Figure Review: Play Arts Kai Harley Quinn [ Arkham Knight ]

"Pucker up, Snookums!" - Harley Quinn, 'Injustice'

This hot cosplay chick made me love Harley even more!

In all honesty, Harley Quinn was one of those characters whom I couldn't care less about in the DC Universe, particularly when I saw her recurring appearances in 'Batman: The Animated Series' back in the day. Seeing her clowning around in her signature red and black jester costume as a sidekick to one of Batman's perennial baddies, I had considered her as a fairly forgettable character ever since - until today. And what made me change my mind about her? Well, it all boils down to two reasons: her 'Arkham Knight' version, and Daddy's Lil Monster (she's quite a looker, hands down!).

Damn it, Harley! Why couldn't you have just brought along with you that bad-ass stand?

The moment I had laid my eyes on her prototype from 2015's New York Toy Fair, she became an instant must-have for me! Along with the mock-ups of the titular hero Batman and the mysterious Arkham Knight, the figures were displayed standing on a pedestal in the form of an awesome bat stand seen in the image above, which unfortunately did not come with the final product package of the figures (jeez, was it really too much to ask, Play Arts?). Anyway, what matters is the figure, and I have to say their Harley Quinn is certifiably a job well done. With her being the rose among the thorns (or more appropriately, among the 'bat-horns'), I even regard her as the 'crown jewel' of the Arkham Knight line!

The Good, The Bad, and The Crazy

Presently, my Arkham Knight collection consists of Batman, Harley and the Arkham Knight himself. I'm glad that I have with me now all the figures that I had set my sights on back when the prototype images were released online. I am also eager to get my hands on the upcoming Batgirl figure which will hit the shelves later this year, and by then my Arkham Knight collection will have been completed, despite not having the Robin figure and not getting the other newcomer Nightwing figure which I'll have to pass on.

Never entrust a grinning psychopath with a smiling hammer

So, just who is this pale-faced chick sporting a couple of bizarre-looking ponytails? The character of Harleen Frances Quinzel first appeared in the 90's cartoon series 'Batman: The Animated Series', particularly in the episode titled 'Joker's Favor'. Primarily, Harley Quinn's character was only supposed to be an animated version of a walk-on role, however, she eventually became a female sidekick to the Joker. Prior to her career as one of Gotham City's most notorious criminals, she was a psychiatrist who became fascinated with the Clown Prince of Crime during her internship at the Arkham Asylum as she volunteered to analyze him, and during their sessions she fell hopelessly in love with her patient, which led her to help him escape the asylum. When her 'beloved' is returned to Arkham after a fight with the Caped Crusader, the sight of her badly-beaten patient triggered her insanity which made her quit her job and turn to a life of crime, donning a jester costume to become her enigmatic and high-spirited alter-ego Harley Quinn, and the rest is history. Several comic books, video games, and animated shows later, her character received a unique treatment for the Arkham Knight storyline.

Thank God her face ended up like this...

The appearance of the figure is based on one of the first promotional posters of the Arkham Knight game, where she becomes a playable character as a pre-order bonus. This version looks more mature face-wise, striking a pose with her favorite weapon which I'd call the 'anti-Bats' bat.

... and not like this!

Fortunately, Play Arts did not opt for her actual in-game looks, which I would personally consider a step down from her representation in the first poster. In the poster above, she looks younger and a little chubby on the face with a lean body, nearly turning her into a walking, talking lollipop! It would have been cool though if the figure actually came with that bad-ass gun she's hiding behind her back.

Nifty packaging for a mentally-strange babe

The figure comes in a standard PAK Arkham Knight packaging. The flap/front cover shows an image of Harley Quinn naughtily tipping off a stolen police hat as she's standing in the rain, with a shot of the moon obscured by clouds at night behind her. The back of the packaging shows the figure being placed on several action poses, with her designation as the 4th figure of this Play Arts line. Moreover, there's a picture of the Arkham Knight figure (he's 'No. 3') as part of the line's second wave.

All I can see are Bewbies...

Enemies from the past attack...
An epic story appropriate for the final chapter.

As the epic conclusion to the BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM and BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY game series, BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT features the return of prominent super-villains including THE PENGUIN, TWO-FACE and HARLEY QUINN. The SCARECROW secretly returns to GOTHAM CITY and unites these adversaries in a plot to defeat the BATMAN once and for all. Beautiful next-gen console graphics, intense action from utilizing BATMAN's unique arsenal of gadgets, and a thrilling storyline makes this title the ultimate culmination of the BATMAN narrative.

A Femme Fatale both bewitching and brutal.

One moment she's a charming coquette, the next she's a crazed and dangerous villain swinging a bat. Harley Quinn, a former psychiatrist, fell in love with THE JOKER over the course of their therapy sessions. Madly in love, she was compelled to a life of crime to protect her beloved. It is assumed that her hatred of BATMAN stems not from his person, but from the thought of him as the arch nemesis of her beloved Clown Prince of Crime.

In and out of a sticky situation!

Just like any other Play Arts Kai product, the core figure and the accessories are neatly stored within a clamshell package. As always, it would take some amount of effort to separate the translucent plastic from the dark plastic, which is a good thing. It only means that the figure has not been tampered with.

Ugh!

And there's that bulky yet useless stand again. Like I've mentioned in another post, I'm quite disappointed with the whole thing as I did expect that these Arkham Knight figures would come with the awesome bat stand shown in the New York Toy Fair, which would have been way better!

As for Miss Quinzel's accessories, she's got the following:

1) Four extra mitts (one left hand and three right hands):

She's just not fond of using her left hand

 2) A hand gun:

Bang!

3) A striped steel bat:

I guess we'll just have to wait till we see what she can do with it

4) A police hat:

Needless to say she stole it from one of Gotham's finest

5) A pair of extra ponytails:

Wet dog ears

6) An alternate head with ball-jointed ponytails, windswept fringe and a goofy smirk:

She's not related to this guy, is she?

Now, on to the main course:

She's strutting her stuff!

Right off the bat, Harley Quinn is my favorite figure in the Arkham Knight line. The paint job on this figure is excellent, coupled with a near-perfect sculpting. She's also the most versatile among the rest of the AK figures, and I'll get into that shortly. The figure stands a little over 9 inches tall, and boasts over 20 points of articulation, the standard PoA among all of the current PAK figures.

Too much facial powder

Despite her having a kind of creepy-looking visage, there's an undeniable beauty that lies beneath her pale skin. Her default head sports a face-framing fringe and twin tails, with her blonde hair tied side by side. Her dark and thick eyeliners, paired with an up-to-no-good smirk, give her a rather menacing demeanor. Looking at the back of her head, the twin ponytails are colored halfway toward the tips, one having a reddish hue and the other jet black.

Yep, she puts on a very busty display right there!

Moving on to the figure's chest area, I have to say Harley's one heck of a 'blessed' gal. She's another female figure whom Play Arts took the liberty of sculpting her knockers to perfection. Her chest area exposes a significant amount of El Cleaváge, another interesting aspect which I will discuss more later in this review. Basically, Harley's costume is made up of a complex design, and it is a combination of red, black, blue, and dirty white colors. She wears a double-collared blouse with balloon sleeves on the upper half of her body, and a dark blue riveted corset on the lower half. Her suspenders are connected to her choker by a grayish/metallic circular piece on the front, and the same type of material holds the suspenders at the back. The line works on her costume is pretty well done too.
   

Spell 'R-U-F-F-L-E-S'

Moving further down, Harley's hips flare out with her ruffled skirt, which is done beautifully. Overall it has five layers of ruffles, with the dirty white pieces bordering the black ones. The lower or the widest piece comes sculpted with thick wrinkles on it.  

Poker feet

Harley wears a pair of red and blue leggings, and each comes with a design that resembles a diamond card suit. The upper diamonds are sculpted in red and blue colors, while the lower ones are sculpted in silver studs. Another part that I like about this figure are her red and blue boots, which have some nice sculpting on them, particularly on the laces and the silver diamond studs at the back.

Zany gauntlets

Harley sports a gauntlet-like piece on each arm, which ends in a removable ruffled sleeve at the edge. The red one worn on the right is quite shorter than the blue/black one on the left. Moreover, the rivets and laces on the gauntlets are sculpted nicely.

Um, Shockwave??

Now let's talk about versatility. The one thing that makes this figure stand out above the rest of the Play Arts Kai figures out there (or at least, the ones I have) is its unique interchangeability. In addition to her having two alternate heads, the heads themselves have swappable pieces.

Harley Deconstructed!

The faces are removable and switchable, and they can be inserted into the lower slots of the head. The bangs or the fringes can also be inserted interchangeably into the upper slots. Moreover, the twin ponytails in the default head are removable, and they can be swapped with the two extra flat ponytails which accommodate the police hat accessory.

She's making faces

This interchangeable feature enables Harley to wear her hair and her face any way she wants to. Sweet!

¡Ay, caramba!

And now for the best part: Harley's boobs. She's undoubtedly one of the chestiest figures I have ever seen, just like Final Fantasy's Tifa, Marvel's Natasha, and MSG's Quiet (which I do not own unfortunately). She's got big boobs, and they're made of malleable plastic. In other words, they're very squishy - so squishy indeed that it nearly feels like the real thing. Top marks on that, Play Arts!

Now for some epic stances:

She knows nothing

She's licensed to kill

She wields her bat against the Bat

A gun-toting, 'bat'-shit crazy chick

"Nice ta meet ya', puddin'!"

She's in her full battle array

Poster girl for an M-rated game

Here she is posed with some of my other Play Arts figures:

The 'blessed' trinity

Marvel vs DC: Boob Wars

Savagery meets Insanity!

Just waiting for Jena Malone to come

And here's Harley goofing around with her New 52 'mini-me':

There's a little bit of devil in her...

... that, when unleashed...

... brandishes a giant wooden mallet...

... and wreaks havoc everywhere it goes! POW!

And here she is à la Margot:

She's feelin' it when she wields her bat.

Ch-CHAK!

Final thoughts: In conclusion, the Arkham Knight Harley Quinn turned out as I've expected right from the start - an outstanding figure! Though others may not see her the way I do, this version of Harley has got to be one of the best Play Arts Kai figures to date. The interchangeable head pieces, the awesome face and body sculpt overall, and her undeniable 'blessedness' are just some of the few things that make this action figure worth adding to my collection. And lastly...

She's about to mess up a resentful Cybertronian

... I do hope we get to see a Play Arts treatment for Miss Robbie!

Pretty please, Play Arts?

So, what's your favorite version/incarnation of Daddy's Lil Monster? Sound off in the comments below.