Initial retail reports of the ReAction+ figures have suggested that Snake Eyes is the most popular. Among collectors, the Snake Eyes was the least regarded figure. We all have dozens of high quality Snake Eyes figures already. Collectors were interested in Cover Girl and this BAT. But, the BAT seems to be one of the most easily found figures. This suggests that many of the retail buyers of these figures are casual fans who find interest in the major characters. This is good since it will leave the more obscure, collector oriented figures as something you can find at retail and, maybe, even army build. And, it will sell out the less interesting figures of major characters that we all own in excess.
The presentation of the Super7 figures is geared towards collectors. Unlike vintage figures that were meant to show off the toy, these modern releases are meant to be kept carded. The layout of the figure and accessories are all geared for in package display on a shelf or in a case. The figures are locked in place by a molded plastic tray to that the figure will still look great 100 years from now, long after the o-ring has dried up. So, that's a nice feature for carded collectors and an added expense for loose collectors.
Accessory wise, the BAT is excellent. You get two removable hands: one left and one right. Then, there's the backpack that holds the additional three classic BAT attachments: the claw, laser and flame thrower. The attachments are all new and feature updated detailing from their vintage inspiration. The BAT includes one final piece: an oversized rifle. As a Joe accessory, it isn't great. But, when you look at the comic panels on which this figure is based, the rifle is a pretty nice match. It's certainly better than the Hasbro accessories from the repaint era Comic Packs. The Super7 weapons have been the weak point on the figures, so far. It will be interesting to see how these evolve over time. But, the gear has a precision fit to the figure in a way we haven't seen since about 1992. So, that is a nice feature of these figures, so far.
I am also impressed with the quality of the figure. The paint masks are sharp. But, the real surprise was the joints. All my ReAction figures had relatively stiff joints and would creak when you moved them. Out of the package, this BAT has no such flaws. The joints move freely with no sticking or catching. But, they are also very tight and the figure can hold a variety of poses. The removable attachments fit onto the pegs even better than those from the 1986 BAT do. And, the figure could hold his accessories. I could never get the ReAction figures to do that without fear of stripping paint or plastic off the weapon handle. In short, they are very nice. It's different plastic than vintage Joes and it's not the rubbery stuff that's rotting away from the 2000's.
So, my thoughts on the figure. Since the beginning, I've felt something looked "off" about all the Super7 designs. The most glaring design feature that drove this is the figure's heads. The more cartoon inspired heads look very out of place on ARAH bodies. And, the human heads, in particular are egregiously out of proportion to the older style body pieces. But, even the masked and helmeted heads are a bit too detailed for the bodies. The other thing that was noticeable is that the figures are smooth. ARAH figures have just the right blend of folds, creases and pockets to give the legs and torsos some heft. They are more realistic looks of how clothes hang on a human body. The Super7 figures remain overly straight, though. And, this gives them a bit of a knock off feel. Remco and even Lanard skimped on sculpting and design elements like the detailed fit of clothing. Super7 went the same route and it makes the figures stand out from vintage Joes and appear more in line with the cheap imitators who dominated the discount stores of the '80's.
The last thing, though, was not something I really recognized until I got the figures in hand. This BAT features a ton of sculpted details on his chest and legs. But, they are all flat to the figure's body. There's barely any elevation at all from the base sculpt. In the vintage Joe line, the sculpted details protruded quite a bit from the body. Pouches, holsters, knifes and even superfluous details like zippers extend out from the pants, chest and arms in realistic proportions. When looking at this BAT, his sculpted details are flush with his body. This accentuates the smoothness issue because you don't have the visual break of extended details. It also takes away some of the realism of the figure. Things seem out of proportion because they don't have the necessary width. It's not a design choice that, alone, makes the figures bad. But, it contributes to these figures being very different from Hasbro figures and, to me, makes them more Joe-adjacent than actual Joes.
Where the ReAction Joe line succeeded was mining the depths of the Joe cartoon for obscure characters and offbeat paint jobs. It was the most diverse Joe line released since the vintage days. So far, the ReAction+ line seems to be following that formula. Cover Girl, Tomax and Xamot are all cartoon icons. Supposedly, this BAT was from the comic. Upon first glance, I would have guessed it a cartoon paint job. But, the this is the BAT coloring from its first appearance in G.I. Joe #44. So, technically, it's a comic figure. (I'm going to have to write about G.I. Joe #44 at some point because it's been mined so deep for figures that have actually seen release even though some of the best ideas from the issue have yet to be considered.) If Super7 continues a mix of comic and cartoon figures, they'll do well. And, to be sure, I'm invested in the line if only for the possibility of both a Dr. Venom and a proper Kwinn figure in both his cold weather gear and the khaki shorts. I assume we'll get at least one of these in the line: along with a multitude of other figures that will exist in no other form.
ReAction+ figures are $20. That's a lot for what you get. But, it's a boutique line with low production numbers. So, you're going to pay for that. Historically, the first wave of figures of a new line is overproduced and, eventually, ends up on clearance. This isn't an indicator of success or failure, it's just the nature of an exuberant launch. So, I fully expect you'll be able to get this BAT for a discount at some point in the next few months, especially as future waves roll out. Like the ReAction Joe line, these o-ring figures are available at all online retailers as well as Target's brick and mortar stores. It's nice to be able to buy a figure on the pegs. And, were it not for this retail presence, I would not ever have purchased one of these figures. Target was pretty committed to the ReAction line. So, I hope that partnership will not only continue, but also bring us weird foreign repaints that are exclusive to the retailer.
I have no real prognosis on the future collectability of these figures. I never thought the Toys R Us repaint figures would be anything more than late line oddities. But, now, some of them command substantial premiums. And, it's pretty likely that these Super7 figures will have similar or lower production runs. So, in time, they'll disappear. It's just a question of whether collectors disappear at a faster rate. If they do, it won't matter. But, if they don't, there might be some future interest in these figures. For me, my interest in these will be as a supplement to my collection. I'm not going all in on them as they still aren't a close enough integration with classic Joes for me to do so. But, you can be sure I'll pick up some characters who appear in unique paint jobs or have never been otherwise released in ARAH Joe form.
