DC Superheroes 2022 - Rumors & Discussion

[upliftingbricks]

12 hours ago, TheBatstan said:

Today marks 30 years since Batman: The Animated Series first premiered...and Lego somehow didn't capitalize on this by making a TAS Batmobile that would no doubt sell out multiple times like the 1966 Batmobile and Tumbler before it.

I'd really love to get inside the minds of whoever decides on what DC sets to make because this seemed like the most no-brainer idea that could've existed. There's failing, and then there's what Lego has been doing.

Lego havent celebrated 10 years of the theme never mind an internal DC anniversary.

7 hours ago, BrickBob Studpants said:

They capitalised on it by selling the show‘s unborn sibling to the highest bidder

Don‘t know why anybody expected a bunch of reality TV garbage hacks to be able to handle scripted TV, movies, and animation properly. Plus the comic department of DC. And merchandising.

Classic example of failing upwards

They havent handled anything yet, just sorting out the mess from previous regime. Im not saying you wont be proven right but give them a chance to succeed or fail on their own terms first. 

[PGBQW]

 

7 hours ago, upliftingbricks said:

Lego havent celebrated 10 years of the theme never mind an internal DC anniversary.

Lego hasn't even celebrated the Marvel theme (a theme that actually sells, mind you), I don't know why all of a sudden we're acting surprised BTAS' anniversary didn't get any sets.

[NeutralNoodle]

If they ever actually make DC mechs, I think a Red Hood mech should be in the first wave. They could just reuse the 2016 figure or if they decide to make a new one, it would only require new face and torso prints. An Under the Red Hood version would be welcome if they don’t do the Bat-Family version. 

I’ve just found myself wanting a new Red Hood figure since the old one is so expensive. I think he’s the only Bat-Family member who hasn’t had reappeared in any additional sets since his first appearance 

[thephantasm]

On 9/6/2022 at 10:35 AM, TheBatstan said:

Today marks 30 years since Batman: The Animated Series first premiered...and Lego somehow didn't capitalize on this by making a TAS Batmobile that would no doubt sell out multiple times like the 1966 Batmobile and Tumbler before it.

I'd really love to get inside the minds of whoever decides on what DC sets to make because this seemed like the most no-brainer idea that could've existed. There's failing, and then there's what Lego has been doing.

Why make a batmobile when you can make lego morbius

 

We also need the budget for a black panther vehicle

Edited September 7, 2022 by thephantasm

[Agent Kallus]

7 hours ago, NeutralNoodle said:

If they ever actually make DC mechs, I think a Red Hood mech should be in the first wave. They could just reuse the 2016 figure or if they decide to make a new one, it would only require new face and torso prints. An Under the Red Hood version would be welcome if they don’t do the Bat-Family version. 

I’ve just found myself wanting a new Red Hood figure since the old one is so expensive. I think he’s the only Bat-Family member who hasn’t had reappeared in any additional sets since his first appearance 

There was the red-hood in the Lego batman movie CMF. It's not Jason but has a good Jason red hood head under the dome. I put that head on a civil war Bucky body ( with the metal arm swamped out)

[bricksbyjim]

Assuming people have seen the Black Panther $350 head and shoulder bust set. This is pretty cool but expensive for what it is. 

But the very first thing I thought when I saw it was what if they did a Batman Cowl like that! The generic Batman helmet and 66 helmet were cool but if we got like a Dark Knight or The Batman bust like this new set I would freak! I honestly think it would also have a bigger fan base who wants to buy it. Saw some stats and polls on the new set and while people think it is cool very few people (as low as 5% in one poll I saw) were thinking of buying it.

[NovaBricks]

1 hour ago, bricksbyjim said:

Assuming people have seen the Black Panther $350 head and shoulder bust set. This is pretty cool but expensive for what it is. 

But the very first thing I thought when I saw it was what if they did a Batman Cowl like that! The generic Batman helmet and 66 helmet were cool but if we got like a Dark Knight or The Batman bust like this new set I would freak! I honestly think it would also have a bigger fan base who wants to buy it. Saw some stats and polls on the new set and while people think it is cool very few people (as low as 5% in one poll I saw) were thinking of buying it.

The Batman cowls are ehhh for me. The '66 is better cause it has multiple colors but the black one just looks weird because of the hole where the mouth goes. I guess they could do these type of busts, or just more detailed cowls, for each of the different Batmen. But they would have to be WAY more detailed than the two that have come out to make them discernable from each other. At the end of the day, I'm not really sure you could hold up Keaton's cowl next to Bale's in LEGO form and have the average customer tell the difference. The two we have now just feel like we got one generic Batman one to cover every Batman, and the Adam West one because it's the only truly distinct one.

All of this being said, it's BAFFLING to me that LEGO put that much budget into a Black Panther bust and nothing into Batman this year. That set is going to sell terribly. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by NovaBricks
Typo

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, bricksbyjim said:

Assuming people have seen the Black Panther $350 head and shoulder bust set. This is pretty cool but expensive for what it is. 

But the very first thing I thought when I saw it was what if they did a Batman Cowl like that! The generic Batman helmet and 66 helmet were cool but if we got like a Dark Knight or The Batman bust like this new set I would freak! I honestly think it would also have a bigger fan base who wants to buy it. Saw some stats and polls on the new set and while people think it is cool very few people (as low as 5% in one poll I saw) were thinking of buying it.

Yeah, like it looks cool (except the "face", it feels weird to me), but no way is it really worth $350, and I don't think many people would buy it.

But a TDK Batman version of that, especially with how crucial a role his gauntlets played in that film.... sign me up!

[jonwil]

I wonder how much of what has happened to DC Super Heroes (i.e. lack of anything good and especially the fun "comic book" style sets we got previously) is down to LEGO not wanting to make the good stuff and how much is down to Warner and DC not letting LEGO make the good stuff...

 

[Mandalorianknight]

1 hour ago, jonwil said:

I wonder how much of what has happened to DC Super Heroes (i.e. lack of anything good and especially the fun "comic book" style sets we got previously) is down to LEGO not wanting to make the good stuff and how much is down to Warner and DC not letting LEGO make the good stuff...

I would guess DC. Lego wants to turn a profit, so actually releasing products would assumably be profitable. Of course, the same is true for DC, but there's more degrees of separation, and there's more that they're working on.

One thing that I'm really starting to guess is a factor is that DC CANNOT stick to a release schedule. Marvel's had delays, of course, but they got it under control pretty quickly. DC has multiple films that have been delayed countless times over multiple years, and while it's not entirely their fault (Ezra Miller never seemed like the most stable guy to me, but who would've guessed he'd go nuts?), it's definately understandable that lego doesn't want to design sets that may never see the light of day.

[jonwil]

I suspect the reason DC wants merchandise to tie into the movies etc is much the same reason Marvel wants merchandise that ties into the current stuff rather than having, say, Fantastic Four or X-Men merchandise.

 

[Clone OPatra]

I watched PenPlays' video and it was very interesting and well-reasoned (while or course being just one person's perspective and experience). It's crazy and sad that LEGO is so deep into property-based licenses now that even older iterations of a licensed theme feel like something original that LEGO doesn't do anymore.

And I wonder if that shift in general is why they don't produce much for DC now. Today, for licenses LEGO almost exclusively makes stuff directly based off of something - be it a movie or show or game, etc - and barely creates any in house themes at all. The original LEGO Batman and subsequent DC Superheroes lines were different, essentially in-house created set ideas drawing from all of DC media, but since LEGO has all but abandoned such things, now they say they can't produce DC stuff because the film schedule is too much of a mess, or whatever.

It's problem of their own design, but it does feel like perhaps some policies or business cases have changed to say that as far as licensed play themes are concerned, as much as possible needs to be a direct tie-in.

[Mandalorianknight]

1 hour ago, jonwil said:

I suspect the reason DC wants merchandise to tie into the movies etc is much the same reason Marvel wants merchandise that ties into the current stuff rather than having, say, Fantastic Four or X-Men merchandise.

I agree with your wider point, but the anecdote isn't necessarily true. Lego didn't produce fantastic 4 and x-men due to pressure by disney (specifically the CEO at the time IIRC), since disney didn't own those licenses. In addition, marvel regularly had, and still has, a lot of sets that don't tie into specific movies (the mechs, generally speaking, as well as the majority of the spider-man line)

Edited September 8, 2022 by Mandalorianknight

[Clone OPatra]

28 minutes ago, Mandalorianknight said:

In addition, marvel regularly had, and still has, a lot of sets that don't tie into specific movies (the mechs, generally speaking, as well as the majority of the spider-man line)

Not to the same extent at all. The 2013, 14, and 15 Spider-Man sets were all branded as tie-ins with the Ultimate Spider-Man TV show. 2016, 2020, and 2021 were not. I haven't counted up the sets but in terms of years, that's only half that weren't tie-ins. The only other Marvel sets besides mechs that haven't directly tied into something are the two X-Men sets (not counting Mighty Micros), as far as I can recall.

Compare that to DC Superheroes, where the majority of sets weren't tied into anything specific, and it's quite a contrast.

[The Pearson]

Man, I wish there were Black Adam sets.

[TheBatstan]

10 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

The original LEGO Batman and subsequent DC Superheroes lines were different, essentially in-house created set ideas drawing from all of DC media, but since LEGO has all but abandoned such things, now they say they can't produce DC stuff because the film schedule is too much of a mess, or whatever.

It's problem of their own design, but it does feel like perhaps some policies or business cases have changed to say that as far as licensed play themes are concerned, as much as possible needs to be a direct tie-in.

Well said, it's amazing how their mentality has changed in 15 years. The original Batman theme drew inspiration from almost every significant iteration of Batman that took itself seriously (sorry 1966 Batman). It wasn't just from one source that they based the sets off of, you could see the inspiration from the Burton movies with the Batmobile, Batwing, and Joker's helicopter, plus a bit of influence from The Animated Series and the recent comics of the time for the minifigures.

Even though the Nolan movies were the big Batman thing at the time, the final 2008 wave featured Batman wearing the Dark Knight suit for 3/4 of the sets but against villains that were from the comics who never appeared in the Nolan trilogy like Mr. Freeze and Harley, with only 1 "proper" tie-in set for The Dark Knight being the Tumbler: The Joker's Ice Cream Surprise. And even then it was only half inspired by the movies since the Joker and his ice cream truck were comic based as well. Lego could've easily made a few sets based off Batman Begins (which we didn't get till last year with the updated Tumbler), but instead they stuck to being creative rather than this weird notion they have now about the movies being the reasoning behind why they're not making anything/barely making anything for DC.

Edited September 9, 2022 by TheBatstan

[Mandalorianknight]

3 hours ago, Clone OPatra said:

Not to the same extent at all. The 2013, 14, and 15 Spider-Man sets were all branded as tie-ins with the Ultimate Spider-Man TV show. 2016, 2020, and 2021 were not. I haven't counted up the sets but in terms of years, that's only half that weren't tie-ins. The only other Marvel sets besides mechs that haven't directly tied into something are the two X-Men sets (not counting Mighty Micros), as far as I can recall.

Compare that to DC Superheroes, where the majority of sets weren't tied into anything specific, and it's quite a contrast.

Sure, not to the exact same extent, but 2019-2021 all had waves of comic-based sets for spider-man. There were also a couple avengers waves that featured figures based on the game, but vehicles (and minifigures) not based on the games at all. I mean, the current largest marvel set is comic-based. I never said they were at the same time as dc's comic based sets, but it's definately a fair chunk.

(also, the lines kinda blur at points. The 2016 and 2017 avengers waves were allegedly based on the show, but look at the sets. The captain america jet, for example, had a total of one minifigure with the show design, and no builds)

1 hour ago, The Pearson said:

Man, I wish there were Black Adam sets.

I'm still not sure about that movie, but it definately could make some nice sets.

[TurnOffTheDark]

So the flash film is testing really well, and as of now is on track to keep it's current release date. Hopefully we get that new set based on the movie and it actually releases 

[DaleCooperFBI]

I heard The Queen really was upset by the lack of DC sets this year :( 

[bricksbyjim]

Hey everybody, so this is the DC set WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS YEAR! This is a MOC I've been making for a while and finally finished and its the...

Batman The Animated Series Batcave! I made it in 7 separate sections and this would have been the perfect set for the shows 30th Anniversary. I tried to make it as accurate as possible while including fun references and display features. It features everything from the Batcomputer, the T-Rex, Jokers Card, the Wayne Manor entrance on the back, and a spinning platform for the Batmobile.

This along with the BTAS Batmobile would have been a perfect UCS Batman set as we have never gotten a big Batcave except the 66 one which is so unique.

There are more photos you can see @ bricks_by_jim on Instagram. 

[CF Mitch]

That looks great!
Having a B:TAS Batmobile would have been amazing indeed, that's always been my favorite Batmobile  

Regards,
Mitch

[spiderfan2000]

LEGO's recent Instagram post about Batman minifigures over the past decade might just be the most they've acknowledged the 10 year anniversary of the Super Heroes theme.

[THELEGOBATMAN]

23 minutes ago, spiderfan2000 said:

LEGO's recent Instagram post about Batman minifigures over the past decade might just be the most they've acknowledged the 10 year anniversary of the Super Heroes theme.

Literally the first time 

It's hilarious that they've made a 20th anniversary for Harry Potter — even tho the theme has been absent for over half of that time — yet they haven't even acknowledged the 10th anniversary of the Super Heroes theme.

[TheBatstan]

It might not have been anything special for Batman Day to a lot of people, but seeing the Batmobile chase from The Batman be animated (albeit condensed) and uploaded to an official DC channel brought a smile to my face. Though personally, I was happy because someone FINALLY built a MOC of the Penguin's purple Maserati Quattroporte that he drove in the movie. I've been trying to search for a MOC design of it online for months. The Batmobile set always felt like it should've included Penguin's car as well so that he wasn't immediately outclassed/screwed with just a stud rocket launcher.

Now I just need to find out who animated this and to see if I could at least get a parts breakdown of how they built the Maserati. However, I can already see that some of the pieces don't physically exist in the colors that were used in the video like the "Wedge 2 x 1 x 2/3 Left/Right" pieces in Trans-Clear for the headlights. Oh well, there's always improvising. 

 

Edited September 18, 2022 by TheBatstan

[thephantasm]

Lego's trash batmobile build tho