Our look at the vehicle segment of Mattel’s basic Dark Knight Rises line continues with a look at Batman’s two-wheeled ride: the Bat-Pod. There are two versions of the Bat-Pod. The basic version features a non-removable Batman figure, which I consider to be an absolutely useless idea, so I have opted instead to dip ever so briefly into the “QuickTek” segment of the line. QuickTek is the “deluxe” segment of the line, which features armor pieces that attach to the figures and vehicles with the “Quicktek” logo on the packaging. To be honest, I have no use for any of the Quick Tek figures, as I feel the armors they have come up with are silly and unnecessary, but I decided to press my luck with the “Attack Armor Bat-Pod.” Here’s my review.

FIGURES AND MORE ACTION FIGURE REVIEW

Special Feature: The Toys of the Dark Knight Rises

Figure:                                                  Attack Armor Bat-Pod

Company:                                            Mattel

Line:                                                      The Dark Knight Rises (Basic)

UPC:                                                       746775072933

Next up in the vehicle segment is Batman’s two wheeled ride, the Bat-Pod. Making it’s debut in the second of Christopher Nolan’s films, the Dark Knight, the Bat-Pod was born from the ruins of the Batmobile, which was catastrophically injured in the film by a rocket fired by the Joker. In order to protect Batman’s identity, the Batmobile self destructs, but not before initiating the eject mode, turning the cockpit and front wheels into the Bat-Pod. The extremely speedy cycle-like vehicle has become a huge hit with the fan community, and it makes it’s return in the Dark Knight Rises. Mattel has done toy versions of the Bat-Pod before. The basic one is part of the Batmobile toy from the basic line, and it actually fits inside the Batmobile and launches from inside it. Mattel also did a magnificent Target exclusive Movie Masters Scale Bat-Pod, which is still being sought to this day by collectors on Ebay. Has Mattel managed to keep the quality streak going? And, most importantly, Is It Worth It? Let’s find out.

Look: The Bat-Pod is very faithful to the look of the vehicle in the movie, with large spinning tires. It is molded primarily in black plastic, with grey engine cover, side arm shields and front guns. There is also a small gold plate in front of the rear wheel. It is a simple vehicle by nature, but this is a very nice, well executed version of the vehicle and stands very well on it’s own.In case you’re wondering, all of the 3.75 inch figures work on the vehicle, inculding Caped Crusader Batman and Catwoman. The handgrips and shields are made of a “bendy” plastic that makes it very easy to get the figure’s hands around them. I am really impressed with this feature of the vehicle.

Articulation: N/A

Accessories: The vehicle comes with two accessories. The first is the QuickTek armore. It comes in two pieces. There are three spring loaded armor “shields”, which are molded as one jointed piece. They are molded in the same matte black color and gold accents that are the hallmarks of the Batman vehicles. There are three hinges, two on the side and one at the top, which operate when a button on the top which is adorned with a bat symbol is pressed. When activated, the two side pieces swing forward and the top snaps over, creating a sort of “cocoon” that covers the rider. The second piece of the armor is a large missile launcher, which snaps into the top piece of the armor. It is molded in silver plastic and the missile it fires is a reddish-orange. The whole apparatus connects to the back of the Bat-Pod just below the rider, via a single tab-slot connection. It fits very securely, but is not difficult to get off. The bottom line is that the armor is cool, but not neccessary to use the toy. But, I don’t hate it as much as I thought I would. I cannot say the same about the other accessory. This vehicle does not come with a non-removable Batman figure, but it might as well have. What it does come with is one of the WORST pack-in figures I have EVER seen with a vehicle. The Batman figure that comes with the vehicle is a little shorter, probably 3.5 inches instead pf 3.75 inches, a vinyl instead of cloth cape and NO ARTICULATION, not even in the legs. To say this figure is awful is a massive understatement. It is also the only figure I have seen to date that has NO PUPILS in the eyes. You are much better off using Caped Crusader Batman, Catwoman, or just about any other basic figure instead of this one. Seriously, it’s that bad.

IS IT WORTH IT?: The good news is that the disappointing pack in figure is not enough to spoil this vehicle. This is a great representation of this vehicle. The QuickTek component for this vehicle is not as bad as I thought, and it is painted to fit in perfectly. The Batman and Catwoman figures fit very well on the figures and look great. At $24.99, this is a great way to pick up this vehicle due to it’s versatility. If you want the Bat-Pod, this is the way to go.

FINAL SCORE: 4 out of 5

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This product is available at most stores now.

That’s all for now. Up next, the newest vehicle: The Bat

Send me feedback on my reviews at robh@figuresandmore.com

This has been Rob Hull for Figures and More