Super Heroes 2014

madforLEGO

I think all LEGO can do is try to fit and pit good guy vs baddie and make a scenario that is cheap enough to get into a set price slot.
I'm guessing the LEGO creators are coming up with amazing stuff only to be rebuked and told this has to be a 19.99 set or a 29.99 set. I'm sure if they had their way they would all be 75 dollar sets that would have many characters and bad guys, but that just is not going to happen, especially with the licensing fees.
Otherwise I'm guessing you would have scenes in backgrounds like wrecked buildings or cars etc.
I would say the one thing I notice is the insistence on blocky and large parts that harken back to the junior-ization era of the late 90's. LEGO better watch this and keep it in check.

In any case I think that many adults are not going to be happy with whatever LEGO would do with these sets and would likely have just bought for the figs or just go and buy the figs directly regardless of how well together the set is.

People also have to remember the target audience here, kids. Kids have imaginations and can make do with what they get.
When kids start being polled by LEGO and they report all the sets are crappy, then they will implement changes. Until then? Business as usual.

vitreolum

Kids may be the target audience, but that doesn't excuse the absolute shitty design of the vehicles and particularly playsets. You CAN do cool things with few parts, especially when you have any part whatsoever available and are (supposed at least) a designer.

That kart is really bad, the Hydra vehicle looks incredibly bad and the color choice makes it even worse. I don't even know what that Hulk set is supposed to be. I'll assume it's a lab only because it writes on the box.

I'm going to ignore the other two because they don't look that bad, but are completely uninteresting to me.

Sure, kids have imagination, but they are paying for the actual build, not for a pile of blocks to use their imagination with.

icey117

kez said:

Here are the 2014 marvel sets due for an April release as seen on the brickset frontpage http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/11248525064/

Man - LEGO really didn't check the texts before printing this one. 1) Two set info is switched and 2) CaptAm. is called Spiderman in the buttom row.

legodude

Wow all those sets are horrible. Even when I thought LEGO could not fail Marvel in 2014, they went and did just that.

So far SDCC Minifigs represent everything this line should be about. And they are affecting what we get in the sets big time. No Green Lantern to keep him exclusive to 2011 SDCC. No black suited TDKR Batman (awesome), instead we get the inferior grey suit (lame). No iconic Black Suited Spider-man, Phoenix, Spider-woman or ASM2 figs. No wonder fans get so angry and upset every year. Epic Fail on LEGO's part.

The sets are pretty bad and comparable to Town Jr. from the 2000's in juniorazation.

legodude

pillpod said:

I could be wrong, but I think these sets are built for kids. Kids happen to like vehicles.

That is no excuse. Being made for kids is not acceptable when it comes to poor model design. At least make vehicles for superheroes that make sense, Fantasticar, X-jet etc.

If they are giving us parts to sell Minifigs, then switch the Superheroes license to a CMF model only. Then at least we can get some more "obscure" characters.

CapnRex101

I am bemused at LEGO's sales tactics here. If they wish to focus on the Minifigures, then it is acceptable to skimp on the set a little bit (although preferably not). On the other hand, if you wish to focus on the set, at least make it half decent. In my opinion neither is fulfilled with these Marvel sets. We need more new figures, and far better sets.

As @legodude mentioned above, a Fantasticar and X-jet seem like such obvious choices for models, it is astonishing that neither has been produced.

Wil348

I actually like the Hydra tank, it's good considering the main focus of the set are the figures. Definite purchase, maybe even the day it comes out. Comic Cap looks amazing too.

Might get the Doc Ock set for Otto, his comic variant looks great, and I might get the Hulk lab set too at some point. I'm hoping that the rumoured X-men sets will be better though.

tabissette

Electro looks more icey than electric to me...

pillpod

Does anyone have actual constructive criticism?...something objective instead of "these sets suck." Is it more that you guys don't want vehicles or that the vehicles don't look like good builds? They don't match the superhero? Fill me in.

HarryPotterLover

So we have Dick Grayson as Nightwing (I know its New 52 based but hiss eyes look a little creepy to me)
Tim Drake as Robin in #6860 and #10937 (10937 seems based loosly on Arkham City were Robin was Tim Drake)
And now Damian Wayne as Robin in #76013

A Red Hood poly on [email protected] would be nice but could be a little dark.

FrictionPin

Well, for me I see classic space when I look at #76018 Hulk Smash Lab. Blue, gray, black and yellow? Can you say early 80's color palette? I'm really not one to criticize any Lego set design but that one really leaves me scratching my head. Lab? I don't think so. Smash? It just looks like three loose wall sections and I do use the words "wall section" loosely.

And who is bankrolling Spider-man in #76016 Spider Helicopter Rescue? Parker has been a broke college student since 1962 ??? Maybe he took some of that cash from #76015 Doc Ock Truck Heist to pony up for the Spider-copter....hmm. Don't even get me started on that Goblin bigfig.

I understand that the draw is the figs, actually that is exactly what I wanted. A better variety of super hero figures is exactly why I would buy these sets. But I would have thought a little more research would have been done on Lego's part to get a semblance of continuity with at least the figs and the sets they comprise. Let alone the sets themselves with other sets. Considering how much material was provided to TT Games when making the Marvel Super Heroes game, I cannot presume that Lego didn't get as much or more comics and related material to use with the creation of the sets under the Marvel license.

So long story short, I will buy these for the figures but if the future sets are going to have crude and unrelated brick built "things" just thrown in they should just release the figures another way. But what I would love even more is to actually have scenes appropriate to the figures therein. Smaller sets are not that hard to accomplish if you get your mind away from "vehicles only". Vignettes anyone?

pillpod

^Fair enough! I actually agree with all of your points.

dr_teng

I'm underwhelmed by some of the newer sets :/ The Marvel universe has so much to draw from and even if you don't want to get into unique stuff - it can't be difficult to come up with good superhero scenarios. The Cap and Doc Ock ones seem the best of the bunch by far though.

Wil348

I'm thankful that they are at least doing comic variants now. There's too many movie based ones IMO.

FrictionPin

^tru dat

turtle1173

In the ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series, Spider-Man is working for SHEILD who provides all his gadgets. So, from my understanding, it's not unreasonable for him to have a spider bike, copter or just whatever SHEILD might decide to provide from R&D.

Aren't these sets still based on the cartoon or have they moved away from that?

GIR3691

Electro looks to have trans-light blue arms and head. That's neat.

I'll get the Captain America set, maybe Doc Ock. Otherwise I'll just Bricklink a couple of minifigures. Too many boring sets, rehashes, and characters I don't care about. Saves me money, so that's fine.

CCC

My first thought - nice - a white hood. It'll be a pain to get hold of them as they are licensed, but I hope they come out in some non-licensed sets.

andhe

Poor old Thor. He always seemed to be encased in labs.

TheLoneTensor

y2josh said:

CircleK said:

I don't get it. I was die hard Marvel growing up, but when it comes to Lego I really like the DC stuff (mainly Batman - I know) and find the Marvel sets to be just meh... The new stuff isn't looking too promising either.

I actually dislike the superhero SETS equally across both brands, but I do feel like the Marvel figures are much more varied and better in general. But again, there's not a single set that I've purchased because I think, "Wow! What a great set!" For me personally, this is a trend that's permeating all of the licensed lines at this point (which I find more than a little troubling).

Even the funhouse? That is a great set, plus great figs. A rare combo.

CapnRex101

^ I like Arkham Asylum and the Batcave too. On the DC side there are some lovely sets, and I like almost every Super Heroes set at the £20 price point so far.

There are far too many sets which are only worth getting for the Minifigures though, no doubt about that.

TheLoneTensor

^ Excellent examples also. Arkham is phenomenal and I don't know why the Batcave didn't get much love, because it's a really fun set.

It is a good question to ask, why do marvel's sets look really weak compared to DC?

CCC

I thought Lex Luthor's mech set was quite fun too.

Ojik

Lex's robot is a perfect example how these sets should look like: it's small and cheap, has three great and unique figs and the build is interesting and extraordinary enough to catch my eye. And more importantly, it is not a bad excuse to sell figs. It's neither a Batman set nor based on a stupid cartoon nor a lousy changed rip-off of some movie scene. I hope there'll be some more sets like this in the future: interesting, not bizarre scenes of good guys vs baddies fights. Same goes for Malibu Mansion Attack.

vitreolum

Here's hoping for a Malibu Mansion in the vein of Arkham Asylum. That would make me shut the **** up regarding Marvel sets for a while.

edited by Yellowcastle for language

CCC

vitreolum said:

Here's hoping for a Malibu Mansion in the vein of Arkham Asylum. That would make me shut the **** up regarding Marvel sets for a while.

That language is really not necessary.

And they are unlikely to do a larger Malibu Mansion any time soon, as they already have one version out. You can also add to it.

vitreolum

Got a bit carried away there, sorry about that. We're still adults here. :)

Yes, I guess it's unlikely to happen; still, if UCS X-wing and regular X-wing can coexist, so could these. Just hoping AA becomes a yearly trend or something like that.

TheLoneTensor

vitreolum said:

Here's hoping for a Malibu Mansion in the vein of Arkham Asylum. That would make me shut the **** up regarding Marvel sets for a while.

You won't see that set Arkhamified because it's too tied to only one character. Marvel has a couple things that could work. Xavier's school would probably be the best because you could populate it with all sorts of X-men. Then there's the Baxter Building, or the Helicarrier.

Me, I'm hoping for modular-level Wayne Manor and Batcave sets, ala a super-sized Jabba/Rancor. As long as it has a bust of shakespeare, I'lll be happy.

mressin

Dunno, the sets look all right to me. Then again, I've never been much into comics, so maybe I simply lack the knowledge to understand why some would be upset about them.

My only regret is that the Batmobile does not feature a trans-yellow 6x10x2 canopy after all (that would have been awesome), and that the batcopter has one, not two, and not in trans-clear.

plantman

I don't like the "Ultimate" versions of any character. I think they suck. I say this because I am old - all of my comics were from the 70's and early 80's. I suppose it's just nostalgia, but those are the character versions I want to buy. Please Lego - I promise I have more money than most kids.

jondesouzaCE

plantman said:

I don't like the "Ultimate" versions of any character. I think they suck. I say this because I am old - all of my comics were from the 70's and early 80's. I suppose it's just nostalgia, but those are the character versions I want to buy. Please Lego - I promise I have more money than most kids.

I agree @plantman. I say yeah, yeah and yeah.

Brickarmor

I know a lot of folks are hoping for a fuller treatment of Xmen. There's a load of character material there, not so sure about sets. So why do we still get Spiderman to the nth degree??!

CCC

Because kids as young as 2-3 know Spiderman.

jonnythunder3483

Marvel is VERY weak in the set designs, methinks.
Their minifigure designs are perfect (for the designs they chose), and they know it. Exactly why they can have such weak set designs because everyone wants the minifigures anyway.

I REALLY wish we got the classic comic versions of the Green Goblin and Electro, not those ugly Ultimate versions or whatever they're from.

The Spider-Helicopter Rescue looks terrible, I see no reason to buy it. I suppose the big-fig Green Goblin is good in that it shows that they'll go ahead and make other big-figs instead of just hulk, but that's it.

Doc Ock set looks okay, at least it's not another Spider vehicle.

The Electro set looks horrible, only because we don't get the classic Electro. Also, more Spider transportation! Though we do get trans arms from the looks of it.

I really like the Captain America se; what looks like the comic version of Cap, The Red Skull, and a HYDRA soldier all in a fairly cheap set that might at least have a few nicely colored parts, even if the tank thing looks plain weird.

The Hulk lab smash looks to have great minifigs but a plain AWFUL set. Taskmaster, MODOK, and Falcon look amazing. It's nice to see the purple pants Hulk but I would have rather had a new character, same with the Thor variant.


I really want to see more locations for Marvel, not vehicles. As was said above, there's plenty of locations to make that are, for the most part, iconic.
Charles Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters could be any size really, anywhere from a Malibu Mansion size up to Arkham. The Baxter Building with the Fantastic Four, I'd love to see some interiors to the Helicarrier. Any of those could be made into great sets with a nice variety of new minifigures that wouldn't really go anywhere else. They really need to make less vehicle sets at this point, enough is enough.

Machetero

Brickarmor said:

... So why do we still get Spiderman to the nth degree??!

Because Spider-Man has a current cartoon as well as a new movie soon to be released that can be tied in. While X-Men may have a movie on the way, there is still no regular cartoon presence other than Wolverine showing up on Spider-Man's show every so often. Also, as someone else mentioned, the youngest of children can pick Spider-Man out. How many young children know who Kitty Pride and Emma Frost are, let alone Helion or X-23?

TheLoneTensor

^ Same reason we get Batman to the even more degree. There's Batman and Spider-Man...then everyone else as far as comic popularity goes.

monkey_roo

It's been said a bit but basically for your average 3-10 year old there is Spider-Man, Batman and Superman and that's about it. The Disney/Marvel deal has done a lot to bring Cap, Thor and Iron Man into the mix but it is early days, although the Earths Mightiest Heroes show is helping with that.
Given the number of super hero films being made and the program being run by both Marvel and DC I think we are going to have years of sets ahead of us, plenty of time to get a good mix of sets and figures, especial if DC build up to a full Justice League film in a few years.
As for x-men the deal with Fox that is now in place for the Simpsons could open that door and we already have the 3rd x-men film title booked in befor the second is out.

As for these sets, they are a bit on the junior side but still fun and I am sure they will be a hit with the target audience, I for one will be grabbing the lot DC and Marvel and loving them.

FrictionPin

Is it just me or does the whole Batman, Superman, Spider-man only angle on kids seem a bit overdone? I totally see the draw as these are the widest known superhero characters by the masses, adults and kids, but I have to wonder.

For years toy companies have been marketing (and selling) other characters to kids in the form of Halloween costumes, action figures, puzzles, sticker books and a boat load of other merchandise. Can we really say that these are the only characters a preteen can relate to?

How about the draw of seeing a cool superhero you didn't know existed? Example, my daughter who is 14 now didn't ever have any interest in superheros until she saw some of the action figures in the store which she thought were very "cool looking". When we got home I convinced her to watch one of the X-Men movies with me (this was a about 3 or so years back). She loved it! Her interest shot up in everyone who was included in the film and also wanted to read the comics to find out more about those who were not. So, it wasn't the movie that drew her in, that only built upon her interest from seeing those completely unknown figures in the store first. Now she is driven to watch every superhero movie that comes out and she doesn't even know who they are before she watches the show. The draw for her is not a specific character but the idea of a superhero in general.

I wish I could express this idea in a better way and share it with Lego.

FrictionPin

Forgot to add my entire paragraph about the Lego Marvel Super Heroes game. I'll save that for later though but it should be changing the mentality of what kind of gift Lego has in that Marvel license.

jediami65

These sets are totally kid themed, watch Disney XD's Spiderman, & Avengers series and sets match what kids see there. My 4 year old loves Spiderman I have already bought him two sets basically just for the spideram, and I keep what he does not want which is most vehicles, Venom, Fury etc. Cant complaint too much I get a lot of parts so we are both happy.

jediami65

BTW started playing the Lego Marvel video game this morning and I have to say it is a lot better than I expected, the control of the characters and weapons is excellent and being able to turn Hulk to Dr. Banner and back AWESOME!!!!!.

legomatt

The thing I don't like about Spiderman's vehicles, is he's meant to get around by web-flinging, right? That's one of the things that makes spidey, well, spidey. (that and his regular teen/life troubles). He fires a web strand and swings through the city, climbs buildings, sticks to ceilings and car bonnets/roofs.
I just don't picture him dashing for his keys and revving up his Batmo... Spidey-subma-copter-cars with all the other gadgeteers.

But I also get it that they've based the release on the new cartoon (i saw an episode of it, it's quirky, has the heroes as a bunch of turtle-like teens, now members of shield (retch!), and living in a technorobothouse). Robot hoooouuuuuse!!! ;oP

So yeah it's fun (in a throwaway 'what if' type way), and the odd joke made me laugh, but ultimately (no pun intended) I'm not a fan of the mangling of characters & retrofitted backstories that these mash-ups create. Characters just lose their identity, and what made any one unique, or story stand out, gets mixed into a big homogenised mush.

Not lego's fault. But I would prefer a few more classic representations (like the figs that came with the Lex Mech), that supers fans instinctively recognise, and dare I say... love?

I'll be picking up maybe a cheap set, but as the builds aren't great, and I don't really identify with the teen-agents version of the figs (or want an army of spideys), I might find my money going elsewhere.

Thanos75

The Daily Bugle set is how I imagine the super hero sets to be. Its got a decent building with good playability and some awsome exclusive minifigs. Its really an under loved set.....much like the Wolverine/Deadpool set.

legomatt

I agree. Daily Bugle is a nice looking set, has a good selection of characters, and isn't an excessively/expensive build, but still retains some substance.

Though I do wish it (and licensed sets in general) came with a generic civilian fig or two for the heroes to save/villains to imperil.

Given the number of spiderman sets, I'm surprised we haven't had a 'plain clothes' Peter Parker set yet, either pre-spidey (perhaps in a class/lab with a specially printed spider). Or incognito (wearing spidey-t-shirt, or in photographer mode).

y2josh

TheLoneTensor said:

y2josh said:

CircleK said:

I don't get it. I was die hard Marvel growing up, but when it comes to Lego I really like the DC stuff (mainly Batman - I know) and find the Marvel sets to be just meh... The new stuff isn't looking too promising either.

I actually dislike the superhero SETS equally across both brands, but I do feel like the Marvel figures are much more varied and better in general. But again, there's not a single set that I've purchased because I think, "Wow! What a great set!" For me personally, this is a trend that's permeating all of the licensed lines at this point (which I find more than a little troubling).

Even the funhouse? That is a great set, plus great figs. A rare combo.

I don't buy the DC sets, so that's not a build I can speak to directly, but just looking at it (having not built it myself), it looks to be the same 'hunk of wall with a bunch of minifigs' that the rest of the non-vehicle sets are. Actually, of all the Superhero sets available, the only one that looked even remotely fun to build (to me) was the Lex Luthor robot, but I didn't get that one either, so I may be nuts.

y2josh

Brickarmor said:

I know a lot of folks are hoping for a fuller treatment of Xmen. There's a load of character material there, not so sure about sets. So why do we still get Spiderman to the nth degree??!

Probably because there's a current Spidey cartoon (though not a very good one).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the forthcoming X-Men sets are the Blackbird, a sentinel and Xavier's School (done right... and not just a giant wall like AA). I'm sure I'm setting myself up for a letdown there, but a guy can dream.

monkey_roo

I guess it is all point if view but I don't really think lego are going too far wrong here. Us older fans might want a broader range of figures but given this line could be around for years Lego won't want to rush at everything. The core of the line is aimed at the younger fan and supporting the current cartoons and to be honest the sets match those shows fine and kids want to recreate those and that's exactly what they can do.
I love the comic world but if we are honest the New 52 universe and the Marvel a Now universe (as they are called) aren't exactly a place for young kids to hang out (some of the stories are extremely challenging and not shy on the gruesome front) so the chances of Lego producing full on sets based on volumes that aren't entirely appropriate for the core of their target audience are low. That isn't to say the odd 'tread' won't be forthcoming and I am sure that more sets along the AA scale will come along but really, the next waves give us Flash, Batgirl, Manbat, Nightwing, Electro, Red Skull, Hydra, Falcon and Modoc all of which are outside the core kid audience and nod to the more 'knowledgeable' comic book fan.

CCC

My kids like playing with the current spiderman car chase / motorbike set.

Until lego perfects web slinging, then spiderman is going to have difficulty getting around without his vehicles. The white string with grips is fairly difficult to play with as a web.

TheLoneTensor

y2josh said:

TheLoneTensor said:

y2josh said:

CircleK said:

I don't get it. I was die hard Marvel growing up, but when it comes to Lego I really like the DC stuff (mainly Batman - I know) and find the Marvel sets to be just meh... The new stuff isn't looking too promising either.

I actually dislike the superhero SETS equally across both brands, but I do feel like the Marvel figures are much more varied and better in general. But again, there's not a single set that I've purchased because I think, "Wow! What a great set!" For me personally, this is a trend that's permeating all of the licensed lines at this point (which I find more than a little troubling).

Even the funhouse? That is a great set, plus great figs. A rare combo.

I don't buy the DC sets, so that's not a build I can speak to directly, but just looking at it (having not built it myself), it looks to be the same 'hunk of wall with a bunch of minifigs' that the rest of the non-vehicle sets are. Actually, of all the Superhero sets available, the only one that looked even remotely fun to build (to me) was the Lex Luthor robot, but I didn't get that one either, so I may be nuts.

You're right about the hunk of wall concept, but that's the price to be paid for Lego. If it were more than that, that $40 playhouse set would be much more. Look at Arkham, that's still only a dollhouse with the wide open back, and not a complete building like say a modular or the HH.

This is why I'm a big fan of multiple sets that complete a model, like Jabba/Rancor. It's still not perfect (you really need 2 Jabbas and 2 Rancors to make it beefy enough), but it's pretty decent for what it is.

vwong19

The Marvel animations on DisneyXD (Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers, and Agents of SMASH) are hard to watch after enjoying Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes the past couple of years. The show got me to appreciate the Marvel universe at its basics identifying their origins and major plot lines from the comics through the years. The show may have been too adult which led to its cancellation after 2 seasons and replaced with what we have now. I didn't grow up reading comics, nor watched early Marvel cartoons, to appreciate how much better the classics are over the new stuff.

I agree with those that love the classic comics. I feel that Lego is best when they represent caricature of characters and the more lifelike the version, the more of the characters identity is lost. Most characters have a classic, modern (ie Ultimates), or movie/tv version. I prefer the classic first, and if there are parallels to be made then the other versions can be offered. Movie Superman (dark tones) is inferior to the classic, and likewise with Captain America and Thor. Those mentioned are really subtle differences, but blue Electro is just wrong compared to the classic green/yellow classic outfit. Ultimaye Hawkeye is bad and I hope to see a classic purple robin hood someday.

From what I have seen and read of Marvel comics, there are not too many recognizable vehicles or buildings. I don't mind that Lego adds random builds to sells sets under the Super Heroes license. I would love to see the Baxter building, Negative zone, Helicarrier, XMen Mansion, but these would be monster builds that probably are best saved and done right perhaps with this license being more established.

Until Lego does blind packs of Super Heroes, I will be happy to surrender my money for inferior Super Heroes sets because the alternative of them not making them is far worse.