Batman coming back

[Omicron]

My real life questioning was more about people willing to pay that price for minifigs not their genuineness

"I will guarantee a 100% refund if I am unable to get these. I will edit this listing with photos when I have them in hand."

That's why it is a bid and not Buy It Now. :P

-Omi

[Niku]

Holy crap, didnt expect this.

[Tyleraf]

YES!!!!! I am so glad LEGO actually listened for once! Batman is coming back! Along with Superman and Green Lantern! Yes!! I've missed Batman and am glad to see it return.

[Studs Not On Top]

Yes!! I'm so glad we're getting DC minifigs! I'll definitely be searching for Superman.

Is anybody entering the contest? I might be able to put together a short stop motion movie.

[David Thomsen]

To be honest, I wonder if there is too much material and it's going to be a bit of a mess... at least with the Batman and Spiderman lines they only had to focus on one set of heroes and villains at a time, so were able to be quite comprehensive.

Each of these characters has a huge world built around them, enough material for a whole line each. Will each character get enough coverage for the enterprise to be worth it? Or will they be trying to do too much at once?

[tj19941994]

So does anyone know/think we will get secondary non-superhero characters? i.e. Lois Lane, Mary Jane, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred ect? Or is this going to be a purley superhero deal? Currently this licence seems to breaking the mould a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if what we seen now is (more or less) what we get...

[Miss Kyle]

So does anyone know/think we will get secondary non-superhero characters? i.e. Lois Lane, Mary Jane, Commissioner Gordon, Alfred ect? Or is this going to be a purley superhero deal? Currently this licence seems to breaking the mould a lot, so I wouldn't be surprised if what we seen now is (more or less) what we get...

If the figures come in proper Lego sets, then I'm sure we'll get major non-superhero characters. The old Batcave came with an Alfred and a Bruce Wayne minifig, and Superman and Spiderman need a girl to save, don't they? Not sure about Gordon, but I think he's not difficult to make from existing minifig parts.

[______]

I really hope we see a sentinel at one point!

How are they gonna sell these? Like action figures where you would get a clear box with the superheroes name? I was thinking they might sell them like "The Avengers Collections" and "The X Men Collection" that would be awesome, but i'd rather see them selling on their own.

[icy brick]

Holy MegaBloks

Saw this yestyrday but was too spechless to say anything about it!

Money´s on tight but well have half year to make plan how to save or how to rob a bank...

[SilvaShado]

I emailed LEGO, asking if they had a list of sets yet. I didn't think they would, but I was hoping for some tidbits, especially which female superheroes would be made. They responded that they didn't have the set lists yet, but they did have confirmation of certain characters. Here's the full email:

Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I am also super excited about LEGO Superheroes! There is a lot of potential in the sets we have coming out next year. Unfortunately, I do not have much information about the specific sets and I am not even sure they are finalized yet. I can tell you we have announced the following characters in minifigure form:

Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki, Black Widow, Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Batman, Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman. (Plenty of ladies there)!

We will also have a few individual character builds that will be put together like our Hero Factory line. These include builds of Batman, The Joker, Green Lantern, Captain America, The Hulk and Iron Man.

Keep an eye on www.legosuperheroes.com for more information as it comes out. Thanks for your excitement!

The best way to get sneak previews of our toys is to join the LEGO club, it's free! We'll even send you six LEGO magazines a year! All you need to do is go to www.LEGOclub.com and sign up, or call one of our experts at 1-800-835-4386 and let them know you want to join.

Thanks again for getting in touch.

Happy building!

[Joebot]

Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki, Black Widow, Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Batman, Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman.

That's a solid lineup. I'm curious to see if Nick Fury is comic book-Nick Fury (drawn as a Caucasian), or movie-Nick Fury (portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson). Along with his Mace Windu fig, Jackson could join the exclusive ranks of actors with multiple mini-fig representations from multiple themes.

The DC lineup is almost entirely Batman and his rogue gallery. That's a little bit disappointing, since we've already seen all of those characters in the previous Batman theme. I would have liked to see more Superman villains, like Metallo, Brainiac, or Lobo.

[Professor Flitwick]

Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki, Black Widow, Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury, Deadpool, Spider-Man, Doctor Octopus, Batman, Robin, Catwoman, The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman. (Plenty of ladies there)!

Ugh, can I have some non-Batman villains? Please?

Still, a decent roster all the same.

Along with his Mace Windu fig, Jackson could join the exclusive ranks of actors with multiple mini-fig representations from multiple themes.

Still won't of beaten Warrick Davies (Flikwick, Wicket and Goblin Banker)!

[Blondie-Wan]

To be honest, I wonder if there is too much material and it's going to be a bit of a mess... at least with the Batman and Spiderman lines they only had to focus on one set of heroes and villains at a time, so were able to be quite comprehensive.

Each of these characters has a huge world built around them, enough material for a whole line each. Will each character get enough coverage for the enterprise to be worth it? Or will they be trying to do too much at once?

Well, as Joebot just observed, the known initial DC lineup consists largely of Batman's rogues gallery. I suspect they may be aware of the particular popularity of Batman and may wish to capitalize on it (essentially revisiting their entire earlier Batman-specific theme), but I think it's likely several sets in both the Marvel and DC lineups will have additional characters deemed necessary to flesh out the sets. For example, some of the Avengers sets will surely be based upon specific scenes from the upcoming movie, and those will undoubtedly have additional background people in them here and there (much like how some of the sets TLG did for the first two Spider-Man movies several years ago would contain the occasional paramedic, NYPD officer, taxi driver, etc.).

At any rate, each of these universes is both immense and popular, so it's conceiveable - not certain, obviously, but within the realm of possibility - that this/these theme(s) could eventually become as big as LEGO Star Wars. Seriously, it could go on for years and years, with the focus for each universe shifting every couple of years from one or two superhero "families" to one or two others, the way Star Wars goes through cycles with sets focusing on whatever's in the most recent movie, and/or whatever older, classic installment is currently marking some noteable anniversary. Next year, for example, we're getting Marvel sets focusing on three areas - the Avengers (tying in specifically with the movie), X-Men, and Spider-Man. Perhaps after a year or two of the latter two sub-sub-themes they might start doing sets around the Fantastic Four or the Secret Wars or whatever. Perhaps there'll be some special promotional thing every now and again or Comic-Con exclusive or whatnot that focuses on some niche like Squirrel Girl or Howard the Duck.

No guarantees, obviously; they might drop the whole superheroes thing within a couple years. However, if there's anything that has even the slightest potential to be a LEGO theme as huge and popular long-lived as Star Wars (besides Star Wars itself, obviously), it would surely be one or the other of these comics universes, or the both of them combined. And if they did indeed wind up doing a hundred or more sets over a decade or more, then I think we'd eventually get all kinds of characters like Willy Lumpkin and Jimmy Olsen.

[Rumble Strike]

I know it's a niche line, but Marvel Minimates have been going since 2003 and just keep going on and on. Like the Star Wars lines (Lego and Hasbro), they constantly refresh the main characters (Spidey, Iron Man, Cap, Wolverine) and make incremental changes to them each release. Then they will redo the older figures to more closely match the current designs.

I can definitely see this being a years-long line if Lego want it to be.

[vexorian]

For minimates (and all the action figures giants as well) it is easy because they just have to update figures and there is always new fans willing to buy them.

The problem with LEGO sets is that they also have to design sets. Even in Starwars it is becoming harder and harder to impress people doing repeats of sets. Plus I guess also LEGO want to keep fresh and avoid repeating themselves except with the ultra cash cow that SW is.

Though this idea and has that geek culture goodness to it that it may become a SW-like cash cow if LEGO makes great sets in addition to the minifigs.

[Ogre]

If LEGO knows what is good for them, there will be a 60s Batmobile in the works. I would buy that in an instant.

ABSOLUTELY!

The modern stuff is 'okay' but, I'm a massive fan of GB's 1960's classic.

[SpiderSpaceman]

The DC lineup is almost entirely Batman and his rogue gallery. That's a little bit disappointing, since we've already seen all of those characters in the previous Batman theme. I would have liked to see more Superman villains, like Metallo, Brainiac, or Lobo.

uh huh, Thank you! you're the first person I've seen wanting Lobo in 11 pages

(I put in my word for the main man on p.9) :

I'd be into some of the Bizarro clan as well. and Black Manta for sure.

[vexorian]

The licenses have priorities, you know. Marvel would really like to promote the Avengers, and DC want you to watch the DK. So, it is no coincidence that next year LEGO Super Heroes will involve mostly Batman and the Avengers.

It is a multi-year licensing deal, there will be time for non-Batman villains and for other Marvel teams.

[Miss Kyle]

ABSOLUTELY!

The modern stuff is 'okay' but, I'm a massive fan of GB's 1960's classic.

Count me in for it, too!!

[Blondie-Wan]

The '60s TV/movie Batman stuff would be neat to have, but I believe it's probably part of the tiny bit of the DC-related stuff that the license doesn't cover, since IIRC Warner doesn't own the rights to those productions with Adam West (I think Fox does). Of course, it still is simply based upon the Batman comics and whatnot that existed at that time, so it might be possible for TLG to do "retro" sets based on older Batman comics that therefore have a lot in common with the Adam West show and movie, but I think a few things very specific to the show (like that show's specific interpretation of the Batmobile, for example) will probably have to be MOCs.

[Ogre]

After looking at a bunch of SDCC pics of the new figs and looking back on some older figs (Bats and Spidey), I REALLY wish that LEGO would just bite the bullet and MOLD the hero heads where required, instead of having these MASSIVE (and totally out of scale) 'helmet heads'. Batman, Iron Man, Catwoman...they all look like crap with those huge over-sized pieces of headgear. Molding the heads, a la 'SP III', Toy Story and 'Alien Conquest' would look much better, IMO.

And also, it would get rid of the friggin' stud at the top of the minifigs head on characters such as Captain America, too! That look has always bugged me when used for a bald fig but, it bugs me even more when the character is wearing a mask (Cap, Spidey).

Small changes that could make a HUGE difference.

(And I really hope they articulate Hulk. Sheesh.)

[Aanchir]

After looking at a bunch of SDCC pics of the new figs and looking back on some older figs (Bats and Spidey), I REALLY wish that LEGO would just bite the bullet and MOLD the hero heads where required, instead of having these MASSIVE (and totally out of scale) 'helmet heads'. Batman, Iron Man, Catwoman...they all look like crap with those huge over-sized pieces of headgear. Molding the heads, a la 'SP III', Toy Story and 'Alien Conquest' would look much better, IMO.

And also, it would get rid of the friggin' stud at the top of the minifigs head on characters such as Captain America, too! That look has always bugged me when used for a bald fig but, it bugs me even more when the character is wearing a mask (Cap, Spidey).

Small changes that could make a HUGE difference.

(And I really hope they articulate Hulk. Sheesh.)

I think a lot of people would disagree with many of these sentiments. First of all, a lot of people don't like specialized minifigure heads being used where the classic head would do (specifically, for human characters of any sort). Even many of the Toy Story figs got negative reactions from AFOLs who would have preferred regular minifigure heads used for characters like Buzz and Woody. TLG is also proud of their studs, and I can't even imagine them introducing a new head for bald or masked characters just to get rid of the head stud, which has since the beginning been an integral part of the minifigure's design. You might as well be asking TLG to give classic minifigures molded ears and noses.

Personally, I feel Batman and Catwoman look excellent, just as they did in the LEGO Batman theme. As I see it, only Iron Man has a really big problem with his out-of-scale helmet. And as some people have observed, a body armor piece could potentially amend this.

Edited July 23, 2011 by Aanchir

[SpiderSpaceman]

After looking at a bunch of SDCC pics of the new figs and looking back on some older figs (Bats and Spidey), I REALLY wish that LEGO would just bite the bullet and MOLD the hero heads where required, instead of having these MASSIVE (and totally out of scale) 'helmet heads'. Batman, Iron Man, Catwoman...they all look like crap with those huge over-sized pieces of headgear. Molding the heads, a la 'SP III', Toy Story and 'Alien Conquest' would look much better, IMO.

And also, it would get rid of the friggin' stud at the top of the minifigs head on characters such as Captain America, too! That look has always bugged me when used for a bald fig but, it bugs me even more when the character is wearing a mask (Cap, Spidey).

Small changes that could make a HUGE difference.

(And I really hope they articulate Hulk. Sheesh.)

I disagree heartily on the heads as per Aanchir's explanation. Wide compatibility is a top priority for me, and I wish even the special heads would have studs on top (Jar Jar in a fedora). and I don't think the cowl is out of place among any of the other headgear. it's fun and accentuate-y. I feel like, no pun intended, they nailed it on the head.

But I agree completely on The Hulk! He can't charge at wolverine, bench a streetlamp, or do a "where'd he go, where'd he go?"

and especially seeing as they're promoting super hero brickfilming...

oh and back to heads, I wonder if we'll get comic book Norman Osborne hair and a comic book Green Goblin.

Edited July 23, 2011 by SpiderSpaceman

[Ceroknight]

I think Lego should make something like these as UCSs, I think it would look really nice in lego:

[Blondie-Wan]

I'm on the fence about Iron Man. I certainly don't find the helmet as objectionable as many here do, though at the same time I don't really find it necessary. Iron Man's helmet isn't really all that different in size and shape from head of its wearer (Tony Stark), and TLG has frequently printed various details on standard minifigure heads; I think they could have gotten away with just using a regular minifigure head for Iron Man, and perhaps including an "extra" head printed with Tony's face to indicate when he had the mask part flipped up.

At the same time, this helmet bothers me less than, say, the new Mandalorian helmet in the Star Wars line, which lots of people seem to have embraced in the same way they appear not to have done with this Iron Man helmet. I do appreciate that at least now the helmet turns (i.e., it and the backpack are no longer a single piece), but I liked the "LEGO-y" look of the old, and find it more in proportion with the rest of the minifigure (as well as other minifigure helmets and other headgear). But I think I'll adjust to the new one, and eventually move to using that helmet as my standard for Boba Fett.

I do remember that when Batman was first launched a lot of people thought the cowl was too big, but I guess people adjusted. I seem to recall TLG people specifically being asked about it and responding that they had to make it that size in order to make it thick enough to meet their standards (apparently they're still mindful of the fragility of the chins on the old classic helmets that led to them discontinuing that element entirely).

Anyway... I think we'll survive. While at this scale Iron Man's helmet does look substantially larger, in terms of absolute size it's not really much larger than other minifigure heads and helmets, and probably won't have any effect on people's building. Of course, it's also possible that if the line goes on we'll eventually get other versions anyway - a smaller external helmet, perhaps, or even just a printed standard minifigure head - the same way other characters and uniforms and whatnot from other licensed themes have gotten redesigned over the years (including not only too many Star Wars and Harry Potter characters to list here, but even things over relatively brief spans like the redesigned face print for Marion Ravenwood from Indiana Jones, or going from a non-printed helmet to a printed one for the Green Goblin in the original, movie-based Spider-Man line).