Lego Super Heroes
Lego Super Heroes is a theme and product range of the Lego construction toy, introduced in 2011, owned by The Lego Group and licensed from DC Entertainment, Marvel Entertainment, Warner Bros., The Walt Disney Company and Pixar.
Overview
The theme features various superhero characters who have appeared in the DC Universe and the Marvel Universe and their film series and Pixar's The Incredibles franchise. Lego Super Heroes aimed to recreate the main characters in Lego form, including DC Universe superheroes and Marvel Universe superheroes.Lego Batman existed as its own franchise from 2006 to 2008 before the official Lego DC Universe Super Heroes brand name was launched in late 2011. Lego Spider-Man sets were first released in 2002 and 2003, based on the 2002 film and its sequel as part of the Lego Studios theme. Lego Marvel Super Heroes sets based on the broader Marvel Comics universe and the Marvel Cinematic Universe were first launched in April 2012. Meanwhile, Lego The Incredibles was launched in June 2018 to feature alongside the 2018 animated film Incredibles 2.
Lego Batman and Lego Spider-Man sets released before the inception of the main theme in 2012 are retroactively considered to be part of Lego Super Heroes. Multiple video games and short films based on the theme were also released. Sets and figures of the theme also appear as a part of the Lego Minifigures theme, Lego Dimensions, Lego Juniors, Lego Duplo, Lego Disney, Lego Brick Sketches, Lego BrickHeadz and Lego Art. The Lego Group additionally also released two feature films featuring DC characters and a Batman adaption as well as associated Lego themes.
Development
Lego DC Super Heroes was inspired by the DC Universe. The construction toy range was based on the DC Universe franchise and developed in collaboration with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The construction sets were designed to recreate the story and characters of the DC Universe franchise in Lego form.Lego Marvel Super Heroes was inspired by the Marvel Universe. The construction toy range was based on the Marvel franchise and developed in collaboration with Marvel Entertainment. The construction sets were designed to recreate the story and characters of the Marvel franchise in Lego form.
Construction sets
According to BrickLink, The Lego Group released a total of 450 Lego sets and promotional polybags as part of Lego Super Heroes theme.The first wave of sets released included nine sets from the DC Universe line. The largest of the sets was Arkham Asylum Breakout which included 1619 pieces and eight minifigures. In addition to the first release, two promotional polybags were also released under the DC Universe line, Batman Jetski and Batmobile. Nine new sets were released later in 2012 under the Marvel Universe line.
Prior to the first wave of sets, Lego had given away five different minifigure promotional sets at comic conventions in the United States. At the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con, a Green Lantern minifigure and a Batman minifigure were given away to raffle winners and at New York Comic Con the same year, the minifigures of Green Lantern, Batman and Superman were given away at the DC Comics booth. In July 2012, four more exclusive minifigures were given at New York Comic Con to raffle winners - Shazam!, Phoenix, Bizarro and Symbiote Spider-Man. One year later, four more minifigures - Green Arrow, Black Man of Steel suit Superman, Spider-Woman, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suit Spider-Man were released at NYCC.
Lego have also released an accompanying magnet set under the Super Heroes theme. It is a three piece magnet set consisting of the Batman, Robin and The Joker minifigures each attached to a magnetized brick.
In November 2022, Lego designer Mark Stafford discussed the reason for less Lego DC sets in 2022 and explained, "At the moment. We are the Super Heroes team and would love to explore Marvel and DC. Personally, I hope we can get to the point of producing as many DC sets as we are Marvel. The reason for the current disparity between them is primarily to do with what children and parents are most familiar with."
DC Universe
''Construction Figures''
Three sets were released on 1 January 2012. They are 4526 Batman, 4527 The Joker, and 4528 Green Lantern, which were all buildable construction figures.''Comics''
During San Diego Comic-Con 2012, exclusive Shazam and Bizarro minifigures were given away as part of a raffle draw.During 2013's SDCC, Black Suit Superman and Green Arrow minifigures were given away. That same year, Toys "R" Us stores had The Joker's Mech minibuild available.
During SDCC 2014, Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was released as an exclusive minifigure given away to attendees. In the same year, Toys "R" Us stores had the Batman Bat Signal minibuild available.
During SDCC 2015, the exclusive Arsenal minifigure was given away to attendees. In addition, the exclusive Action Comics #1 Superman vignette set was also available, paying homage to the classic comic cover featuring Superman's debut.
In 2016, the 30604 Cosmic Boy polybag was released together with Lego DC Comics Super Heroes Justice League: Cosmic Clash. In addition, Atom was released as an exclusive minifigure given away at SDCC 2016.
In 2017, the DC Comics Super Heroes Build Your Own Adventure book by Dorling-Kindersley was released, containing 11914 DC Comics Super Heroes Build Your Own Adventure parts and an exclusive John Stewart Green Lantern minifigure. Furthermore, an exclusive Vixen minifigure was given away at SDCC 2017.
During SDCC 2018, the exclusive 75996 Aquaman and Storm promotional set was available to attendees. In addition, an exclusive Black Lightning minifigure was released to convention attendees as well.
During SDCC 2019, the event exclusive 77903 The Dark Knight of Gotham City vignette set was available to commemorate 80 Years of Batman. An exclusive Zebra Batman minifigure was also released for the event. In addition, since 2019, various DC Universe minifigures ranging from Batman and Superman to The Joker and The Penguin were released as magazine gifts with the Lego DC Magazine.
Based on the Supergirl TV series, an event exclusive Supergirl minifigure was released exclusively through a DC FanDome 2020 raffle. In addition, a limited 77906 Wonder Woman was also released in conjunction with DC FanDome exclusively on Lego's official online store in the US and Canada. These exclusives were originally made for SDCC 2020, but were repurposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
''Batman''
Five sets were released on 1 January 2012. They are 6857 The Dynamic Duo Funhouse Escape, 6858 Catwoman Catcycle City Chase, 6860 The Batcave, 6863 Batwing Battle Over Gotham City, and 6864 Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase. In addition, 30160 Batman Jetski and the microscale 30161 Batmobile were released as promotions in 2012.On 1 January 2013, 10937 Batman: Arkham Asylum Breakout, and 76000 Artic Batman vs. Mr. Freeze: Aquaman on Ice were released, with the 30166 Robin and Redbird Cycle polybag released as a promotion.
Three sets were released on 4 January 2014. They are 76010 Batman: The Penguin Face off, 76011 Batman: Man-Bat Attack and 76012 Batman: The Riddler Chase. Later, on 18 February, 76013 Batman: The Joker Steam Roller was released. In addition, microscale 30301 Batwing polybag was released as a promotion.
On 1 January 2015, 30303 The Joker Bumper Car was released as a promotional polybag. Later, two sets were released on August 2. They are 76034 Batboat Harbour Pursuit and 76035 Jokerland. Both sets were also alternatively rereleased together as 5004816 Super Heroes DC Collection on 22 August.
On 1 March 2016, 76053 Gotham City Cycle Chase was released. Later, three sets namely 76054 Batman: Scarecrow Harvest of Fear, 76055 Batman: Killer Croc Sewer Smash and 76056 Batman: Rescue from Ra's al Ghul were released in June–August. In addition, 30606 Nightwing was released as a promotion the same year.
Three sets were released on 1 August 2018. They are 76110 Batman: The Attack of the Talons, 76111 Batman: Brother Eye Takedown and 76112 App-Controlled Batmobile.
Two sets were released on 1–2 January 2019. They are 76116 Batman Batsub and the Underwater Clash, and 76117 Batman Mech vs. Poison Ivy Mech. Later, on 12 June, a total of 6 more sets were first released. They are 76118 Mr. Freeze Batcycle Battle, 76119 Batmobile: Pursuit of The Joker, 76120 Batwing and The Riddler Heist and 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion, as well as the Lego Juniors sets 76137 Batman vs. The Riddler Robbery and 76138 Batman and The Joker Escape. These sets were made available to the US and Canada on later dates, July 1 and August 2.
Three sets were released on 1 June 2020, then on 24 August for the US and Canada. They are 76158 Batboat The Penguin Pursuit!, 76159 Joker's Trike Chase, and 76160 Mobile Bat Base.
On 1 January 2021, the 40453 Batman vs. The Penguin & Harley Quinn blister pack was first released. Later, on 26 April, Lego Juniors set 76180 Batman vs. The Joker: Batmobile Chase and 76182 Batman Cowl were also released, though the latter was first released on April 2 in the US and Canada.
In 2022, 76220 Batman versus Harley Quinn was released on 1 October 2022. The set consists of 42 pieces and 2 minifigures of Batman and Harley Quinn.
In 2023, 76264 Batmobile Pursuit: Batman vs The Joker was released on 1 August 2023. The set consists of only 54 pieces and 2 minifigures of Batman and an exclusive Joker.
''Superman''
On 1 January 2012, 6862 Superman vs. Power Armor Lex was released. In addition, 30164 Lex Luthor was released as a promotion with preorders of the video game Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.In 2018, the 30614 Lex Luthor polybag was released as a promotion.