“Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?” – The Joker
Paragon FX Group and Warner Bros. have teamed up to bring fans one of Batman’s greatest gadgets.
The new limited-edition Modular Utility Grapnel Set is based upon that gadget’s appearance in Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman blockbuster. The multi-purpose handheld unit allowed Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight to store numerous items on his utility belt and deploy them all through a single device. The Paragon team spent 12 months designing and developing the utility set, aiming for the final product to look and feel like a real piece of Batman’s crime-fighting tech.
“We knew from the beginning that this would be one of our largest and most ambitious projects,” explains Tyler Ham, Creative Director at Paragon. “The goal was to engineer a full-size replica that literally looks and feels like a real piece of Batman’s tech. We wanted everything to be cold to the touch and have a real-world heft and feel. This meant nothing less than CNC-machined aluminum would do, so we started there. Our original prototype truly did take about a year to get worked out.”
He continues, “We wanted everything to behave like we envisioned the original, inasmuch as allowing for multiple attachments to be placed on the hand unit. More subtle touches include a spring-loaded actuation button, flip-out handle, and aircraft cable wrapped around the spool of the primary hand unit. We finished everything off with an amazing anodized finish then tucked everything away in an appropriately themed equipment case. The end result is a stunning, museum-quality replica set that is sure to be the highlight of any collection.”
Limited to just 1,000 units, each set contains the following:
- machined aluminum (anodized black) hand unit
- machined aluminum (anodized black) Grapnel utility attachment
- machined brass and aluminum utility dart/grapnel hook
- machined aluminum (anodized black & polished aluminum) Bolo attachment w/ fixed aircraft cable
- custom equipment case with laser cut insert
- certificate of authenticity
While the metal bolos and brass grapnel elements are interchangeable with the hand unit, they are otherwise static. Additionally, they can’t be launched, repelled on, or deployed in any way. However, they’ll certainly look amazing in your collection!
Priced at $799.99 USD, this impressive replica is available to ship within the United States in March 2023.
With Paragon’s new Modular Utility Grapnel Set, you can finally bring home a piece worthy of Bruce Wayne himself!
About the inspiration
As mentioned, this set is based on the contraption that appeared in Tim Burton’s contribution to the Batman franchise. Released in the summer of 1989 and featuring a cast that included Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl, Pat Hingle, Billy Dee Williams, Michael Gough, and Jack Palance, the flick earned rave reviews from both fans and critics alike and grossed over $400 million at the worldwide box office. Taking a much more mature approach to what had been seen in the past, Burton’s Batman not only brought the Dark Knight to a new generation of fans fed on the works of Miller and Moore, but also set the stage for one of the most successful film franchises in modern cinematic history.
