Square Enix Prepares for the Dawn of Justice at NYCC

Considering how many different shows Square Enix participates in, it's a wonder there were any new figures on display at this year's New York Comic Con. Fortunately for all, the Play Arts line saw some strong new additions this week, with the 2016 Warner Brothers' tentpole Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice getting the most attention. We had seen the standard Superman and Batman figures back at SDCC, but here we got looks at the prototypes for a second Batman figure and what could be the best Wonder Woman Square has ever done.

Seriously, Square Enix has dipped the toy quill in the DC Comics fountain before, and the Variant Wonder Woman, while true to Play Arts' style, wasn't exactly the strongest representation of the character. This new iteration, based on Gal Gadot's take on the iconic Amazonian, is incredibly detailed, but more importantly, it's spot-on, unembellished sculpt is the perfect counterpoint to the previous attempt. The articulation is impressive as always, but the real draw comes from that attention to detail Square has been stepping up over the course of the last year. The company's been working with a slightly larger scale than it was in the past, and though it means more expensive figures, it also means way more nuance for each figure.

The Armored Batman was just as impressive as everything else on display, but as Square is notable for it's terrific armored designs, this version stands out amongst similar figures made elsewhere. Plus, it's one of the few prototypes that actually benefits from being in the solid gray, as the suit is relatively the same color in the film. It definitely helps give a better idea of what to expect from the finished product. Sometimes the paint app can straight ruin an amazing sculpt, but given Square's pedigree, that's unlikely to happen with this piece.

There were of course some video game figures at the show as well, with Noctis and Ignis from Final Fantasy XV making their US debut. It's a little too early to say whether or not these characters will be thought of as fondly as so many other Final Fantasy lead characters, but their designs do lend to some stylish renderings. Halo 5's Master Chief and Agent Locke were also on hand, as was Lara Croft. All looked as good here as they did at SDCC, and I have to give it to Square for going with the fully-bundled up "arctic" version of Lara for its Rise of the Tomb Raider figure.

It's a shame we didn't get to see the painted prototypes for the Marvel Variant Black Widow or Captain America, as Square has released images of both online already. Production shots can look different from the final products though, so I wish we could have seen the paint apps in person for a better idea of what to expect. Captain America still looks just a bit too angular, but I'm still holding out hope this Black Widow turns out as good as the previews have teased.