A few times a year an action figure pops up in the toy aisles that shocks me by its very existence. Since 2013 there has been a surprising amount of Batman '66 product made: Mattel, Funko, Hallmark, DST, Mezco, and now McFarlane. The female characters have been predictably scarce, but none so much as Miss Eartha Kitt as Catwoman. I realize that she only appeared in five episodes of the show, and all in the final third season. Yet somehow she made a huge impact on me as a child. Sure, I loved Julie Newmar and Lee Meriwether in the role, but I tend to think that Eartha had the most fun with it. She took those previous purring performances and ramped it up by 100. I thought she was great. And I am beyond thrilled to finally have a traditional action figure of her in my collection. And honestly, I'm glad we never got a Mattel Eartha because those bodies were too tall and lanky, and the faces were hit or miss. But this McFarlane figure is near perfection. Let's check her out below!
Compared to other McFarlane releases, this series has noticeably restricted articulation. But they are priced $17.99 so they are significantly cheaper than the standard DC Multiverse figures. Catwoman has a ball-jointed head, hinge-and-swivel shoulders and knees. Swivel wrists. Swivel hips. And hinged elbows. There are no ankle joints. The swivel hips are the most restrictive part.
All the Classic Batman figures come with plastic word balloons replicating the quirky fight scenes from the show. They can clip on their arms for photo ops. I think it's interesting how all the male characters seem to have words like "ka-pow!", "biff!", and "thwack." Yet the sole female in the series (so far) gets "aieee!" and "eee-yow!" (I just checked all the figures so far. Joker and Penguin each have one "ouch!", but every other accessory for all other releases is an aggressive onomatopoeia. And now the only female gets two passive exclamations. C'mon McFarlane, do better).
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here are all my Eartha figures together. From Left to Right: DST Bust, Hallmark ornament, BifBangPow Pin-Mate, McFarlane, and HeroClix.
Here she is with the Mattel Julie Newmar Catwoman from 2013.
Cheers!
Amazing figure. I purchased as well a few days ago. Total surprise.
ReplyDeleteGreat looking figure. I really loved her in the show as a kid. The lack of articulation isn't good but she still looks good. Great review. Thanks.
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