Outside of buying an authentic prop from your favorite motion picture, nothing beats a Hot Toys figure when it comes to movie collectibles. It's like having a Madam Tussauds for your shelf! Batman News has talked about Hot Toys' miniaturization of Christian Bale and Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Adam West, and more, and each one has proven to look more convincing than the last (well, except for the Burt Ward, they could've tried harder there). Just a few months back we discussed the Arkham Asylum version of Jared Leto's Joker from Suicide Squad and although it was incredibly lifelike, beneath the straight jacket it was missing Leto's trademark body tattoos and it was light on accessories. The figure was magnificent, but limited. Well, I'm pleased to say that the Purple Coat version designed, sculpted, and painted by artists Kojun, JC Hong and Jae-sung, Eom stands out in every area where the Arkham version fell short. And, if you've got the scratch, the two figures combined will make for the best Leto display imaginable.

UNBOXING

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The figure comes in a highly stylized purple box with gold leaf and lime green accents, plus some alligator skin embossing for texture and added visual interest. You'll also see a few images of Joker and Harley as well as graphics depicting guns, knives, and grotesque grins. Underneath is a two-piece cover with credits list divided by a center tab pull. Pulling the tab allows both pieces to flip back and reveal Joker and his accessories encased in clear plastic. Each item has its own molded compartment and the coat is given its very own separate container. Lastly, a thick cardboard backdrop with two equally dense supports are packaged in plastic bags.

The backdrop features two notches on each side that plug into holes in the wedge-shaped uprights. While the colorful graffiti background is cool, the support wedges are flimsy and unreliable. I had to work a lot to get the bow out of my warped wedges so that they'd actually lock into place (it didn't last long). For an expensive figure like this, Hot Toys should've just gone with hard plastic supports. Or done something similar to the Arkham version, which had a tri-fold backdrop made from the box's reversible front cover. Now that was an attractive and sturdy backdrop!

REVIEW

The Joker (Purple Coat Version) Sixth Scale Collectible Figure:

• New head sculpt with authentic, detailed likeness of Jared Leto as The Joker in Suicide Squad
• Movie-accurate facial expression
• Detailed tattoos
• Hand-painted make-up and skin texture
• Over 30 points of articulation
• Approximately 29.5 cm tall
• Nine interchangeable tattooed hands:
  
  - One pair of relaxed hands
  
  - One pair of gripping hands
  
  - One right fist
  
  - One gun holding right hand
  
  - One gesturing left hand
  
  - One gripping right gloved hand
  
  - One open right gloved hand

Costume:

• Specially tailored purple faux leather coat with crocodile skin pattern
• One pair of purple and gold boxer trunks
• One pair of black leggings with silver Bat-symbol pattern
• One pair of black boots with smile graphic on the left boot

Accessories:

• Joker pistol
• Purple and gold pimp cane
• Gold watch
• Two bracelets
• Three gold necklaces in various widths
• Specially designed Suicide Squad-themed stand with character nameplate and movie logo
• Graffiti backdrop with two wedge-shaped supports

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Sideshow Exclusive Accessories:

• Joker's mobile phone
• Hammer with Joker symbol
• Cutthroat razor

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Seeing as how it's the "Joker Purple Coat Version," I'll kick things off by discussing the titular outerwear. It's not real leather, but it certainly feels like it, and despite it not being the real McCoy, it's not shoddy. I don't think you'll ever need to worry about cracking, splitting, or individual alligator scales falling off. I roughed up the material a little just to test and it's surprisingly durable stuff. However, it's not so tough that it's not also pliable. Want the collar popped up high like in the movie? You can do that and it'll stay that way.

Want the collar to lie a little more level like in the Empire magazine spread? You can do that too and it'll stay. You can fold it down totally flat if you want to as well, it's versatile.

Buttons aren't functional, but you probably didn't want to hide those tats anyway, do you? While the scales aren't going anywhere, these buttons could definitely pop off if you scratched hard enough. Thankfully, Hot toys includes a little baggie with extra buttons that can be glued on in case an accident happen. And as for the interior of the coat, it's actually quite nice. While Hot Toys typically doesn't bother with giving coats and jackets a quality lining, Leto's Joker has a silky purple material with good sheen.

To get the right fit you want, just squeeze a little here or pinch a little there and the coat will hug Leto's frame as snugly as you want. There might be some worry about the purple dye from the lapels rubbing off on the chest of your figure and some of the more nervous collectors might want to discretely hide a little cellophane underneath just in case, but I think you'll be fine. The gold chains (if you use them) can also serve as a barrier between dyed vinyl and hand-painted skin.

Although the first images we ever saw of him were shirtless, Leto's portrayal was actually big on fashion with multiple wardrobe changes throughout his brief appearance in Suicide Squad. The Purple Coat look is without a doubt his most eclectic getup in the movie and Hot Toys succeeded in realizing every garment in 1/6 scale form. In addition to the coat, the gold and purple boxing trunks, black and silver bat-symbol leggings, and outrageous jewelry are all represented with stunning accuracy. And the over-sized boots with detailed sole traction and mangled laces not only look great, but give the figure a sturdy enough foundation that you won't even need to use the included figure stand! And with perfect balance and over 30 points of articulation, you can pull off some pretty inventive poses that just aren't possible with a lot of these high-end figures.

When it comes to bling, how much jewelry you want him to wear is totally up to you. There are three different gold chains, two gold bracelets (one plastic and one metal), and a watch. You can even remove the coat and ditch the jewelry, and try to recreate the look seen in the Harley torture scene from the film. There's even a pair of purple-gloved right hands for you to choose from. However, you'll have to borrow the ARKHAM-printed pants from the Arkham version (sold separately) if you want a 100% authentic appearance.

And that's been my experience with the Leto Joker figures these past few days: they are great individually, but combined they make something absolutely perfect. And this goes beyond prison-issue pants and screen-accurate body tattoos. The head sculpts, while phenomenal, look their best when attached to the opposite body.

The one on our right, which came with the Arkham version, looks remarkably similar to the expression Leto wore on the Empire cover, no? The head you see on the left, the manic one, looks an awful lot like this...

And when I swapped the heads I ended up with two figures that looked, well, pretty damn flawless. Crazy-face Joker is best displayed on a mental institution inmate's body and stone-cold-killa-face Joker is best displayed on a gangsta body. Who'da thunk it?

But let's turn our attention back to the grinning sculpt included with the Purple Coat version. It's incredible. Absolutely, eerily lifelike. It's so convincing that even Leto himself tweeted an image of this very figure holding the Sideshow exclusive cutthroat razor to Batman's throat. That's right, the Purple Coat version is Jared Leto-approved. And why wouldn't it be? Hot Toys even hand-painted each individual silver-capped tooth!

The Joker Purple Coat Version is also one of the most highly detailed bodies that Hot Toys has ever produced. While most figures hide their plain doll bodies behind movie-accurate costumes, this Joker can be displayed shirtless so you can show off all those tattoos. Not only is Joker' controversial ink perfectly applied (including that cool left hand tattoo, which is present on multiple replaceable hands) but the body itself is carefully sculpted to capture Jared Leto's ripped physique. The torso and arms are also hand painted to give it just the right skin tone complete with a freckle or two and, if you look closely, you'll even see veins under the skin. Not kidding.

The only tattoo that has some trouble is the skull-faced jester on the right side of his chest. As you know, one of the bell-tipped points on the fool's hat extends from chest to shoulder and since the arm of the figure needs to articulate, the tattooed point will separate  from the rest of the fool's hat if you raise or lower the arm. Until the day Hot Toys invents artificial skin for these figures, there's really no way around this problem.

I'll wrap up by talking about the accessories. There are plenty. And I'm not just talking jewelry (there's gobs of that too), there are weapons and fun props perfect for any kind of pose. Want an action pose? You can have him firing the brightly painted purple and gold gun. Want something more gritty threatening instead of flashy threatening? Give him a hammer or a knife. Just want him to strut? There's a pimp cane for that. Hell, you can even have him chatting on a cell phone if it pleases you. And don't worry about the stand. Thanks to the heavy boots with rubbery grip, Jared won't topple. Plus, that stand reads "Joker: Purple Coat Version" which is kind of lame. It should've just said "Joker." Leave it in the box and let Mr. J roam free, I say.

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OVERALL

Despite not being a fan of Jared Leto's Joker, even I have to admit that this is the best-looking Hot Toys figure I currently own. Not only is it an eerily lifelike model, but it's a well-rounded package that includes basically everything you'd want. I lamented that the Arkham version lacked tattoos, but Purple Coat version has 100% accurate full body tattoos. I complained that the Arkham version was short on accessories, but Purple Coat version is drowning in accessories of every variety and all of them are great for a wide-range of poses. The only grievance I can muster is that I think the head sculpt from the Arkham version looks better on this body and the Purple Coat version's head looks better on the Arkham body. And that was probably done intentionally so die-hard fans would purchase both. And I can't really make a strong case against not buying both if you are indeed a die-hard Leto Joker fan because, frankly, seeing Arkham and Purple Coat Jokers side-by-side with heads swapped looks f*#%ing awesome.

The Joker (Purple Coat Version) with hammer, phone and blade is available only at Sideshowtoy.com (click link for more details) and costs $249.99, but with Sideshow's two-month payment plan you can purchase the figure for $112.50 per month.