My main wish for Arkham is that we get a batfamily member that hasn’t been made yet.

Red Robin, Cass, Steph, Signal, Bluebird… Jarro?!!!

  On 12/5/2024 at 6:28 PM, psqidexslizer said:

Yeah. How disappointed we all are. 😂

Yeah, you're right. The main set we have information about now is the Tumbler, which looks worse than its predecessor from 2021. An affordable Ledger Joker minifigure is always welcome, but without the leg printing it pales compared to the previous two. Harvey looks like he's from Pete Holmes' Badman. 

But at least, Lego DC is not dead. Not yet...

Honestly, it's great that we're getting a 400$ whatever Arkham. I hope that the minifigure section won't disappoint anyone...

  On 12/5/2024 at 6:39 PM, CloneCommando99 said:

Jarro?!!!

I thought he always stays in the Batcave...

And didn't we get Red Robin in 2012? Albeit the minifigure looked like a compromise 

Ok, I'll bite - here are my thoughts on the DC Super Heroes sets that have been revealed for 1H25.

• 76301 4+ Batmobile, has Man and Freeze, $20 for 63 pieces including 2 minifigures.
  • There have been other 4+ Batmobiles before, but this is the worst looking and the worst value for money, and there aren't even any interesting minifigures. 
  • 2/5 stars
• 76302 Superman Mech vs Lex Luthor, $15 for 120 pieces including 2 minifigures.
  • I actually like this one. The premise of Supes in the mech instead of Lex is a bit of a head scratcher, but not much - obviously Supes needs the mech because Lex is all covered in Kryptonite and that poor old Supes can't handle that.
  • The second minifigure goes a long way towards improving the value proposition with the character mechs (still overpriced, though).
  • I like the bright blue and bright red for this Superman minifigure and the mech, as opposed to dark blue and dark red, and the mech has great color blocking.
  • I don't mind the basic head for Lex and I don't expect printed arms in this tier of set, but I am disappointed that the Superman minifigure doesn't have dual molded boots or at least a red hip part. Plain blue hips and legs don't suit the character well, pun intended.
  • 4/5 stars
• 76303 TDK Tumbler, $60 for 429 pieces including 3 minifigures.
  • I've got mixed feelings about this one. Obviously it's way overpriced - not Hoopty or X-Jet overpriced, but still pretty bad. I'll wait for it to go at least 20% off, and experience with the discounts on last year's 1989 Batmobile shows that I can probably expect bigger discounts as it continues to warm shelves through 2026.
  • In a playset I don't mind the lack of arm printing and leg printing for Man, Jonkler, and Face, because when I was a kid playing with Lego I never minded the simple hips and legs and arms. I don't like the rubber cape for Man. The dual molded BTAS cowl (while great for avoiding the Batman eye-height/karate sweatband problem) isn't a great fit for the TDK cowl, but I don't feel like I need bespoke cowls for every version of Man in all the playsets. 
  • I am pretty happy to get TDK Jonkler and Face in a retail playset, even if it's way overpriced. (They know that! That's why they priced it so high! They're on to me!)
  • The simplified, downsized Tumbler is disappointing in a lot of ways but not nearly as bad as it could be. I thought the 2021 playset Tumbler was a great build at a great price, but its size meant it didn't scale as well with the 8w Speed Champions cars as I hoped it would. The 2025 version will scale a lot better with 8w SC cars, and it looks sturdier and easier to build. The tradeoffs are that the characteristic angled sides of the Tumbler are lost, the second seat is lost (if the 2025 model had two seats, it would be shown on the box), and the front wheels are attached in the center, not just at the sides. That betrays the single most distinctive design decision in the Tumbler, but because they're still attached at the sides and it's all black it's easy to overlook so I'm not too bothered by that. Also the roof is way too thick. It just sits on top of the windshield like a great big slab. Couldn't they make it any thinner?
  • At least it's not as small and simple as the 2012 playset Tumbler, that was just awful.
  • 3/5 stars

My thoughts on the DC Super Heroes theme since 2019:

• Obviously DC Super Heroes is a theme that's pretty much dead, like everyone says. No comic-based Justice League sets since 2018 (except the upcoming Supes mech), and just one WW set (from a terrible movie) sucks. No argument there. DC Super Heroes is all Batman, all the time.
• However, IIRC there was a lot of complaining in 2018 that the comic-based Justice League sets that year were bad designs, overpriced, poor minifig selection - you know, the usual complaints. Hard to believe now, but that's how they were received at the time. So maybe the poor reception of what seem in retrospect like pretty decent sets is what killed the theme.
• As one of those folks who mainly grew up with Batman movies, the past few years of DC sets have been pretty great for me. I feel like they've been going for quality over quantity (except for way too many mediocre Jonkler minifigures):
  • The 2019 Batmobile was the first Lego Batmobile since the OG set in 2006 and the revival set in 2012 that actually looked good to me, and it introduced the spinning-flames mechanic that's been used several times since. The 2019 Batwing/GCPD police car/Riddler helicopter set had three all-time-great models and four pretty good minifigures in one box at a great price for a playset. 2019 also brought the UCS 1989 Batmobile, which is an all-time-great set, although it sucked that the playset 1989 Batmobile was paywalled as an extremely limited GWP.
  • 2020 had the UCS 1989 Batwing, which isn't nearly as impressive as the UCS 1989 Batmobile but is still an iconic vehicle executed well at UCS scale to pair with the car.
  • 2021 had two long-awaited playset Batmobiles that were really great builds at really great prices, though their minifigure selections weren't so great. I'd been waiting for an accessible Classic TV Batmobile playset for 20 years and Lego finally delivered, though it was a sin to leave out Robin! I'd been waiting for a good Tumbler playset nearly as long, too. The 2021 UCS Tumbler v2 was disappointing in that its development was rushed and it was barely refreshed from the 2014 version and it was overpriced (three strikes!), but it was still nice to have it available again and I was able to pick it up without minifigures for half price.
  • The 2022 Batmobile from The Batman is one of my favorite Batmobile sets. The proportions are a bit off but otherwise it's a detailed, accurate model of one of my favorite Batmobile designs. I love that it and the 2021 Classic and Tumbler cars can all seat two minifigures side by side. With some trivial modifications you can even stuff four minifigures in the 2022 Batmobile. There's no reason in the lore why you'd do that, but it's fun. I think the spring shooters in the front are superbly integrated visually, and they make the funnest Batmobile play feature since the blunt shooter in the OG 2006 set. I wish the set came with Gordon, but it's otherwise a good set at a good price. The motorcycle and Batcave sets from the 2022 movie had good minifig selections, represented the movie well, and had very accessible prices. I've still got mixed feelings about passing on them.
  • 2023 finally brought regular retail playsets of the 1989 Batmobile and 1989 Batwing, which again I'd been waiting for for decades. They were priced way too high and the minifigs sucked, but at least the sets were out there. The builds could have been better but they weren't too bad. I wish I'd waited for clearance prices to buy them though. The Shadowbox was a bad idea for a D2C but it doesn't show a lack of investment in the theme (for Batman anyway).
  • 2024 had very slim pickings, but again there were three sets I'd wanted for decades: a playset BTAS Batmobile, a UCS Classic TV Batmobile, and an accessible model of the Batpod. The BTAS car is overpriced and has a questionable color choice, but the model is good and the minifigs (apart from the rubber cape) are good. The UCS Classic TV Batmobile has a subpar design (no hood and fake engine, no doors, no steering) because its development was rushed, but that also meant it came at a very reasonable price. The Batpod is a sturdy model that looks good despite the ugly buildable figure that comes with it, but including that kind of figure to go with the bike is a situation where they're damned if they do and damned if they don't. It's a shame the wheels don't rotate (except in the ordinary way) though. The BTAS Art set is a weird idea for a Batman D2C, but again it doesn't show a lack of investment in the theme.
  • Then here comes 2025 with another Tumbler for people who missed the first one, with a couple of long-awaited minifigs.

So, yeah - Lego fans like me who mostly just like Batman, and mostly just the Batman movies, have been eating real good these past few years as far as set selection and set design goes, though prices haven't been great and minifigure quality has been mediocre. I do sympathize with broader DC fans who feel like they're neglected or missing out, though - what you're feeling now is what I was feeling in 2006-2021, wondering just how freaking long it was going to take Lego to wise up and just make the movie Batmobile playsets that I actually wanted. Hope you get the sets you've been waiting for soon, because by now I pretty much have all the Batman sets I was waiting for.

Crazy how we haven't had a normal Batcave playset since 2019

Why can't Lego make more Bat vehicles like a tank,boat,helicopter and more location builds like a hideout for villains,GCPD,a bank or something, we had all that in 2012

Like 3 DC sets and 1 D2C for a whole year, wtf, why is that all we get

Whether or not the upcoming Superman film yields sets or not, I would like to think that it will kickstart interest in this theme and break the current cycle.

  On 12/6/2024 at 12:01 AM, RedHoodPug said:

Whether or not the upcoming Superman film yields sets or not, I would like to think that it will kickstart interest in this theme and break the current cycle.

This me from the year 2025, No Superman sets because it failed, Lego lost the DC license to Megablocks

  On 12/5/2024 at 11:03 AM, psqidexslizer said:

• No Superman movie sets.
• Lex Luthor gets a highly detailed figure while Superman is underdesigned.
• Superman needs a mech to fight Lex, making him appear the weaker of the two
• Five years since our last Superman set

Guys, what if Lex Luthor secretly owns Lego? 🤔

You're on to something. This'll be confirmed when the 2025 D2C is revealed to actually be Lex's Bakery.

  On 12/5/2024 at 6:28 PM, psqidexslizer said:

Yeah. How disappointed we all are. 😂

Yup. I have no hope.

  On 12/5/2024 at 6:39 PM, CloneCommando99 said:

My main wish for Arkham is that we get a batfamily member that hasn’t been made yet.

Red Robin, Cass, Steph, Signal, Bluebird… Jarro?!!!

Ironically Jarro is the only one I think we have a real shot at since he'd just be a print on a 1x1 cylinder and could easily be thrown in to the aslume set as an easter egg.

  On 12/6/2024 at 12:13 AM, Lego Nostalgia said:

This me from the year 2025, No Superman sets because it failed, Lego lost the DC license to Megablocks

How would there be no movie tie-in sets if the movie failed? Wouldn’t the tie-in sets release before the movie does?

  On 12/6/2024 at 12:01 AM, RedHoodPug said:

Whether or not the upcoming Superman film yields sets or not, I would like to think that it will kickstart interest in this theme and break the current cycle.

Here’s hoping.

Ashnflash has a video review comparing the new Tumbler vs the old on youtube if anyone is interested. The old Tumbler looks even better in comparison.

He’s also got some new pictures of Two Face and, ngl, the figure is growing on me. I may try to pick him up.

  On 12/5/2024 at 11:12 PM, Lego Nostalgia said:

Crazy how we haven't had a normal Batcave playset since 2019

Why can't Lego make more Bat vehicles like a tank,boat,helicopter and more location builds like a hideout for villains,GCPD,a bank or something, we had all that in 2012

Like 3 DC sets and 1 D2C for a whole year, wtf, why is that all we get

The pointless Spider-Man vehicles have also largely dried up. Maybe kids just aren’t buying Lego as much these days, so they’re shifting the focus towards adult collectors? That certainly seems to track with a lot of the decisions we’ve been seeing recently.

Edited December 6, 2024Dec 6 by psqidexslizer

Maybe they are waiting to see how the film and the new DC universe are received to release something related to it

The last DC sets tied to movies (like the Wonder Woman 84) sets must have performed awfully

It could be like the Spiderverse sets, which are being released just now after the films were proven popular

Edited December 6, 2024Dec 6 by Robert8

Crazy how we managed to get Dr Phosphorus, I bought him when Creature Commandos was announced

  On 12/6/2024 at 5:43 PM, Robert8 said:

Maybe they are waiting to see how the film and the new DC universe are received to release something related to it

The last DC sets tied to movies (like the Wonder Woman 84) sets must have performed awfully

It could be like the Spiderverse sets, which are being released just now after the films were proven popular

Even if they aren’t waiting to see how it performs and have just written off Superman movie sets altogether, if the film does well, there’s a good chance Lego will capitalize on it in some form.

  On 12/6/2024 at 6:52 PM, Lego Nostalgia said:

Crazy how we managed to get Dr Phosphorus, I bought him when Creature Commandos was announced

He wasn't associated with R-rated stuff at the time, all the Creature Commandos will probably be less likely to show up in sets now. 

Can't wait for the overpriced, too small Arkham Asylum, where the Lego Shill Days videos show the Designers say "buy two to make a bigger Arkham",  Joking aside, I really do hope Arkham is a great set and I would like more Batman location sets. My Dream Batman sets, would be Gotham in the style of BtAS and built like Ninjago City.

  On 12/7/2024 at 4:14 AM, Dr.Cogg said:

Can't wait for the overpriced, too small Arkham Asylum, where the Lego Shill Days videos show the Designers say "buy two to make a bigger Arkham",  Joking aside, I really do hope Arkham is a great set and I would like more Batman location sets. My Dream Batman sets, would be Gotham in the style of BtAS and built like Ninjago City.

Agreed with everything you said, sadly even with the 'tiny overpriced Arkham set' jonke

I think I’m most looking forward to the inevitable b*tching about the character roster. 

  On 12/7/2024 at 2:01 PM, psqidexslizer said:

I think I’m most looking forward to the inevitable b*tching about the character roster. 

How dare Lego not include DC Glup Shitto #69.

THeY HaTE tHeIr fAnS.

 

 

Superman sets better exist. At least give us a set with mister terrific.

Edited December 7, 2024Dec 7 by CloneCommando99

  On 12/7/2024 at 2:27 PM, CloneCommando99 said:

How dare Lego not include DC Glup Shitto #69.

THeY HaTE tHeIr fAnS.

 

 

Superman sets better exist. At least give us a set with mister terrific.

  On 12/7/2024 at 2:01 PM, psqidexslizer said:

I think I’m most looking forward to the inevitable b*tching about the character roster. 

To be fair, you can't tell me it's not going to be terrible. They are in a position to make a TON of villains for a relatively tiny amount of prints since they can all be in prison jumpsuits, but know the set's still going to have like 10 figures total:

Batman, Mr Freeze (both reused from BTAS sets), Joker (BTAS head with prison jumpsuit), Catwoman (BTAS Head with prison suit), Two-Face (TDK head with prison jumpsuit), Harleen Quinzel (new torso with re-used head and no leg print), Aaron cash (all re-used parts), Hugo Strange (new head and otherwise all re-used parts), and then if we're lucky two villains we haven't had in awhile like Scarecrow/Riddler/Talon, or even like Robin and a new villain or something, but more likely two generic guards made of re-used parts.

  On 12/7/2024 at 3:01 PM, psqidexslizer said:

 

I think that was an intentional joke, otherwise he would have said Guy since he's a GL, right?

Marvel fans still waiting for their summer list, meanwhile us DC have known for months what we’re getting (we’re getting nothing).

  On 12/6/2024 at 10:31 PM, Mandalorianknight said:

He wasn't associated with R-rated stuff at the time, all the Creature Commandos will probably be less likely to show up in sets now. 

I know, I'm just surprised we got him since he's such a niche unknown character

Superman (2025) won't get any retail sets.

  On 12/7/2024 at 10:13 PM, Lego_Minecraft_Goat said:

Superman (2025) won't get any retail sets.

megabluck

 

We lost big time. Turtle won in the end. There will be no superman sets flying off shelves like a Bee. I’m kinda sad now.

Edited December 7, 2024Dec 7 by CloneCommando99

  On 12/7/2024 at 8:37 PM, Lego Nostalgia said:

I know, I'm just surprised we got him since he's such a niche unknown character

Yeah, The Lego Batman Movie era was great for highlighting random niche characters. Honestly my interest in comics can probably be traced back to me getting Mime from a random TLBM cmf back in 2017. I had no idea who she was, so went to the DC wiki and found the like one issue that she appeared in, which launched me into the 80s-90s era of Batman/Detective Comics, and then a lot of other stuff from the same period like Superman, Teen Titans, and Green Lantern. 

So I guess Lego making more obscure characters can have that kind of effect, and it would be kinda sad if they only stuck to the basic Batman and Joker stuff.

  On 12/7/2024 at 10:13 PM, Lego_Minecraft_Goat said:

Superman (2025) won't get any retail sets.

Polybag bundled with a DVD it is then

Just absurd and mind-boggling. I don't even care about the film personally but I can't understand how LEGO and WB wouldn't mutually agree to support DC's supposed cinematic relaunch with a strong assortment of toys to build excitement.

And it's just sad what's become of LEGO's DC offering over the years.