Lego Batman 3 One Giant Leap For (bat)man-kind

[Mirtha Hinrichs]

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Sure, I enjoyed what few Marvel Cinematic Universe films I saw (Iron Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange) and I adore the in-progress Spider-Verse trilogy (even though I feel like Across the Spider-Verse could've been 15 minutes shorter and saved its big twist for the next movie), but there's something about DC that just speaks to me more. Where Marvel is grounded and realistic, DC at its best relishes in idealism and optimism. It shows the best we can be and says "you could do that."

Admittedly, DC is very hit or miss, but when they hit, they hit HARD. There is a reason why people cite the DC Animated Universe's shows not only as their favorite iterations of these characters, but also some of their favorite TV shows period. There's a reason why people love the Christopher Reeves Superman films (both of them... we don't talk about III and IV). There's a reason why, even among the clutter of the DC Extended Universe, people cheered and cried watching Wonder Woman (2017). And that's because these characters resonate with people when they're done right.

Naturally, DC seeks to make their characters available through many forms of merchandise. Many toy companies have held the licensing rights to the Justice League, the Lantern Corps, the Legion of Doom, and Batman's rogues- Kenner, Mattel, and currently Spin Master and McFarlane Toys . However, the subject of this article is that Danish building brick system of 91 years.

After three years in the late 2000s making only Batman sets, 2012 marked the beginning of a range of sets focused on the entire DC canon (minus the parts that would be at odds with LEGO's standards). The floodgates were open- we could finally have Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern (every one of them) in minifigure form. However, after 11 years, it seems like we're back to square one: nothing but Batman.

The original LEGO Batman "theme" (as LEGO calls their product ranges) began in 2006 and ended in 2008. These early sets are somewhat archaic by modern standards, but they have their own unique charm. Despite releasing before and during the hype for The Dark Knight, these were based on both Batman: The Animated Series and the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher films of the 1990s.

It's a strange amalgam of aesthetics. Batman's suit seemed to routinely change between blue/gray, black/gray and all black depending on the year, the villains were a mix of their movie and BTAS designs, and the vehicles and buildings reflected Burton and Schumacher's grim, gothic depiction of Gotham City and Batman's vehicles but had wacky, toyetic vehicles for the villains. However, just because it was weird doesn't mean it didn't work. Batman's limited color palette puts him at odds not only with Robin, but also his rogues gallery- something that's been part of the franchise since the beginning.

The closest LEGO got to tying in with the movies was in 2008, where they put Batman in a mostly gray version of Christian Bale's Batsuit and incorporate The Dark Knight's Tumbler vehicle into that year's big ticket set. We'll call this a "stealth tie-in"... and it's not the last time LEGO would do something like this to avoid controversy. 2008 also marked the year where LEGO added Batman to the ranks of Traveler's Tales's LEGO video games. LEGO Batman: The Videogame encapsulated the theme in its entirety, focusing on Batman and Robin's quest to stop the schemes of the Riddler, the Penguin, and the Joker.

The original LEGO Batman game, like the original run of sets, is quite an odd duck compared to what came after it. It's unusually dark for a LEGO game (leaning more into Tim Burton's movies' tone), it has a post-game focused on the villains' preparation for their plans that the Dynamic Duo foil in the main campaign, several characters exhibit traits they wouldn't have in later games (you've heard of "Batman can breathe in space", but I doubt you've heard of "Two-Face is immune to radioactive material"), and it incorporates various vehicles from the City theme for the sake of bolstering Gotham's police force. It's still goofy fun, mind you, but it stands out for those aspects that didn't carry over into future games.

After 2008, the original LEGO Batman theme came to an end for reasons I can only speculate on. Perhaps LEGO felt like The Dark Knight was too dark for them to work with; perhaps they simply thought they'd done everything they needed to (ignoring the fact that the game introduced new characters LEGO still hasn't made into physical minifigures like Mad Hatter or Hush). Regardless of the reason, 2009 seemed to be the end of LEGO's time with the World's Greatest Detective...

2012 marked the beginning of LEGO's Super Heroes theme, one that was split between both DC and Marvel. Like with the Batman sets, there was precedent for LEGO working with Marvel. In the early 2000s, LEGO released sets based on the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. The first movie got sets released under the Studios theme (which was all about moviemaking); the second one got dedicated sets to call its own (including some under the ill-fated "4 Juniors" range).

However, LEGO Batman did not return alone. Amidst a first wave of sets that worked to remake the original 2006 sets (Catwoman on a motorcycle, the Batwing pursuing the Joker's helicopter, the Batmobile pursuing Two-Face after he robbed a bank, a villain breaking into the Batcave) as well as incorporate two ill-fated buildable figures of Batman and the Joker were two sets that included heroes from the larger DC pantheon. One included Superman and Wonder Woman in their battle against Lex Luthor's Kryptonite-powered mech; the other was a buildable figure of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern (which I'm going to assume sold horribly thanks to the failure of 2011's Green Lantern).

With those two sets, LEGO DC Super Heroes went beyond Gotham and expanded into the full DC Universe... well, as much of it that they could tap into without going into kid-unfriendly territory. I was there when the theme launched and when the DC Nation programming block launched on Cartoon Network, airing new episodes of Young Justice (only good for one season; the rest is increasingly edgy dreck) and Green Lantern: The Animated Series (only lasted one season but incredibly good for what it was), and in all honesty, it was quite exciting. While Marvel was a few months away from achieving world domination with The Avengers, DC was reaching out to kids and helping them get introduced to their characters at a level they'd understand.

Unlike the original LEGO Batman game releasing at the tail end of the line, LEGO and Traveler's Tales thought it wise to release a game right at the start of this new theme. Much like the new additions of Superman, Wonder Woman, and the rest of the Justice League, LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes brought something new to LEGO's licensed games. For the first time, the characters could speak! (fluent English, anyway)

The game told the story of Lex Luthor (Clancy Brown, reprising his role from the DCAU) and the Joker (Christopher Corey Smith) teaming up to cripple Batman's tech with a Kryptonite-powered ray gun that breaks them down into their component bricks. Begrudgingly, Batman (Troy Baker) accepts the help of Superman (Travis Willingham) in dealing with the devilish duo and their gaggle of goons. It played much like the first game, save for the additions of characters who could fly and use their other superpowers and an open, free-to-explore rendition of Gotham City full of missions to tackle outside of the main city. From this game onward, many LEGO video games would incorporate the additions of voice actors and open-world exploration.

Overall, 2012 was a familiar reintroduction to Batman in LEGO form and welcome introduction for Superman and Wonder Woman. It was simultaneously a burst of nostalgia and a taste of the new material that was to come. And with DC's plans for the future in mind, LEGO's executives and designers must've been quite excited.

2013 was split between three Batman-adjacent sets and three sets for Zack Snyder's confused Christ allegory Man of Steel. The Batman sets were a mix of purely Batman content: a new version of criminal penitentiary Arkham Asylum, a set directly based on The Dark Knight Rises and its flying vehicle simply known as "The Bat" (with some blue elements a la LEGO's early TIE Fighters to make it presumably more appealing for the kiddies), and a set that featured a white-clad "Arctic Batman" seeking to rescue a frozen Aquaman from a "New 52"-inspired Mr. Freeze. It's one of the few times LEGO engaged in the trend of making environment-specific outfits for the Dark Knight like other toy companies.

Man of Steel, on the other hand, got very dull-looking sets, a product of Snyder's muted color palette he chose for the film. Then again, a lot of the merchandise that film got was brighter and more colorful than it was. The sets were accurate, yes, but they were on the edge of violating LEGO's anti-military policies and had a muddy, dull color palette only broken up by a yellow car in the smallest set. Snyder's grim and gritty aesthetic and LEGO's desire to make fun toys just could not work together when it came to MoS.

2014 was a year dominated almost entirely by Batman content- fitting, given that it was the Caped Crusader's 75th anniversary. We got our first Batgirl, Flash, Man-Bat, and Damian Wayne-as-Robin minifigures, we got a Batmobile inspired by the short-lived Beware the Batman series (killed by Cartoon Network for being too dark), and we got LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham, an interstellar adventure about the Justice League and the Legion of Doom being forced into an unlikely alliance against the megalomaniacal cyborg Brainiac. Oh, and a sarcastic, irreverent, and egotistical Batman appeared in The LEGO Movie.

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