ADVANCED STEALTH BAT

G.I. JOE AND THE TRANSFORMERS (COLLECTOR’S CLUB)

“OLD SNAKE’s first attempt to harness a strength similar to the AUTOBOTS, that he once tried to capture, resulted in varied results. The hulking robot of Old Snake’s creation truly did possess brute force as well as great intelligence, however, the interference from former GENERAL CLAYTON “HAWK” ABERNATHY and the EARTH DEFENSE COMMAND caused the loss of any semblance of control over SERPENT O.R. Not willing to commit the same error again, Old Snake decided to forgo intellect in his next endeavor. Mimicking the programming from COBRA’s prolific but now-outdated Battle Android Troopers, Old Snake upgraded the COBRA B.A.T. with added size as well as the ability to disguise themselves as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Although not quite the height of the Autobots, the lithe and agile STEALTH B.A.T. can maneuver in ways that most of the robots from CYBERTRON cannot even imagine. To further aid in espionage as well as assault operations, each Stealth B.A.T. also features a detachable bat-like NIGHTSHRIEK remote unit that can access small spaces and create havoc through sabotage and data breaches.

A Stealth B.A.T. has the potential to become the truly perfect soldier, with the sound of their mighty steel boots causing fear and panic wherever they march. With each attack that they commit, COBRA comes closer to regaining the greatness and glory it once possessed!”

As two Hasbro-owned properties depicting a pair of warring factions embroiled in a heavily sci-fi-based war, G.I. Joe and Transformers are no strangers to crossovers.  While the cartoons in the ‘80s merely suggested a crossover (with the character “Old Snake” clearly being an older Cobra Commander after his organization has fallen away), the comics have had a number of direct crossovers, and, eventually, so did the toys.  Hasbro had some offerings of their own, usually pairing off G.I. Joe figures with non-transforming vehicles done up to match the colors of proper Transformers, and that was further built-upon through some crossover projects between the two franchises’ respective Collector’s Clubs.  In 2015, the Clubs collaborated on a set sort of based on “Only Human,” the episode of Transformers that featured Old Snake, with a pack that featured Snake himself, as well as two upgraded versions of the Cobra B.A.T., now featuring a transformation gimmick.  Today, I’m taking a look at one of those B.A.T.s!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

The Advanced Stealth B.A.T. was released alongside Old Snake and a duplicate B.A.T. as a three-pack in the G.I. Joe and the Transformers line, a 2015 joint-exclusive between the G.I. Joe and Transformers Collector’s clubs.  The set was the second such exclusive.  While Old Snake was a more direct cartoon-adaptation, the B.A.T. is a unique design, albeit one that’s a fairly sensible one within the context of the story they’re setting up in the bio.  The figure stands about 5 1/2 inches tall and has 23 workable points of articulation.  All of the Collector’s Club figures were rather heavy on re-used parts, so as to keep costs down.  In the B.A.T.’s case, they’ve opted to use the 2012 Transformers Prime Soundwave mold.  I’m a big fan of this mold, and I think it’s a really well implemented translation of the cartoon design, which is itself a pretty great design.  It poses well, and its transformation, though a little bit fiddly, works well, and holds together nicely.  It’s also a good mold in terms of capturing the general B.A.T. feel, since the face plate kind of follows the same general layout, and the more angular body shaping goes well with the usual B.A.T. depictions.  The only real downside is those fins on the back, which were prone to warping on the original use of the mold, and are even more warped on this release.  The color scheme is classic B.A.T, leaning more heavily into the cartoon look, especially with the red visor.  Like the original version of the mold, this figure transforms into an aerial attack drone, which feels like a good fit for the B.A.T.  I love that the red visor remains present in the alt-mode as well.  The Stealth B.A.T. includes “Nightshriek,” a recolored version of Prime Laserbeak, who matches the B.A.T.’s color scheme, and even adds a little bit of turquoise, simulating the chest panel of the original B.A.T. when placed on this figures torso for storage. 

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Long before I had anything to do with Transformers, I was a pretty involved G.I. Joe fan, and I have always particularly liked the B.A.T.s and their various incarnations.  When I finally *did* dip my toes into Transformers, the first one I picked up for myself, just of my own volition was the Beast Hunters variant of Prime Soundwave, because I’ve always liked Soundwave, and I just liked the look of the mold.  It’s become perhaps my favorite mold of one of my favorite Transformers, so when I found out it was used for a B.A.T. in the crossover, I was certainly intrigued.  Of course, it’s not like the set’s super plentiful and easy to find, and it’s enough of a slog to get one that even Max, my go-to Transformers expert guy, didn’t have one.  When this one came into work, all by himself, with no Old Snake, and no duplicate B.A.T., I wanted it, but also was completely content to let Max have it, since he was the Transformers guy.  That’s what he does.  That’s his thing!  And he was gonna take it, but, at the last second, he handed it over to me, because he felt like it would mean more to me, what with it being a G.I. Joe crossover figure built on a Soundwave mold and all.  Because he’s nice like that.  That’s also what he does.  That’s also his thing!  I do very much appreciate Max’s sacrifice on this one, because this is honestly a favorite of mine, and has remained on a shelf next to my desk, frequently serving as the figure I idly fiddle with while working, for most of the four years since I got him.