Today On The Boulevard: 2022 Hot Wheels Batman Set - I only Wanted One

Hello, and welcome to a new edition of Today On The Boulevard. As long as they continue to do new things with them, I will never grow tired of seeing Batman releases from Hot Wheels. Black might be considered the bast color for his vehicles, but I really like being able to have some that are finished in other colors. I especially like when they create different designs for them. That's why I look forward to the Batman mainline and store exclusive sets each year.

This year's store exclusive Batman set has made an appearance at my local stores, and it actually wasn't a store exclusive like it was in previous years. Before, I only saw Batman sets at Walmart, but this time I found them at Target as well. 

Now, to be honest, I really wasn't impressed with this year's set, and that is because there was only one release that was new. The rest of them are basically re-releases. So I was actually shocked at how long it took me to find a full set hanging on the pegs at both stores. It is also mentioning that I was extremely disappointed with the TV Series Batmobile. If you still haven't seen it, then don't worry because you are not missing out on anything new. The one from this set is the same as the one from last year's set. 

I really had high hopes for this year's set, but things don't always go as you'd hope they would. The previous Batman set featured some awesome looking releases, which is why I got all five. So I was hoping this year's set would also have many releases I'd want. I know it's not that big of a deal, but you do have to admit that it's disappointing to see the decisions made for this year's set. I guess there's always next year. Okay, now that I got that out of the way, it's time to focus on the Batplane, since it's the only one that's new.

This release is exactly what I was hoping to see after this casting made its debut. Not only did they paint it red, they also gave it a camouflage design. And I think it make this vehicle look amazing. Now, I'm going to assume that everyone likes matching releases. So I feel this release is a must-have because it matches the Animated Series Batmobile from last year's set. I really wasn't expecting to ever have a matching Batplane, since the Batmobile was released in a store exclusive set. But I can honestly say that I'm very pleased to have one.

You could argue that they don't match because one has pinstripes, while the other has a camouflage design, and I'll admit that is a valid point. But what I'm looking at are the colors used for both releases. And as you can see, the Batplane's camouflage pattern is the same color as the Batmobile's pinstripes. Besides the designs, both releases are finished in the same metallic red. So despite having different designs, I feel they match each other perfectly.

Looking at the Batplane makes me wonder why they couldn't also create something new for the other releases. But I guess repeats are great for those of you that missed out on getting this initial ones. And it's not like I haven't also benefited from sets having repeats. So I'm not going to make a huge stink.

The debut release of the Batplane is still a very good release, since it's the closest to the one that's seen in the cartoon. However, this latest release is definitely cooler than it. So this is actually my new favorite release. And it could possibly be my favorite for many more years, although... that could change next year.

So how do you feel about this latest Batman set? Did you also only get the Batplane or did you need the other ones too? Go ahead and let me know down in the comments section. Alright, that's all for this edition of Today On The Boulevard. Until next time, thank for reading, and happy collecting. And remember, these are just toys.