So here we are, in a post-Endgame world, and as the Avengers hype comes to it’s epic conclusion, Spider-Man takes the lead to continue the story of the MCU. As the crowds seeing Avengers: Endgame begin to thin, the good news fellow Marvel fans is that we’re only a month away from the next movie, Spider-Man Far From Home where everybody’s favourite webslinger will be globe trotting through a world where half the population has just been brought back to life and just like Thanos, the tie-in LEGO sets were inevitable…
Pieces: 294
Set Number: 76128
Minifigures: Spider-Man (Stealth), Mysterio, Firefighter
RRP: £24.99/$29.99
I’m sure you’ve all seen the trailers, the scenes in London and Venice where Spidey must take on the elementals and a mysterious fish-bowl wearing ‘hero’ rushing to his aid. Meanwhile, our hero is being pressured into joining SHIELD by Nick Fury because all of the surviving Avengers are way too busy? Yep, well if so then none of the new movie tie-in sets will be a shock as Mysterio and the elemental creatures take front and centre.
There are three sets on offer here, the Molten Man Battle, Hydro Man Attack, and Stark Jet and the Drone Attack, three epic sets containing some brilliant minifigures (all containing Mysterio and a Spider-Man variant). I will be reviewing them all, but let’s start with the cheapest of the three and one that thanks to the trailers we already have some comparisons with the movie to make.
Step forward our first LEGO elemental challenger….MOLTEN MAN.
Minifigures
As I’ve already mentioned, these three sets are heavily weighted towards the movie’s two core characters, Spider-Man and Mysterio and as a result they both appear in all three and while the potential villain is limited to the one design, each of the three sets has a different Spidey to play with.
As this is the first time I’ve had my hands on a Mysterio minifigure, let’s start with him and for anyone that’s seen the character in LEGO form before, the most noticeable thing here is the standard comic-book to MCU design upgrade in armour, there’s a significant amount of detail on the characters torso and legs. As a result of the upgrade in look, we get a much darker colour scheme than fans of the character may be used to, a darker green covering the minifigure as well as a more prominent gold replaces the more yellow colouring of the comic version.
In terms of the design, it’s not unlike the printing on Civil War era Iron Man minifigure, with clearly defined armour plates in the gold and purple colour-scheme fans will be familiar with. It’s interesting to note that one of the fan theories based on the mention of a multi-verse is that this version of Mysterio is actually the equivalent to the Iron Man of his world – I doubt that has even been considered in the design here, but the similarities may certainly hint at that.
The highlight of the front printing for me is the chest plate which meets the cape neckline connections, the geometric pattern of gold, purple and silver makes for a stunning design. Saldy, as with many of LEGO’s caped characters, there is a superb design on the back of the minifigure as well that never gets seen, again providing an impressive armour plating print, it’s just a shame it’ll likely get overlooked due to the fabric purple cape.
The torso armour design continues on to the legs piece with a wonderfully detailed waistline, impressively sharp given the tiny area of plastic to play with. Again, in comparison to the Iron Man armour design, the legs also include metallic looking knee plates and toecaps.
Moving up to the head and rather than a standard head and hair like we’ve seen the character appear as in the movie trailer, this Mysterio is fully armoured. As a result the headpiece is simply solid silver with no facial features or other printing and the goldfish bowl helmet sits over the top.
Moving on to Spidey and we get the first new variant of this wave of sets with the introduction of the Stealth Spider-Man suit also shown in the movie trailer. Given the very different look and feel from the Stark-based suit and Nick Fury’s inclusion in the movie, there’s a very strong chance that in the MCU this suit was developed by SHIELD.
What is impressive with this minifigure is just how much detail is included in the design, they could have kept it quite simple given the all black appearance, but what we get is actually quite special. This time, let’s start with the head, an all-black with silver vertical stripes on the front and back. The printing also includes the stealth goggles briefly shown in the trailer with a strap that is also visible on the back. Despite looking nothing like any Spidey LEGO head that has come before, it’s impressive to note that you can still easily tell who the character is thanks to the attention put into the eye shape – something so simple can make all the difference.
Moving down to the body and this Peter Parker is clearly geared up for stealth with a two-tone grey and black suits that is kitted up with armour plates and pockets. The dual colour scheme is, however, broken up very subtly by silver which is only really visible up close. This is an incredibly detailed Spider-Man variant despite having absolutely no hints on the body that it is the webslinger, you could take the head off and replace it with a standard head and hair if you’re after a spy-looking minifigure – I’m sure this body would make an excellent Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible.
The back of the minfiigure mirrors the front, but with slightly less detail. I’m genuinely surprised LEGO didn’t sneak in a Spidey logo on the design, however, as there are a number of examples in other sets where their designs like to make things a tad obvious. Here, though, nothing to say this is Spider-Man other than the head and a ton of web accessories.
Finally on to our third minifigure and one that in my opinion was not only an afterthought, but not even needed. The fire-fighter is so unimportant that LEGO hasn’t even given him a name, just Firefighter. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have a natural skinned generic character to add to the ranks, but given the other two figures and the value they already add to this set, there really was no need for this figure to be included.
What we do get, however is a fireman unlike any that have shown up in the LEGO City sets of the past few years. The printing detail is a little underwhelming compared to Mysterio and Spidey, but it does more than a good enough job for the purpose of the character. What is the most interesting here is the fire extinguisher accessory that accompanies the minifigure, it’s a bizarre design which incorporates a pistol element, a clip and a red tube piece. I love it, it’s nice to see the little things getting a redesign every now and again.
For the price, you can’t complain at the minifigure selection on offer here and if your budget is tight then it great to see that you can still get a Mysterio minifigure without breaking the bank.
Molten Man
On to the star of the show, the big build of the set and wow is it intricate. While the basic build here essentially follows that of the Hulk busters and other similar mechs, the uniqueness of the character in look makes this a very fiddly and time-consuming build which justifies the slightly higher age recommendation than you tend to find with more general LEGO Marvel sets.
I’ll start by getting my standard LEGO set rant out of the way, there are stickers, including a very annoying circular road sign, but luckily there are only a couple and far from the most fiddly part of the build. They add the minimal additional detail they need to and given how pieces go into the rest of the build it’s understandable as to why the design chose to use stickers where they have. More than making up for this is the awesome translucent lava orange elements that make up a good portion of this monsters body, they look awesome and despite first appearances there are two types to admire, one entirely orange and one with gold printing on the rocky-looking surface. These two variations really do add something special to the final completed model.
As with most builds of this nature, there is little to no difference between the two legs and the bulk of the fun building comes from the torso and arms. As you’re building the monster it can sometimes be difficult to envision the end result and it isn’t until you reach the last couple of pages of the instruction booklet that all the clips and ball joints you’ve added in make full sense. That said, with the exception of the legs, there isn’t much duplication going on here as the creature is far from symmetrical.
In terms of build, the one and only disappoint, in my opinion, comes from the head, it’s just a printed circular plate. Given the intricate detail that the rest of the build has, you’d have expected the design to put the same into the head, in a similar vein to how the LEGO Batman Movie Clay-face was designed, but no, it’s just a printed plate unfortunately.
So what do we actually get on this glorious creature then? Well on the left arm you’ll see a fully working rotating stud shooter and on the right you’re find a clawed hand capable of gripping a minifigure easily. Mixed with a very flexible and poseable body, that’s plenty in terms of play time interactivity. Where this could be a problem for younger LEGO fans, however, is in the extra detail on the elemental. The street signs and street lamp easily could apart with minor rough play and before long you’re going to be rebuilding a good portion of the little pieces which add the most external detail – definitely an issue I discovered myself when I handed Molten Man over to my five-year-old son to have a play with.
The other major issue I’ve found with this particular model is he seems a bit more flimsy around the legs compared to his Hulk buster counterparts and it does seem a lot harder to balance him in certain poses due to being considerably top-heavy. Overall, though, the unique design and new LEGO pieces make this a great purchase.
Overall
As a huge Marvel lover and life-long Spider-Man fan, there’s a lot of draw in this set for the price and despite a very big disconnect between Avengers: Endgame and the tie-in sets, this first Far From Home creation seems very much on point with what we’ve seen in the trailers so far.
The biggest draw with most LEGO superhero sets is obviously the minifigures, especially when it’s a movie tie-in and there’s a new villain coming and this set definitely doesn’t disappoint in that regards. With both a new Stealth Spider-Man variant and Mysterio minifigure included Marvel fans, both young and old, with love what they get here. The firefighter is just an added bonus, though not really needed.
So what about our first LEGO elemental? Well, Molten Man may have a few design issues for play-time, being a little top heavy and includes additional detail which easily comes off, the model is superb, a beautifully unique monster for your collection which includes LEGO lava pieces I’ve never seen before.
It’s the cheapest of the three sets and unlikely to break the bank for most LEGO fans, it’s worth every penny in my opinion.
THE GOOD
- A brand new Spider-Man variant and Mysterio in the cheapest set.
- A brilliantly fun build in Molten Man, an interestingly time-consuming build for the price.
- A lot of bang for your buck, great value for money here.
THE BAD
- Molten Man’s additional detail pieces will break off easily during play time – nothing a bit of rebuilding can’t fix.
- Molten Man is a little top-heavy and difficult to stand at certain angles.
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