Although I don’t play a lot of video games these days, one new game that I’m kinda interested in trying is the upcoming Lego Batman game. I briefly played one of the Lego Star Wars games a few months back and really enjoyed it, and the Lego Indiana Jones looks like a blast too. Lego Batman? C’mon, it can’t miss.
Lego Batman comes to McDonald's!
And as if the game wasn’t enough, McDonald’s is now offering a line of Lego Batman toys in their Happy Meals. Now these days, Happy Meal toys are just as likely to be sought after by collectors such as myself as they are by children, so when I decided to try to get my hands on a few of these toys, I wasn’t in the least embarrassed to be ordering a Happy Meal.
“Hello, good fast food merchant!” I cried, dropping my voice two octaves. “I require a Happy Meal for my son… my son… Cornelius. Cornelius Jethro. Ah, old Corny, he loves those McNuggets. Ha ha! Which Batman toy do you have today?”
Lego Batboat
I’d hoped that the toys would include actual Lego men and vehicles, but alas, it was not the case. Instead, we got little figures and vehicles in the style of the game, but not actually made of Lego blocks. Still, they’re kinda neat. Lego Batman, seen above, was the first toy I got. He comes with a Batarang, which he can theoretically throw if you pull his arm back. On, and if you’re wondering why his feet are gray, look at any Lego Man. The feet are molded into the legs, and one color. It’s just consistent with the game design.
The other toy I’ve gotten is this awesome Batboat. It’s awesome for a few reasons. First of all, it’s kind of hard to tell in the picture, but inside the plastic cockpit is a little mini-Lego Batman, perfectly poised to guide his Batboat through the narrow waters and canals of Lego Gotham City. The second thing that makes it awesome? You see that Bat-symbol on the front? That doesn’t just look nice. If you push down on it, the Batman in the cockpit swivels around, and…
Lego Mini-Batboat
A mini-Batboat launches from the back of the larger one, allowing for rapid escape should the main Batboat get caught in the sort of nefarious trap the likes of Lego Joker or Lego Penguin no doubt have laid out all over town. These toys are just too cool for school.
I happened to notice that Mickey Dee is offering a second set of toys for girls (apparently, Ronald doesn’t believe girls like Batman — Ronald has never met my girlfriend) based on a new doll set featuring the characters from the MGM version of The Wizard of Oz. What strikes me as unusual, however, is that the placard for these toys features a Kids WB logo. I know Warner Brothers owns the movie and the characters, but why are they branding the toys with the logo of a defunct television network? Just strikes me as odd.
Nightwing and Starfire
Anyhoo, I also recently snagged another Mini-Mate two-pack that kinda ties in with this topic: Nightwing and Starfire! The former Robin comes with two battle-sticks (I know there’s an actual martial artsy name for these sticks, but I don’t know what it is and I’m too lazy to look it up). Starfire has no accessories, except for a burning desire for Dick Grayson. I guess I see the sense behind packaging Nightwing with his one-time girlfriend, but honestly, I always liked him better with Oracle. Hey, when is herMini-Mate gonna come out? Have they ever done a Mini-Mate in a wheelchair before? Is there a Professor X? Hmm… DC Direct has said they’re considering going to boxed sets for future Mini-Mate releases instead of the traditional two-packs, which would be fine with me. How about a Birds of Preyset, including Oracle, Huntress, Manhunter, Misfit, and Lady Blackhawk? I would so buy that.
The square-angled torso of Starfire is weirdly disturbing to me.
Yeah, but all the Mini-Mates are like that. Even the chicks.
this is stupid