Rob Hull
Rob HullOur look at the Mattel Basic line concludes with the final vehicle in the line, The Bat. The newest vehicle in the Dark Knight’s arsenal, The Bat is part helicopter, part jet, a unique flying vehicle that again comes from Wayne Enterprises’ Applied Sciences division. The toy is the largest vehicle in the Dark Knight Rises basic line. Here’s my review.
FIGURES AND MORE ACTION FIGURE REVIEW
Special Feature: The Toys of the Dark Knight Rises
Figure: The Bat
Comapny: Mattel
Line: The Dark Knight Rises (Basic)
UPC: 746775113377
Up last in the basic line from Mattel is the biggest and baddest of the Batman vehicles, the aerial wonder known only as the Bat. Making it’s debut in the Dark Knight Rises, the Bat is the final piece of Batman’s arsenal, an aerial vehicle armed to the teeth and capable of spectacular aerial acrobatics. The Dark Knight Rises showcases the Bat in several huge set pieces and I, for one, could not wait to get my hands on the toy version. But, my personal feelings aside, the question I’m here to answer is : is it worth it? Let’s find out
Look: Visually, the Bat fits in perfectly with the rest of Batman’s arsenal. It features the same matte black primary color scheme which we have come to associate with the Nolan Batman vehicles. The plastic is full of intricately carved details There are two propeller blade on the underside of the vehicle that spin, There is dark “glass” canopy at the front of the vehicle that is hinged and opens like a clamshell. The cockpit hold 1 3.75 inch figure, which like the Batmobile is an inaccuracy, as the vehicle in the film holds 2. Realizing the bulk and unusual shape of the vehicle, and harkening back to the Toy Biz Batwing toy format he original 1989 Batman movie, Mattel has molded a handle on top of the vehicle. It works very well, and does not spoil the look of the vehicle at all. There are two “arms” on the front of the vehicle which end in what appear to be fans. To add play features to the vehicle, Mattel has added missile launcher functionality to the arms, with firing buttons located on top of each arm. In addition, when you press the left fire button, you will activate a sound feature. The missile launch works very well, and the missiles fly fairly far. But, the best feature is yet to come. Above the cockpit is a flip up hatch. Included with the vehicle is a 3.75 inch “Glider” Batman figure, made out of foam. Place the Glider Batman into this hatch, pull the lever on the bottom of the vehicle, and close the hatch. To fire, push the button located at the front of the handle down, This springs the hatch open and launches the Glider Batman figure. He flies an impressive distance. The cockpit will fit most 3.75 inch figures.
Articulation: N/A
Accessories: The Bat comes fully assembled out of the package. It’s only accessories are the Glider Batman figure and the two missile that fit in front. The Glider Batman figure is fairly sturdy for a foam figure and the launching mechanism works very well. Likewise, the missile launching feature works very well. The missiles only fit in the slots one way, so it is impossible to incorrectly load them.
IS IT WORTH IT?: The answer is an emphatic yes! The dichotomy of the basic line is staggering to me. The figures are so bad and the vehicles are so good. If they had taken as much care and put as much effort into the quality of the figures as they did the vehicles, they would have a much more balanced line. As it is, buy only the figures you absolutely need, but buy every vehicle, including this one. Starting at $29.99, this is the most expensive of the vehicles, but it one of the coolest looking toys Mattel has ever made, and it has one of the best action features I have seen.
FINAL SCORE: 4 out of 5
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That does it for our look at the basic segment of the Dark Knight Rises line from Mattel. Next up, the other segment of Mattel’s Dark Knight Rises line, Movie Masters.
Send me feedback about this review at robh@figuresandmore.com
This is Rob Hull for Figures and More
