Ha-HA! I am finally going to be able to impress my friends with my epic rendition of the Batusi dance with the appropriate accessorizing. In what has finally been THE year for an embarrassment of merchandise riches for the classic 1960s Batman show (the one with Adam West, duh), Mattel is capping off the year with their most epic addition to their offerings. In fact, it is the Epic Creations Movie Masters Batman Utility Belt. What is certain to be the fashion accessory for men of a certain age this holiday season, the belt that every other pants-keeping-up device aspires to be, can finally be yours. So if you think you need it in your life, or if there is a Bat-fan you want to impress, be sure to check this out.
Yes, I realize that the feature media in which this belt starred was way before my time, but a good deal of things that I love about Batman happened prior to when I landed on this planet. And thanks to the power of daytime TV reruns, as a child, I was able to catch up on the entire run of this show several times over during those summer months when I was not in school. So I feel as though this belt has been with me my entire life, and even though my taste in utility belts has evolved with time, there is not another belt on the planet that competes for recognition against this baby.
While we knew we would be inundated with ’66 Batman merchandise this year, I still did not think that Mattel would produce something like this. The cat was out of the bag by SDCC and I got to see it in person there, but there is something to be said about the fact that, if I wanted to, I could wear this baby to work tomorrow. Hmm … an idea occurs! The “plus one” in this package, though, is that you also get your very own ’66 Batarang too. I mean, what good is a crime-fighting utility belt without the most famous of Bat-implements to hang at its side?
So let’s take a look at this thing because it really is something to behold. I mean, c’mon guys, this is THE Batman belt, and from an aesthetics point of view, I think that Mattel pretty much nailed it. Not that the design is intricate or impossible to recreate, but from the looks of it, it is pretty much everything it aspires to be. The belt itself is pretty heavy duty in terms of material. I don’t think it is actually leather, but I think the actual belt will not have any trouble holding up. It is BRIGHT yellow, I mean, almost florescent in color, so if you do decide to wear it about, no one is going to miss it.
The buckle is, for me, the standout of the rig and it is cut from some thick metal. I mean, I think it makes up about half the weight of the entire belt all on its own. It has the Batman insignia engraved on the front and the surrounding area is polished to a mirror finish. It is packaged with a clear plastic overlay over the top to help prevent your grubby finger prints from leaving their mark (that is why I left it on for the pictures), but if you take that off, make sure you pack some Windex in one of those pouches.
The belt clips from the back via a system of eyelets and hooks so it can adjust to various sizes, but while I know this is meant to be a prop, this is where I have a bit of an issue. Look, the first thing EVERYONE is going to do upon opening this is to try to put it on, but some fans might be left wanting a little more. More as in, more belt material. At the risk of embarrassing myself, I usually wear a 32″ waist for most pants. Occasionally I creep up to 34″ depending on the particular trouser.
Why am I telling you this? Well, while the description boasts that this has 43″ of belt material, I had to let this baby out to the third to last set of eyelets to get it on. While I consider myself to be pretty average in terms of build, I am not sure who will be wearing this on the smallest settings. So if your carriage is much more than, say, about a 36″ waist, you might have some trouble getting this baby around your mid-self. There is a perfectly apropos Simpson’s episode with a similar situations, but you don’t have to be the “Comic Book Guy” so miss the limit on this thing. I am just putting that out there because I think Adam West himself was larger of waist during the filming of the show.
Oh, and just to prove the fit, here is a dangerously-close-to-being-a-junk-shot photo:
One size will hopefully fit most, but I just wanted to call that out.
The pockets and canisters have been accurately recreated, and I love the fact that they all open from the bottom, just like in the series. I think that is an hilarious design point and maybe it is no small coincidence that the DCIE Batzarro figure also comes out this month, possibly in tribute. I have to say that I don’t find the pouches and canisters to be as high in quality of materials as the belt itself, but I don’t foresee any risk of damage. Unless, of course, you plan on actually wearing it to fight crime, which I would not recommend.
Finally, the package also includes the famous Batarang. I don’t know why I thought this was going to be made of metal since that is just an invitation to a lawsuit, but I did. It is, however, not made of metal, but rather a light plastic. It is not flimsy, but it is not heavy at any rate, but I imagine that was done on purpose to discourage tossing at anything at all, which I would also not recommend. It does fold in half and you can snap it out with a quick flick of the wrist, so feel free to get your Adam West on. I personally would have liked a little more bulk to it, but, then again, I know better than to toss the thing across the room.
I do want to note that I really like the packaging for the belt as well, and you can take it out and put it back in with no issue. It has an actual photo of West in costume, something that I think we have not seen before. It comes in one of the white shipper boxes Mattel is known for, so if you plan on keeping it MOC, you should not have to worry about any dents or dings.
Hey, hey, Batfans — we have a utility belt! I think this is a very cool idea for a release, and I know a lot of people have been waiting a very long time for this baby. Mattel has done a good job of capturing the look of the original, so as a prop, I think it is pretty successful. As a wearable belt, it is pretty good, but as stated above, I would not be overly zealous with the pouches and I think some fans will have trouble getting this thing on. Again, though, if you have some strong ’66 nostalgia or your own Batcave, I think this will be an addition you won’t want to miss. This goes on sale on Matty Collector on December 16. Hey! That’s today!
*Thanks to Mattel’s Batcrew for sending this along, and don’t worry DC fans — we have more coming soon!
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