I
can’t imagine there’s a more iconic fictional pop culture vehicle
than the Batmobile.
For
whatever reason, the Batmobile hasn’t played a big role in the
comics since Grant Morrison introduced the flying version. But over
the last couple of years it seems to have hit pop culture in a big
way. Or at least, it’s made a big impact in the toy industry.
Mattel produced a (sub-par) version of the ’66
Batmobile,
and a super-deluxe SDCC
Exclusive Arkham Knight Batmobile.
They also released a set of Hot Wheels for the 75th
Anniversary of Batman, most of which were various Batmobiles. The
aforementioned Arkham
Knight
video game featured the most complete Batmobile experience yet, with
not only the game version but also skins for classic Batmobiles like
the Tumbler and the 1989 model.
We
also got a look at the newest iteration, which will appear in Zack
Snyder’s Dawn
of Justice:
Finally,
we got an update to what is not only an iconic Batmobile, but one of
the classic toys of many a Gen Xer’s collection - the car seen on
Batman:
The Animated Series.
I’ve
still got the original Kenner version. That thing is a fantastic toy
and one of my all-time favorite toy vehicles. Sure - it was
undersized, the Bat Symbol sticker on the front always bothered me,
and it’s blue instead of black. But it had pop-out saws on the
wheels, the design is beautiful, and the ejecting mini-jet was
integrated into the design so well that it was undetectable. It’s
one of the best toy features I own and is an example of the
manufacturer going above and beyond to offer value without mucking up
the source design. Sure – I’d love to have been able to fit Robin
or Catwoman into that car beside Batman. But I’d rather have a
friggin’ jet that shoots out of the back!
Today’s
subject has a lot to live up to, and not just a little going against
it. The original was a toy,
while DC Collectibles’ new Batmobile is more likely to serve as a
collectible. That means that the designers were probably more
concerned with aesthetics than with gimmickry. While that would have
been fine with me years ago, I’ve been softening on toy gimmicks
ever since my son was born. That’s not to say that aesthetics
aren’t important, but I think there’s a middle ground that can be
achieved, and that the finest designers can hit it. Masters of the
Universe Classics does that more often than not (although their
“nots” are generally pretty bad).
The
biggest challenge that this Batmobile faces has nothing to do with
the designers. It’s the poor quality control that has plagued this
line since its first releases. I want this to be the greatest toy
line of all time. I want to love it to the point where I’d be fine
if it was the only thing I was collecting (boy, would that be nice).
But the figures so far have been comparable to McFarlane releases for
their design and durability. We’ve suffered everything from broken
limbs to stuck joints to poorly engineered limbs (neither set of
Man-Bat’s arms stay on) to the all-new problem of accessories that
are missing paint apps (on Batgirl – I’ll be reviewing her soon).
Suffice
it to say I was concerned about this thing breaking or falling apart.
But it’s a must-have item, so I risked it and put my money down
anyway. So here goes…
FIRST
GLANCE
Massive,
sleek, and black. The flat finish looks great. The transparent,
blue-tinted canopy is just darned classy. And after the
disappointment of Mattel’s ’66 Batmobile the rubber tires and
transparent headlights and signals have me absolutely delighted.
PACKAGING
The
box is very plain, but this thing isn’t exactly going to be showing
up at Walmart or even Toys R Us, so it doesn’t need to be
eye-catching. It features the same graphical style as the figures in
the line with graphics of the Batmobile on each side. I do like the
stylized angles they used.
And,
of course, the fact that DCC credited the sculptors.
LOOKS
The
lines on this thing are beautiful. I realize that’s more the folks
that originally designed it than the sculptors, but it just looks so
good in person. I tend to think of the Tumbler as being the tank-like
Batmobile, but this one looks like a hybrid of a battering ram and a
race car. It’s such an effective combination of power and speed.
The
plastic is very smooth and flat and almost looks like a carbon fiber.
It’s perfect for the toy, but there’s some discoloration on the
hood that I don’t care for. It’s the way the plastic is and it’s
a little hard for me to describe because it’s not technically a
flaw, but it shouldn’t look that way. The chassis is very sturdy
and just think enough – the thinner parts are still sturdy and
don’t feel like they’re in any danger of warping or breaking.
All
of the feature pieces – the signals, pipes, turbine, grill, etc. -
are snug in their spots and look great. It’s a small thing, but
this is a difference between a collector-oriented toy like this one
and a mass market release – all of these parts are separate and
have this engineered look to them. They’re not just painted on (or
worse – stickers)
or part of a single larger piece that sits underneath the outer
shell. Each is an individually sculpted piece that was paid attention
to and crafted to be accurate. And they are all seated in a realistic
manner.
The silver portions – wheels, grill, pipes, turbine – match.
The grill actually has slots sculpted in, it’s not just a solid
piece.
The
wheels have the central hub, but it does not extend out into a saw
blade like the Kenner version. I feel like that was a missed
opportunity, but at the same time it’s not like that happened on
the show a lot. It wasn’t a signature of every Batmobile appearance
or anything. The rubber tires fit the wheels perfectly and have tread
patterns sculpted in. Just the fact that they’re rubber wins this
toy a lot of points.
The
headlights, signals, and turbine are beautiful. The plastic used is
incredibly clear and free of smudges or defects – it might as well
be glass.
The
canopy makes me nervous. It slides open and closed along a low
profile slot on the car. It’s more gorgeous translucent plastic and
is slightly flexible, which is good because the slider that attaches
it to the chassis is so
damned thing.
Every time I move the canopy I’m afraid it’s going to break. It
hasn’t,
but I’ve been extremely careful with it and haven’t let my son
mess with it at all. When opening it, I place my thumb and forefinger
on the rear corners and very carefully slide the top forward. And it
does not slide smoothly. To close, I push right at the junction of
the canopy and the chassis, putting all of the very slight force I’m
using on that joint as centrally as I can.
The
interior boasts two seats with seatbelts, a gear shift, control
panels, three light-up displays, and a retractable steering wheel.
Everything is painted or sculpted – no stickers.
FUN
Obviously
I did not expect the slide-out jet that the Kenner version had, as
that wasn’t even show-accurate.
The
wheels rotate quite freely – with a gentle push this massive
vehicle will go zipping across your floor. The front wheels turn,
though they sadly are not controlled by the steering wheel. It’s
not really a critical feature, but I always like when cars are
engineered that way. At least the wheels do
turn.
The
light-up portions are wonderful. There’s a switch beside the
battery compartment to turn them on and off. When they’re on, they
are brilliant and clear. I don’t know for sure, but each different
colored part is so distinctive that it seems they have their own bulb
rather than sharing a single illuminated element like most toys would
nowadays.
I
would have loved to have some sounds. It’s by no means a deal
breaker, but that would have been cool.
Batman
and Robin fit into the cockpit nicely, but if you put two
Batman-sized figures in it’s going to be snug. You do have to
remove the figure’s capes, which makes them look weird and also it
just bugs me that they don’t have their capes on. I’m not saying
I would have wanted fabric capes in this line. Maybe some kind of
driving cape that was bent halfway down? I don’t know. There’s
probably no good answer here.
The
seatbelts are remarkable. They’re elastic bands with sliding clips
on them. These clips plug into slots on the sides of the seats. The
concept is good, but the clips don’t fasten securely enough to stay
plugged in around Batman’s bulky torso. Robin works fine, but it
kept popping out on the Dark Knight’s side. This is sort of a
problem, but I also don’t really care.
The
steering wheel retracts into the dash to make it easier to get the
driver in place, which was a brilliant way to do it. It extends out
far enough for the driver to hold, which he would be doing if I had
bothered to put the correct hands on him.
OVERALL
This
is a gorgeous, well-made collector toy. I can’t call it high-end
because it isn’t, nor is it meant to be. This is the Batmobile we
all wanted twenty years ago. It’s like a dream fulfilled. Maybe Hot
Toys will make a better, sixth scale version. If they do that’s
fine and other folks can pay $600 for that one. I’ll be quite
delighted with my less-than-$100 version.
If
you’re collecting the Animated line, this is a must-have. If you
collect Batmobiles like I do it’s also a must-have. DC Collectibles
did a fantastic job in bring this to twelfth scale life. The only
major issue is how flimsy the canopy feels, but I’ll reiterate that
I’ve been very careful and haven’t had any problems. I’d like
sounds and that discoloration on the hood isn’t super, but
otherwise this Batmobile is a great toy and an excellent value.
4
out of 5
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