Hot Toys Joker 2.0 DX11 Sixth Scale Figure Review

The Joker from The Dark Knight may be one of the best villain performances of all time. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it was, at least that’s my opinion. The Joker is my all time favorite villain and Heath Ledger was an amazing suit for him. Hot Toys has made a few different versions of the Joker in the past couple of years, but I think that this one may be one of the better ones. The Bank Robber Joker is still my favorite version of him though. Today we are going to take a look at a review of the Sideshow Collectibles Exclusive version of the Hot Toys Joker 2.0 DX11 Sixth Scale Figure. I was actually a little bit torn up about which version of the Joker I should get awhile back, the 1989 DX version, or this DX11 Joker 2.0. Obviously I elected to wait for the Joker 2.0 release and I’m really glad that I did. (even though it was delayed for months!)

Click on the images for a larger view.

Packaging

One of the best parts about collecting sixth scale figures is that unboxing the figures is like the most amazing experience that you will ever experience (well, not quite but you get the point). This figure was no exception. Since the Hot Toys Joker 2.0 is a DX figure, he comes in a HUGE box. The box is very sturdy and features a Joker on the front. Below that it reads Joker 2.0 with the DX and the Hot Toys logo. In my case since I got the Sideshow Collectibles Exclusive version of this figure, so there is a sticker on the top right reflecting that. The back of the box tells you all of the warning information. To sum things up short, don’t choke on the Joker 2.0’s awesomesause. 

The box is held closed with strong magnets. Once you get inside the box you will be greeted with some very nice inside printing. I love the “Why So Serious?” on the left flap. On the right there is a joker card with a safety-pin going through it.
The Joker 2.0 figure is encased in some thick protective foam like we have seen with other DX figures. If you have the Sideshow Exclusive version of him then you will have the detonator and the grumpy clown mask in the upper left of the first layer. The box features 2 layers of accessories. [one_half last=”no”]

Sculpt

Hot Toys usually does an amazing job on the sculpting and for this figure I would say it’s another home run. That is actually one of the reasons that intrigued me to buy this figure. The early product photos that Hot Toys released were amazing and now that I have the final product in hand I am impressed. Take a look for yourself…

The Joker 2.0 comes with 2 different head sculpts. The normal head sculpt comes with the Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS), which allows you to control the position of the eyes with a small joystick inside of his head. To access this joystick you simply pop off his magnetically attached hair sculpt. This system adds even more realism to the figure because you can give them so many more expressions by simply moving the eyes around. The other head sculpt is a laughing head sculpt. This sculpt is rather creepy, but I love it. I doesn’t feature the Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS), or any eyes for that matter, but it opens a whole new ball park as far as posing and expressions go.

Paint

Apart from the amazing sculpting job that Hot Toys is known for, they are also known for the amazing paint that they do. The paint that they do makes their figures look so much like the real thing that sometimes it’s hard to even tell the difference. Like with their recent releases the Joker 2.0 figure features glossy eyes that look just like the human eye. There is even a little bit of redness in the eyes, just like your eyes have. The ungloved hands that the Joker comes with are painted a little bit dirty looking and really add to the personality of the character. The paint on both of the included head sculpts is near perfection. You can see the skin tones show through the makeup, just like the makeup in the movie. The dark smudges around the eyes and reds around the mouth are extremely well done.

Articulation

Even with the bulkiness of the costume the TrueType body still functions as you would expect it to. There are 35 points of articulation and you can pretty much achieve any pose that you can dream of. That’s what I love about Hot Toys. The movement in the body is smooth too, you aren’t going to have the slightest bit of trouble when you go to pose this guy.

Accessories

Since this is a DX figure, he comes loaded with accessories. That’s one of the best parts about getting a DX release of a figure, the accessories. As already mentioned above he comes with 2 different head sculpts. It would have been pretty neat to get 2 different bodies for the head sculpts like the DX Luke Skywalker saw, but I’m fine without them too. As for guns the Joker comes with a Machine gun, Shotgun, and Pistol. The machine gun has a folding stock, spring action chamber, and removable magazine. The shotgun has a sliding pump, but the chamber doesn’t function. The Pistol is a Glock 17 that was converted to full auto like in the movie. It has an extended removable magazine and a functioning slide. He comes with 3 different knives, an extractor knife, a butterfly knife, and a potato peeler. The extractor knife has a retracting blade and the clip functions so you can clip in onto his clothing. The butterfly knife works just like a real one does. It folds up and clips together, I love it. The third knife, the potato peeler, it’s just hilarious. It only had a very brief time in the movie, but it’s nice to see it released by Hot Toys. His last weapon that he has is the blades that you can slide into the toes of his shoes. There are 2 blades included and they are actually made of real metal. (sorry no pictures of them inserted) One of the reasons that convinced me to buy this figure was the inclusion of the interrogation room setting. Included to help you set that up is 3 cardboard walls (the 2 sides feature 1 way mirrors), a table, a chair, and a lamp. The lamp attaches to the table via a magnet and there is actually a small wire running from it to the table for its power source. The tables paint is metallic and features scratches just like in the movie. Both the table and the chair are perfectly scaled to the Joker. While the lamp doesn’t light up, it’s still a very cool accessory. Another classic accessory that is included that works with the table is the pencil. There is a small hole in the table to help you stand the pencil up. It’s a magic trick! What would the Joker be without a big fat stack of cash and his Joker cards? He’s got those too. They are in scale, but the money is only printed on one side. Is it really that hard to print on both sides of a piece of paper? In order to use all of these accessories you are going to need a whole bunch of hands. The DX11 Joker 2.0 figure comes with 14 total hands. 8 gloved and 6 without gloves. You will have no problem finding the right hand for the right accessory. You also get a pretty fancy DX Joker stand that lights up with LED lights. The LED lights really aren’t that cool, but I do like the base matching the Joker’s suit in purple. Since I have the Sideshow Exclusive version of the figure my figure comes with the grumpy clown mask and a detonator. There is also a brown book which you can hide the detonator in. The grumpy clown mask can fit on the Joker’s face, but I didn’t take any pictures of him with it on.

Overall

Overall this figure is absolutely outstanding. With the increase of normal Hot Toys figures to about $200 with little accessories, this figure is only $275 and comes LOADED with accessories. He comes with a diorama and a very cool one at that. You are getting 2 head sculpts and an improved outfit too. Even if you have the DX01 version of the Joker, I would say that you should still consider picking up this figure, especially if you are a Batman/ Dark Knight fan. Another home run by Hot Toys. Definitely recommended.

Ordering

UPDATE: If you want to find this figure, eBay is your best bet.  Click this link to search eBay for this Hot Toys Dark Knight Joker figure.