No joke, there was a point in time when Joker had his face removed, and hung onto him loosely.
Though I have not covered a lot of DC content on the two sites, it is not
something I ignore (unlike some people in the whole "Marvel vs DC"
battle). The truth is that I enjoy a lot of DC's animated content, from the
animated movies of the old DCAU, to the silly one offs like Batman verses the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (yes that is a thing), to the shows on both
extremes of the argument. Though I haven't seen a lot of Teen Titans, I'll
admit I've gotten a lot of laughs from the Justice League Action clips I've
seen, though some of the designs are questionable. In regards to the Lego side
of DC, a lot of the DC sets fall into the same category as the Star Wars sets
lately, in that it feels like I'm seeing the same sets over, and over, and over
again, due to the reliance on Batman.
Objectively, this is not a surprise. He is the most popular superhero DC
has, and thanks to the fact that his powers are all about equipment he makes,
including vehicles, it only makes sense that he gets the lion’s share, to the
point where the DC superhero brand started life as just a Batman line. Unlike a
line like Star Wars, there is not a lot that could be done outside of what they
are doing. Are there things I would still like to see? Of course, show me
Batman Beyond sets and you have my money immediately, but even then, options
are limited. A set like Queen Watevanabi (I think that is how you say that
name), but it is full of translucent pieces themed around Lantern Constructs?
The Fortress of Solitude? Invasion of Apokolips that gives an excuse to make
minifigs based on characters that have not been done in Lego form yet, though
the DC Supervillains teases, such as the Young Justice crew? ...Ok that last
one might be cool, but I digress. With the focus on Batman though, every now
and then you get something aimed at older audiences, such as today's subject,
the new Batmobile.
Starting with the Minifigures, and the two we have are really the only two
needed, Batman and The Joker. While The Joker Minifigure is well done, giving
off a mix of the Tim Burton and DCAU designs, with the only big complaint I
have with it being the green sleeves, it would have been great if they were in
purple, Batman has some problems... Like with the Captain America Minifigure
from the Avengers Endgame sets, and the Mercy from Overwatch, Batman's face
suffers from a bad paint application. What helps hide it though is Batman's Cowl,
as the eyes are still painted well. While it is avoidable, it is hard to deny
that it is bad, especially because we have seen better prints done for this Minifigure
before. I have heard reports that Mercy had four coats of paint, and it would
be safe to assume that the same could be said for Cap and Batman; it leads me
to believe that the paint quality went down this year, and I cannot help but
wonder why.
As for the build itself, this is very reminiscent of the Batmobile from the
Tim Burton movies. Not one for one, but within the ballpark that many are
willing to look at it as such. The two big differences are the front, where the
jet engine on the Batmobile from the movies are hidden by one of the new bat Sigel
pieces, and the bat wings are completely off, due to the nature of the pieces
used. That being said, I would not be surprised if people have already made modifications
to make it more accurate to the movie. What I do like about the shaping of the
Batmobile is that it is not much wider than normal Lego cars. I've heard that a
lot of people stick to a 6-8 stud wide limit when designing Lego Cities, and
this is roughly 8 studs wide (give or take two thanks to the rim covers on the
wheels). The appeal is definitely in the shaping and not in the functions
though, because while the shape and styling look great, especially with the
silver details on the side, there are not a lot of functions. You can put a
single minifig into the driver’s seat without needing to remove parts, there
are two stud shooters, and the fire on the back spins as you drive. Nothing
exciting, but there is not a lot of room to add more features without
compromising the build. Maybe a steering system without the need of "Hand
of God steering"? However, that would probably need new parts. The
underside of the car is messy though, with large gaps that could have easily
been filled in. The only other minor complaint I really have is that I would
have liked somewhere to store Batman's Batterang. It is a small thing, but I
really appreciate it when Lego vehicles have dedicated storage for Minifig
gear, rather than just "try to fit it in the cockpit". None of these is
deal breakers for me, just things to note. It should be said that this is meant to have some playability with the other sets in the wave, such as being able to drive through the Bat Cave, but I only have this set so I can't vouch for that feature.
There is not much more to say, this is a solid car, and a good price
considering what you get. What issues I have with the build itself are minor,
with the only big issue being Batman's head. This is something I hope is sorted
out soon, because this should be inexcusable. How it keeps happening without
official comments is beyond me. I hope that it is addressed in the future,
because this comes off as cheap, lazy, and honestly, the kind of quality I
would expect in a knock off.
