The first of the Bad Batch figures for Season 2 were released in late July 2023. The wave was a US Walmart Exclusive, while it was sold via the Fan Channel retailers here in the UK. Echo is the final figure in the wave and number 17 in the Bad Batch Galaxy Collection series sitting after Tech, and before the Season 2 Omega releasing later in 2023. He comes in the standard Galaxy Collection black box with deep red accent colour and side artwork.
Like all the other figures in the wave, Echo is very much a re-used version of the Season 1 release from 2022 with the only physical update on the first figure a pair of variant shoulder pauldrons, and a new belt and kama piece which looks similar but features different belt fastening and pouches as well as a relief design on the skirt. Echo gets a repaint as well with grey remaining the predominant base colour, but the Season 2 Mercenary look is replicated over the top with light grey panels, orange and grey markings and brown shades on the kama and lower legs. The figure is well proportioned in terms of the real-world conversion from the animated series.
The helmet is the same piece as before and designed for the front section to come away from the implanted tech on Echo’s head - leaving those in place. This is a tight fit, but is engineered soundly and works as designed with the lower band of the helmet splitting in a softer plastic to come around the head and off completely. The helmet is cast in grey plastic with the same lighter grey markings as the armour and a slash of cream across one side of the helmet and a touch of red picking out some indicator lights.
The Echo head is also carried forward from the first release, and like the body features a translated look from the animated style of Bad Batch to a real-world setting and a strong likeness to the original clone template, Temura Morrison. The head is cast in a paler skin tone as reflective of the trauma Echo has suffered and comes complete with the cybernetic implants around the top of the head. Face Print tech appears to have been used to add in the facial detail as well as a touch of shading on the sunken cheeks and around the eyes. Echo also comes with the backpack from the original release, the same one used with Tech. It features two aerials on the dark grey base and some orange and red details picked out around the back.
Echo only features a single accessory, a DC-17 blaster pistol cast in black with no other decor. It slips into the holster built into the left-hand side of Echo’s kama and is meant to be held in the left hand for obvious reasons. Sadly, as is the case with every Clone, Hasbro still hasn't produced and included a left hand with a trigger finger so the grip is awkward. Echo’s right arm prosthetic is part of the main body, and we don’t get the larger claw piece from the first release - although it will of course fit on the Season 2 body.
Echo has 19 points of articulation, with the prosthetic right arm coming with a pivot and rotating joint at the elbow in lieu of the wrist joint. The kama is prohibitive for a number of lower leg poses, but the arms work well enough within the restrictions of the armour. All the joints work as designed, are tight and secure, and Echo is easy enough to pose.
Out of all the Season 2 wave, Echo is a character with only a year or so between his first release and this new version. Both figures are done to a good standard, but like all the other Bad Batch Season 2 characters the Mercenary look does make the figures more vibrant on display. The key single issue with Echo, like Hunter, is the left hand and lack of a trigger finger - and it might have also been nice to allow collectors the choice of including the arm extension claw for an alternative look considering it was already in the ‘catalogue’ however, I can understand the reason for non-inclusion considering the paint pallet used on Echo vs more general releases. As we’ve seen with the other figures, the beauty of the wave is the team-building element and we shouldn’t have long to wait to finish off the main Season 2 heroes with the Mercenary Gear Omega on the way.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...