Every superhero needs a sidekick in my opinion. Batman and Robin is one such example. Batman generally can accomplish many things on his own, but occasionally Robin needs to bail him out or provide something that Batman lacks. Even if Batman is succeeding, it's still nice to have a sidekick like Robin.
In terms of Six Flags England, Bizarro is the big kahuna. It has height, massive air, accolades, intensity, and pretty much anything that a coaster enthusiast could want, except for one thing- inversions. But Bizarro doesn't have to worry, that's what Batman is for and it serves as a nice compliment. Not only that, but Superman/Bizarro has unfortunately been closed on almost half of my visits to Six Flags New England for a multitude of reasons ranging from the grim accidents, lift hill malfunctions, and recently the transformation from Superman into Bizarro. While nothing could possibly replace Bizarro, Batman does an admirable job filling in on these days when the park’s headliner is down for maintenance.
First off, I can't help but applaud B and M for cramming this coaster in such a small plot of land. I don't know why people always complain about the ride being too small or short. It's supposed to be since there was such a limited space to work with and considering those daunting limitations, B and M engineered a fun coaster that still is remarkably smooth and thrilling. And not only that, but Batman sports a sleek purple paint job with bright blue rails that really stands out and dominates the South End’s skyline.
The experience begins with very nicely themed queue line that is extremely comfortable even on the hottest of summer days with its copious shaded portions and misters that operate on a sporadic basis. But what really pleases me are the cardboard cutouts of Batman heroes and villains, which display both a vibrant, eye-catching image along with a mini profile of their strengths and abilities. Typically Batman has a 15-20 minute wait, but if Bizarro is down, most of those thrill-seekers flock to Batman and increase the wait by a good 10 minutes or so.
You may think capacity would be fairly high for the Caped Crusader, but despite running two trains, the line moves fairly slowly because stacking is way too frequent thanks to extremely slow dispatches combined with a pretty short ride. I personally think a single rider line should be implemented since there often are many empty seats each ride that could be easily filled in. To add insult to injury, because of the attraction’s diminutive station, you unfortunately are unable to choose or wait for any particular seat, which is quite disappointing since the front is far and away this attraction’s best seat thanks to the absolutely sensational sense of speed maintained throughout and the dramatically better view.
Once boarding the incredibly comfy B and M floorless trains, Batman begins with a swift ascent up a very steep lift hill. After reaching the 120ft summit, Batman takes a steep, graceful dive off to the left that establishes the attraction’s speed. Not only that, but the drop is quite intense despite its compactness and is as smooth as silk to boot.
Following that comes five scream-inducing inversions taken in rapid-fire succession. Leading off is a massive vertical loop that is almost as tall as the lift itself, but the added height ultimately led to the loop being somewhat lackluster in my opinion as it just seemed too big for its own good, lacking any real forces and intensity. However, the following dive loop more than made up for this disappointment, as it was simply amazing as it was both incredibly intense and disorienting thanks to its compactness.
Immediately after is a massive turnaround that threads Batman’s colossal vertical loop, which is quite possibly the dullest moment of the entire attraction since it just lacks any real intensity or thrill. Afterwards though is my favorite element on any floorless- the zero-G roll- and Batman has one of the best I’ve experienced anywhere. Taken at a relatively slow pace, this majestic flip is teeming with glorious ejector air that few coasters can match.
Then to culminate the entire experience are B and M’s trademark interlocking corkscrews. While taken at breakneck speeds and providing some really powerful Gs, the second unfortunately contains some uncharacteristic headbanging for a B and M. Certainly it’s nothing terrible or head-ache inducing (cough: Mind Eraser: cough), but still it is present and deters my experience somewhat. Lastly, while still maintaining considerable speed, Batman glides onto the break run to finish the experience.
There's no doubt Batman is a good coaster and a worthy addition to SFNE's coaster lineup, as it certainly serves as a worthy sidekick to the almighty Bizarro. That being said, Batman is a coaster that's incredibly short, but oh so sweet. Despite its relatively short length, B and M succeeded in cramming plenty of elements in such a small plot of land and also kept the intensity level on par with their other coasters. However, Batman is plagued somewhat by the dreaded B and M rattle at some points, but certainly don’t let that deter you from riding. While it’s not in the upper tier of great B and Ms, Batman is still one of Six Flags New England’s best attractions and a good coaster in its own right.
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