt who she is.  Ears and skin-tight suits provide more successful variations than I ever dreamed imaginable.  It's kind of amusing that when I heard that Anne Hathaway was cast as Selina Kyle in DKR, one of my first thoughts was "Awesome! They'll definitely make a bust of that!" ..and I had the same thought when I read rumors of a Catwoman solo movie yesterday (Hopefully with an updated costume if it happens).  I have my fingers crossed that the same marketing logic that brought us the Reeves Superman, Carter Wonder Woman, and Keaton Batman busts will someday provide me with Pfeiffer and Newmar Catwomen.  This DKR Bust marks the 5th Catwoman bust in the DC Direct/Collectibles roster, and I'm sure it's not the last.

Target Exclusive Dark Knight Rises 4" CATWOMAN!

DKR "Battle for Gotham City" Target-Exclusive 5-Pack Catwoman from Mattel

This little beauty totally snuck up on me.  I recently moved and have been suffering all the typical move-related traumas:  my toys are packed away, I was without internet for weeks, and I can't find my razor anywhere.  The internet guy finally came Saturday morning (albeit with the wrong modem) and I was finally able to catch up on things I had missed in the previous weeks.  CoolToyReview had a post featuring a sneak-peek image of the Target Exclusive DKR 5-Pack.  The article was focusing on the Stealth Batman figure as a possible plot spoiler (which I'm skeptical about), but I was blown away by the cool-looking Catwoman figure off to the side.  Monday at work I made plans to hit three Targets on my lunch hour, and luckily I found the set on my second stop.  They had about eight sets on the shelf and I spent some time picking a decent paint job, but I'm very happy with this surprise figure.

Dark Knight Rises FUNKO POP!

Catwoman Makes Her First Funko POP! Vinyl Appearance in the New DKR Lineup!

I'm not the biggest fan of of the vinyl toy renaissance of the past 10 years, but I must admit I'm a HUGE fan of the Funko POP! line.  They're cute as hell, very reasonably priced, and available pretty much anywhere you can buy action figures.  I only own a few at present, but I'm hugely tempted to dive right in and become wholly obsessed.  But until then, I'm sticking to the Bat-Family females.  With the diversity we've seen so far from the POP line, I'm a little surprised that the first Catwoman we've seen has been a movie version.  I thought for sure we would have seen a comic style Selina by now (with multiple exclusive repaints for good measure).  But either way, I'm super-excited to add a second bat-lady to my collection.

PEZ Dark Knight Rises CATWOMAN Dispenser!

Comic Version Selina PEZ for June's DKR-Themed Assortment?

If this photo posted on the Official PEZ Facebook page (by a member, not PEZ itself!) is real and not an elaborate fake, then I will be drunk on little candy bricks all summer as a horde as many of these beautiful ladies as I can find :)  I've mentioned on this blog before that I am a collector of many many many things.. it's genetic.  I can count the family members who don't obsessively collect things on one hand.  One of my first and longest-running collections is PEZ.  At my last inventory I had over 800 different dispensers and that was years ago.  Anyway, I mention this because it's a very rare thing indeed when two hobbies come together like this.  I will definitely get one dispenser for my PEZ collection and one for my Catwoman collection, and a few dozen more for posterity.

DC Direct 2012 Reveals!

Cover Girls, New 52 Busts, Dark Knight Rises Statues & Busts

This information was all over the toy blogs in the past few weeks, but I had to put my two cents in and join in on the excitement.  DC Direct released a flyer to distributers soliciting all sorts of products throughout 2012.  It's mostly Dark Knight Rises products, but there's a peppering of DC New 52 stuff as well.  I'm getting more and more excited for Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Catwoman in the upcoming movie every day.  The products keep rolling out and I am seriously strategizing on how many shelves I'll be dedicating to Ms. Kyle before the year is through.

Funko Pop CATWOMAN Revealed!

Dark Knight Rises - Funko POP! Catwoman

Finally!  I have a confession.  I have been googling "+funko +pop +catwoman -plush" nearly every week for a year.  I love my two Batgirl Pops (regular and black SDCC version -- tho I passed on the metallic repaint) and I've been pining for more bat-ladies to add to the roster.  I'm frankly surprised we haven't seen a classic comic version yet.  Funko seems to love easy repaints and selina is a prime target for variations; Purple, Black, and Gray versions of her costumes will always be in style.  Plus we've seen that Funko Pop Plush Catwoman in the stores for a couple years now, so we know the character is on their radar.

Anyway... Yay!  This is actually my favorite piece of DKR merchandise shown so far.  Can't wait to get her.