LEGO's Obsessions in Super Hero Sets

[Ashnflash]

Has anyone noticed how Lego has so many obsessions when it comes to Super Hero sets.

Besides the obvious with making most of the sets based on their favorite characters... Like Spiderman and Batman.

For Spiderman there has been 8 Marvel sets based on him. 1 Juniors set, 1 Micro Racers, and 3 more sets to come in the summer with him potentially him in the 4th Civil War set. There has been 8 variants to the character but really a lot of them don't change too much. Out of the 45 Marvel sets (Up to Doctor Strange) he has been in 14 of the sets.

Now Batman..... There has been 8 "DC SUPERHEROES that he is not in. 2 Juniors sets, 1 Micro Racers and 2 more sets to come in the summer with the potential R'as Al Ghul set. There has been 20 variants to the character. So out of the 36 DC sets he has been in 24 of the sets.

So there are 81 Superheroes sets, they have been in 38 of them which is almost half....

For some reason there has been 4 Quinjet variants (Avenjet included)

Also they have the weird tendency to put fire extinguishers in sets. Or maybe they've just been ketchup bottles the whole time!

Anyways I just thought I'd everyone know and see these obsessions Lego has. Let me know if you guys have noticed anything!

Edited March 23, 2016 by Ashnflash

[ToniMontana]

Those characters are the most popular and sell sets. At least batman has tons of variations unlike spiderman.....

[SpiderSpaceman]

How about "Supervillains must be holding dynamite at all times"

[Oky]

Yeah, it makes sense that they put Batman and Spider-Man in half of their sets since they are so popular. I also don't think the Quinjets are strange since their design changes from movie to movie, so it makes sense that they make a set based on each version, not to mention that it's the Avengers' most iconic vehicle. And the Avenjet is a different vehicle altogether.

Iron Man also seems to be a popular character to include in sets for them, although not as popular as Batsy and Spidey.

But yeah, the inclusion of a fire extinguisher (not hydrant) in every other set indeed seems to be a strange obsession of the designers. But maybe you're right, maybe the Avengers just really like to have ketchup with their shawarma.

Another nasty obsession is the overuse of the ADU gun, but thankfully they finally started using more realistic guns in the Civil War sets.

How about "Supervillains must be holding dynamite at all times"

Since when has this been an issue? I can only think of a handful of villains who have ever held dynamite.

[Pedilego]

Thanks for the stats.

Villains. That's your answer.

Spider-man and Batman are popular. Duh. My quintessential model is the Spider-man 3 dark-blue. I'm dying for a Symbiote Spider-man that's not a $200 Comic-con exclusive but aside from that, I could care less about his latest mold. But Spider-man for Marvel (and Batman for DC) are known to have the best line-up of villains. It's one of the reasons they're popular. That's why, as somebody who grew up on the 90s Spider-man cartoon, I'm really excited about the summer sets because of Scorpion, Kraven, the Goblins, and Vulture... and I would still like to see 1. Mysterio, 2. Kingpen, 3. Shocker, and 4. a legitimate Rhino. You also have the Ultimate Spider-man variants and of course there will always be new cartoons of characters that popular. Nobody else has as comprehensive a list of iconic rogues are those guys.

Edited March 23, 2016 by Pedilego

[Ashnflash]

Yeah, it makes sense that they put Batman and Spider-Man in half of their sets since they are so popular. I also don't think the Quinjets are strange since their design changes from movie to movie, so it makes sense that they make a set based on each version, not to mention that it's the Avengers' most iconic vehicle. And the Avenjet is a different vehicle altogether.

Iron Man also seems to be a popular character to include in sets for them, although not as popular as Batsy and Spidey.

But yeah, the inclusion of a fire extinguisher (not hydrant) in every other set indeed seems to be a strange obsession of the designers. But maybe you're right, maybe the Avengers just really like to have ketchup with their shawarma.

Another nasty obsession is the overuse of the ADU gun, but thankfully they finally started using more realistic guns in the Civil War sets.

Since when has this been an issue? I can only think of a handful of villains who have ever held dynamite.

Ahah oops... Oh also they make brand new faces for some characters like Louis Lane (Not a prominent character) but re-use other faces for main characters like Antman or the Winter Soldier....

Thanks for the stats.

Villains. That's your answer.

Spider-man and Batman are popular. Duh. My quintessential model is the Spider-man 3 dark-blue. I'm dying for a Symbiote Spider-man that's not a $200 Comic-con exclusive but aside from that, I could care less about his latest mold. But Spider-man for Marvel (and Batman for DC) are known to have the best line-up of villains. It's one of the reasons they're popular. That's why, as somebody who grew up on the 90s Spider-man cartoon, I'm really excited about the summer sets because of Scorpion, Kraven, the Goblins, and Vulture... and I would still like to see 1. Mysterio, 2. Kingpen, 3. Shocker, and 4. a legitimate Rhino. You also have the Ultimate Spider-man variants and of course there will always be new cartoons of characters that popular. Nobody else has as comprehensive a list of iconic rogues are those guys.

The gallery of rogues for these characters are the largest. But yet they are reusing the same villains over and over... 3 Doc Ocks, 3 Green Goblins, 3 Harley Quinns and 8 Jokers. Hey I'm not complaining about any of this, just pointing out the stuff I'm noticing! Oh and it's been getting a lot better over the years!

Edited March 23, 2016 by Ashnflash

[Pedilego]

Doc Ock and Green Goblin each have Rami movie, Ultimate Spider-man, and "classic" variants. I'm only a fan of the latter but it makes sense.

I don't follow DC too closely but 8 Jokers definitely seems excessive lol He's so iconic that I'd understand if they tossed him in a whole bunch of sets alongside the primary villain just to bump the price up, but they're almost all centered around Batman vs. Joker

[Oky]

Ahah oops... Oh also they make brand new faces for some characters like Louis Lane (Not a prominent character) but re-use other faces for main characters like Antman or the Winter Soldier....

True. I don't think it matters for characters who have a generic and/or obstructed face like Ant Man, but for some characters it's a bit annoying, like Bruce Wayne's head on Loki.

Oh, and can we add that they're being overly stingy with leg prints? I think this trend has improved a bit over the years, and the introduction of dual molded legs helped, but they are still making too many figs without leg prints, especially compared to other licenses like Star Wars or LotR. We've gotten the Flash three times now and he still doesn't have yellow boots!

The gallery of rogues for these characters are the largest. But yet they are reusing the same villains over and over... 3 Doc Ocks, 3 Green Goblins, 3 Harley Quinns and 8 Jokers. Hey I'm not complaining about any of this, just pointing out the stuff I'm noticing! Oh and it's been getting a lot better over the years!

Excuse me, but where are you getting these numbers from? As far as I know, it should be 4 Green Goblins (including the Jumiors one), 6 Harleys (including the Arkham Asylum version), and 10 Jokers.

[Ashnflash]

True. I don't think it matters for characters who have a generic and/or obstructed face like Ant Man, but for some characters it's a bit annoying, like Bruce Wayne's head on Loki.

Oh, and can we add that they're being overly stingy with leg prints? I think this trend has improved a bit over the years, and the introduction of dual molded legs helped, but they are still making too many figs without leg prints, especially compared to other licenses like Star Wars or LotR. We've gotten the Flash three times now and he still doesn't have yellow boots!

Excuse me, but where are you getting these numbers from? As far as I know, it should be 4 Green Goblins (including the Jumiors one), 6 Harleys (including the Arkham Asylum version), and 10 Jokers.

Off the LEGO wiki... And I forgot about the Micro Goblin.. There is only 4 versions for Harley... Funhouse, Arkham, Jokerland, and Cycle.. As for Joker I've still only got 8... Helicopter, Funhouse, Arkham, Steam Roller, Tumber, Juniours, Jokerland, and 1966

Also Penguin and Ivy have come up 3 times as well

Edited March 23, 2016 by Ashnflash

[rossrifle5150]

It would be nice if, in those 8-10 Jokers, there was a little more variation in suit. The fedora suit is the same as the basic suit, which hasn't really changed all that much. I dunno, maybe I'm just pining for the Killing Joke vacation wear

[ToniMontana]

Thats why i much prefer collecting the marvel minifigs. It seems there are Far more variations and different characters compared to DC. Aside from the 15 identical spideys. A main reason i bought a lot of the figs seperatly. I am tempted to start collecting all the different batmen though...

[Oky]

It would be nice if, in those 8-10 Jokers, there was a little more variation in suit. The fedora suit is the same as the basic suit, which hasn't really changed all that much. I dunno, maybe I'm just pining for the Killing Joke vacation wear

Agreed, that would be fantastic, especially with the animated movie adaptation coming out soon.

Off the LEGO wiki... And I forgot about the Micro Goblin.. There is only 4 versions for Harley... Funhouse, Arkham, Jokerland, and Cycle.. As for Joker I've still only got 8... Helicopter, Funhouse, Arkham, Steam Roller, Tumber, Juniours, Jokerland, and 1966

Also Penguin and Ivy have come up 3 times as well

Sorry, I meant 5 Harleys. I'm looking at brickset which is a much more reliable source. One Harley and Joker were in the Dimensions team pack, and another Joker in the bumpercar polybag.

Yeah, they really need to stop using Penguin and Ivy if they aren't going to give them any variations. I can understand that they want to include the Joker so many times without much variation, but these two are really getting tiresome, even if the Penguin had a different jacket in one set.

[BaneShake]

Helicopters. Lots of helicopters.

[Ashnflash]

How about Bat-vehicles in general.... 4 Batmobiles, 4 Batwings, 4 Batjets/Batboats, 3 Batcycles, 2 Bathelicopters, 2 Batgliders, and 1 Batank.... Why so many unnecessary...

[eldiano]

I can't complain, once the super heroes licence is out, we'll be crying lack of anything. I am just patiently waiting for a justice league hq

[NXS7]

I can't complain, once the super heroes licence is out, we'll be crying lack of anything. I am just patiently waiting for a justice league hq

Fingers crossed for the movie

[Oky]

How about Bat-vehicles in general.... 4 Batmobiles, 4 Batwings, 4 Batjets/Batboats, 3 Batcycles, 2 Bathelicopters, 2 Batgliders, and 1 Batank.... Why so many unnecessary...

Don't forget the Batmech! Since they include Batman in so many sets, they need to give him some kind of vehicle as well, and there is a rich history of Bat-vehicles for them to choose from.

[KicktheNitro]

Yeah, they probably need to chill out with the Spider-Man sets. It's fair enough that Batman and Spider-Man arguably have the most iconic rogues galleries in comics, but they need to switch it up a bit more. Introduce kids to more heroes, like the Young Avengers for example (though it's very cool that the Teen Titans are all being staggered in over time).

[Ashnflash]

Don't forget the Batmech! Since they include Batman in so many sets, they need to give him some kind of vehicle as well, and there is a rich history of Bat-vehicles for them to choose from.

Ya that pointless Batmech.....

Yeah, they probably need to chill out with the Spider-Man sets. It's fair enough that Batman and Spider-Man arguably have the most iconic rogues galleries in comics, but they need to switch it up a bit more. Introduce kids to more heroes, like the Young Avengers for example (though it's very cool that the Teen Titans are all being staggered in over time).

Ya that is all I'm trying to say, like LEGO expand please! The Spiderman line died in 2004 and the Batman line died in 2008..

[Kizmoz]

Its one of the reasons why I submitted my Idea for a set based on Cw's The Flash,

Batman/Spiderman have done their jobs in gaining people's interest... Its now time for them to take a back seat (not disappear completely) and to expand/introduce other heroes more frequently, especially with increasing popularity in the Movies and TV shows

The TV shows in particular have big ongoing fan bases which include both male and female interest... fansboys wanting the cool superheroes and fangirls wanting cute pocket sized Grant Gustin/Stephen Amell's for example (a bit stereotypical I know... :s )

[Coca-Cola]

In all fairness recently we have seen a good shift in gear when it comes to characters... kinda. Last year we not only got the Justice League and, thanks to the MCU, Ultron and Ant-Man. This year while we have gone back to Batman and Spidey being in the limelight they have started to use more variants and include different, lesser known characters (Hyperion and Blue Beetle or Scorpion and Katana). And with the Marvel movies taking up at least 3 spots a year for Marvel it is understandable why TLG would want to reserve remaining sets for Spider-man.

Although in saying all that I do think 2018+ will accommodate us with what we want to an extent. Justice League comes out next year and so does the new Spider-man film, so I would predict we will see a decline in comic based Spider-man sets and have a more well rounded line-up for Marvel in future. As for DC, I would hope the rise in popularity with other characters will persuade LEGO to do do more than Batman but, that is being extremely optimistic. If anything I think the best we will get from DC is something similar to last years line, where it has a focus on more characters but batman still overshadows most sets.

And while I agree they do need more changes in the way they produce sets, I also have the stance that they shouldn't be putting out sets that children won't buy because they have no interest in who Iron Fist is. The days where they start producing sets with say: Flash, Ted Kord, and the Question vs Toy Man and Pied Piper may seem like a dream come true until the line is discontinued the next year for not selling enough to call for another series.

I want to see this theme go for as long as it possibly can so if that means another Batmobile or another Spider-man vs Doctor Octopus. So be it. I'm happy building up a roster of characters with baby steps.

[steveholt]

as long as there's a good balance of old an new minifigures i think we'll be fine

[Brickadier General]

Also they have the weird tendency to put fire extinguishers in sets. Or maybe they've just been ketchup bottles the whole time!

I remember this coming up in one of the designer interviews, either on YouTube or one of the BrickFair seminars. Marcos Besa was talking about the Guardians of the Galaxy Milano ship, which designed. He pointed out the extinguisher. It's more or less a running gag.

It's kind of similar to how LEGO likes to include duck references in various sets as an homage to its earlier wooden toy duck.

[Hoschiebaer]

Ahah oops... Oh also they make brand new faces for some characters like Louis Lane (Not a prominent character) but re-use other faces for main characters like Antman or the Winter Soldier....

in my opinion louis is the 3rd most important character within the superman universe

for her latest minifigure reincarnation they used Claire's heas from jurassic world i guess - so no it's not that new (superman got one for the newest Sets though)

i would have really wished for a different faceprint for lex luther - mainly because Jesse Eisenburg looks a bit "un-Lex-like"

vehicle wise - i don't really care for big planes/spaceships or play-sets.

as long as its a small set, i don't really mind the 10th vehicle in a row (as long as there are useful/new parts with it)

i would rather by a small set with an uncommon character (with new hair or head) than a big set for