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.

Figure Review: Play Arts Kai Predator

The Predator - I'd consider this guy as one of the meanest, coolest, and most badass characters ever created in the history of geekdom. I first saw him in one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 80's sci-fi/action flicks, entitled 'Predator'. The story follows an elite band of soldiers, led by Arnie's character Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, sent on a mission in a jungle to rescue an official held hostage by rebels/guerillas in Val Verde (which, by the way, is a fictional country). Upon reaching the place, they are secretly stalked by the Predator (played by the late Kevin Peter Hall), a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life who crashlands in the jungle prior to the team's arrival. The big guy (he's a bulky, 200+ pound, 7-footer) kills off Arnie's team members one by one, starting with Hawkins (played by Shane Black - yup, that guy who directed 2013's "Iron Man 3"). Schaefer ultimately faces-off with the Predator in a climactic combat/duel, wherein he emerged as the victor. The Predator wasn't able to accept his defeat and entered into a suicidal "if I die, you die" move, setting off his wrist gauntlet as a mini-atomic bomb (which Arnie survives, much to his disappointment - ha ha!).  

One of my most watched sci-fi flicks

I've got to admit that I've watched this movie a million times already since I was a kid (and which I occasionally do so until now), so I know the story quite well. The film was followed by Predator 2, which was set in the streets of Los Angeles, with Danny Glover in the lead role. Other sequels/spin-off/reboots/whatever emerged, namely 'Aliens vs Predator', 'Aliens vs Predator 2: Requiem', and the latest which was entitled 'Predators'.

McFarlane's Celtic Predator - Cool mask!

There were several toy companies in the past that produced Predator figures. As far as I can remember, Kenner produced one of the first lines of these figures, which included several versions - namely the Scavage, Cracked Tusk, Spiked Tail (I never knew Predators had tails though), and Lava Planet versions, among others. McFarlane's also took their chance in representing the Predators, which they based on the original movies as well as the AvP movies - featuring the Elder, Scar, and Celtic Predators (with some boxed sets too). There's also NECA who, until this day, produces a wide array of Predator versions, which are really cool as well. From Kenner to McFarlane's to NECA, the figures improved, particularly on the sculpt and articulation.

SDCC 2014 Prototype - "Two thumbs up!"

Then along came Play Arts Kai. Now, Play Arts is well-known for their keen attention to detail, and when I first saw the pics of the Classic Predator from the San Diego Comic-Con of 2014 circling around the Web, I was completely mind-blown! I mean, a great company to produce one of the most iconic movie characters/aliens (and not to mention one of my favorites) - that's just plain awesome! I only had one thing in mind: "I gotta have it!". Almost a year later, I now own one of the most outstanding figures ever made in the history of making action figures!

Whew! That was the longest intro I've written so far - ha ha! Now, let's get to the review:

That's one dope packaging!

So first, we have the figure's packaging. The front package art shows the Predator (also known as the 'Yautja') standing in a forest, like he's patiently (or impatiently) waiting to kick Arnie's butt. At the back of the packaging, we see the Predator in several cool poses, along with some English, Japanese and German texts. As a trademark of the Play Arts packaging, it has an open flap which features the backstory of the figure. The figure itself can be seen clearly behind the translucent plastic, along with his various accessories (which I will discuss in detail later).

Extra info...

Figure description: "The result of a primitive culture paired with a supreme intellect, the Predator established itself as a new breed of invader from space. Now the original Predator makes its appearance in the PLAY ARTS KAI lineup. Its raw, organic details as well as the realistic metallic sheen of its armor are both captured in this one figure, to bring out the contrasting primal and advanced technological characteristics of the Predator. 

Utilization of translucent parts in select areas and the intense paintwork application creates the realistic wet look of a living creature, while inorganic elements like the armor and weapons are tarnished and weathered, just like in the movie. 

There are a wide variety of accessories, from an interchangeable face piece and helmet, to a human skull that the Predator has obtained through its hunt. Figure also includes display stand and interchangeable hand parts."

A-little-hard-to-open clamshell packaging

Opening the box and getting its content out, we can see the figure neatly and tightly stored within a clamshell package. It would take some effort to separate the translucent plastic from the dark plastic that encase the figure, but that's how you'll know that the figure hasn't been tampered with (otherwise, if you see the two materials already separated even with the slightest distance, then you need to think twice before buying it).

Bulky and useless

Then we have the "obligatory" figure stand. Like I said before in my Armored Batman review, I really don't utilize the stand as it could take up some space within the cab - it's bulky and I can say that it's useless because Play Arts figures can stand well on their own (unless, of course, you're going to display them sporting some dramatic pose). As of now, I've already got tons of Play Arts stands piled up somewhere, perhaps I'd sell them to interested parties.

Let's get down to the accessories. Now, the Predator doesn't have much accessories, but I think he has everything he needs to be an imposing brute. He's got:

(1) A removable mandible/mouth piece and a cool alien helmet (Bio-Helmet):

Say "Aaaaa"

(2) Two pairs of interchangeable hands:

Hands down

(3) An articulated shoulder cannon (Plasma Caster):

Little boomstick!

(4) The skull of Mac, one of Schaefer's unfortunate buddies:

The skull of old Ben...

Moving on to the actual figure:

Sway!

Like I've mentioned earlier, Play Arts really pays close attention to detail, and all I can say is that they've nailed it - 110%! From head to toe, this Predator figure is sheer perfection. It stands about 10 inches tall, and weighs approximately 480 grams.

"You're one ugly motherf*cker" - Dutch

Let's start with the face. According to Dutch, the Predator is "one ugly motherf*cker", and really, no other words can describe its mug. It's got a face only a mother could love - featuring small yellow eyes that are nearly obscured due to their depth, and arthropod-like mandibles with no visible nose. Other sources speculate that their mandibles may be used in reproduction or mating rituals (yikes!). It sports a reptilian-like, brown/green/black combo complexion, with traces of sweat or moisture all over.

Eeekkk!!!

With its mouth opened, the Predator has a limited number of teeth - two on its upper gum and four on the lower one. As hideous as its visage may seem, Stan Winston really did a great job in designing the creature.

"Ya Mon!"

The Predator is well-known for its signature "dreadlocks" - long, hair-like appendages on its head that are set into its skull. The dreadlocks are crafted well into the figure's head, with a magnificent "swaying" effect. The locks have blackish hue, which slowly become translucent at the tips.

Ze epic mask

The figure features an alternate head - the dark gray bio-mask. In the movies, this is perhaps the most important equipment of the Predator, as it contains several systems to enhance the creature's thermal vision, as well as offer additional vision modes in other electromagnetic spectra (ranging from night vision to ultraviolet and even vibration scanning). The mask is superbly sculpted, with three small dots on the upper right side, which serves as the Predator's triangulation laser sight to effectively wound or kill its prey/victim with the shoulder cannon (also known as the "plasma caster").

Alien dud and some decors

Moving on to the torso area, the Predator sports several neat features. The upper part of the torso is comprised of a strap-on dark gray armor, which resembles that of a gladiator's battle armor. The Predator also wears a net-like suit which is evident on its torso, left arm, and both legs. Furthermore, the figure wears two slings adorned with some bone fragments - particularly a spine and several tiny skulls.

He needs extra-terrestrial pants...

For the waist section, the Predator has a dark gray crotch armor, with two hip plates/guards on both sides. Underneath the crotch armor is a Tarzan-ish cloth piece which has a brown-black color tone.

Jurassic feet

On the lower limbs section, the Predator has a nicely detailed leg armor that serves as shin guards. Moreover, the creature's feet somehow resembles that of a dinosaur's, particularly a T-Rex.

Take a bow

As for its weaponry, the Predator sports a plasma caster on the left shoulder, attached to a large shoulder pack. This device is a ranged weapon that is able to direct plasma bolts at distant targets, which is aimed via the Bio-Mask/helmet.

Snikt!

The Predator also has two gauntlets/bracers. The right bracer serves as a storage for the wrist blades (razor-sharp serrated blades used for close combat).

The last resort (Ka-Boom!)

The left bracer functions as the creature's Sat-Com, which (1) incorporates a touch-pad technology to control its cloaking device, (2) serves as a self-destruct mechanism ('hara-kiri' mode), and (3) remotely pilots Predator vessels (as seen in the movie 'Predators') as well. Moreover, the pad can be opened, revealing some really cool details.

Heroic pose!

Open wide!

The Predator can be posed in several epic stances. But like I've stated in my previous review, I tend not to put my figures in their maximum posing capabilities - once I've placed them in a nifty pose, then that's it.

Time Check!

One of my favorite Predator stance is what I personally call the "time-check pose".

Yautjan soliloquy: "To be, or not to be..."

Final thoughts: When I first saw the SDCC pics of the Predator, I was certainly stoked with it. It's movie accurate, and for a price of around 120 bucks (U.S.), it's absolutely worth every penny. In my opinion, this Play Arts version is what I'd call the best among the rest of the Predator figures out there. It's truly a must have for every Predator fan!

Bloodmatch!

Do you reckon this is the best Predator figure yet? Let me know in the comments below.