6th Anniversary REVIEW: 76012 Batman: The Riddler Chase

[Oky]

Beware the Batman was the latest animated TV show featuring the Dark Knight and the first one to be completely CG-animated. Set during Bruce Wayne's early years as Batman, it replaced Robin with Katana as Batman's sidekick and focused on his lesser known villains, completely leaving out A-listers such as the Joker. It seemed like an interesting premise at first, but ultimately turned out to be the series' downfall as it was so unpopular that it got cancelled before it even got halfway through the first season. Clearly The Lego Group did not know how short-lived it would be when they decided to (very loosely) base a set on it. So, is the set any good despite being based on something so unpopular? Or does it crash and burn like the cartoon that it drew inspiration from? Let's solve this riddle in this special review celebrating both the 6th anniversary of the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy as well as the 75th anniversary of Batman!

Set Number: 76012

Name: Batman: The Riddler Chase

Theme: DC Comics Super Heroes

Subtheme: Batman

Year of Release: 2014

Pieces: 304

Minifigs: 3

Price: £29.99 / US$29.99 / €34.99

S@H description:

Pursue The Riddler’s Dragster and call in The Flash to catch him!

The Riddler has robbed the Gotham City bank and is getting away in his ultra-fast dragster. Pursue him with Batman in his sleek new Batmobile, but watch out for the bombs being dropped by the dragster. If The Riddler manages to get away, call in help from The Flash, The Fastest Man Alive! Will he arrive in time to save the day? Only you can decide! Includes 3 minifigures with assorted weapons and an accessory: never-before-seen Batman (with new suit) and The Flash, and The Riddler.

S@H Bricklink Brickset

The Box

The box features the the new design with blue comic strips in the background and for some reason they changed the "DC Universe" logo to a rather generic-looking "DC Comic" logo. It also has the new type of minifigure lineup box that has a green background and only shows the minifigs from the waist up in a three-quarter view. I don't like it very much since I liked it better when you could clearly see if the minifigs have leg printing or not.

The back features the usual silly comic book sound effects and pictures showcasing the play features of the set. The green background goes well with the Riddler theme.

The Contents

Inside the box you will find two instruction booklets, a comic, a small sticker sheet, and three numbered bags. As usual, the comic is nothing more than an advertisement for the current wave of Super Heroes sets, so I wont get much more into it here.

The instructions also have the new light green background which gives a nice contrast to the build, especially the dark Batmobile. There is usually only one building step per page, which works for the parts where it shows the full vehicle, but when it is showing only a small part of the build such as the spoiler as shown below, it feels like there is a lot of wasted space on the page. Also, the shade of green of the background is a bit inconsistent as some pages have a lighter shade than others. Things like the part call-outs are pretty clear, though, so the build is easy to follow. As is tradition, some of the odd-numbered pages have a ghostly image of three minifigs in the top right corner. In these instructions, the minifigs are Batman, the Flash, and... Man-Bat for some reason. How TLG's decides which minifigures to depict in instructions still remains a riddle to me.

There are some rare pieces in this set. One of them is a pearl-gold crowbar which stands in for the Riddler's question mark cane and appears for the first time in this color. I'm sure most people would have preferred a new mold, but it's close enough I guess. At least it's better than the red crowbar that he had in the Funhouse set. There is also a few of the curved 2x1 slope pieces which were introduced this year and only appear in four other sets in green. That radar/snowplow piece appears in dark bluish gray for the fourth time as well, and the 10x6x2 curved windscreen makes its first appearance in trans-orange since the Mars Mission sets in 2007.

The Minifigures

There are three minifigures in this set, but only one of them is a new character and probably the main reason for most people to buy this set: the Flash. He is one of the main Justice League members and was kind of overdue. As I've already joked about in a previous review it's odd how we got Aquaman before Flash, considering how much more popular the Scarlet Speedster is. But better late than never, and I think the wait paid off. He looks great overall, especially his head. I was not a big fan of that bucket-like helpet that he had in Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes and I don't think giving him no headgear at all like Captain America would have quite worked either, so I'm very happy that they found a good middle-ground between headgear and no-headgear by giving him a mask that only covers half of his head like they did with the Swamp Creature from Monster Fighters. This allows him to have his signature lightning bolts on the side of his head without making his head look too bulky.

The Batman minifig in this set comes with a new suit based on the one he wears in Beware the Batman which comes as a welcome deviation from the other two variants that we keep getting in most of the DC Universe Comics sets. However, aside from the torso printing and the dark gray hands, it's pretty much the same as the TDKR Batman, so it doesn't feel all that new.

The third minifig in the lineup is the Riddler in a racing suit. Apparently he has given up riddles and complicated schemes and is just cruising around Gotham robbing banks now. Seriously, who thought this was a good idea? It's so out of character and he doesn't even appear in Beware the Batman, so this just seems like a wasted opportunity to get one of Batman's lesser known villains or any new villain for that matter. How cool would it have been to get Professor Pyg and Mr. Toad in their oldtimer instead? On the bright side, we finally get his bowler hat in green and he comes with a new gleeful expression.

The Flash is based on his New 52 costume and is pretty accurate for the most part. The only thing that's a bit off on this fig is the lack of yellow boots which are a prominent part of the Flash's costume, but since hardly any Super Heroes figs ever get leg printing for some reason, it's hard to get mad at it. Still, why TLG is being so skimpy with leg prints in this particular theme remains a riddle to me.

Batman also looks pretty close to his design in Beware the Batman, except his suit is (very, very) dark gray instead of all-black. Maybe they thought it would look too boring in black or maybe they based it on that misleading teaser image where Batman's suit did look more gray than black.

Since the Riddler never wore a racing suit, I don't have a suitable reference image for his minifig, so here is an illustration of his most recent depiction in the Arkham games instead. At least the bowler hat is accurate...

All three minifigs have back prints. I like how they gave Flash different shoulder blades than Batman. Riddler isn't exactly the muscular type, so instead of a defined body, he gets a scarf. I guess if you're going to drive a dragster through the city, you might as well look fabulous while doing it.

Another advantage of Flash having a molded mask is that it allows him to have a double-sided head. His second face has an angry expression. Batman also has an alternate face, but it's the same stupid grin as always which I'm really starting to get tired of. He's getting a new face in one of the upcoming Lego Movie sets, so hopefully we'll see more variety in the Super Heroes theme soon as well.

The Build

The first bag contains the Riddler and the parts for his dragster as well as the Flash. Flash's mask is inside its own little baggie.

Even though the entire first instruction booklet is dedicated to the dragster, there is really not much to it, so it's a fairly quick build. And no, I have no idea what that red 2x2 round plate underneath the front is for either.

The second bag contains Batman and the chassis and driver's cabin of the Batmobile.

At the end of this bag, this is what the Batmobile looks like. It looks a lot like a Batman version of the vehicle from Blade Runner, doesn't it? To the Bat-Spinner!!

Bag number three has all the parts for finishing the rest of the Batmobile.

When finished, the Batmobile looks quite good. It has a lot more of a racecar look than previous Batmobiles.

It's not a perfect recreation of the vehicle from the cartoon. The windshield is far too big, the wheel covers at the front are missing, and some parts are too blocky, but the general shape is there.

This is the third Batmobile Lego has released (not counting the Tumbler and UCS version) and I think it's my favorite. It just looks like a realistic, fast and powerful car whereas the previous two looked a bit silly with those oversized bat wings in the back.

It has a very sleek, aerodynamic shape, especially when you look at it from the side, and the golden wheels and trans-orange windscreen compliment the black well.

It looks quite intimidating from the front. If you're a criminal, you wouldn't want to see this coming at you.

On the back, it has two trans-red radar dishes to represent the rocket engines as well as some pearl-gold cones and a gray Technic piece. We will see what these are for in a moment.

Complete Set & Play Features

With both vehicles finished we're ready for the big chase! Who will win? My bet is that if Flash can't catch up to Riddler's dragster, the Batmobile certainly can. The dragster doesn't look that great on its own and it looks even more pathetic next to the beefy Batmobile. It really makes no sense for the Riddler to be driving a dragster anyway, not just because it's out of character, but also because it's completely impractical to drive a vehicle that can't turn inside of a city, even in the inexplicably deserted streets of the Gotham City depicted in Beware the Batman. Any other vehicle would have made more sense. Heck, even that weird jetpack that he had in the Bat-Tank set from 2007 makes more sense than this. But enough ranting, let's get to the fun part of the set, the play features.

Aside from zooming the vehicles around the room, there are a couple of other things you can do with them. The Batmobile has some hidden flick-fire missiles which you can reveal by pushing down the pearl-gold cones in the back and launch by pressing the gray Technic piece. Hidden flick-missiles are my favorite kind of flick-missiles, and the mechanism works reasonably well.

In order to seat Batman inside, you have to take the windshield off completely. I would have preferred if they would have built it on a hinge or made it somehow so that it would slide open like in the cartoon, but it's not a huge flaw.

The dragster also has some weapons. There is a little black ball with a trans-orange stud that is meant to represent a lit cartoon bomb attached to the back of the dragster. It pops off when you push down the spoiler and make the dragster rear up. This is a neat idea, but it ultimately fails because the spoiler is attached so loosely to the vehicle that it tends to just get bent down. In fact, it's impossible to move the dragster at all without the spoiler spinning around, getting crooked, or even fall off completely since it is built onto two hinges and stuck on pole on which it can freely rotate. It's the worst spoiler design I've ever seen.

There are also studs for attaching the bags of money and the set includes a banana for the Riddler to throw in the Flash's path to make him slip. Between this and the cartoon bomb, I think the Riddler has been watching too many cartoons. Then again, a bomb can be a very effective weapon because some days you just can't get rid of a bomb.

Ratings

Design: 3/5 - The design of this set leaves a lot to be desired. The dragster looks weak, despite the ridiculously large engine, and the loose spoiler is terrible. The Batmobile on the other hand is quite decent. While it could be more accurate to the source material, it looks cool and more realistic than previous Batmobiles.

Build: 4/5 - Nothing too challenging, but there is enough SNOT and Technic going on that it keeps the build interesting.

Minifigs: 3/5 - The Flash was a highly anticipated minifig and he looks very good, except for the lack of boots. Batman is basically just another Batman, but the new torso print is appreciated. As for the Riddler, if you can get passed the fact that he's wearing a racing suit, he looks pretty good, and it's nice to finally get his hat in the right color. However, this outfit doesn't make him very versatile and I would have much preferred to get him in his iconic suit.

Playability: 3/5 - The Batmobile is very swooshable, the dragster not so much. Each vehicle has one weapon play feature, which makes for a decent amount of playability.

Parts: 4/5 - Nothing too out of the ordinary, but there are some rarities among them, and they're all very reusable, so overall pretty good.

Price: 4/5 - At 11.510 cents per piece, this is has a fairly good value.

Overall: 3/5 - I really wanted to like this set, but the designs of the vehicles and minifigs were just too lackluster to rate it any higher than average. I'm glad we finally got the Flash and I'm sure that if TLG wouldn't have been so clever to throw him into the set, not many would have bought it. The Batmobile has a cool new design, but it's not the most iconic nor the most accurate Batmobile. And the dragster is just awful and makes no sense in the context of the set, although I guess if you don't mind the racing suit, this gives you a cheaper way to get the Riddler. So unless you're a completist, my recommendation is don't buy it and wait for better versions of these minifigs to come out. There are rumors of a 2015 set with the Flash, Gorilla Grodd, and a Bat-Mech, which already sounds way better than this set, so you might not have to wait very long.

I hope you enjoyed this anniversary review. If you would like to learn how to make high-quality reviews like this, you can join the Eurobricks Reviewers Academy here.

To end this review, here is a visualization of what the Batman from Beware the Batman would probably say if he was actually pitted against an A-List villain:

Beware the Hipster Batman by Oky - Space Ranger, on Flickr

[VBBN]

A most excellent review Oky!

The dragster looks okay, though the front just seems far too simple for me. The Batmobile certainly looks more promising- even though it's not completely accurate, it's still a nice looking vehicle by itself.

[K-Nut]

Nice Review! I always thought that the Dragster was just okay, but for some reason I do really like the Batmobile in this. Perhaps it's because it's the one most akin to the New 52 appearance. I never actually knew what that little ball was for on the back of the Dragster. Consider me enlightened.

[TheBatstan]

Another great review! I loved BTB and mid season they started bringing in the A and B Listers like Harvey Dent, Ra's al Ghul, Killer Croc, Man Bat and Deathstroke. I recommend you check it out.

[_epicster_]

This was a minifig purchase for me, but the more I look at the batmobile, it's warming up to me. I prefer the 2012 one though. That dragster on the other hand is awful, and I don't see why the Riddler would use one.

[Jared]

Great review Oky! Admittedly the set had some decent parts like the miniature green slopes, but other than that... meh.

[The Indecisive Clutch]

I don't think it was based of BTB. That's never really been stated that this set was based of that.

It was a misconception when first images of the set came out.

Edited August 27, 2014 by The Indecisive Clutch

[Steph 104th]

I'm seriously considering buying this set for the Batmobile, and the minifigues, not so much for the sad looking dragster.

[WhiteFang]

Thank you Oky for this review. I owned this set and built it. It was a fun and enjoyable built especially with the Batmobile. The Flash minifigure was actually the main pull factor for me to get this, while I find the Dragster for the Riddler is a little below average. Still, I enjoy the overall building process.

[Clone OPatra]

Initially this set didn't interest me much, but Flash was just too much of a draw. Luckily, the Batmobile turned out to be fantastic! I don't care that it isn't wholly accurate to anything; it's simply a great LEGO car/model all around.

I feel a similar way as I do to the car to the Riddler, which everybody seems to bash. Yes, he doesn't 'make sense,' but he's still an excellently designed minifigure. Of course a Baddie we hadn't seen before would have been better, but for what it is this Riddler looks excellent and delivers a better color of Riddler bowler plus another head design with purple mask, useful for making comics characters with purple masks (or just Riddler variations). I'm quite pleased with him, racing jacket and all.

The dragster too isn't really exciting, but it's not bad besides for the spoiler. It's a fine dragster. It's much better just as a toy/model than some of the other vehicles LEGO has produced for this line, like Batman's plane in the Steam Roller set or odd bike in the Batcave set. The bomb feature actually works pretty well if you just tip back the whole car in any way other than pressing on the spoiler.

Comparing this set to the Aquaman one, this one comes out a much better set to me overall. The Aquaman set was ALL about the minifigs; the Ice Bat thing was just kind of dumb. Though I bought this set mostly for Flash, it's actually a great SET too.

[Gremer]

I got this set, and feels like a waste of money IMO. The Batmobile is ugly, the build felt tedious, but the dragster is surprisingly OK. The Flash and Batman are both great, and even though the Riddler doesn't fit, he's still okay.

The Arctic Batman set is a much better set for less money.

[Only Sinner]

Great review, and I liked the jokes you slip in. (cartoony bombs )

I liked everything about this set, of course, the poor dragster needed quit a few mods due to lousy design, the Batmobile and minifigs are fantastic right out of the box!

I have never seen the TV show as I refuse to pay for cable. Anybody like to point me in the direction where I can maybe see it for free?

[TheBatstan]

I have never seen the TV show as I refuse to pay for cable. Anybody like to point me in the direction where I can maybe see it for free?

I reccomend this site, it has the complete season and watch out for the mid season episode ;)

http://www.watchcartoononline.com/anime/beware-the-batman

[Only Sinner]

I reccomend this site, it has the complete season and watch out for the mid season episode ;)

http://www.watchcart...ware-the-batman

Thanks, man. This is going to be good.

[BartSimpson]

So glad riddler has his own car

[CrazyDalton777]

I had this £10 off its £30 (practically) retail price in LFCC (London Film and Comic Convention). Its pretty cool. I love the Flash minifigure.