McFarlane Batman Beyond Batmobile with Batman
Instructions are printed on the back of the box.
The electronics run on 3x AAA batteries.
Lol… Batman is just arbitrarily thrown in there.
Collector card. Oddly, it focuses on Batman and barely mentions the car.
Batman Beyond
After Bruce Wayne retires as Batman, young Terry McGinnis takes up the mantle of the Bat after accidentally discovering the Batcave underneath Wayne Manor. Bruce begins training Terry, equipping him with the latest technology in his Batsuit, as well as providing a flying Batmobile that is years ahead of its time.
The figure is a straight up redeco of the Neo-Gothic Batman Beyond figure. This time sporting a deco that resembles his suit when it catches the light coming from the instruments inside the Batmobile. It looks cool when he’s inside the c0ckpit, but he does look odd when he’s outside.
I find the knees on my copy are a bit bent. I wonder if this is the same for everyone? It’s like Batman has bowlegs or something. Sigh..
The figure comes with his wings attached by default.
Naturally, to get him to fit inside the Batmobile, the wings will have to be removed. Start by taking out the backpack. The connection is a bit tight, so be careful.
The wings are somewhat ratcheted, so they hold position very well when deployed. But constant removal and attachment might make them loose over time. I wish McFarlane went with a different execution when it came to removing the wings, such as it being a separate backpack or something.
The paint on Batman’s abs seems out of place. I wonder if this is just a QC issue on my copy or if its intentional? It looks really off.
Since this look is based off of the “Neo Gothic” storyline in the comics, set years after Terry became Batman, Terry is much older now. He’s no longer the young teenager he used to be. Naturally, he’s buffed up a bit. The suit is also upgraded from the original. Something of a parting gift from Bruce Wayne before his passing.
At this point in time in the story, Terry is now a solo operative, as Bruce has passed on, so there is no one back in the cave to mentor Terry.
The set comes with extra hands for Batman; the left one has a Batarang sculpted in.
For the Batmobile, it’s recommended that you use the supplied display base, as it helps keep the illusion that the Batmobile is always floating, even when parked (just like in the series).
While the base and logo look cool, I do wish the designers kept it simple and didn’t include the rock details on the base. It looks odd and out of place.
The Batmobile
Batman’s futuristic, flying vehicle. Powerful, heavily-armed and now equipped with stealth tech, this version of the Batmobile combines the best parts of the Batmobile and Batwing into one unit. While Batman Beyond’s suit also has flight capabilities, he still relies on his vehicle when he needs heavier firepower, or when he needs travel fast over large distances.
This particular model design is based on the 2015 comic run of Batman Beyond. It’s an alternate dark future where a time-displaced current-day Tim Drake takes over the mantle of Batman after Terry McGinnis “died” in a big battle against Brother Eye following the events of 2014’s “Future’s End” DC Comics saga. It would later also make a cameo in a few panels in issue 28 of the Batman Beyond 2016 run before eventually returning to the original animation model a few issues down. The change is never explained.
Speaking as a stickler for cartoon model-accuracy over comic book accuracy, the addition of the red windshield isn’t too bad when you get used to it. The original model had no visible windshields and the whole thing looked more like a pod than an actual vehicle.
I don’t quite like the design choice to make this area hollow, though. I wish they made the this section solid. Do note that it also tends to pop free easily when it hits something. There’re no locks to clip it in place.
Vehicle underside
When mounted on the pedestal, the Batmobile spans roughly 21 x 7 inches in dimension.
The panel in front is the release button for the canopy.
Batmobile c0ckpit internals.
The dashboard is kinda OK, at least we get a sticker with the Joker’s mug on it. I would’ve preferred a clear instrument panel that lit up, though.
To install the batteries, simply unscrew and open up the battery compartment below.
Too bad the rear windshield is solid and is not clear red plastic. That would’ve been cool. Pressing on the rear windshield activates the electronics.
Powering up!
There are two modes to the lighting effect. The first press will always activate lights along with engine sound effects. While the second press will just turn on the pulsing lights on the Batmobile.
With Batman
Batman fits snuggly inside the c0ckpit.
You can make him out through the windshield when he’s inside, particularly when the lights are on.
I really wish there was an option to keep the lights on inside longer than just a few seconds. The vehicle looks so much cooler when the lights are on.
Here’s a short video demonstrating the electronics on this Batmobile.
Overall, pretty amazing. While it’s not screen accurate to the original cartoon design, I do like what they did here. The lack of a windshield on the original Beyond Batmobile always did feel odd to me, so the changes to the aesthetics make it look much better than a flying coffin.
However, I do wish they made the vehicle a bit bigger. Were it not for the front prongs, the actual car is much, much smaller compared to any of the other Batmobiles in the McFarlane line.
Lastly, I also would’ve preferred it if they used the original Batman Beyond body here, instead of the Neo-Gothic Batman Beyond figure, as the Neo-Gothic Batman Beyond comic storyline never featured a Batmobile in its entire (short) run. For the most part, it was the classic Batman Beyond suit that was always paired up with this particular version of the vehicle in the various comic book runs. So it would make more sense to have the classic Batman Beyond posed next to the vehicle. Ah, wel…
Gold
