Thursday, August 01, 2013

(Mostly) a Review: Batman Power Attack Blast and Battle Batcave!


This is an odd time of year for action figure fans. San Diego Comic-Con just teased the rest of the year's new releases and brought a pile of exclusives; yet in many stores the shelves are being reset and old figures are being pushed out the door on clearance. Gently pushed in some cases: I saw more than a couple prices that were only maybe a dollar or so less, and didn't feel like a great deal. Today's purchase seemed like more of a steal, though: the Batman Power Attack Blast and Battle Batcave!

Actually, if you do a quick Amazon search for "Batcave" you can see there's been more than a few in recent years. Lego, Trio, Imaginext--that last one's pretty sweet. They all seem to share a few of the same design elements though: gray or black stone cave walls, with blueish metal supports; a door that may become a ramp or drawbridge; a big central computer terminal with multiple monitors inspired by the Burton Batman; maybe a holding cell (although I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time I saw Batman hold anyone in the cave...) and probably a huge and presumably neon Bat-symbol over the whole thing like a bar sign. BPAB&BBC follows suit, even with the optional extras like the "working elevator!" and the zip-line.

(Seriously, apparently Batman never sits...)

The zip-line is actually a metal rod, that snaps into to a pivot point, and has a little plastic clip to attach an action figure and slide them down. It's minutes of fun! Actually, it doesn't seem like that lengthy of a trip down the line, since the rod is less than two feet long; and the clip seems designed to clip on the forearm of a Power Attack figure--just not Batman, since his forearms have the traditional armguard ridges! The zip-line would work pretty well with any Power Attack Robin figure (sold separately!) and you can try to trigger the trapdoor to drop a bad guy figure (sold separately!) into the jail cell.

The jail cell is kind of neat, with a stout-seeming door with a turnable lock, and the aforementioned trapdoor roof. It might be my favorite feature of the set! The elevator is somewhat rickety, but slides well enough; and the drawbridge door appears to be the perfect width for either the Blast Lane or Power Attack Batmobiles (need I say it?) and hopefully the upcoming classic 1966 Batmobile.

As usual, the Batcave has absolutely no OSHA compliance. By the top of the elevator shaft, there is a little pop-out ledge where you can place the spring-loaded cannon. It reminds me of American Gladiators, honestly. Rounding out the set is an included Batman figure in gray with a cloth cape. The Power Attack figures only have five points of articulation (shoulders, hips, neck) but are very kid-friendly.

I am mildly disappointed the cave didn't come with a chair or console for Batman to work in front of the monitors, although the included figure wouldn't be articulated enough to use it. That upper floor isn't very deep, either; so you may not be able to pack the Batcave with figures.

Batman Power Attack Blast and Battle Batcave originally retailed for $42 or thereabouts; but Target (and apparently Amazon) are going half that now. Which makes me wonder if the bigger-ticket Batman items are moving off shelves: I picked up the Total Destruction Batmobile for $14.99, and you may even be able to do better than that, since you might find a pile of those at various discount retailers. This Batcave isn't an item aimed at the "adult collector," but it is a bit of fun and might make a nice backdrop, so keep an eye on those clearance aisles!

4 comments:

Mr. Morbid's House Of Fun said...

Wow. This really, really makes me wish I had my old B:TAS bat-cave from back in the day. It had a compartment where you could ideally switch figures/identities from Bruce Wayne to Batman if you had the figures. best feature ever for some reason.

How much did you score this one for, because I might follow your lead if the price is right.

Funny commentary as always Goo.
And yeah, OSHA, DHEC, hell all those government agencies would have a field day writing up violations on that thing. Good thing Bruce just happens to be a billionaire so he can grease those palms...just like in real life;)

SallyP said...

Osha compliant or not, it does look like a lot of fun.

And you can go around with a marker and make "Bat-Computer" and "Bat Coffee-Maker" signs for it!

googum said...

$22 at Target! Now, where the hell did I put that Batmobile...

That was a pretty good haul from there: I got some of those Hot Wheels Enterprises that I'd been breaking my legs looking for most of this year. (They were the Battle-Damaged and not first issue, but who cares at this point!)

Mr. Morbid's House Of Fun said...

That's not a bad deal at all!
Battle-Damaged Hot Wheels you say.
Is that like the crash cars of my youth? You know, the ones that you could crash and would reveal damage, then you'd flip the damaged spots back to normal?

Oh god I loved those as a kid!!!

@Sally: Goo should totally do that! Goo! get to it man! mark everything Bat-something or other, or else it just isn't authentic enough:)