GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: THE TWO FACES OF JUSTICE

Harvey "Two-Face" Dent has always fascinated me, even as a kid. Before his appearance in Batman: The Animated Series, my first exposure to the character was from The Greatest Batman Stories Ever Told, a sort of "Greatest Hits" compendium my Mom bought me when Tim Burton's Batman first came out. I even remember thinking how cool it was that Harvey Dent was in the movie, and always wondered what Billy Dee Williams would have done with him, had he been given the chance...

Completed in Summer 2013, his piece was extremely straight-forward-- a Men In Black 3 figure topped off with a third party head, with a paint job inspired by The Animated Series. Harvey's rocked a lot of looks, from gaudy stripes to even worse animal print (*COUGH*BATMANFOREVER*COUGH*). The clean, black-and-white aesthetic was it. 

In the Gotham's Most Wanted universe, Harvey Dent is very much the same flawed, tragic man revealed on The Animated Series and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy... by far the best treatment of the character so far. I may revisit D.A. Dent in the future, but only to make a direct adaptation of Aaron Ekhart's take from The Dark Knight, probably using the same recipe...

GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: ASHES TO ASHES

There's something about saboteurs. As a kid, one of my favorite GI Joe figures was a mercenary/saboteur/man of mystery called Firefly (ironically enough)... to me, he was kinda like the Boba Fett of COBRA. Years later, I found out about the Batman villain of the same name via Batman: The Animated Series and immediately developed an inexplicable fondness for him. Aside from the jetpack some incarnations of the character wear, I find Firefly to be one of Batman's rogues most grounded in reality: A pyromaniac obsessed with reducing Gotham City to ashes.

Firefly was one of those pieces that just immediately came together. Once I saw the head from a GI Joe movie Viper figure, I knew I had my "realistic" version of Firefly's helmet, and everything else fell into place. His upper body is from a GI Joe 25th Anniversary Ace figure, with Jungle Duke legs. As always, the accessories (TINY tools!) came from my Graveyard and were hand-weathered. 

In the Gotham's Most Wanted 'verse, Firefly is pretty much the same down-on-his-luck-FX artist-turned -villain. Just like the Spider-Man villain Mysterio, the special FX angle always fascinated me about the character, and endeared him to me, since I've been obsessed with visual FX all of my life. I didn't want to make him too tech-savvy, so I ditched the jetpack. I figured Firefly would mainly rely on gunpowder, grenades, dynamite and well-planned getaways to evade capture.

Perhaps his luck as run out...

GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: THE MAN WHO BROKE THE BAT

                                                 
The Knightfall storyline happened when I was a kid, so I totally fell for DC's media blitz surrounding Bane's maiming of Batman. To me, the most interesting thing about Bane is that he bested The Bat... and that's about it. The Bane I grew up with was an overgrown wrestler in a luchador mask with a perpetual case of 'roid rage... then Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises happened. 

It was the partnership between Nolan, Goyer, and Tom Hardy that yielded what is, for me, probably the best portrayal of Bane ever. Hardy's Bane is a terrorist mastermind, killing thousands of innocent civilians when he bombs Gotham City and causing thousands more to suffer via an economic crisis-- things Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, The Joker, and Two-Face could not do in the previous Nolan films. 

He was finally more than a grunting buffoon (as depicted in Schumacher's travesty Batman & Robin) or a Latin stereotype that was vaguely Mexican, Cuban, and Puerto Rican (every cartoon ever), all at the same time...

My favorite costume from The Dark Knight Rises is the first one we see Bane wearing, just before crashing the plane. I had been wanting to make that specific version for a while, so when I saw the Roadblock figure from the GI Joe: Retaliation line, I knew I found my base. Topped off with a third party custom head, and The Man Who Broke The Bat was complete. The very definition of an LBC for me, but still perfect for the character and, like, 98% on-model.

Before creating this Bane for Gotham's Most Wanted 2, I made another version that I absolutely hated. Also inspired by Tom Hardy's Bane, but not nearly as successful, I ended up disassembling the piece and using him elsewhere...

Looking at the piece now, it's not the worst I've ever produced (that would be the customs I did at 9-10 years-old), but, at the time, I wasn't happy. In retrospect, I should have removed the straps that went over his ears and just kept the one going between the eyes, but make it a little wider. I do love the paint on the piece, though, and feel he does have that creepy, thousand yard stare...

Bane here kinda breaks my established aesthetic for Gotham's Most Wanted, but I don't really mind. I really wanted a good Tom Hardy Bane in my favorite costume, so that won out. Theoretically, in the 1940s, the outfit I used was available, so it still kinda works. Well, that's how I explain it away...

GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: RIDDLE ME THIS...

It was the uber-brilliant actor/impersonator Frank Gorshin that made me fall in love with Edward Nigma. As an elementary schooler, I was obsessed with the 1960s Batman TV show that was re-running then on cable, and every time The Riddler made an appearance, it was a treat. To this day, nobody's quite been able to do what Gorshin did nearly 50 years ago. As I got older, the more sinister, calculating super-genius from Batman: The Animated Series became my go-to reference for the character. 

Much like The Penguin, this Riddler had a previous, less successful incarnation. Just like his avian pal, I really disliked the original base head I'd chosen, and it kept me from feeling like he piece was truly done. When brainstorming the second series of Gotham's Most Wanted, I knew Mr. Nigma had to be a part of the line-up, so I chose a new, more appropriate head (from the 3.75" Abrams Star Trek line), new bowler hat (from the accessories Graveyard), and new coat, all topped off with a vibrant lime green. His color scheme is inspired by his Animated Series counterpart, with a little more mobster grime added. 

My favorite part of the custom is that cocky little smirk, like he's got something on his mind that he's not telling...

"RIDDLE ME THIS, BATMAN: What looks like a bat, but has four wheels and is under MY COMPLETE CONTROL?"

GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: OSWALD COBBLEPOT- THE COLD, CUNNING PENGUIN

OSWALD COBBLEPOT- THE COLD, CUNNING PENGUIN

The Penguin, oddly enough, was an early childhood favorite. Because of his numerous appearances in cartoons of the 70s and 80s with The Joker, I always thought they were a team and found it odd when I discovered just how different the modern comic versions were. But when you look back on their Golden Age exploits, it's much more in line with their Hanna-Barbera incarnations.

Mr. Cobblepot is a fusion of original, vintage GI Joe parts (Headman torso & waist) and modern (GI Joe movie Destro arm), topped off with a third party sculpted head, with some accessories courtesy of Indiana Jones' Henry Jones Sr. 

For Gotham's Most Wanted, I wanted to ditch The Penguin's tux and go for something a little more mobster-y. The Penguin was actually one of the very first villains I worked on when I started my Batman universe, but I was never quite happy with the head and hands. Once I found suitable replacements, I rediscovered my love of the character and knew he had to be in GMW 2... though I may not be quite done with Mr. Cobblepot. I've always wanted an on-model version of The Penguin from Tim Burton's holiday favorite, Batman Returns...

GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2: THE DEMON'S HEAD & LEAGUE OF SHADOWS NINJA

THE DEMON'S HEAD-

As with many of The Batman's adversaries, I first really got to know Ra's Al Ghul via Batman: The Animated Series. Though seemingly plain-clothed and not over-the-top like the rest of Batman's foes, it was really Ra's Al Ghul's respectful, gentlemanly approach that drew me in. I loved that he called Batman "Detective," and that Ra's was really just trying to get Bruce Wayne to join the family business. He just had a criminally insane way of doing it. 

Ra's Al Ghul is an example of a piece where the parts pretty much dictated what was going to happen. It all started with that head, taken from a Star Wars figure based on Terrence Stamp. I always thought Stamp would make an amazing Ra's Al Ghul, so I worked on the head first. I just slightly modified it with Green Stuff and repainted it. 

Working on Ra's, I brainstormed about bodies... I didn't necessarily want to go with his notorious green business suit, but did want to pay homage to it. The head looked best on a Cobra Commander body, which gave it the formal appearance I needed, while also having a sort of late 19th century-early 20th century gentleman. This was inspired by an episode of Batman: The Animated Series set in the Old West, starring Jonah Hex. 

While working on Gotham's Most Wanted 2, I wanted to play with the idea of a variant/"chase" figure. Ra's Al Ghul was the natural fit, because he wears a number of different costumes, each with a different purpose. For Ra's in his League of Shadows uniform, I popped the finished head on the...

LEAGUE OF SHADOWS NINJA-

Ninjas have been a usual thorn in The Batman's side for decades, so when I saw the new ninjas released for the GI Joe 2 movie, I knew I had to make some. By far the most deadly of all The Batman's enemies are Ra's Al Ghul's personal army: The League of Shadows. Known by many names, counting an untold number of operatives, and led by one of the most brilliant men on Earth, they had to be the first "henchmen" made for Gotham's Most Wanted. 

Ever since I saw them in Nolan's Batman Begins, I knew I would have to make a figure inspired by Ra's Al Ghul's ninja guard... to do that, the figure is almost entirely a GI Joe 2 ninja with 25th Anniversary Storm Shadow armor and Batman forearm "spikes" grafted on, then hit with a coat of black paint and accessorized with a giant katana from my accessories Graveyard. 

NEXT TIME: OSWALD COBBLEPOT- THE COLD, CUNNING PENGUIN

THE SENTINEL OF LIBERTY

Months ago images surfaced of Chris Evans in costume shooting the upcoming film Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and I was immediately smitten with the design of the suit. While I had seen the all-blue costume in the comics before (worn by Agent Steve Rogers), I'd never seen it combined with Cap's mask/helmet combo... I thought it looked bad-ass and immediately had to make one to fit into my universe. 

Completed in July 2013, Captain America is primarily constructed from a GI Joe Shock Trooper/Riot Viper base, topped with an Ultimate WWII Cap head. Web gear from a 25th Anniversary figure from the fodder bin completes the ensemble. The shield is from a Marvel Universe Captain America. The rifle was also borrowed from Ultimate WWII Cap.

My take on this costume is that it's Cap's stealth uniform, for more top secret/black-ops missions... I keep picturing something like a cross between Captain America and Solid Snake from Metal Gear solid. To go along with Cap's more subdued look, the shield was painted in tones of gunmetal, inspired by a teaser poster for the movie, where all of the red and blue paint has been stripped off, just leaving the Vibranium.

Hydra Facility 1941: Ambushing a Hydra Soldier

Spotted by an evil Nazi robot!

"One of Zola's designs... I'm getting close."

The face of evil: Dr. Arnim Zola

Very much looking forward to Captain America 2, but I see this Cap as more of a pulp hero version of the character in my universe... without the more blatant, costume-y aspects of the red, white, and blue design. He's meant to fit in with my pulp heroes collection, and to go on those adventures. A globe-trotting super-spy that has partnered up with everyone from the US Government to The Avengers, to vigilantes like The Batman...

So now that I've made two Caps, what good is he without The Winter Soldier? I've already got some concepts in mind, but for now, he'll just have to be content knocking out countless Nazi stooges, giant evil robots, mad scientists, and the most vile of all.. The Red Skull!

TOP SECRET: FROM THE S.H.I.E.L.D. ARCHIVES 

Infiltrating HYDRA bunker, 1941

On the hunt for Dr. Arnim Zola

Assault on German command center 1942

Waiting to strike...

"That laugh... Red Skull is here..."

"Ah... Captain. So predictable. What took you so long?"

Coordinating a strike with the vigilante known as The Batman. Before he could be apprehended, Batman disappeared in a cloud of hallucinogenic smoke that induced paralyzing fear.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. head Nick Fury, 1940

One of The Avengers' first missions, 1938. Dr. Bruce Banner is still grey, since he had not experienced his secondary mutation, which turned him into the green-skinned Hulk.

The Sentinel of Liberty

COMING UP: GOTHAM'S MOST WANTED 2