I cannot keep silent anymore!

[The Penguin]

After seeing the new pics, I suppose the time has come to say the truth!

P.S.

I just couldn't resist posting that, could I? )

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

[Juppy]

I got to admit, the spongebob sets are cute but I ain't ever buying it.

[Geertos13]

I got to admit, the spongebob sets are cute but I ain't ever buying it.

Cute ? CUTE ?CUTE?!!

I never liked Spongebob, and these new sets ae just a huge let down.

Even If I'm not a huge Batman fan, that theme was quite interresting and probably way better selling than SpongeDumb Square-face if you ask me

yu're comic illustrates the situation perfectly Penguin

I love the expression on Robin's face, why did you use Yellow faces though ?

[XimenaPaulina]

Nice one ThePenguin! Great job expressing your sentiments through your signature comic-strip. I could understand where you're coming from. Of course, I think the majority would prefer getting Batman sets over the SB ones, but I guess we all couldn't grasp what really transpired on the business-side of things regarding the Batman License. Let's just hope TLG somehow reconsiders the license in the future, especially when the new Batman movie is released.

[blueandwhite]

It's a shame that Sponge Bob continues while Batman fades into history. Unfortunately, licences don't always work out the way we want. I'd like to see Batman return in the future but with both Nickelodeon and Disney on board right now I don't think it's likely. LEGO's already producing an awfully large number of product lines this year. We already have Harry Potter, Cars, Star Wars, POTC, and now Sponge Bob rounding out the licensed sets for this year. That's a lot of product to move.

Hopefully Batman will be able to make a return in a not-so-distant future.

[1eyedjoker]

My sentiments exactly!

Cool comic, really like the faces used for Batman and Robin, even if they are yellow. It's too bad the only licenses from WB that lego seems interested in is Harry Potter. The only lego sets I purchase are Batman and Star Wars, with Star Wars focusing on Clone Wars and no new Batman I don't see many buys in my future. I hope The Dark Knight Rises will herald the return of Lego Batman.

[Jedd the Jedi]

Penguin, I feel your pain, I really do. The Last Airbender sets and the Spongebob sets held no appeal for me at all - and even then, the Last Airbender makes more sense as a LEGO theme. The Batman line has so much more potential - you wouldn't believe how excited I was when I discovered that LEGO would be making an official Batman theme - my two favourite things in one! Alas, it wasn't meant to be. The SpongeBob sets just look really very silly now. I mean, even if LEGO made new Batman sets that reused characters they'd used before (Two-Face, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Bane) I definitely wouldn't mind, since many of those were only available in one set. As a side-note, I really like the classic yellow minifig heads you bestowed upon Batman and Robin!

[lightningtiger]

We should a poll what we want more Spongebob or Batman as a hero.....I know who I would vote for and it's not a patty flipping sponge !

Thanks 'The Penguin' for that little comic and comment !

Keep on Bat-bricking !

[Gryphon Ink]

The Last Airbender sets and the Spongebob sets held no appeal for me at all - and even then, the Last Airbender makes more sense as a LEGO theme.

Not really the topic of this thread, but I have to say, I think Last Airbender could have made an AMAZING Lego theme. There is a huge range of different styles, settings and characters in ATLA that rivals the Star Wars universe in its potential. Also, ATLA is a lot like Lego itself in that it's a show made for children (and wildly popular with children) that also has a fairly large and enthusiastic adult fan base. Even though I'm not blown away by the two sets they did make, I think it could have been great. And it couldn't possibly have been worse than the Spongebob sets.

[bionicle factory]

Penguin, I feel your pain, I really do. The Last Airbender sets and the Spongebob sets held no appeal for me at all - and even then, the Last Airbender makes more sense as a LEGO theme. The Batman line has so much more potential - you wouldn't believe how excited I was when I discovered that LEGO would be making an official Batman theme - my two favourite things in one! Alas, it wasn't meant to be. The SpongeBob sets just look really very silly now. I mean, even if LEGO made new Batman sets that reused characters they'd used before (Two-Face, Riddler, Poison Ivy, Bane) I definitely wouldn't mind, since many of those were only available in one set. As a side-note, I really like the classic yellow minifig heads you bestowed upon Batman and Robin!

I like that to but if it were to return, I would hope Lego would make the Christopher Nolan versions of the villians( ninja guy(Liam Neeson), Scarecrow, Joker, Two-face( although it migt be scary to children), Catwoman ( new villian coming up, Anne Hathway), and Bane( Tom Hardy).

Edited February 15, 2011 by bionicle factory

[Miss Kyle]

Cheers for that one, Mr. Penguin. Exactly my feelings, even though I love Spongebob. But the Lego range just isn't very good.

Let's keep our fingers crossed that the hype for The Dark Knight Rises will be strong enough to get us another, maybe one last Batman themes range.

Edited February 14, 2011 by Miss Kyle

[Tabris]

I LOLed. Great job The Penguin, you made your point very clear.

[Omicron]

I'm just disappointed that a Hero set based on Spongebob did not include the only two heroes in the show, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

-Omi

[fred67]

It's an odd phenomena... now that Batman is gone, people lament the fact that it's gone, but it obviously wasn't selling well enough for them to continue the series. Perhaps if they'd stuck with a comic strip version instead of the movies it could still be going, but then they probably wouldn't have gotten a license that way (the licenses typically come from cross promotion... they don't spend much money on promoting Batman comics; for one thing, everybody already knows they exist).

I know we often here about a franchise getting "too dark" for children...

After having NEVER bought a Harry Potter set, I was incredibly disappointed when they were gone. We also heard the "too dark" rhetoric from LEGO apologists when the fact is there just wasn't anything new to make. After giving it some time, a rerelease of the train (another one?) and the castle (another one?) and Hagrids Hut (this is getting repetitive) worked really well for them as people who missed out and a "new generation" (well, a few years of new LEGO enthusiasts) ate up all the new sets.

I think it's possible that Batman Returns (pun intended) at some point - after years of debating about how Harry Potter will "never" return, they returned, so never say never.

Not really the topic of this thread, but I have to say, I think Last Airbender could have made an AMAZING Lego theme.

Another one I didn't buy when I had the chance... I just wasn't into it, I try to limit the broad interest I have in LEGO because I'm not rich, so it was just trains and the occasional Star Wars... then city and modular buildings and castle... but by the time my interests were expanding, I had no Harry Potter and no Airbender, despite the fact that I thought the sets, in retrospect, were pretty neat.

I like that to but if it were to return, I would hope Lego would make the Christopher Nolan versions of the villians( ninja guy(Liam Neeson), Scarecrow, Joker, Two-face( although it migt be scary to children), Catwoman ( new villian comin up, Anne Hathway), and Bane( Tom Hardy).

Ninja Guy? Yes, I'd love to see the return and, like I said above, I think if they make another movie... is there another one in the works? IMDB doesn't show anything and it's been three years since the last one. Normally you'd see something there even if it's a year or two out (often just as long as it's been announced). So... like HP, I don't think we'll see more unless a new movie comes out.

I'm just disappointed that a Hero set based on Spongebob did not include the only two heroes in the show, Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

Agreed... unlike most of you I am a Spongebob fan... I remember laughing at how stupid it was when it first came out and I don't think it's lost it's "edge" at all. I have a couple of the sets (granted, they were on sale) and was psyched to get the new molded head Squidward in a LEGO Store "grab bag." I'd keep an eye out on these.

To be on topic, though, while I agree that, as an adult, I'd love more Batman over Spongebob, looking at the target audience, the tone of the last movie, and the fact that there doesn't seem to be another one coming along for quite some time, if at all, that's it's hardly surprising. Sad, but not surprising. TLG has made plenty of decisions that have made me really sad about the direction they took, but I tend to think they know what they're doing and it's all about the bottom line (and, in some cases, contractual obligations).

[1eyedjoker]

Ninja Guy? Yes, I'd love to see the return and, like I said above, I think if they make another movie... is there another one in the works? IMDB doesn't show anything and it's been three years since the last one. Normally you'd see something there even if it's a year or two out (often just as long as it's been announced). So... like HP, I don't think we'll see more unless a new movie comes out.

Nolan is making another movie, The Dark Knight Rises. It'll feature Bane and Catwoman as villains. Those are two minifigs I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. And ninja guy is Ra's Al Ghul, I was hoping to see his daughter Talia Al Ghul in the new film but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

[Omicron]

Perhaps if they'd stuck with a comic strip version instead of the movies it could still be going,

Well see that's the thing. The figs and sets themselves were based off several things. The Penguin and Riddler drew elements from the 60s show and comics, while Mr. Freeze and Two Face is directly based on their 90s animated series versions. The license was coming from everything. Only did it really draw on the movies was when they released the Tumbler, and the latest Batman fig drew on it's Dark Knight appearence (the other figs went from 60s show to the animated series all the way up to Burton's Batman).

License didn't even need the movies to live off of.

And yeah I love Spongebob too. I'm made fun of for liking it. :P

-Omi

[fred67]

Nolan is making another movie, The Dark Knight Rises. It'll feature Bane and Catwoman as villains. Those are two minifigs I wouldn't mind getting my hands on. And ninja guy is Ra's Al Ghul, I was hoping to see his daughter Talia Al Ghul in the new film but I guess it wasn't meant to be.

I know who it was, that's why "Ninja Guy" made me laugh... although it's not really all that wrong in some sense.

I'd definitely like to see some new sets... especially cat woman, and I know this is going off topic, but why do they seem to require two villains in the movies? Batman the Movie had 1, but then the subsequent ones of that first run seemed to need two. Now Batman Begins had one, but the Dark Night had two and now you're saying the next one will also have two. Seems short sighted to me, can't they make a movie with one interesting enough? Is there really not enough to work with?

[Omicron]

Now Batman Begins had one,

Batman Begins actually had 3: Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow and Victor Zsaz.

-Omi

[fred67]

Batman Begins actually had 3: Ra's Al Ghul, Scarecrow and Victor Zsaz.

-Omi

I stand corrected! (Although I honestly can't remember Victor Zsaz).

But the question remains... are the villains so shallow that a single one can't carry a movie? I like how one villain can lead to the next (Ra's Al Ghul supporting/encouraging Scarecrow and Joker instigating Two Face), but then those characters were done with by the end.... I suppose Scarecrow could come back, I don't recall they caught him after he got a taste of his own medicine.

[Aanchir]

You know, guys, we have no idea whether there will be any Batman sets (or other DC licenses) in the future. After all, many people had assumed Spongebob had been discontinued after there were no sets in 2010, especially since LEGO picked up licensing with Disney (a major competitor of Nickelodeon). Yet this year we see Nickelodeon and Disney licenses coexisting. Certainly the Batman sets have been gone for longer, but after the surprise reappearance of Harry Potter sets last year (after having been gone since 2007) there's no reason to assume Batman sets can't make a return.

While the "Heroic Heroes of the Deep" set is humorous in contrast with the Batman license, there's no reason Batman fans should consider the Spongebob sets a serious reason for the Batman license's disappearance. And there's certainly no reason to be hating on the Spongebob sets for this year, which while less iconic than past years' sets are still fairly well-designed.

[Lance]

Nice one ThePenguin! Great job expressing your sentiments through your signature comic-strip. I could understand where you're coming from. Of course, I think the majority would prefer getting Batman sets over the SB ones, but I guess we all couldn't grasp what really transpired on the business-side of things regarding the Batman License. Let's just hope TLG somehow reconsiders the license in the future, especially when the new Batman movie is released.

A bit off topic but apparently catwoman is going to be the villan in the new film.

But this is probably the last wave for Spongebob and I do want the batman theme back.

Was it Warner Bros that made the past 2 films?

If it was, then we may be expecting a LEGO Batman re-release.

[Omicron]

I stand corrected! (Although I honestly can't remember Victor Zsaz).

But the question remains... are the villains so shallow that a single one can't carry a movie? I like how one villain can lead to the next (Ra's Al Ghul supporting/encouraging Scarecrow and Joker instigating Two Face), but then those characters were done with by the end.... I suppose Scarecrow could come back, I don't recall they caught him after he got a taste of his own medicine.

Zsaz was a comic a villian. He was absent from the cartoons because he was such violent character. His role is not huge in the movie but it was in the game. Not many would consider him a villian in the movie, but I do because he was prominent in the comics.

As for the abundance of villians, think about it. We know Batman's story, and most of us wanna see some villians. Val Kilmer left after Batman Forever because he knew the screentime was on villians, and he was right because Batman & Robin had 3 villians, with origins focused on all 3.

And as far as I see, Dark Knight Rises only has one villian, and that is Bane. No where do I see a confirmation on Catwoman. Only on Selina Kyle. Tim Burton's Batman had Harvey Dent, but he was never Two Face.

-Omi

[j30spiff]

I would really love for Batman to make a comeback with LEGO. The Tumbler made an appearance in LEGO form even though it was introduced in Batman Returns. Making LEGO sets based on Christopher Nolan's Batman movies has endless possibilities.

[Professor Trelawney]

HAHA! this did make me giggle! , But i agree with you Penguin, they discontinued Batman, for yellow plastic sponge's.

-Professor.

[Kyp]

After seeing the new pics, I suppose the time has come to say the truth!

P.S.

I just couldn't resist posting that, could I? )

Good day, ladies and gentlemen! )

Well played sir, well played!