LEGO Batman
In another classic case of keyword stuffing from the LEGO Group comes LEGO Batman
Release: January 1, 2025 Price: £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 Pieces: 429 Minifigures: 3 LEGO:
Some people just want to watch the world go by
Let’s start by addressing the fact three-and-a-bit years will have genuinely gone by since the previous minifigure-scale Tumbler was released in October 2021. That was 76239 Batmobile Tumbler: Scarecrow Showdown and came with Batman, Scarecrow and a very similar-looking Tumbler for a 422-piece set priced at £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99.
Skip ahead to now and we get a version of the same vehicle based this time on its appearance in The Dark Knight (where the first one was set within Batman Begins), with seven extra pieces in total, one more minifigure and a side-build of the Bat-signal.
A lot more from a similar piece-count is interesting to consider, as is whether or not it’s worth the additional charge at an RRP of £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99.
First up, the Bat-signal is a lovely touch because of how understated and well-sized it is in design. Whilst it’s still a shame that it’s a sticker, it looks great and doesn’t feel like a tacky add-on nobody asked for. Instead, this thing adds value, feels legitimately relevant to anyone collecting LEGO based on the Dark Knight trilogy and is a great place to start the build for
How about an illusion?
The star of the show in
Some techniques here and there remain the same between the two, but even starting with the interior we’ve had a slight downgrade from a two-seater cockpit to a one-seater, with a couple of stickered parts in place for the console.
The bodywork to the vehicle recolours a few parts that were previously light grey or black into the middle ground that is dark grey, for better or worse, whilst a lot of larger parts to the back-half of the Tumbler and the very front are completely different to the last version of this model.
As a study it’s interesting to see such different parts used to create what at the very end still looks very similar, but most important is that final effect and that’s where 76303 is as strong as 76239 – the scaling across the body of the Tumbler is nicely accurate (as it’s not the simplest vehicle to build right), and the various edges and winglets are also nicely represented, albeit without the top row of the biggest wings which are curiously absent here.
Generally it’s a great addition to the collection of minifigure-scale Batmobiles and a nice centre-point to this set. Is it markedly better than what we had before in a much cheaper set? Sadly, we can’t say that – so the weight on the additional value to find in this set transfers to the extra bits inside the box…
The night is darkest just before the morn'
Have we irritated you enough yet by misquoting The Dark Knight? It’s annoying as it’s the sort of thing anyone who has paid enough caring attention to the film can and should get right, right? Which brings us on to the minifigures included in LEGO DC
Okay, we could have a fair deal on our hands – that Bat-signal is really very nice, and the Tumbler delivers almost as strongly as it did last time, and as you pan across the minifigure line-up there are some very nice designs to get excited about. First up, we’ve got a third-ever version of Heath Ledger’s Joker and for the first time ever in a set priced less than £150. The design for this character doesn’t have arm or leg printing but does everything right in that purple suit print on the torso and in that iconic painted clown face expression to tick a lot of Bat-fan-boxes. Excellent design, long-awaited to be so accessible as this.
Then, we have a first-ever Two-Face minifigure based on his appearance in The Dark Knight. He boasts a very credible torso print and darker left arm to signify the charred remains of Harvey Dent’s suit, a pretty authentic – albeit understandably toned down – face print to represent the physical trauma the district attorney endured, and a brand new and presumably permanently exclusive lopsided hair piece.
Partly out of gratitude for finally getting this character in minifigure form, and partly for some brilliant and authentic details that have been worked into his design, there is nothing to fault this LEGO debut for Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face. He stands out as the main pull to the set on the box and absolutely delivers the satisfaction for anyone picking it up with the sole intention of getting this guy.
And then, we have another version of Christian Bale’s Batm…oh no. It’s that dual-moulded cowl again, isn’t it? Hello big bright-white eyes, hello massively oversized head, it’s been a minute. And by a minute, we actually mean you have only been around for just over a year and by the start of January will have been used in 10 different LEGO Batman sets across several different versions of the character. The piece itself is actually nicely designed and in the right context works brilliantly for the character – but it is being flagrantly misused and overused in sets like this one where it just looks too cartoonish for the world it is being placed in.
It’s not an overreaction to be so disappointed in the use of this cowl here – the equivalent is including a Jack Nicholson-inspired Joker or a LEGO Batman Movie-inspired Two-Face design in the set. Neither version of those respective characters would fit a Dark Knight-themed Batman set, they wouldn’t look right, and they would take away from the illusion and authenticity that the rest of the set does so well to otherwise create in the build and play experience. Same goes for the cowl.
You can absolutely guess that the reason for this piece’s continued use is budget-related and the order to include it regardless of whether it’s appropriate or not comes from above the design team’s head, because every other detail worked into
Whilst that’s our regular rant about that cowl out of the way, it’s important to ask within the context of this set how much it takes away from the overall value we are considering in
As mentioned, the LEGO Group is asking for over 50% more money for this minifigure-scale Tumbler in comparison to the last one that still feels fresh in the memory. There’s a lot to appreciate here across a fresh design for the vehicle itself, a decent side build of a Bat-signal, and two and a half truly excellent minifigure designs. The cowl is hard to look at and takes us back to our misquotes from The Dark Knight – slightly irritating but easy enough to otherwise ignore and not detract from what’s there to love. But this is the last time, LEGO, please don’t misuse that cowl again.
Next time we’ll side with Two-Face and only recommend such a set when priced half off…
Our honest opinion: A great (if imperfect) Tumbler with a clever side build and two and a half excellent and highly desirable minifigures out of three. If you can forgive the use of that cowl for Batman then there’s a set to really love here.
This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.
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