Review: BATMAN Power Attack “Blast & Battle Batcave” Mattel, 2012, W7220
With just about every Batman action figure series there is the prerequisite Batmobile and sometimes even a Batcave. Mattel released an all new Blast & Battle Batcave to go with their current series of Batman figures.
If you’re buying a Batcave for the little Batman fan in your life, you’ll want to look at features and play value, and will it stand up to hours of crime fighting playtime. I like some collectors buy the playsets to use as backdrops for my displays. I have to put the Batmobile and all those figures somewhere and a Batcave serves that purpose nicely.
Pros:It’s a decent size, 14” Tall or 21 ¼ Tall with Elevator at the top, 15 1/8” Wide and 4 ½” Deep. It features a 360 degree Zip-Line, Trap Door, Jail, 3 Floor Elevator, Drawbridge and a Missile Launcher. It comes with an exclusive Batman figure and has lots of play value.
Cons: It should have been hinged and had a foldout side panel, similar to what Kenner did with their Wayne Manor Batcaves they reused so many times. That would have raised the price point but I feel it would have made it better. The drawbridge entrance is a really tight squeeze for the Total Destruction Batmobile, but easier for the Blast Lane Batmobile which is a little narrower.
The exclusive Batman figure is taller than the other basic figures, so much so he does not fit in the Total Destruction Batmobile. I didn’t even notice until I tried, but the figure does fit in the Blast Lane Batmobile. The legs are essentially the same as the basic figures, except for the boot soles and copyright information etched on the back of the boots. The arms and torso different sculpts and are longer than the basic figures. The head is also a little larger too. The figure also has less articulation, only 5 POA, no elbows or waist, vs. 8 on a standard Power Attack Batman figure.
Overall:Overall it’s a good playset. The Zip-Line is a metal rod rather than string that is often used and it can be lifted off the top of the Elevator and rotated 360 degrees to let Batman slide from the top of the Elevator to anywhere on the floor. The Elevator locks at three different levels, the Jail has a spring loaded lock and the trap doors are easy to spring and reset.
For collectors the narrow footprint makes it easy to display on a shelf with plenty of room for figures and a Batmobile to display along with it.
Originally priced from $44.99 to $49.99, Walmart and Target are closing them out Online at just under $20.00 which makes it a good value. I got mine from Walmart.com for $19.97
