wesker

I do wonder if they still plan on using that purple costume or if its only intended to appear for the first couple of episodes? I don't think its been showcased again since Comic Con last year and all the merchandise and marketing material for X-Men 97 so far has been depicting him back in the classic red costume.

Only four minifigures is incredibly lackluster. No doubt Cyclops will be among them. Hopefully the others are fresh new characters and not just repeats of ones we've gotten in the past. Jean, Rogue and Gambit would be the ideal line up but if it has to include a villain then Mr. Sinister would be preferable over another Magneto. I hope they leave the Sentinel out. The 2014 mech was too small and the X-Jet doesn't need a side build eating away at its already low piece count. Better that Lego just surprises us with a Sentinel Construction Figure in the summer wave.

Why would Ronan from GOTG be using Emperor Palpatine's hood in a set next year when he had the perfect piece back in 2014? I think it depends on each individual mold. How frequently was the original piece used in the past? Is there a suitable substitute currently available in Lego's inventory? The Gamorreans are a unique alien species and an iconic part of Jabba/Boba's Palace so the only options there are to either bring back the previous mold or redesign a new one. With Slave Leia her hairpiece is just a long braided ponytail. Do they bring back an old mold that was only used once a decade ago or is it more cost effective to just reuse Echo's that is currently in production and could potentially be used further across a number of different themes including City and Friends?

It definitely looked like an early concept. Some of the design choices seemed like they were heavily inspired by the Fox movies. I think if we do get an X-Mansion next year the final product will look a lot more faithful to the one we see in the show.

After seeing the in-hand pics of Echo from Marvel's CMF series, I can't be the only one thinking how perfect that new braided hairpiece is going to be for Fennec Shand? Could even work well on Leia next year if the UCS Sail Barge goes ahead. They really need to update the remaining Phase I clones from AOTC. Its been a decade since we've had a Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Pilot variants and those older figures don't really match the modern clones that came in the Command Station. If we get Wolfpack Clones next year there better be a new Plo Koon figure to go with them!

It's happened before with the Simpsons. Homer, Marge, Krusty and Maggie were all reused from the first CMF series while Bart and Lisa received minor tweaks at best. I don't mind if that's the direction they go with the X-Men. The blind cardboard boxes are going to make it impossible to know which character you're looking for compared to the plastic bags and resellers are no doubt going to inflate the prices for them on the aftermarket because of their desirability. It may end up becoming more trouble than its worth. There's also the matter of Marvel's budget for new prints. I like getting different costume variations but don't want that coming at the expense of getting new characters in their place. If doubling up on the CMF figures means freeing up a spot for Nightcrawler or Mr. Sinister to appear in the X-Mansion then I'm all for it.

No idea how legitimate mtdbricks is as a source but apparently Ronan will be using the Emperor's new hood piece in Rocket's Warbird instead of his old movie accurate one. Definitely a downgrade from the previous figure but not surprising given that the original mold has been out of production for almost a decade. That name never fails to make me cringe. Hopefully that's true. I can live with the low piece count of the X-Jet if it means getting the complete cast of characters. I have no issues with repeats of Wolverine, Storm and Beast either. If anything it would be unfair to lock those characters behind blind boxes while everyone else is easily obtainable.

The new face print for Wolverine looks pretty good. Definitely has more of a Hugh Jackman vibe compared to the previous minifigures. The choice of using the Joker's hairpiece didn't turn out so bad in the end either.

Surely that can't be all the Icons sets coming in the first quarter. Where is the next modular building that normally releases every January?

The low piece count for the X-Jet is disappointing. One can only hope this is either a Yavin IV situation where the set has a higher minifigure count than usual, there's a big fig included or the jet itself utilizes a lot of large pieces like the City planes do.

I prefer they don't try and shoehorn a Sentinel in with the jet. Both builds are only going to suffer from having a reduced piece count. Just keep the focus on the jet itself and release a Sentinel later as a separate set. If the jet needs conflict it can always come in the form of a minifigure like Magneto or Sinister. I also don't mind if the X-Mansion just recycles the existing CMF figures of Wolverine, Storm and Beast if it frees up the budget for introducing more new characters like Nightcrawler or Bishop. Having such a large selection of characters was one of the things that really elevated the Daily Bugle above the Sanctum Sanctorum. Costume variants are great for long running themes but when there's so few X-Men available at the moment, expanding the roster should be a bigger priority. The decision came from Marvel itself. Shortly after Days of Future Past came out both the X-Men and Fantastic Four were blacklisted from getting any merchandise or media tie-ins. It didn't just affect Lego but other companies like Hasbro and Funko as well. Supposedly it was due to some behind the scenes drama between Marvel and Fox Studios. Once Disney bought out Fox the decision was reversed and we were able to get X-Men product again.

The X-Jet has me the most excited. Hopefully its a much more substantial build than the 2014 version and we can complete the original team with Jean Grey, Gambit, Rogue and Jubilee. Mr. Sinister appearing in either this or the mansion would also be great. Glad to see we're getting another NWH set and confirmation its coming with the Lizard. He's long overdue. Rocket's Warbird is dependent on who else is included in the set. I'd like to see either a major villain thrown in or a Guardian not included from the previous wave. I don't mind Captain America 4 only getting one set. I'm not expecting an interesting build or too many figures beyond Cap, New Falcon and the two main villains.

I wonder if they will still even use clips? One thought that's just crossed my mind is whether we could see the Super Battle Droid redesigned as a standard minifigure in the way both Huyang and the Dark Troopers were.

I'm not too worried. Lego has really only avoided sets for the live action shows. They've never had a problem when it comes to animated content as we've seen before with What If, Spidey and his Amazing Friends, Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble. Hopefully Promo Bricks will have a set list for Marvel sooner rather than later.

I'm happy to be getting the podrace diorama but still wish they would be doing more for TPM. We haven't had a Naboo Fighter or MTT in ages and the Duel of the Fates is the perfect scene to be depicted in the diorama format. Its shocking that even after 25 years we still haven't gotten official figures of Boss Nass, Shmi Skywalker and Theed Battle Padme yet. As much as I hope to see the leaked Sail Barge released next year, I would just as equally be excited if the $240 UCS set turned out to be Queen Amidala's Royal Starship.

I like the idea of the Bat. The last one they released looks pretty basic by today's standards and is spoiled by the random blue highlights all over the build. It would also be a good opportunity to throw in Catwoman on the Batpod who they left out of the last version. If the Gotham City Skyline set goes ahead then a new Batmobile also based on the Animated Series would go well alongside it. Either that or release the ones from Batman Forever and Batman & Robin since they're the only two left from live action that haven't been covered yet. I think almost everybody is ready to move on from the Keaton films by now but I'd still like to see one last set with the Bat Ski-Boat just to wrap everything up from that era.

I thought it might have been the Dino Tracker's at first but it definitely looks like a new mold from the clearer images. I'm curious how it looks from the back. If it comes with a long braid it could end up being a perfect replacement to use on Fennec Shand and potentially Leia if the UCS Sail Barge comes into fruition. The head works fine as an accessory for a CMF figure but I wouldn't want future Sentinel sets to retain the same design as the 2014 build. Its too small and flimsy. Future Sentinels need to go big like the construction figures they've been releasing recently.

The Clones vs. Droids Battlepack sounds great. Hopefully the Super Battle Droids are redesigned to not be so brittle anymore. Grogu's Escape could be decent as long as they don't rehash the 501st Clones again. Plain white or more Shock Troopers would be ideal. Glad the dioramas are branching out into the prequels. The Boonta Eve Podrace is a solid choice to start off with. The Tantive IV diorama should be good as well considering we've never had the interior of the ship accurately done before. Looks like Jabba's Palace won't be happening which is a shame. Surprised we're getting a mid scale Millennium Falcon instead of a regular one in the summer wave. Given that 2024 marks 5 years since the Rise of Skywalker one was released you'd think it would be due a replacement by then. Unless they surprise us with Nien Nunb I can't imagine the minifigures (if we even get any) will be too exciting. The Skeleton Crew ship will ultimately depend on how good the show is for me to consider buying it.

You're joking right? Most of the merchandise from Phase 4's biggest blockbuster films hasn't been selling even on clearance. We're talking about a CMF series comprised almost entirely of obscure D-list characters from divisive streaming shows that haven't had strong viewership numbers. Does anyone actually believe that Goliath, Echo, Kate Bishop, She-Hulk, Moon Knight, Werewolf by Night or Agatha have more mainstream appeal to the general public than the X-Men do?

Rogue and Gambit are a must! Hopefully we can at least complete the original team next year with Jean Grey and Jubilee as well. At least we know Cyclops and Xavier should be covered if the X-Mansion goes ahead. Hopefully they use the new Bo-Katan piece on Mystique if her X-Mansion minifigure ends up being based on the animated version.

Spider-Man: Freshman Year sounds like such a mess at this point. Its delayed, its no longer set in the MCU, its second season is cancelled, its animation team is let go... Compared to X-Men '97 its production seems like a real train wreck. At this stage I'll be happy just to have a traditional comic based Spider-Man set released next year with Daredevil, Kingpin and Elektra thrown in it.

The huge Sentinel is Master Mold. I'd be up for a UCS Hulkbuster scale set of him that completely dwarfs the other Sentinels. One of the clips they showed at Comic Con implied he's returning to the show so it would be a great opportunity to release one. There was also confirmation of Archangel officially now joining the main X-Men roster as well as Season 2 nearing completion.

I don't think Omega Red is expected to appear in X-Men 97. His inclusion in the special seems to be based on all the other villains having the red theme in common. Still would be nice to get an official minifigure of him one day. I'm still waiting for Mother Talzin to show up in a set after her appearance in the Lego Star Wars Halloween special a few years back. In Black Widow's defense I'd also add her movie was released during the height of the pandemic as well as going straight to streaming. Had it come out during Phase 3 I think the film would've been far successful than what it ultimately was. I can understand why Captain Marvel is not in as many sets compared to the original Avengers. Her only involvement with the team was in Endgame (which was minimal at best) and since then her only appearances in the MCU has been in two post credit scenes. She's still done pretty well to be included in 3/4 sets based on Endgame's final battle as well as the 2020 Helicarrier based on a video game she wasn't even in. Still I think it was a smart idea to limit her new movie to just one set. The MCU has lost a lot of goodwill since Endgame due to the inconsistent quality in writing and over saturation of media and that's really bled into how well the sets are performing at retail. Almost all the Phase 4 sets have really struggled to move even on clearance. Its not just Lego either. Hasbro's merchandise has also been pegwarming like crazy.

The build has some nice use of slopped parts but that's about the only thing it has going for it. Between the high price tag, limited character selection and a film that has zero hype behind it, I suspect this one is going to be hanging around the clearance isle for a very long time.

It looks like we're getting a decent number of sets in January based on the leak that came out not long ago. X-Men 97 is set to air during that time and I don't think there's any other notable Marvel media coming out around then to compete with it. A Sentinel and X-Jet would be solid candidates for the $35 and $80 price ranges if they do decide to release them next year. 76275: $10 76276: Not listed in leak 76277: $15 76278: Not listed in leak 76279: $30 76280: $35 76281: $80 76282: $55 76285: $70 The two numbers in red weren't listed in the leak but based on the price of 76277 I wonder if they could be the three mech sets for 2024? The Spidey and his Amazing Friends sets are also under a different group of set numbers from the rest of the Marvel range (10781-10791) so if there's any more on the way I'm assuming they're not included here.