Numbuh1Nerd

Here's a group shot of my Rogues, including those four. They could use some updates, but it might be enough to get your gears turning, I hope!

Switch's got 'em, too!

I'm honestly shocked that they got Zachary Levi to play Shazam in the game! They definitely didn't get anyone else, not even Asher Angel for Billy (I think Freddy didn't even get any voice lines). The level is a big improvement over the B:tAS one, but the character selection is a little limited (obviously, because their saving half the cast for the second part). We only get Billy, Freddy, and four of the Deadly Sins Enemies of Man (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, and Wrath). The Sins have far more colorful designs than they have in the movie, which is kind of a bummer in the game's favor. There's only a couple of Sins in the movie that look identifiable at a glance, but the games are all pretty distinguishable.

That's not bad!

The frustrating thing is that that head would be absolutely perfect...if the goggles weren't red. I'm currently working on a time machine so I can convince Marvel executives that Hawkeye wears blue to resolve the issue

Does anyone have any ideas for a good head for the CW Captain Cold? Preferably with the goggles, but I can do without if need be.

This one definitely did feel underwhelming as a level, and I agree: Lobo's narration wears on you FAST. Yet another instance where Kevin Conroy would've made a world of difference. Plus, that's not even Lobo's schtick. If they wanted a universal narrator, get Phantom Stranger or Ambush Bug or something.

The B:tAS DLC isn't so much B:tAS as it is Mask of the Phantasm. You play as Batsy and Phantasm in the World's Fair scene from the movie...give or take. The only voice over is Lobo narrating it. The whole stage is cell-shaded like the Scooby-Doo world in Dimensions. Unlockable characters include Batman, Phantasm, Joker, Harley, Mad Hatter, Two-Face, Man-Bat, and Captain Clown. Feels like a couple of those were chosen just because they didn't have counterparts already in the game. I'm a little bummed by the character selection - I was really looking forward to a Nightwing or a Batgirl, or a Tim Drake Robin (although I should've assumed that wouldn't be the case when I saw all the designs were the original series designs and not the New Batman Adventures redesigns) - and they really could've added some more polish to the characters they chose. The designs are fine, but again, no new voice acting or terribly interesting animations as far as I can tell. I understand why they wouldn't fork over the extra cash to get Roddy McDowall or pull Arleen Sorkin out of retirement, but they had Kevin and Mark in the studio already, and more unique animation really only costs passion. It leaves me praying that the Young Justice DLC has more put into it. Kid Flash, Superboy, and Red Arrow at the least had better have unique voice lines - all their actors are already in the game - and it would certainly be a shame not to have Jesse McCartney do some stuff for Dick.

Wrecker and Shang-Chi are top notch! EDIT: And after Googling Bulldozer, you really got a whole bingo there of A+ figs!

OPE, BAD NEWS! The Batman Beyond movie has been officially confirmed by Warner Animation to not be in production. Just a rumor. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta dust off my old Crying Corner!

I mean, that's kind of what Batman Beyond is by default. I'm just wondering if they're gonna be putting a high-concept hat on it to really go after Spider-Verse or just be content with that story as-is.

Well, production starts soon and what better way to celebrate an 80 history than a glimpse at what's to come? Other than that - yeah, no, it's an absolute pipe dream that's almost definitely not happening on any front, it just sounds a lot more appealing than four more basic Batman sets all with the same design with only a logo on the box to make them special The only source I can find confirming Penguin is some guy on Twitter who also said he would be the big bad in Birds of Prey, and all of this was two weeks before any actual information was revealed, unless you count Josh Gad campaigning like mad for the role, but that's nothing new for actors to do without insider info. I'm also not sure where the "at least 4" number is coming from, but that seems pretty reasonable, given Reeves said it would feature "a Rogues Gallery" and three is hardly a gallery. Either way, color me excited! Honestly, that would make a ton of sense. With the BtAS DLC for Supervillains and DC's recent cashing-in, giving that cave the same treatment at the '66 one seems entirely plausible. Plus it would make more sense than doing another normal Batcave so quickly after the LBM one was discontinued. If it's not BtAS or '89, then it's probably got the dinosaur and the penny. So assuming that WB's answer to Spider-Verse is also going to be marketed like Spider-Verse, at minimum we should get a loose tie-in set with the Terry of our collective dreams! The real question is: how much of a Spider-Verse response is this? Since it's about the Batman of the future, are we going to do time travel shenanigans? Maybe an even harder parallel and do alternate universes? Or are we just getting a stylized Beyond movie? All of those options are going to really change what sets we get out of this. Oh, and we also have a release date for the Super Pets movie, just a month before Batman in 2021. So, with Ace and Krypto already in the bag, do you think we're waiting until then to get the likes of Streaky, Ch'p and Dex-Starr, or are we already knee-deep in a wave of LEGO Super Pets?

We've got our set list for the spring! 76119: Batmobile Pursuit of the Joker (29.99€) 76118: Batman and Robin & Freeze Battle (24.99€) 76122: Batcave Clayface Invasion (99.99€) 76120: Batman and Riddler Heist (49.99€) 76137 4+ Batman vs Riddler (9.99€) 76138 4+ The Joker Escape (39.99€) Apparently these are all for the 80th Anniversary of the World's Greatest Detective (so hopefully we'll be back to more diverse DC sets soon). Of the four sets, none really seem to imply new villains - just rehashes of Joker, Riddler, Mr. Freeze, and Clayface, but it's unlikely that these will be the only villains in this wave, especially with a new Batcave set. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers for them to expand the Bat-family in this wave - maybe with Spoiler, Batwing, Duke Thomas, or maybe updated versions of Damian and Batgirl? Ooo, here's a longshot: what if these are all tangentially movie-based? Pursuit of the Joker has a Keaton-esque Batman and Batmobile tracking down Joker on a parade float, Batman and Robin and Freeze Battle could see Clooney and O'Donnel taking on a Schwarzenegger-style Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, and the Riddler Heist would have Val Kilmer thwarting Riddler and Two-Face's scheme from the opening of Batman Forever! Of course, that would exclude the Batcave, since Clayface hasn't been in a movie before...or maybe this could be a tie-in to the upcoming DCEU Batman movie?? It's pretty unlikely, but a boy can wonder!

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the one from LEGO DC Supervillains, honestly.

Leaked photos have surfaced of a new Riddler torso. It's not the one from LEGO DC Supervillains, and I can't quite nail down it's source material (probably closest to the New 52 design) but it's a lime green suit jacket with a black dress shirt underneath, a purple tie with a lime question mark on it. Oh, and purple gloves. Apparently we're also supposed to get another Two-Face in a new Batcave set??

A few more: DC's Icicle Jr. DC's Beppo the Super-Monkey DC's Magog DC's Terry Sloane (Earth 2) DC's Baron Bedlam

Aquaman pt2 is live!

Got a brand new batch! DC's Aztek DC's Phantasm DC's Atom Smasher DC's Johnny Quick DC's Retro

It's Fred's from Scooby-Doo! Who would've thought they'd have the same kinda attitude? Ah, thank you!

Let's give this one more try! I uploaded a group shot of my classic Young Justice team in modern Bendis style yesterday on Flickr: DC's Young Justice by Numbuh1Nerd

Let's look at that, actually. The only Marvel movies to be relegated to a single set are the Ant-Man movies - Black Panther, Spider-Man Homecoming, Thor Ragnarok, all of these got two sets. Ant-Man's the only one that gets the short end (no pun intended), and the Ant-Man movies are the least successful MCU franchise - sitting at the bottom with Thor, Incredible Hulk, and First Avenger in terms of box office sales. Barely escaping the bottom five is the only other MCU movie to get only one set - Doctor Strange (the best one, don't @ me). The only post-Avengers movie to go without a set is Thor: The Dark World, which also sits with both Ant-Man movies and the original non-Iron Man movies at the bottom of the financial totem pole. So, in terms of Marvel movies, LEGO's now giving at least one set to every movie, but how many seems to be based on how well they're predicted to do. On the other side - that being DC's movies - there's no clear correlation between financial success and number of sets. Wonder Woman did the best, followed by Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad, Man of Steel, and Justice League respectively. Every DC movie has had a wave of three sets (if we count the unlabeled tie-ins we got for Suicide Squad - which didn't get proper sets because of its title) except for Wonder Woman and now Aquaman (whose box office is yet to be seen). I think it's no real secret why Wonder Woman only got one set (and why Captain Marvel is only getting one set) - hint: it's institutionalized misogyny and the artificial gendered division of the toy industry (i.e. boys don't buy toys of girls and girls don't buy toys that aren't dolls or ponies). I'd say the reason that Aquaman got the shaft is because every other DCEU movie has left toy companies with too much unsold product, especially if it's not Batman - and from what I've heard, that was especially true of Justice League's most affordable set, which was a solo Aquaman set. DC's at a very chaotic place right now, where no one is really sure what to expect next. Surefire hits like a Batman/Superman team-up, a Suicide Squad movie, and Justice League missed, while their biggest successes are a female-led superhero movie (something studios only just recently realized wasn't a promise of financial failure) and making a joke from the Entourage come to life. Big names like Batman, Flash, and Superman are disappearing from production schedules and are being replaced with relative unknowns like Shazam and the Birds of Prey. A new movie is announced every twenty minutes and no one's terribly sure which ones are gonna die in early production or make it to theaters. Marvel, on the other hand, is selling predictability. Every company that seeks to profit from a Marvel Studios production has a pretty solid idea of how much they're going to make from it and that idea is rarely wrong. DC doesn't have that luxury, so it seems to merely be a guessing game for their merchandising partners. If Aquaman is a sign, and Shazam! turns out to be as popular as its trailer, then we stand a chance at guessing the numbers before it's too late, meaning more products for the movies we like and less for the ones we don't. tl;dr: Marvel sets are based on predicted box office success. DC sets are all just a crap shoot. Once Shazam! comes, we might get more sets for the movies we want them from.

Without talking spoilers, there's definitely gotta be a corporate reason we didn't get three Aquaman sets at least. Like, there are bare minimum four more great set-worthy scenes in this movie that are totally within their wheelhouse, so either Lego's not psyched on DC movie sets anymore or WB wasn't confident enough in the movie to do much merchandising. For those wondering, here are my 4 set ideas - SPOILER WARNING I'm more interested in discussing the first point than the set ideas, but I figured I should include them for the sake of proving my point that this movie could've easily justified a wave of sets.

I just love that Circe! I never considered that torso for her but it really is kinda perfect!

I gotchu!

I'll give mine! It's probably best to let this level sit until you've seen the movie if you wanna go in completely dry (pun intended). This seems to adapt the first chunk of the movie - loosely, but closer than the DLC from LEGO Marvel 2, or so it seems. Of course, I haven't seen it yet, but it lines up with a lot of what we know already (including the line that made Amber Heard agree to play Mera!) and has some moments that feel more in line with a movie than a usual LEGO level. So, be warned there! Most of the characters (save for Manta) seem to have one of two powersets - either Aquaman or Mera. Mera's aquakinesis lets her use Lantern construct spaces, and Arthur's trident lets him use baton switches. The designs are all really nice (although I still think Mera's outfit is the wrong color) and make me wish we got more sets based on the movie. If you're minikit hunting, switch over to player 2 for most of the level. Mera doesn't really have anything to do in terms of progression, but nearly all the minikits and the graffiti poster are on her side of the level. Plus, she can complete most of them herself, so you can make some serious progress in the very first run-through! Voice-wise, it seems all they got was a decent impression of Jason Mamoa's Aquaman, as everyone else has been silent so far. Arthur narrates the level in Story Mode, so you get plenty of him. They cover up his drinking with hot chocolate (which I thought was pretty funny) and one of his voice lines when you call him in is the Justice League "My man!" which makes me feel like that DCEU character pack is going to reuse the same recordings for that Aquaman (which makes a lot of sense, not complaining). I don't know if Black Manta speaks or not, but his grunts are the same ones from the Black Manta we had before. Interestingly, Orm's title card thingy seems to be made of promotional art for the movie, with an "Aquaman's" over his name complete with movie logo. I think even the typeface for his name is from a poster. UPDATE: This level definitely adapts a scene in the movie, but without any of the important parts. It's only barely gonna give you more information than any of the trailers. Also: that line I mentioned from Mera wasn't in the movie after all - I think it might actually have been from the comics? Either way, it's a line about Mera that Amber Heard specifically mentioned as winning over for the role. I should also note that the movie starts out with some narration from Arthur as well, so that's a rather convenient little parallel! As far as major inaccuracies, all I can really point out is that Mera has a different outfit in that scene in the movie than her usual one as the game presents it, but who really cares, y'know? Otherwise, not much to else to say after having seen the movie. (Except, y'know, go see this movie it's so cool and fun and sweet, it's really the best possible version of an Aquaman movie and I'm not even saying that as a dig on the character it's just genuinely that good and unashamed of its source material and i couldn't stop smiling from the moment act 3 kicked off for about a half hour after the credits rolled just aahaahghghghahah AQUAMAN)