#179 of 365 Batman Returns: Action Wing Batman - Repost

This is a repost from the old IsItFun.net review that I did last year.  Since that website is dead, here's the original review.

Hey all, it’s Novelty from Toy a Day here, and it’s Justice League June over there, which means I’m opening Justice League toys.  A while back, Mr. Grogan opened up his Hush Batman and reviewed it on Toy a Day.  So I told him in return, when I open my Batman Begins Action Wing Batman, I’d post it here on Is It Fun?  Well, today is his lucky day because here’s Action Wing Batman!

The box is slightly bigger than a card, and is a bit bulky.  Mattel could have reduced their carbon footprint by making the box smaller, but I guess this was the 90s and Mattel has never shown to be environmentally friendly anyways.  What’s nice about the box is the hole through the bubble for “testing” purposes – the action wing lights up when a button is pressed.  That also means that the battery will probably run out sooner rather than later, and indeed this copy of mine doesn’t light up anymore today (although it did last week when I tested it).

The back of the box is nice – Batman is prominently displayed and his action features are shown in hexagons.  The bottom of the back shows the other figures in the line.  Wait… swap out a few of those words and I’d probably be describing the millennium Masters of the Universe, which was also produced by Mattel.  Well, I have to say that this is better than the green card (what isn’t?), but not as great as the red cards.

The cardboard tray is actually attached to the box and does not come out of the box.  What slides out is the plastic reverse bubble that holds Batman in place.  There’s a lot of empty space there, which is a disappointment.  Mattel could have at least packed in a few more accessories in the blank space, or made the box smaller.  Even a few extra missiles would have been welcomed.

Action Wing Batman comes with this huge clip-on backpack which has lights built into it.  It is moulded from transparent plastic and lights up when a button on the back is pressed.  It also has a spring-loaded missile launcher and a spare missile built into the backpack.  There are also over-shoulder handles on the backpack which are designed such that Batman can hold the handles.

The Batman has a custom torso moulded with the same transparent plastic as the backpack, but painted over with a light layer of silver paint.  His torso lights up when the backpack is attached and the button on the backpack is pressed, or the button on his right shoulder is pressed.  It is a neat action feature.  The head sculpt is supposed to look like Christian Bale’s Batman, but someone it reminds me of a black KKK mask with horns.  I’m not a fan of that headsculpt.  There are 13 points of articulation – 3 on each limb and one on the neck.  That’s decent amount of articulation.  The paintwork is adequate, although the metallic paint chosen seems a bit off when paired with the orangey-red of the backpack and the utility belt.

I think the concept is neat.  However, the overall design is clumsy as the backpack seems oversized for the Batman.  The additional height of the missile makes this even worse.  Nevertheless, Batman has little difficulty standing despite being top heavy.

Comparison time?  I still like the black Batman to the left of the photograph above – I don’t remember from which line that Batman is from, but it comes with a gitd missile and a light up backpack.  Yeah, the light up backpack has been done before, and done better than this Action Wing Batman.  Even the animated looking Mission Masters Batman and the DCUC Batman looks better than this KKK-with-horns Batman.  I guess he’s going back into the box.


Oh wait, this is Is It Fun? and I’ve got to give him a fun ranking…

Final Verdict: Sorta Kiddy Fun