Marvel Superheroes 2022 - Rumors & Discussion

[BrickBob Studpants]

2 hours ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

Another Black Panther D2C? Bruh.

In light of the bust, I still don‘t get where that rumour came from. The leakers seemed so convinced and provided so many hints, and yet were completely off the mark here 

Unless there actually is a second BP D2C set, which would be sheer madness. No movie has ever had two D2C sets dedicated to it in that quick of a succession

[Subnautica]

The only way I can see that BP vehicle rumor being true and having any chance at selling is if it’s a  part of a large Battle of Earth display. And even then it’s really not very visually appealing scenery and would need to rely heavily on minifigures to sell

[Nabii]

6 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Hope it's not taken personally.

It is not. :)

[BrickWild]

That Black Panther bust introduces certain elements for the first time in BLACK! 

Now it's possible to build the following models in that colour as follows:

10269 Harley Davidson Fat Boy

10298 Vespa 125
10295 Porsche 911 (Targa)

21327 Typewriter
10290 Pickup Truck

And this set should honour Chadwick Boseman who passed away two years ago.
Just imagine if he was still alive today...

[THELEGOBATMAN]

1 hour ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

In light of the bust, I still don‘t get where that rumour came from. The leakers seemed so convinced and provided so many hints, and yet were completely off the mark here 

Unless there actually is a second BP D2C set, which would be sheer madness. No movie has ever had two D2C sets dedicated to it in that quick of a succession

That's why I'm so intrigued.

This forum would EXPLODE if it turned out that the second D2C, the biggest LEGO Marvel set ever, is another Black Panther D2C, this time a vehicle.

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, Nabii said:

It is not. :)

Cool! Because we love you all. 

[BrickBob Studpants]

1 hour ago, Nabii said:

It is not. :)

I think you did a phenomenal job with the set  Can‘t wait to add it to my collection!

Expensive, yes, but people probably don‘t realise how enormous that model is. I‘ve seen some mockups on IG and it towers over the helmet sets!

[Jaromir]

Is Hulkbuster MK2 still happening though?

[BrickBob Studpants]

12 minutes ago, Jaromir said:

Is Hulkbuster MK2 still happening though?

Nobody knows at this point. Could be the $500 set, one that got cancelled, or there was some sort of mix-up (BP bust D2C + minifig-scale Hulkbuster in 2023 = Hulkbuster D2C )

[Caps Beard]

14 minutes ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Nobody knows at this point. Could be the $500 set, one that got cancelled, or there was some sort of mix-up (BP bust D2C + minifig-scale Hulkbuster in 2023 = Hulkbuster D2C )

The mix up theory strengthened by the fact the Hulkbuster was rumoured as being the IW version. Which we now know is the version the January set is going to be

[1340cc]

The Black Panther bust reminds me of the UCS Landspeeder from earlier this year. They both look like nice sets, just not sets that Star Wars and Marvel fans really wanted.

5 hours ago, THELEGOBATMAN said:

 I'm so intrigued by the 500€ D2C too, because whatever they choose, it will be another huge disappointed. Another Black Panther D2C? Bruh. A 500€ Hulkbuster? Please no.

I think at that price the only thing that people would be happy with is a large modular style Avengers tower, or maybe a Helicarrier remake.

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, Nabii said:

It is not. :)

Good, you did a great job with the design of the set.

 

But now I'm just completely spun around. Clearly the leakers were misled about the hulkbuster (or just making stuff up, but there were some pretty reliable guys claiming it was coming), but this would also imply that the $500 D2C is unknown.

(Unless it's also a black panther vehicle, in which case I'd go nuts. For two of the three most expensive marvel sets to be based on a character who, while popular, isn't even in the top 5? That's wild.

[GoldenNinja3000]

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

For two of the three most expensive marvel sets to be based on a character who, while popular, isn't even in the top 5? That's wild.

I don't think Black Panther should have gotten a life-sized bust over more popular characters, but how are people claiming he isn't top 5 most popular? He's top 5 based on box office alone. I don't think that's a good enough reason to give him a $350 set, but Black Panther is undeniably popular and has had a massive impact on popular culture in a short period of time. I understand LEGO's reasoning in that regard, I just don't buy that Black Panther is a more popular character than Iron Man or Spider-Man, especially when it comes to toy sales.

I really don't like how much hate Mark Stafford (and LEGO designers in general) are getting. They don't set prices. The Sanctum was designed to a $200 price point - it's not the designer's fault that LEGO jacked the set up to $250, which made everything about it look worse (in my opinion). The same thing happened with this set - as @Falconfan1414 said, it's possible that the original price was $250, although I personally think it was originally more like $300. I think this set is a lot bigger than everyone is expecting and I really want to see it in person to get a sense of its scale. 

All that being said, I don't think this set should exist. I love it, but I'm gonna have to tap out if this becomes a new line of products from LEGO. I can't afford to buy life-size Marvel busts every year, more so in terms of space than money, and I've bought every Marvel set for the last several years. With how oversized and overpriced LEGO D2Cs are becoming, I'm not going to be able to get every one I want, and I really can't see a ton of people buying this bust. I know LEGO is going after non-AFOL markets, but how many people want a life size bust of a superhero? How many want one of Black Panther? How many want one of Black Panther, made out of LEGO, that's not good value for money compared to a set like the Daily Bugle at the exact same price? 

I think this set is a wonderful tribute to Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, but I also think it's a blatant attempt to profit from his untimely death. LEGO can say whatever they want, but if Black Panther was a big enough seller to warrant a $350 life-sized bust, I would've expected more Black Panther-centered sets in the years since the first movie, or even just good minifigures of him. Iron Man and Spider-Man are Marvel's big sellers - that's reflected in LEGO's own products, where those minifigures get the best printing and the most sets dedicated to them. Making a Black Panther bust before characters like that or even someone like Batman sends a very clear message, IMO. If it was about popularity or even who has a movie coming out, we would have seen Spider-Man and Batman before Black Panther. 

Not to mention, if this set would have existed either way because the first Black Panther movie made so much money, are we going to be getting one of these for Captain Marvel next summer? I'd put money on that not happening. Captain Marvel also made a ton of money for an initial solo superhero movie (although obviously Black Panther's cultural impact was much bigger), yet there's no helmet, mech, or even any retail set centered on Carol Danvers apart from the one for her movie. So yeah, I don't really buy the excuse that we got a Black Panther bust because the first movie was successful. I like this set but I don't think LEGO should have made it, and honestly they should be donating a portion of the profits to colon cancer research or doing something similar because I don't think this set paints them in a positive light. 

[Mandalorianknight]

10 minutes ago, GoldenNinja3000 said:

I don't think Black Panther should have gotten a life-sized bust over more popular characters, but how are people claiming he isn't top 5 most popular? He's top 5 based on box office alone. I don't think that's a good enough reason to give him a $350 set, but Black Panther is undeniably popular and has had a massive impact on popular culture in a short period of time. I understand LEGO's reasoning in that regard, I just don't buy that Black Panther is a more popular character than Iron Man or Spider-Man, especially when it comes to toy sales.

Box office isn't the only metric of popularity. Personally I'd guess the top 5 goes Spidey (at the top no matter what), then in no particular order, iron man, hulk, wolverine, and captain America. He's popular, sure, but I wouldn't say he's THAT popular.

I'd compare his popularity to harley quinn. Around for decades (though of course he was around much longer than harley), but has a sudden spike in popularity in the 2010s due to a movie. And while people can agree harley's popular, I don't think anyone would put her above, like, Batman/superman/wonder woman/flash/joker or whoever the 5 most popular DC characters are. (of course, I think black panther's cool and that being a more mainstream avenger now is good, whereas harley's newfound popularity makes me uneasy for some reason)

[Scarilian]

4 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

Nobody knows at this point. Could be the $500 set, one that got cancelled, or there was some sort of mix-up (BP bust D2C + minifig-scale Hulkbuster in 2023 = Hulkbuster D2C )

4 hours ago, 1340cc said:

I think at that price the only thing that people would be happy with is a large modular style Avengers tower, or maybe a Helicarrier remake.

At this stage, I don't think an Avengers Tower or Helicarrier $500 set would be enough to quell the frustration of the poor allocation of budget of this year. At least if it's the Hulkbuster MKII I've mentally accepted that because we've had a year of being told it was happening and it's a logical progression that if they made a Hulkbuster MKI they would eventually get around to the Hulkbuster MKII.

If we get an Avengers Tower or Helicarrier I'd be finding myself questioning why the other sets are such a mismash of random nonsense, whereas I can more easily justify the set if its based on the Infinity War Hulkbuster. That way we'd at least have the duality of a Black Panther set and an Infinity War set, both films releasing the same year - presumably Ragnarok would have been represented by Thor's Hammer which was destroyed in that film. The Sanctum also fitting due to that being where Bruce Banner crashes and the resulting conflict.

I worry immensely for the knock-on effect this year's sales will have on future years. Last year's sets were based on movies that underperformed so I expect the merchandise would reflect that. This year they are spending a lot on expensive sets that may not pay off for the theme. I really hope the poor sales of the Black Panther Bust set (Judging by less than 10% considering buying it according to Brickset survey out of 2046 responses at time of writing) don't prevent them taking risks and adapting other things on a large scale.

56 minutes ago, GoldenNinja3000 said:

I don't think Black Panther should have gotten a life-sized bust over more popular characters, but how are people claiming he isn't top 5 most popular?

He would'nt be in my top 5 honestly, even if we are only picking characters from the MCU.

If I had to pick MCU characters that should have been chosen instead it'd be Iron Man (With Arc Reactor/Nano Gaunlet), Captain America (With Shield), Loki (With Sceptre), Thanos (With Infinity Gauntlet) or Spider-man (With Web Shooter)

Edited September 8, 2022 by Scarilian

[KingDom]

I can see why they would do a Black Panther bust now ahead of any other superheroes. The release of Black Panther 2 will be the last time the character is culturally relevant enough to have this kind of set work. Compare that to Iron Man where they could release the bust in literally any year.

 

Having said that I don't really like the direction is going by catering to non lego audiences but I understand. The average person can happily display a set or two in their home so making sets that appeal to lots of different demographics makes sense when their core demographic runs out of shelf space. I just don't know if that is how it will work out in practise 

[Lyichir]

In respect to speculation about the other rumored D2C, my two cents are that if it was also something Black Panther I'd be much more interested in a location-based set based on the gorgeous Afrofuturistic scenery and architecture of Wakanda than in a mere vehicle.

Granted, this probably doesn't count for much since I don't really buy Marvel sets. But if I were a designer that's what I'd prefer to be working on, especially at a high price point like the rumored one.

[Scarilian]

Seeing Falcon's Instagram asking for users to remark on if they would get the Black Panther Bust or Bowser really emphasised how much of a mistep this set actually is.

• Over-sized version of pre-existing Lego set styles (Helmet/Gaunlets)
• Looks good only from the front
• Primarily black so will be a dust magnet (Could have easily adapted the purple power-up to vary it more)
• No play features
• Is not poseable
• It has no figures
• Scales with nothing
• UK pricing is ridiculous at £299.99

Comparing this to Bowser... yikes. Bowser is a unique concept, looks awesome from every angle, has a wide range of colours, several play features including shooting fire, can pose, while it lacks a figure the set is a figure, it scales well with the Mario brickfig and it's priced at £229.99.

Why on earth would anyone buy the Black Panther Bust instead of Bowser given both are releasing October 1st? Like I've barely any connection with Mario and brought none of the other Lego Mario sets, but that set looks awesome compared to this.

Edit:

• Added the updated list.
• Also, for anyone wondering, I guess this potentially could mean the information about the $500 set we have is not accurate due to confusing contradictory information. This could imply the $500 set is unknown completely which might put options back on the table or the $500 set could include or feature the Hulkbuster MKII... I guess we'll have to wait till around mid October or later to discover the truth if the $500 set does indeed release in November.

Updated List:

  Hide contents

OCTOBER:

• 76211: Shuri's Sunbird
• 76212: Shuri's Lab
• 76213: King Namor's Throne Room
• 76214: (Wakanda Forever; 80€, 545 pcs)
• 76215: Black Panther

NOVEMBER:

• 76210: 500€ D2C Marvel

2022 SETS WITH UNKNOWN RELEASE DATES:

• 76222: (Unknown set, listed on Promobricks.de)
• 76224: (Unknown set, listed on Promobricks.de)

HULKBUSTER MKII:

Originally reported as being 76215 by Promobricks in Winter 2021 with more details relayed later, this set number has been taken by the Black Panther Bust and it's unclear if the Hulkbuster MKII is actually going to be a set in 2022 or early 2023. Falcon speculated this is the $500 D2C that is releasing in November, however conflicting reports have implied that set might be a Wakandan vehicle. For the moment the nature of the Hulkbuster MKII rumors and information regarding it is unknown.

JANUARY 2023:

• 76232: (Revealed on Lego Instruction page listed as a Marvel 2023 set)
• 76241: Hulk Mech $14.99
• 76242: Thanos Mech $14.99 (Revealed on Lego Instruction page listed as a Marvel 2023 set)
• 76243: Rocket Mech $14.99
• 76244: Miles Morales Vs. Morbius $24.99 (Revealed on Lego Instruction page listed as a Marvel 2023 set)
• 76245: Ghost Rider with Mech & Bike $34.99
• 76247: Hulkbuster: The Battle of Wakanda $49.99
• 76248: The Avengers Quinjet $99.99

MARCH 2023:

• 10789 (Spider-man & His Amazing Friends themed) $9.99
• 10790 (Spider-man & His Amazing Friends themed) $34.99
• 10791 (Spider-man & His Amazing Friends themed) $49.99

APRIL 2023:

• 76253: (GotG themed) $9.99
• 76254: (GotG themed) $34.99
• 76255: (GotG themed) $99.99

Rumored sets:

• Additional NWH set/Movie-inspired Spider-man sets - nothing confirming the existence of the sets, but heavily desired by the community

Notes:

• Unidentified sets may wind up being from DC, please be aware
• Currency listings are taken from a variety of sources and may vary, in most cases these are rounded

Edited September 9, 2022 by Scarilian

[icm]

25 minutes ago, Scarilian said:

Worse still you have to factor in that the Black Panther Bust is priced the same as actual 1:1 lifesizes busts of Black Panther that were released in 2020... and this set is not even 1:1 scale (That bust also had features)

Just a quick fact check, the non-Lego bust you linked is priced at $760, not $300. Customers had the option to pay it off in two installments of $300 and $460, or one installment of $760. It also had a limited run of just 600 units. So the Lego version is, in fact, much less expensive and much more accessible than the highly naturalistic non-Lego version.

[Scarilian]

50 minutes ago, icm said:

Just a quick fact check, the non-Lego bust you linked is priced at $760, not $300. Customers had the option to pay it off in two installments of $300 and $460, or one installment of $760. It also had a limited run of just 600 units. So the Lego version is, in fact, much less expensive and much more accessible than the highly naturalistic non-Lego version.

My mistake, have removed that comparison.

[Mandalorianknight]

2 hours ago, Scarilian said:

Seeing Falcon's Instagram asking for users to remark on if they would get the Black Panther Bust or Bowser really emphasised how much of a mistep this set actually is.

Also, for anyone wondering, I guess this potentially could mean the information about the $500 set we have is not accurate due to confusing contradictory information. This could imply the $500 set is unknown completely which might put options back on the table or the $500 set could include or feature the Hulkbuster MKII... I guess we'll have to wait till around mid October or later to discover the truth if the $500 set does indeed release in November.

I really don't understand why they did this. (On the bright side, maybe more people will buy it once it's inevitably 20% off!) The bowser is just better in every way. And same here about not buying those weird digi mario sets, but if I was given the option to get the BP bust or bowser, I'd get bowser easily.

If options are back on the table for the $500 set, my guesses are back to Avengers Tower or the 2012 quinjet. Though I'm still holding out a slim hope for the Liberty Parlance. I just saw the NWH re-release last night (with my friends and in costume), and that scene never gets old. I guarantee if released, it'd be the lego death star of marvel.

[eric_son_of_joseph]

1 hour ago, Mandalorianknight said:

I really don't understand why they did this.

I already posted this Mike Psiaki statement on the diversity of LEGO fans in the New Hogwarts Express thread, but it's relevant here as well.

 

Edited September 9, 2022 by eric_son_of_joseph
Update description

[Scarilian]

6 hours ago, eric_son_of_joseph said:

I already posted this Mike Psiaki statement on the diversity of LEGO fans in the New Hogwarts Express thread, but it's relevant here as well

Long post time (Don't worry, it's not directed at you, just thoughts on the concepts/remarks/conversation/suggestions :P)

This is not the designer of this product and I'm not going to make assumptions specifically about whether what was said was the intent of that individual or mispoken due to them being on a livestream at the time which can be awkward and result in flustered speak. The other individuals in that livestream do have moments of that, so I'm not holding specific terminology to account here such as the "Its not meant for you" which they clarified immediately. In terms of context, he's initially remarking on how people may have wanted a different coloured set, his response as spoken is regarding the nature of trying to appeal to a large group of people with varied interests which generally ends with the statement that they try to avoid defining their fanbase in specific ways because of the broad appeal of the brand. I feel this statement is fine, but it's not answering the implied question of what drove them to this colour other than the vague implication that a white car might encourage creativity akin to a blank slate on which an artist would create.

Designers are creative and will design a set to the best of their ability despite a number of factors that we'd probably never consider while also remaining within their creative vision. I fully view Mark Stafford as attempting to do this, I do not believe the flaws are related primarily to the design as opposed to a lot of unavoidable factors and likely requests from Lego, the only issue I take with the design is the neck and mouth being a similar building design and looking undetailed. In this case, the stated vision of said designer was simply to 'make a large helmet for Black Panther because the previous helmet sets they'd worked on such as the Iron Man helmet they felt were too small to accurately portray the Black Panther helmet' This notion in itself is fine, though would likely frustrate collectors of the smaller helmet range if we started getting variance. Personally a larger scale variation of helmet is definitely needed for some of these characters and it makes sense after the Iron Man Helmet to come to this decision because that helmet would likely have benefitted from a larger scale to allow for more smoothness on the mask. Though the increase in scale definitely did not need to be to this extent to achieve the stated goal and nowhere in the designers original goal of 'larger helmet' was to include the gloves or the upper torso so I feel those were aspects Lego may have enabled or encouraged via the higher piece/price count.

The trouble is that someone in Lego failed to do proper market research on if such a set at a D2C scale would be viable and actually appeal to the demographics required. It's an easy mistake to make, for example one would likely see Captain Marvel's box office and think she is an incredibly popular character... however a film can be financially succesful for a lot of other reasons and any potential popularity might not be tied necessarily to the quality of the character, nor should that character's longevity automatically be assumed. An audience liking a character three/four years ago may not feel the same way after a passage of time, this is why the D2C's should normally strive to be based on aspects that have demonstrated longevity as opposed to relying primarily on the popularity of a solo movie - you can take such risks but those risks should be framed in a way that they'll cover themselves, appealing to a lot of people

Even with the designer doing a lot of good things the core concept of a D2C statue at this price of this character in this month of this year was flawed. This needed to either be a more popular and iconic character for the first version of this in order to sell collectors on the concept OR it needed to appeal more to the demographic via being at a lower scale, better price point or simply focusing on what the designer wanted initially to do - a helmet. Releasing it alongside Bowser is a mistake because people will compare and contrast it to other things that release with the same piece count, I have done so myself. The November release date may have helped giving it a month after Bowser and hopefully having an audience that is caught up in the hype of the new movie which will clearly focus at least partially around the death of Black Panther, rather than having time to digest the set prior. From how it's described by the designer the main motivating factor for why it recieved such a treatment from Lego was seemingly 'because Black Panther was the highest grossing solo superhero movie' which is concerning because if they are going solely off box office without an understanding of the context behind it or an analysis of the current interests of the age range they are targetting then they risk making a product that could appeal to many instead appeal to less and less people.

Brickset is not a perfect judge of set popularity, but a poll of if people would buy the Black Panther Bust which is now at 2552 votes gave us the following:

No, it doesn't interest me	40%
No, it's too expensive	33%
No, but I like it	16%
Maybe, I haven't made up my mind yet	4%
Yes, eventually	3%
Yes, as soon as it's released	4%

89% have stated they will not buy the set, it should not be understated that if this is reflected in actual sales of the set and Lego view it as a reflection of the interest in Marvel, it does risk the potential for future D2C's.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Scarilian

[PGBQW]

4 hours ago, Scarilian said:

89% have stated they will not buy the set, it should not be understated that if this is reflected in actual sales of the set and Lego view it as a reflection of the interest in Marvel, it does risk the potential for future D2C's.

Okay, to be totally fair.

Obviously the target of this set is not the average Eurobricks user, it's more focused to Black Panther fans rather than Lego Fans, so that poll is totally irrelevant.

It would be like making a poll in the Marvel forums asking if they'll watch the new Marvel movie: of course it will be extremely biased.

12 hours ago, Mandalorianknight said:

Though I'm still holding out a slim hope for the Liberty Parlance

Okay, I really don't want to come out as mean, but why do you all want that statue of liberty scene as a set so much?

Like I do agree that making the 500€ set the NWH one would be a genious move because people because it would sell based on minifigures alone.

But ignoring the minifigures would you like the scenery itself? Like it's just a construction site with an ugly statue showing from the top.

Is this a north-american thing that I don't get because I'm european? It's because its a national monument that you just happen to like or it's solely because of the movie?

 

Not trying to be inquisitive, just genuinely curious.

[THELEGOBATMAN]

3 hours ago, PGBQW said:

Okay, to be totally fair.

Obviously the target of this set is not the average Eurobricks user, it's more focused to Black Panther fans rather than Lego Fans, so that poll is totally irrelevant.

It would be like making a poll in the Marvel forums asking if they'll watch the new Marvel movie: of course it will be extremely biased.

What?

It's a poll about a LEGO set, on the most popular LEGO sets database. It's not biased in any way.

Where were they supposed to make it? On a Black Panther forum?