Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO Minifigure Bootleg

At San Diego Comic Con this past summer (2014) one of LEGO's super limited exclusives was The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh. I was at ComiCon but didn't realize this fact until after it had sold out. That said, I would not have likely gotten it anyways as the LEGO exclusives are painfully difficult to obtain even if you attend the Con. Not surprisingly, The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh LEGO minifigure is now going for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market.

Thank God for Chinese bootleggers!

Every so often I seek out what's new in the Chinese BootLEGO world, so imagine my joy when I discovered they are now making a Batman of Zur-En-Arrh minifigure!

He's not an exact duplicate of the LEGO version: The symbol is slightly different, he doesn't have his 'Bat-Radia' printed on his belt (but he does have printing on his back torso,) his head only has one face printed on it, and his cape is scalloped instead of flat at the base.

He also does not come with a bat (I borrowed mine from another LEGO minifigure.)

He does come with a Bat...umm...mobile?

As far as I am aware, this vehicle is a bootleg original, and not based off of any official (or unofficial) LEGO build.

I suppose the jalopy-esque cobbled-together nature of the Batmobile or Batscooter or whatever it is  does fit into the character as envisioned by Grant Morrison, so it is a fun addition to the minifigure. But honestly they had me at 'Batman of Zur-En-Arrh.'

I believe this set is by ShengYuan, and the quality is incredible. Seriously on par with LEGO at this point. The cape material is flimsier than official LEGO capes, but that's a minor quibble. In fact, if you wanted your Batman of Zur-En-Arrh to look even more like the official version, you can use the LEGO Magneto's cape, as it is an exact match for the SDCC exclusive Batman version's cape, no scallops and all.

I got this guy off eBay and so far this minifigure is only available in a set of four Batman minifigures/mini vehicles. I can't complain, I got the whole set for less than ten bucks shipped, making this guy no more than a couple bucks alone. An incredible alternative to 200 plus dollars for an official version!

The fact that the Chinese bootleggers made this guy makes me think they really have their fingers on the pulse of LEGO minifigure fandom, and it gives me high hopes for some incredible bootlegs based on the new LEGO Batman 3 video game. I expect some great and unexpected LEGO DC and Batman themed bootlegs within the next year!