Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - DC Multiverse Light Up Batmobile from McFarlane

Finally got around to picking up the two Schumacher Batmobiles that came out last year from McFarlane.

First up, let's look at the Batman & Robin one. I remember back in 1997 not being a huge fan of the design when I first saw it in the film. It always struck me as being a little too garish and impractical. I got hung up on why there was no canopy anymore and why the lights underneath had to spin around in red, orange and blue. It's also probably where a lot of accusations of the movie being "toyetic".

Fast forward to 2026 and I'm mostly past all those issues now. Yes, it is a "toyetic" design... and as a toy looks fantastic. I know a lot of people picked this up to go with all the other movie Batmobiles that McFarlane has made and this one will really stick out in your collection if you get it - in a good way.

The design is a great match for the movie version. The body is super glossy, the light up feature really vibrant, and the sound really cool. Not having a canopy means you can easily fit whatever figure you want in it (even Mr Freeze).

There's a few small issues like the dashboard being a sticker and the lights not spinning around like they did in the movie but they are really minor. I mean when you look at how they messed up the Forever Batmobile (green lights!!) and the Burton Batmobile (mismatched grey canopy!!) it's great that they finally got one "right". I guess it helps that it was one of the last ones that McFarlane is making and they have learned from their past mistakes.

Batman & Robin Merchandise Review - Ice Fortress playset by Kenner

This week we're looking at the Ice Fortress playset from Kenner.

"But Mr Freeze didn't have an Ice Fortress in the film!", I hear you say. Fair point, but I always love Kenner when they go off script and invent new stuff that wasn't in whatever film they're adapting. They were great at that sort of thing and it always made for great story telling adventures as a kid.

There's not a whole lot to the set. It's primarily a few bits of translucent blue plastic that click together. There's a disc firing cannon in the middle, a couple of white cannons that fire green missiles and some swivelling guns too.

I do love that they included a new backpack and hand missile for Batman - anticipating that kids who buy the set will likely have other figures already. 

I recognised the backpack thing from the Crime Squad Animated Series line (it even still has the logo on the picture on the front). The fire missile is from the Knightquest (aka Azrael) figure from the Legends of Batman line. Got to love how Kenner recycle things.

There's also some mines and grenades too (sorry, ice grenades and freeze mines). But to be honest, you'll probably lose them.

I don't mention in the review because it only got pointed out to me in the YouTube comments after posting. This whole playset is actually a complete lift of this Ice Station Zero playset from the 90s GI Joe Extreme line.

Now all the guns make sense.

Got to love it when Kenner dust something off and rebrands it for another toy line. This is not the first time I've spotted this. Famously their Robin Hood Prince of Thieves lines took bits of several other lines ranging from Return of the Jedi to Robocop!