batman vs. Spiderman

[blhc11]

Yes I did take time to read the other posts as I didn't want to unnecessarily repeat none important information, however, the reason I repeated what some other members had written was to express the fact that I agree and to add what I think to the discussion. I think it is important for us to understand and discuss why and how, as then we can move forward to helping/persuading the Lego group to re-introduce the line! :)

I think that a petition is a great idea, but I am unsure of how many would sign it, apart from me and you of course (as well as other loyal batman fans). If there were a petition, I agree that someone who has remained consistently passionate about the batman line should put it forward (to list a couple; penguin, bat brick). If they reply, I would like to know how many you think would sign to have the line returned as well as, how many people would we need for the lego group to even consider our request. Perhaps this should be put forward in the ambassador forum, to see what someone form Lego would actually say, and if anything we can do would make a difference?

Batman1-

Lego is a company, thus they need to sell, if a large amount of us showed support for the theme and demanded Batman to be brought back, then they would have to bring it because note: batman models go for ridiculous prices, if they brought them back, they would sell better than they ever did, plus there would be an increase in the buying of lego city sets(I think you understand why>=D), and there would be a possibility of a slight increase on the pick-a-brick buys, so lets just get someone to take careof the petition, and, once we get enough people(the comunity is really big so don't worry=D) we'll get our sets!

It won't be easy, I'll propose, to get some "pre-feedback", on my LUG(PLUG) and if I get alot of Feedback then we can move it into making the petition, I'm sure that first post will get alot of positive feedback because in my country the 1st wave was very hard to find, the second didn't come out, the 3rd was the only one available and the Arkham Asylum was a US exclusive.

Cheers.

By- The first clown who ever thought of world domination... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Elijah Timms]

Several years ago I was in a local department store checking out their Lego inventory when I saw a bunch of discounted sets... sitting there, a little beat up, was the 7888 Tumbler set not only with a Batman fig, but the Joker to boot!! And here's the part where you all call me an idiot-- $50 set discounted to $18USD!!! Eighteen bucks!!

At the time, I was a straight Star Wars guy. No way would I spend money on another line when it could mean another SW set. I know, what an idiot. The Batman fig alone would have brought me a profit if I sold now, and the entire set is going for up to $175USD on eBay (not that I'm a reseller, but still!). I can still kick myself for not grabbing that thing at the time.

Edited June 24, 2010 by Mr. Elijah Timms

[Joebot]

One problem as stated above, is that until a movie, such as the next Nolan film, or a successful cartoon series comes around, it does not really give Lego any reason to re-release the line

What about "Batman: The Brave and the Bold?" Isn't that still on the air? I've never watched it, but I've heard it's pretty good, although a much lighter tone than the old "Batman: The Animated Series."

When I saw TLC was "re-introducing" the Harry Potter line, that gave me hope for Batman. If they DO re-introduce the theme, I'd like to see them break free of the "Batman vs. X" set design with two vehicles. That was starting to get old, as they ran out of decent Bat-vehicles. As mentioned above in this thread, that little Bat-cart was really pretty awful.

[Batman1]

What about "Batman: The Brave and the Bold?" Isn't that still on the air? I've never watched it, but I've heard it's pretty good, although a much lighter tone than the old "Batman: The Animated Series."

When I saw TLC was "re-introducing" the Harry Potter line, that gave me hope for Batman. If they DO re-introduce the theme, I'd like to see them break free of the "Batman vs. X" set design with two vehicles. That was starting to get old, as they ran out of decent Bat-vehicles. As mentioned above in this thread, that little Bat-cart was really pretty awful.

Personally I don't like "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" as its too childish for my liking, but regardless of my opinion, it has not been as successful as BatmanTAS or "The Batman". I agree about them breaking free of the "Batman vs" mould as I can picture kids buying a set with just the joker in, that doesn't have Batman. I suppose what TLG might argue is that kids would want a batman and a villain in every set (even though that is not how it works in other themes). The thing that was poor about the buggy was the design was simply lazy. Lego could have done two small vehicles of the same number of pieces and made a much better set, just through more attention to the design. I agree with the above that it is disappointing when we get sets like that which are really not worth it. :(

Batman1-

[SuvieD]

Batman like many of the other movie series went to clearance just like all the others. LEGO over did it on many of the Harry Potter sets and those could nearly always be found for 50% off at some point and the same with Spiderman.

For Batman, LEGO shop at home ended up putting I assume thousands of sets from both years on clearance on their own site. I remember clearly seeing nearly every set 35-50% off their too. I ended up buying seven batcaves for $35 each, and I sold all the figures off for a profit long before their prices got way out of hand. It was only later that I found out how high the prices were getting. I still am not sure why it is happening. Demand is a fickle thing. When the line was released the flew off the shelves, by the end I and thousands of others were getting the sets at 50% or more off, and now they are selling second hand for up to 10X what they originally sold for.

I actually enjoyed the Spiderman sets more, as I don't much care for batman, and the first series of spiderman was the last year LEGO made the old grays.

LEGO's business model is far better streamlined now though. When they make a set run they rarely have excess, and while stores sometimes run short LEGO is never "stuck" with product they need to get rid of which in turn makes for better business and in the end higher demand for older products. Way back everybody had access to get a Crusader or Blacktron II figure, in the nineties everybody was buying up underwater sets for cheap and even Star Wars had the majority of its first three years in clearance bins and shelves, but now LEGO is running a tight ship and that pretty much means your buy what you will want when it comes out or you scavenge for it later for the higher costs or used quality.

[jamtf]

I remember visiting a Lego Store in Germany in 2008... the Batman sets were all on clearance. They had plenty of Tumbler / Joker's Ice Cream Surprise sets, Robin's Scuba Jet sets, Harley Quinn's Hammer Trucks and the small Batman Buggy and Mr. Freeze sets, all marked 50% off. I ended up buying just 1 Hammer Truck and 1 Batman Buggy and Mr. Freeze set and thought about buying some of the other sets a couple weeks later. Of course, they were all gone (after all, it was a clearance sale) the next time I went there and I still regret that I did not buy more of them when they were still there.

I think designwise the Batman sets are way better than Spider-man sets, however the Spider-man sets such as 4856 Doc Ock's Hideout make great parts packs with useful elements. As for sets, I happen to like 4850 Spider-man's First Chase, 4852 The Final Showdown and 4855 Spider-man's Train Rescue a lot too.

[newwavejunkie]

One of my greatest (most recent) regrets is not having bought the Tumbler set when it came out. I loved the Batman line but Indiana Jones was my main focus back in 2008. Plus I never thought the Batman line would end as abruptly as it did. Sadly, the prices on eBay and Bricklink are insane, so this may just be one of those sets I'm never able to own. Luckily I did manage to buy the Batcave and Arkham Asylum sets when they were first released. Money well spent, I'd say.

[Joebot]

LEGO's business model is far better streamlined now though. When they make a set run they rarely have excess, and while stores sometimes run short LEGO is never "stuck" with product they need to get rid of which in turn makes for better business and in the end higher demand for older products.

Very true. The days of the post-Christmas 70%-off sales at Target are long gone. Man, I miss those days. It was like a big poker game, as you debated whether to grab the set at 50% off ... or wait a few days until the next price drop, and hope that nobody grabbed it out from underneath you. These days, Target's Lego aisle is usually about 2/3 empty shelves.

Like others have noted, I liked the Spiderman sets quite a bit too. I bought three or four of the bridge set. Man, what a great general-purpose Town set. Who knows, there's supposedly a Spidey movie reboot in the works, so maybe we'll see another round of Spidey sets someday. However, ideally, Lego would get the licensing deal directly from Marvel instead of the movie studio, which would open up the characters and locations they could use.

[halomaster96]

I actually got most of the batman sets, but sadly most were broken down for mocs( except for tumbler, batcave, and attack of the penguin). But I still have the figs . I am trying to buy some again ( at a good price ). Also I thought it would be great if TLG would revive the theme. With a combination of movies, video games, and the comics make the batman theme very popular.

P.s. Does this topic have anything to do with spiderman anymore?

[FilmGirl27]

I was one of the unfortunate souls who didn't manage to get any Batman sets. Ah, the Tumbler...