Six Flags, What Were You Thinking???

May, 2000

Important: The situation described here has been corrected. Refer to the update at the end of this page!

I mentioned this briefly in my April 1, 2000 Trip Report for Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom but was so shocked by it that I figured it deserved a page of its own.

It seems that one of the things that Six Flags is doing for the 2000 season is to provide the customary park map and information guide as a pull-out section in a small comic book. I picked mine up at Kentucky Kingdom but I have been told that similar booklets are being distributed by the other Six Flags amusement parks, with custom covers for each park.

The comic book is a neat idea, as Six Flags uses DC Comics characters (Batman and Superman, for instance) and the Warner Brothers cartoon characters (such as Bugs Bunny) as their park mascots. So a comic book is one unique way to introduce park customers to these characters right at the front gate. Not to mention that it provides customers with something to read while they wait in line. I read mine while I was waiting to get my season pass processed.

The first half of the book is a Batman and Robin comic. It's not much of a story; apparently the Riddler has some caper planned, and to keep Batman out of the way, he has concocted a series of riddles to send the Caped Crusader on a wild goose chase all over the park. It isn't a particularly compelling story, but the riddles are designed to keep the children guessing.

The riddles take the Dynamic Duo to Six Flags, then lead to the Merry-Go-Round, to a water ride, and finally to a roller coaster. Which leads to the panels seen here, where we see our heroes boarding a specially rigged roller coaster car. Batman suggests that there is one thing that he and Robin have which the Riddler does not: Common Sense! And that is where this sequence begins.

Now, I have never been much of a Batman and Robin fan. I do remember seeing episodes of the Batman television show in which it was emphasized that Batman is a crime fighter, so much so that even though no police officer in Gotham City would even think to write a ticket for his distinctive automobile, he was always careful to put a nickel into the parking meter to "set a good example." So he is a common sense hero who likes to set a good example for the law-abiding members of the public even as he fights notorious criminals. Batman and Robin are, after all, the Good Guys here.

But while I am not a Batman fan, I am a roller coaster enthusiast, and I am a student of ride safety. I also have a certain amount of common sense myself, and I have to wonder just what Robin thinks he is doing in that third panel!

Here's a closer view of the third panel. We can clearly see that Batman is seated on the right-hand side. But there is absolutely no doubt about it. Robin is clearly standing on the left-hand side, his cape flapping in the breeze. At least he's holding on to the grab bar. "Just hang tight?" That's good advice in this case, Batman!

Note: This has been fixed. Refer to the update at the bottom of this page.

So much for leading by example! Standing up on a roller coaster not specifically designed to accommodate standing riders is probably the single most dangerous thing a rider can do, and for that reason almost every park gives a specific warning to roller coaster passengers to not stand up during the ride. A standing rider's center of mass is higher than that of a seated rider, and if that center of mass is above the sidewall of the car or above the seat back, that rider can be easily thrown from the train. Furthermore, most roller coasters employ lap bars to secure riders. A rider's lap is formed by the horizontal position of his thighs; by definition, a standing rider has no lap, and cannot be secured by a lap bar. People who stand up on roller coasters are in grave danger. People who stand up on roller coasters have been killed by this dangerous practice.

And yet, in a comic book distributed at the entrance of Six Flags amusement parks, we see Robin himself, Assistant Crime Fighter, Action Hero, and Trusty Sidekick, standing up on a roller coaster. Six Flags Theme Parks is showing their lead Hero in a clear violation of standard park rules, not to mention in defiance of ride physics, and in clear opposition to what any ride enthusiast, ride designer, ride maintenance man, or ride safety expert will tell you is nothing more than common sense.

Which makes Robin's comment here all the more ironic, don't you think?

Batman and Robin end up abandoning the coaster car by jumping off mid-ride, which is another no-no, but I'll forgive them that indiscretion as it was necessary according to the plot of the story. But I should mention that in 1999, a man was killed when he decided to exit a roller coaster in mid-ride. He was not a comic-book hero. He squirmed out of the car (which is quite an accomplishment on that particular coaster) and ended up dead.

Elmer lands head-first in the lead car of a speeding coaster train. Bugs is, of course, already there, dressed as a train conductor. Clearly Elmer has a few seconds to regain his balance for the next frame, 'cause look what he's doing...

That's right, he's following Robin's example. He's standing up, facing the rear of the train. And this is a more wide-open train than the one Robin was standing in. Dare I say again how dangerous it is to stand up on a roller coaster?

It turns out that Elmer doesn't have a chance to get tossed out of the coaster by the ride; Bugs takes care of that by bodily tossing him off of the train such that he lands on the platform of a merry-go-round. The interesting thing here is that a brass-ring dispenser is pictured. To the best of my knowledge, no Six Flags carousel is equipped with a brass ring dispenser. Carousel ring dispensers have become extremely rare, partly because the steel rings (and the brass ones, for that matter) are expensive to replace when park patrons walk off with them, and partly because of the potential for injuries as people try to grab the rings while sitting on moving horses. In any case, Bugs gets a chance to crack a couple more jokes, then he misses the brass ring and catches Elmer by the nose instead, flinging him out onto the midway.

At this point, Bugs and Elmer get onto the log flume, and this time it looks like Elmer stays aboard for the whole ride...but Bugs leaps off early. Remember what I said about people getting off of rides that aren't quite finished yet. A basic foot chase follows, where Elmer demonstrates that running in the park is not such a great idea, as he trips and lands head-first on a High-Striker, rings the bell and wins a prize...a cute little plush "Bugs Bunny" figure.

Panel from the original version of the Six Flags comic book.

The new and improved version. Notice that Robin is sitting down now!