For all their epic sprawl, tick-tock precise storytelling, and self-seriousness, it's easy to forget that Christopher Nolan's Batman films are still big budget superhero movies.  That means that, no matter how unsmiling Christian Bale's Caped Crusader may inevitably be, The Dark Knight Rises will be accompanied by a merchandising bonanza that includes lunchboxes, stickers, PEZ dispensers, personal pleasure devices, and endless toys.  Today we have a handful of looks at some of those toys, which are varying degrees of ridiculous, but will be greedily gobbled up by fans of all ages nonetheless.

Hey, Simpsons fans, remember the episode where Homer tries to become an inventor?  His inventions include the "Everything's Okay Alarm" and the "Makeup shotgun," a double-barreled weapon rigged to blast makeup onto the face of a woman?  In The Hunger Games, a bunch of characters look as though, every day, they start things off by blasting themselves with makeup shotguns at point blank range.  See, the young adult novel by Suzanne Collins takes place in a futuristic dystopia comprised of twelve Districts and the Capitol; while the economically exploited Districts are drab and utilitarian, the Capitol of Panem is ludicrously opulent and showy, with inhabitants decorating themselves in outlandish fashion.  The film adaptation will do the Capitol justice, and the distinctive styles bring with them a most peculiar merchandising tie-in: The Hunger Games "Capitol Colours Nail Polish."