Quoted from dgpinball:Unfortunately, bumpers, pop or dead, haven't really been used properly much since the woodrail era and early 60's, they just became a sort of a thing to design around, but not include much in game strategy. Games like the ones pictured above in this thread , use the bumpers as critical components of the game.
I like how Batman Forever uses them to change the next mode started. As the ball is bouncing off the pops, wait until it highlights the mode you want to start next, pull the trigger on the Batgun to lock in that mode (or "Lite Extra Ball" which is also in the mode list). Sometimes it goes too fast and the ball has to be sent back up into the pops.
I've never thought The Shadow needs pop bumpers. More new games should go without them.