This weekend I went to visit the Batman Unmasked exhibition at the Depot Mayfield, a short walk from Manchester Piccadilly station. This exhibition celebrates 85 years of the caped crusader and provides an all-new experience showing never seen before props, costumes and vehicles from the film archives. As comic book fans, we had to go and see what this limited time exhibition had to offer before it moved to London at the end of the month.
Arriving at the location, its safe to say it is unassuming. The warehouse building made it feel more like we were going to enter one of the lairs of Batman’s infamous villains than Wayne Manor. With the entrance, our expectations were uncertain, what would happen next as we entered through the shutters? Be warned, there are potential spoilers ahead.
After a bag check and sighting of the bat signal, we had our tickets scanned and entered the exhibition to a photo opportunity before entering a “preshow” area inside the Wayne Manor Library. After a short briefing, video introduction and brief interaction, a secret door leads into the main attraction, starting with the Batcave. All pieces on display are authentic and used in the films/series – there are no replicas here.
The first half of the exhibition focusses on the Bat himself with a selection of displays featuring Batman’s weapons and tools including a centrepiece display of the Batcycle used by Robert Pattinson in “The Batman”. Moving on there is a hall dedicated to the iconic costume’s seen on screen. A selection of costume items is on display including cowls through time and full suits. It’s a brilliant chance to take a close look at the costumes with plaques showing information alongside them. This section was a dream for any batman fan and a place where you could spend a long time exploring.
Moving on to the second half after a short holding area, the attraction focus shifts to that of the villains Batman faced. A room themed to The Joker and his descent to madness is the start to a maze-like section with themes of various villains before you enter the rogue’s gallery. The maze-like section, whilst easy to follow, was a great way to break up the experience with a change of pace. The villains’ section was brilliant with lots of costumes of the infamous villains available to see. From Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn to Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy. Alongside the costume was a selection of props like the exhibits before.
Moving on, it was time to see the Tumber Batmobile as seen in The Dark Knight Trilogy. This impressive vehicle had is own section with a cityscape background and it was quite the sight. Being able to see this up close and get a grasp at all the details unseen when on the screen was cool.
Heading up a ramp we then found ourselves in a more interactive area. With screens, photo ops, comic books, toys(including a Scalextric track) and colouring pages. This was a chilled-out zone. I couldn’t help but find one thing strange on this section, there was a colouring table with alcohol markers labelled for use of anyone over the age of 18. This was a little odd, but also not enforced. The colouring desks had clearly been taking a beating over the last few weeks of operation with a lot of colours dried up, missing lids or not present in general. Sam enjoyed the comics here which were free to read in a library style.
Once finished, we followed down towards the gift shop to see our photos and get some Batman themed goodies. The photo cards gave you the option to buy either a print (and frame) or keychain / magnet for £13 each – only after selecting one of these, would you be able to purchase a digital package of all photos for £8. Whilst I did think the prices were expensive, I didn’t really agree with the idea of putting the digital photo package option behind another purchase. Moving on to the gift shop. I have to say, I was hoping for more in the gift shop. I am aware that a lot of items have gone out of stock since the exhibition opened, but I was surprised by the lack of merchandise, especially for the villains. A lot of the merchandise available was quite the generic Batman merchandise which I could purchase anywhere. There was some exhibition specific merch but none of it really stood out – none featured the name of the event (which would have been something I would have purchased (though, like I said, could have been sold out). Gift & photos aside, that was the end of our experience into the world of Batman.
So, what did we think? Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this experience. It was nice to get to see the world of Batman up close and properly take in the details of those costumes which we have only ever seen on screen. The team have created a well themed pop-up exhibition with lots to look at. The timeslots and holding areas ensure that the attraction isn’t overly busy at any time. Priced at £24.50 per adult in Manchester (with various pricing available for groups and other visitors) I would say that it is worth the price if you are a fan of Batman or his villains. This attraction felt suitable for all ages especially at the end with the interactive area.
The Batman Unmasked experience closes in Manchester on the 25th of August and moves to London from September 6th
Secure your tickets now to avoid disappointment –
