This thing was teased almost a decade ago. I've been waiting ever since, to pair it with my TKD armory, and am glad it's seeing the light of day, after being vaporware for so long.
I like that Bruce has a new look that hasn't been done before, which helps justify the purchase. I don't need another "Bruce in a suit," and a cane is an easy accessory to find if you want it. Still not too happy about the price, but I wonder if the high price and the apparent apathy from many of the consumers, for a suit that has been sold many times over already (and quite recently), will lead to a discounted price later on.
I think people that are upset about previous purchases, in light of this announcement, are buying these figures for all the wrong reasons. If you think a figure is worth your money, you buy it for itself - and the later release of another figure does nothing to alter the figure you already bought and have. But if you're buying a figure just because it's the "latest release" or the "most accurate version so far," then you're making the mistake of not judging your purchase based on its own merits, rather than relative to the potential for other releases.
There's a more accurate version now? So what? If you liked DX19 and thought it was "accurate enough for the money," then it still should be "accurate enough for the money." If it wasn't good enough for your standards (such that a later release would make you regret your purchase), then you shouldn't have bought it in the first place.
I'm surprised at some of the long-time collectors here still being upset by this cycle. I might have felt the same way ten years ago, so I understand it from some of the newer collectors, but I would have thought that the old-timers here whose names I recognize as collectors for more than a decade would have matured beyond that point by now.
Hot Toys' first TDK suit release was terrible (remember the "gut?"), so I was happy when DX02 provided the upgrade. Then came the armory release, and I was happy to upgrade a second time then as well - not only for the accuracy, but more importantly, because the long-term durability of the suit promised to outlast the always-dicey rubber that DX02 had. I passed on DX19, since what I had felt good enough - minute adjustments on accuracy, and even more faceplates weren't worth spending money on. This is now the fifth version of the suit? I'll get it for the armory and the Bruce, but I won't buy multiple bodies to upgrade by TDK suit figures the way I did when the TDK armory came out.
At some point, you just have to be happy with the thing you have and not worry about minor variations of future releases. If what you have isn't going to be good enough for you, then don't buy it - and at the same time, don't let your things own you.
