Why, yes, you read that correctly. This IS DisThunder, and I’m going to review for you a DC Mattel product. No, sorry, it isn’t 2009.
But it is a Batmobile, so at least I’m consistent. As is customary for Mattel and Batman, recently a new “evergreen” Batman product has started to surface, after debuting in Toy Fair this year. Now we all know how much your pal here dislikes the Multiverse line and much of what preceeded it, but Mattel’s product that doesnt fall under a “collectors” banner has been downright enjoyable over the years. Whether its the Total Heroes stuff, or Imaginext, or the Jurassic World toys, the guys and gals that run the “kid” lines continually show a lot of love and even manage to throw some grown-up a few bones. To that end, a lot of folks have been chasing down a three-pack from this Knight Missions line that includes a pretty cool looking Injustice style Bane recently, and paying some good money for it. I like it too, but maybe not as much as some of y’all.
But when this Batmobile popped up on Amazon for a nice $30, I figured why not. This line is roughly 6″ scale, so it was worth a shot, and really, the aesthetics were pretty sharp on the promotional shots. The car has an interesting comic book style to it, while feeling a little kin to the recent movie versions. I assumed it was a single seater, which is usually a deal-breaker for me, but it looked good enough to try out.
And good enough is certainly is! While by no means a “collector” piece, or even the standard of the also very-good multiverse movie version from last year, it does a great job of being a visually appealing low cost Batmobile. While mostly hollow, it sports decent size and a fair amount of detail in the sculpt, and even some metallic highlights on the paint.
The feature of this vehicle and the overall line are the Kenner-esque air-missiles that they all come with. It’s fun in concept, but I found them to work pretty crappy. So there you go. But the idea here is that they are modular, so you can swap them between figures and vehicles and mount them however you like. Again, its a fun concept, but I already tossed them in the parts bin. Moving on!
Under the just-barely translucent canopy is a pretty large cockpit that can fit damn near any Batman under 7″. There are some details, like control sticks and buttons, and a large seat. Mezco Ascending Knight can fit perfectly. Even with his big ol ears. And in that same kind retro-noir style, they make good companion pieces.
Out of the box, I think it makes a solid addition to the bat-motorpool. With some paint and different weapons, I expect to see some great pictures employing it as a nice set piece. And its a tough chunk of light plastic, so you can comfortably run this guy around the living room floor, running over bad guys. As I said, this one came from Amazon, but I expect the usual guys will have them at some point this summer. It’s worth picking up when you see it!
