Yeah, I don't know why they did that. I have to stress caution when articulating this figure. Since my orders of Batmen came in reverse, I got the regular first, then knightmare and finally this one, I was expecting similar materials and almost the same range in movement.
Don't try to attempt to emulate the range that you get from the regular and knightmare version. Even watching Clipper's video, keep in mind that he probably is very used to maxing out the range of articulation in figures with CARE, I was afraid of breaking joints in this figure; specially in the shoulders. The suit is very limiting.
Replacing the gloves, I suggest practice before messing with the accessories with the hands. It is so bulky, and the armor pushes away from the suit as you replace the gloves.
The only reason I can think of as to why HT used this different material was that it was already ordered and they did not want to waste the material. So they used the original material, thinking that since the armor will limit articulation anyway, they may as well use this one. I think that was a mistake. It certainly could have helped a few degrees of movement in the shoulders and around the leg articulation as well.
I am so disappointed because I wanted to do certain poses with superman. I tested those poses with the Regular batman and I mistakenly thought I would be able to do those poses, even with the armor restriction. But that different material just really tossed those ideas into the gutter.
