Warning: this article MIGHT contain spoilers for The LEGO Batman Movie.
I say “might” because those of us who’ve long followed the trajectory of LEGO sets based on superheroes remember the one that included a Ben Kingsley-styled Mandarin attacking Iron Man in a mini tank. That never happened in Iron Man 3, but the set did help keep up the pretense that there’d be a final battle between the presumed-at-the-time archvillain and hero.
Regardless of whether or not these newly revealed sets for The LEGO Batman Movie turn out to represent the film accurately, they look to be must-haves for any Batman fan. First up: the Batcave.
Though there’s an obvious comedic touch with the multicolored spare Batsuits, this is our first indication that Tim Burton’s Batman movies might have more of a stylistic influence on Lego Batman than expected. Case in point: a pale-skinned Penguin, penguin commandos, and giant rubber duck vehicle right out of Batman Returns. Other features, like a quick-change rotating chamber, jail cell, and Batcomputer array are standard among most Batcave playsets, but not necessarily on LEGO versions.
Next, Arkham Asylum:
A whopping 12 minifigs come with this one, though many use the same inmate uniform base body. And it is here we see another particularly cool Burton influence. Take a close look at the Two-Face figure. While no actor has been formally announced for the part, the character’s face is pretty obviously modeled after Billy Dee Williams. And since Williams has starred in The LEGO Movie and numerous other LEGO Star Wars projects, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suspect…nah. I shouldn’t get your hopes up without any more concrete information.
Other nice touches on this set include the vines growing outside Poison Ivy’s cell, and the extremely specific cafeteria food items like watermelon slices, pretzels, and kielbasas. I’m going to assume those are part of a comedy scene at some point. If a funnier Batman doesn’t work for your LEGOing sensibilities, though, you can leave those parts out and still have a pretty imposing Arkham for more serious displays.
Finally, and on the more affordable side, we have Batman vs. Mr. Freeze.
Freeze uses Bionicle-style ball joints for a giant mecha body, and comes with an opening and closing ice trap with which to send the Bat to DAH COOLAH! Batman comes with a fire gun, because this version of him is like honey badger.
Are you ready to build some Bat-blocks? Tell us what you think of these sets in Bat-comments below.
Featured image: Warner Bros.
Images: LEGO
