When Robert Pattinson was announced to play Batman in 2022's The Batman, I wasn't thrilled. For the record, I've been a pretty good sport about live-action Batman movie actors, and for the most part I've enjoyed each one. Then that trailer came out and sold me on him and the moody film. So when I finally got my hands on one of the Blokees Defender Class Batman blind boxes, I was pretty happy to find that version of the Caped Crusader inside.
Admittedly, at this point Blokees can do no wrong in my eyes, I'm a huge fan of the Defender Version scale, and I gravitate toward Batman movies over comics. Basically, I genuinely like everything I'm about to talk about instead of faking it for clicks. So yeah, genuine enjoyment of the subject matter. Something alien in today's sponsored content hellscape.
Blokees' specific visual style works with Batman in a fun way. Take something so grimdark and make it a little cute.
Like kawaii metal. Defender Version amps up that idea, leaving you with something insanely adorable and badass at the same time. It's somehow an upgrade, oddly enough.
Assembly is pretty much standard Defender Version, though the back half of his upper torso was a full-body piece rather than a separate segment, as is often the case with the Transformers Defender kits. Those tend to have more accessories, however, while Batman has a cape and a batarang. Which... considering the cape covers his back, you'd think they could have gotten away with the partially covering segment anyway, since the cape would cover it regardless. To me, that's another example of Blokees' quality, while other companies might have just left it open or partially obscured. Not bad for only $5.
That batarang I mentioned is a little big for his body, which is pretty comical. At nearly the size of his arm, I can imagine Batman trying to run after a criminal across a rooftop, only for the thing hanging off his belt to trip him. Or he tries to throw it and just hits himself in the head. Knocking the batshit out of himself, holding his head, cursing, and getting pissed off.
No gravely scary Batman voice, either. Full-on temper tantrum Bruce Wayne.
Regardless of how realistic it isn't, it does look pretty cool. Just this big bat he's holding. When the insanely great Imaginext Power Rangers toys were out, I often marveled at the comically oversized weapons. There was just something so neat about seeing them against the figure. It's a visual that you either get or don't.
Another point of appreciation is the detailing. Batman often wears a black costume in the movies, and it looks great, but more modern versions have him sporting visible body armor, combat boots, and other tactical gear. It paints a more realistic portrayal of a character whose superpower is being a billionaire with issues. Of course, they add various details to the costume to keep it visually interesting, and that's definitely the case with the 2022 Batman costume. Once again, Blokees puts those details into the sculpt, something they could have literally skipped right over.
Considering the number of similarly dressed Batmen in this series, the fact that they all have mostly original parts for each kit is remarkable. I say mostly because things like thighs, upper arms, hands, and so on are reused, which is understandable.
Ultimately, this is an excellent introduction to the Batman Defender Version Blokees kits for me. I'll definitely be getting more, as I absolutely want that 1989 Michael Keaton Batman and even the Dark Knight Returns flavored Ben Affleck version. (I liked Batfleck.)
This is another series that the Defender Class lends itself to perfectly, and I'm absolutely enthralled with Blokees entirely at this point.
Happily.
*edit* the video before whatever made them stop working for this post is here.
There's certain hallmarks of a holiday. For Halloween, it's pumpkin spice, jack-o'-lanterns, and leaves raked into neat piles... for some reason. No, seriously, why the hell do we do that?
One Halloween tradition that should be mandatory is *Garfield's Halloween Adventure*. It is for me, and by way of this site, it is for you readers.
Garfield has the ultimate Halloween. He makes a costume, goes trick-or-treating, and gets scared by pirate ghosts. Most of us only do one or two of those on Halloween.
A new week has raised its head, Zone Base readers, but not just any week. It's Halloweek! That's right, Halloween is this Saturday, meaning we've got one spooky week in store for us. Whether you're in school or in the working world, there's bound to be pumpkins and candy all over the damn place. Come Friday, many of you will likely have some sort of costume contest at your workplace, or at the very least one of those seasonal T-shirts that declares that this is, in fact, your Halloween costume.
All leading up to the main event: Halloween Saturday!
Of course, that means the decorations will be coming down soon around here, as we'll return to the regular, non-red-moon-affected Zone Base... which, to be fair, really isn't that different. I mean, that cursed tape has been playing on loop in the VCR since 2016.
For whatever reason, the embedded TikTok videos stopped working on the site over the weekend. I assumed it would clear itself up, but for whatever reason it's still not working. I've went back and edited last week's posts and updated the ones scheduled for this week to have pictures. From now on, site posts will have pics like they used to with a link to the video. Until the embeds start working again, I guess there's just a bunch of posts in the backlog with dead videos. Sorry guys, it's annoying for me too. Transformers
Some recent leaks of upcoming Generations toys have me pretty excited. The direction of Studio Series figures being faithful to their source material while Generations offers more imaginative takes on the characters looks promising. I'm absolutely ecstatic for that Commander Class Thunderwing, but admittedly, I'm not happy at all about the upcoming price hikes.
I've got the feeling purchases will be slower, with more stuff being picked up on sale or when it shows up at liquidation stores. I can't think of a time when price gouging was a good thing.
Fight back. Blokees
The long-anticipated Defender Version Volcanicus combiner was shown off at the recent China Toy Expo, much to my happiness. You all know just how much I love the Defender Version scale, and the combiners have been great! I mean... I kinda forgot about the Generations Bruticus, but absolutely pounced on the Bruticus Blokees kit when it was finally available.
Recent Defender Version cases have been including Dinobots in alt mode, leading to speculation (and teases) about Volcanicus. Knowing he'll be real and in my hands soon is super exhilarating. Longtime readers know I love my Dinosaur Squadron Beast Lord Volcanicus, so much so that I made up an unnecessarily long super robot name for no reason. Speaking of, Defender Version 09- Power of the Primes has been leaked and I am STOKED!
Also shown off were new Wheels and Galaxy Version previews. More IDW-inspired robot modes for Galaxy Version is definitely a good idea, as it seems to be the perfect size for that era.
More Wheels? Yes, please! A CT Ultra Magnus kit was shown off, something I'm definitely looking forward to, along with previews of CO5, which so far has included traditional G1 Optimus Prime and a space shuttle mode Sky Lynx. You guys know how much I'm enjoying Wheels, so these will definitely be pure dopamine.
Yolopark
Yolopark showed off their upcoming Mini Wave 4 at the China Toy Expo as well, and it looks great! Wheeljack, robot mode Grimlock, and Sideswipe are just a few of the classic cast members showing up in this size class.
I still haven't gotten Wave 3, and I'm admittedly still butthurt over the lack of customer service for the errors on that Wave 2 case I got at the beginning of the year. And yeah, I'm pretty burned over them ghosting me on that giveaway I won on Threads at the beginning of the year, too.
I love the kits, just not terribly fond of the company currently.
I'm still hoping to find some of their kits that have allegedly been showing up at Ross stores, though mine seemingly haven't gotten any.
Dammit.
Power Rangers
Images of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Re-Ignition Season 3 toys have made their way onto the internet, and with them comes the next combinable Megazord! I loved the Ninja Zords, so I'm definitely excited to get that big-ass monstrosity!
The Weekend
I had one great weekend, Zone Base readers. As the beginning of Halloweek, we had all sorts of spooky fun!
While doing our weekly shopping Saturday, the Mrs and I got Halloween donuts from Dunkin' Donuts. We normally get our donuts from Donut Worry and had already gotten a Halloween dozen from them earlier in the season, but we wanted to grab some Dunkin' as well.
For dinner Saturday night, we ordered the Halloween pizza from Papa Johns (an annual tradition of ours)!
I headed out Sunday morning to stop by CVS to hopefully score one last bag of candy corn for the season, as it's been gone from all my local stores for the past week. I was unsuccessful, but I did get a bag of Mellowcreme Pumpkins, so it wasn't a total waste. I actually hadn't gotten any of those Pumpkins this year, as the new Mellowcreme Graveyards took most of my attention in that department and might have been my favorite candy of this spooky season.
CVS was just a side mission, however, as the main quest was to Starbucks to get a Black Cat Frappuccino for the Mrs and myself. We love Starbucks, as I've made clear before, so it's obvious we'd get their annual Halloween drink. As the name suggests, it's themed after a black cat this year (complete with chocolate cat ears!), meaning it's a black drink with whipped cream topping. The flavor was chocolate cake, which the Mrs loved, but for someone who normally drinks zero-sugar drinks (I even pace myself on candy, seriously), that was super sweet.
Like, wow. Diabetes in a cup.
As a Halloweek treat, Mom surprised us with lunch at Outback Steakhouse! We'd eaten there the week prior, and both the Mrs and Mom loved their Halloween drink, so another one was in store for them. Me, I had a Coke Zero, but kept the toy spider that came with the Halloween drink (I don't drink either)... something we may have a small army of at the moment.
Afterwards, Mom stayed at our house and watched Halloween specials with us as we carved our pumpkins! Later for dinner, I enjoyed some of the pot roast the Mrs had made in the crock pot, and I'm looking forward to eating the leftovers later!
As for toys, I got a few. Christmas is coming, so my weekly purchases for myself are slowing down naturally, but I still grabbed a few small things.
I got a Transformers Big Headz blind box and pulled Barricade! I like these quite a bit and plan to get more. They come with a collector's card and sticker!
I also picked up a Blokees Galaxy Version blind box from the Light Our Darkest Hour series. I got Bombshell, whom I already have, but I definitely don't mind extra Insecticons! Something tells me that one's getting customized into a Waruder soon, though.
It's me. I'm telling myself that.
I also picked up the Red Dragon Thunderzord from MMPR Re-Ignition, as I really need to get to work completing the Thunder Megazord.
I'm currently enjoying Halloween cartoons as I write this from my laptop in the living room (a rare non-cell-phone Monday post!). I started the morning with a few episodes of The Real Ghostbusters before moving to the Forever Kids station on Pluto TV, which was showing the old Teen Wolf cartoon. Now they're showing Sabrina the Witch, so I'm watching Casper on Kartoon Channel.
It's Halloweek, so spooky shit is in order until it all ends this weekend!
If there's one person who wants you to have fun but be safe, it's Michael Myers. Halloween is his day and he'd hate for you to ruin it by tripping on the sidewalk, getting ran over, or eating poisoned candy. Take it from him, Halloween can be fun. But nothing's better than having fun, safely.
