Review of Batman - DC Superheros construction set

Introduction

I love Lego. My son really loves Lego. We have a house full of them, and yet I almost never review them.

I'm making an exception tonight for the cool new large Batman action figure they've just released. Very similar in design to their Bionicle and Hero Factory lines, Batman can be joined by Green Lantern, the Joker, and even Lex Luthor so far. I'd expect we'll see others, depending on the success of these first sets.

Toys R Us is the first place these are showing up, although I'd bet the farm that other mass market retailers will have them very soon as well.

Since this is a building toy, I included a couple photos showing the figure during the build stage. Since it's pretty easy to pop the armor and parts on and off (and swap them with other characters), it adds to the overall play value quite a bit.

Packaging - ***
For the package shot, I used the Joker box, just so you could also get a look at that figure as well. The packaging is identical outside of the personalization.

The large-ish box is plenty big enough to hold the 50+ pieces, but it is glued and heat sealed tight - you'll have to destroy it to remove the parts.  Remember, this is a toy, not a collectible.

The back of the box shows Green lantern as well (at least in the case of Batman), and points out that you can swap and mix the armor and accessories.

Sculpting - ***
If you're looking for extreme realism, you'll want to look someplace else. That's not what these are all about, and it's not even appropriate to expect anything like that.

But the head sculpt on Batman (and Joker, for that matter) are done in a great comic book/animated style, with simple lines and classic expressions.

The rest of the body and armor is almost identical between the two. There's a few differences in the attachments, but not much - the Joker even has the large claw-like attachments for his back.

The detail work on Batman's armor is pretty basic, but it has a very robotic look and feel to it. There's also a bit of a Samurai or Far Eastern influence to the design, making them a rather unique combination of styles for a Batman figure.

The 50 odd pieces are all designed to snap together cleanly, and assembly is easy for even kids as young as 6. I'm betting younger kids would have little trouble as well, but the box says 6, and I don't want to argue with Lego.

These guys are fairly large as well. Assembled, the top of the claws reach about 9", with the figure approximating a 7" to 8" scale. Again, these would fit in great with the basic Bionicle's or Hero Factory figures.

Paint - ***1/2

There's not a ton of true paint work here (the lower face and eyes on Bats, for example), since most of the pieces are just cast in the appropriate color. Still, the work that is here is clean and neat. The tampo style emblem is straight and centered, and the blue and black color scheme of the armor is a good choice.

The one thing pulling the score down a bit is the odd swirls on the silver blades of both swords. These look like manufacturing artifacts, and hurt the overall appeal slightly.

Articulation - ****
Now here is where a toy like this really shines! All the joints are true ball joints - neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles - and they all have a fantastic range of movement.

There are additional balls in between the joints where the armor attaches, allowing it an excellent range of mobility as well. While it's true that once you get all the armor and accessories attached things get a *little* more restricted, this is still one of the best articulated mass market figures you'll find.

While I usually gush over a good ball jointed neck - and believe me, the one here is excellent - it's the ankles that are probably the highlight this time around. Notice that in the photos, even in the deepest stances, the large feet can remain flat on the ground. That's a huge plus for the more difficult and complex stances!

Accessories - ***1/2
I'm counting his two deadly looking blades as the accessories. The post on each is not round, but rather cross shaped. That means it fits tightly and won't easily drop out, but can't turn inside the connecting holes in the fists.

Because the bladed weapon is two separate pieces, it can be held in only one hand or split up between the two.

I suppose you could also count the back harness with the four claw-like attachments as an accessory, since it pops on and off easily enough. All the armor does as well, so defining what's the accessory here and what's not is pretty much up to you.

Fun Factor - ****
Lego makes terrific toys. They have it down to a science, and these show off the best features of their Bionicle/Hero Factory style. It is a bit of a weird combination for Batman, since they end up seeming a bit robot-like, but there's no debating how much fun they are. Don't forget that you're getting two toys in one here: the building toy that you'll enjoy putting together, and the cool action figure with swappable parts that you'll have fun playing with later.

It's also worth noting that the armor and weapons should be swappable between not just Batman, Joker and Green Lantern, but with other figures by Lego in this same style. That adds a whole 'nother dimension!

Value - **
Toys R Us is selling these guys for $20 each, while the average unlicensed Bionicle goes for $10 or so. These are very similar, and the price is really due to the licensing (and of course, their belief in the intrinsic value of the Batman label). I'm not completely convinced that you're getting that much more in value, but if you've gotten accustomed to the usual $15 - $20 mass market action figure, then the price on these is going to feel a bit more on the average side. They're big, they have a ton of articulation, the quality is top notch, and they are terrific toys - far few of the current action figure crop can say that.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. These are built for play, and they can clearly take it and come back looking for more.

Overall - ***1/2
I love Legos - they are one of the greatest toys ever developed. I bought and built many of the previous Batman sets, and I'm looking forward to picking up any of the new ones that are unique enough to warrant the price tag.

But I do have to admit that this funky Hero Factory style of body and design is a little weird when combined with this license. It sort of reminds me of a robot version of Batman sent to battle a robot version of the Joker - but when it comes to kids, that's not a bad thing. Collectors might have a bit of an issue with it, but kids will love the concept.

Keep in mind that this is an action figure with interchangeable parts first - not a building toy. Any age appropriate kid will have this thing put together without a glance at the instructions in 5 minutes, so if you're looking for the thrill of the build, stick with the larger sets like the Batcave.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***
Sculpting - ***
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ****
Accessories - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Your best bet locally right now is Toys R Us, where I've heard these are starting to show up. I bought mine off their website.

Related Links -
Some other past Lego reviews include:

- this guest review of the very cool Death Star.

- my look at one of the Indiana Jones sets.

- I also checked out the Lego Batman/Two Face set from a few years ago.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!