Review: 76302 Superman Mech vs. Lex Luthor
Posted by CapnRex101,
Batman has absolutely dominated the DC Super Heroes range recently, to such a degree that no DC characters outside the Batman Family or his enemies have been available since 2020! 76302 Superman Mech vs. Lex Luthor is therefore very exciting, reintroducing both characters.
These two minifigures are exclusive and they look superb. Of course, we could question why Superman would use a mech, but including Lex Luthor and Superman in an affordable set is of much greater importance.
Summary
76302 Superman Mech vs. Lex Luthor, 120 pieces.
£12.99 / $14.99 / €14.99 | 10.8p / 12.5c / 12.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Superman's long-awaited return comes at a remarkably reasonable price
- Highly appealing minifigures
- Superman's mech is distinctive
- Excellent value for money
- Mediocre articulation
- Superman minifigure could be better
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
It is remarkable to realise that Superman has not appeared in LEGO form for nearly five years, despite his iconic status. Appropriately, this minifigure features a fairly traditional costume, with the famous Superman emblem on his chest and plenty of muscle definition, as expected of the Man of Steel.
However, it is a unfortunate that Superman's typical red trunks are not included. Also, I would have preferred to see his original hair piece return, instead of re-using the element introduced for his Batman V. Superman incarnation in 2016. The older component remains in production in dark orange, so a simple colour change should have been possible.
Lex Luthor often wears a mechanised suit to battle Superman and the megalomaniacal villain has been absent for even longer than his arch nemesis, most recently appearing in 76097 Lex Luthor Mech Takedown from 2018! This minifigure shares certain similarities with that example, but features a brighter shade of green and even more purple highlights.
Much like Superman, the whole design seems distinctly comic-based, which is fitting for Lex's return. The detail is fantastic and I particularly like the bright green accents forming reflections around the midriff, plus the mechanical spine on the reverse. In addition, the trans-bright green shoulder armour looks excellent, giving the figure a bulky appearance.
Lex's head is extremely common and has been used for the character since 2016, but a new head has been produced for Superman, displaying a smile on one side and red laser eyes on the other. Superman has little need for accessories, but Lex Luthor is fully equipped with a stud shooter and a trans-bright green Kryptonite crystal.
The Completed Model
That crystal probably explains why Superman would need a mech and I can imagine Batman building one for just such an eventuality. This model follows the format introduced in 2023, so stands 12cm in height with the minifigure aboard. I find its proportions quite appealing and the bright colours are perfect for Superman, of course.
The static limb elements mean there are no elbow or knee joints, which severely restricts the articulation. Even so, ball joints at the shoulders, hips and ankles, plus adjustable fingers and waist rotation, do allow a fair variety of poses. The large feet are also useful, as you can easily stand the mech on one leg.
Specialised parts form the torso, as they have on previous Super Heroes mechs. Personally, I prefer the Star Wars approach to these mechs because that offers more variety between them, only using the chest component and not the dark bluish grey body piece. Either way, the printed 2x2 triangular tile attached to the front looks excellent, as does the colourful belt.
As usual for these mechs, the body opens to place Superman inside. Seating the minifigure is awkward with his fabric cape and there are no controls, but once the cape is folded neatly, the minifigure fits. Alternatively, you can hang the cape outside the back of the mech, which I think looks quite funny, as pictured at the end of this review.
On the subject of capes, I like the red elements on the back of the mech, doubtless intended to mirror Superman's costume. A pair of thrusters are also found on the back and mounted on 1x1 round plates with bars, so they are adjustable. The few dark bluish grey pieces look out of place to me, but at least those accents continue on the arms.
The legs have always been my least favourite aspect of these mechs and Superman's vehicle fares no better than others. The ankles can only bend forward slightly, so the mech often looks as though it is about to fall backwards, thanks to its perpetually angled knees. They are actually quite stable, but never appear natural in neutral poses.
Overall
76302 Superman Mech vs. Lex Luthor stands out because of its minifigures, of course. Neither one is flawless, but having Superman and Lex Luthor available again is very welcome and I am pleased with Luthor's armoured design in particular, improving on his previous minifigures, in my opinion.
Superman's mech retains the issues of other Super Heroes mechs lately, as its articulation is quite limited and the legs look strange in certain poses. It unmistakably belongs to Superman though and having both characters with the mech in a set costing £12.99, $14.99 or €14.99 is fantastic, offering good value for play and for DC collectors.
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59 comments on this article
As well as the lack of trunks, its a shame that the Superman figure doesn't have red boots, too!
At least the Super-Mech (?) has red boots (Ro-Boots?), I guess!
Why does Superman need a mech?
I really like the thrusters on the back instead of them trying to work in some kind of cape like what they did with the Batman mech, those look so much cooler.
Very nice set, the minifigures are amazing, and the mech is probably one of the best ever at this scale.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Because it’d be harder to sell toys without one…
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
My theory is that he needs it to counter the Kryptonite Luthor brought.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
To protect him from the kryptonite Luthor is carrying, presumably
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Because every other time Lex Luthor has had a mech, so they wanted to spice it up a bit.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Maybe just a weird reference to 6862-2?
I don't care much about Superman, but I am definitely picking this up so that LEGO gives us more non-Batman DC sets!!!
To ironically paraphrase a Batman movie, "It's not about mechs, it's about sending a message."
Can’t say I want it necessarily but I might but it so that LEGO knows we want more DC sets other than Batman. And I could have Superman (or a custom Supergirl) fight Lex (or a custom Lena) in https://brickset.com/sets/6862-2
Including the Kryptonie crystal in the set immediately gives a play justification for the mech and appropriate conflict in a box, even moreso than including Luthor himself. There has been precedent of Superman using technology and wearing suits to protect from radiation, so combining the two concepts here makes the most sense of the format in a while. (That said, the exposed head *does* kinda weaken that form of inherent storytelling, but I'll forgive it.)
It truly is bizarre that they have resisted giving Superman his trademark hair for so long, even with the mold still in use. I get that the Reeves-style hair didn't really fit Cavill, but when aiming for an evergreen look for Superman, the distinct curl fits way better than the more generic-looking mold they've been continuing to use for keychains these past few years.
I understand that the static SCCBS limb parts do allow for anti-stud connection on the knee/elbow and can be a structural benefit in non-humanoid builds, but it's well past time to redo the part to have a ratchet joint, especially if they're going to keep them at a $15 price point instead of a $10. Additionally, the super hero mech team should take notes from the Star Wars mech team when it comes to the feet; I understand restricting forward motion is supposed to be a stability-centric move, but it severely stunts play. Seven points of articulation (no, fingers don't count) is too few; even the maligned 2008-10 Av-Matoran/Agori/Stars builds had wrists.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
You get a mech! You get a mech! You get a mech!
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
You'd be surprised how often Superman needs a mech. See the Return of Superman storyline--Supes came back from the dead, but his powers hadn't reactivated and he had to cross the ocean in a Kryptonian warbot.
Cute little set! Apparently Lego doesn’t plan to retire it until the end of 2028. Not sure if that’s comforting or concerning…
Regardless, it’s great to see an actual new DC Super Hero set that isn’t just Batman or an adaptation of a horrible DCEU flick. This is probably the best Lex we’ve ever had. Superman could use some work. I too miss the old hairpiece they’d use for him. It’s both instantly recognizable as well as just one of the best looking wigs for a figure. I’m not familiar with every one of his comic designs, buts what’s going on with his suit here? Does he just have red belt loops sticking out of his blue spandex? He’s in desperate need of some trunks and some boots, similar to that one Batman figure we got in a minifigure pack with Harley and the Penguin a couple years back.
@WolfpackBricksStudios said:
"I don't care much about Superman, but I am definitely picking this up so that LEGO gives us more non-Batman DC sets!!!
To ironically paraphrase a Batman movie, "It's not about mechs, it's about sending a message.""
Is the message, "please give us more lame sets with bad minifigs of the main character," cause I am pretty sure that is what you are encouraging with this set. This is, at best, a lazy, half-hearted attempt by Lego...I will send a message by not purchasing it. That message, "do better."
@Atuin said:
" @kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Maybe just a weird reference to 6862-2?"
How the tables have turned...
Lexy-boy has zero chances, it's a curbs-tomp battle.
@Studnotontop said:
"Cute little set! Apparently Lego doesn’t plan to retire it until the end of 2028. Not sure if that’s comforting or concerning…
Regardless, it’s great to see an actual new DC Super Hero set that isn’t just Batman or an adaptation of a horrible DCEU flick. This is probably the best Lex we’ve ever had. Superman could use some work. I too miss the old hairpiece they’d use for him. It’s both instantly recognizable as well as just one of the best looking wigs for a figure. I’m not familiar with every one of his comic designs, buts what’s going on with his suit here? Does he just have red belt loops sticking out of his blue spandex? He’s in desperate need of some trunks and some boots, similar to that one Batman figure we got in a minifigure pack with Harley and the Penguin a couple years back."
Hi SNOT! or more politely put.....Good evening Studnotontop. Was wondering how you know the set won't retire until 2028?
Years later with Clark Kent on his dying bed and wife Lois Lane at his side...
Lois: I have to get something off my chest. I'm sorry, but I've been seeing Superman behind your back.
Clark: That's okay, Lois. *I* am Superman.
Lois: That's such a relief, phew. I guess you're Batman too?
@beatnik said:
"Hi SNOT! or more politely put.....Good evening Studnotontop. Was wondering how you know the set won't retire until 2028?"
I’m in a Discord channel for keeping up with leaks. They typically have information on set retirement dates and if they change. How this information is found out is beyond me. I don’t know if there are rules against linking anything like that here, but you should be able to join the Discord if you look around the Reddit board for Lego leaks. Or at the very least you can find a Google doc containing all of that information. (I was actually wrong about this set’s current retirement date. It’s retiring at the end of 2027)
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
No kidding! Like, isn't Superman himself the mech?
I usually don't mind these kinds of sets, but there's just something funny about this one to me.
Hmm, somehow I remeber Lex to be ... better... what set was I looking at? This is a pass
As much as I will be getting this set, I can't help but think that a Lex Luthor mech with a Superman minifigure makes more sense.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
It's to hide the fact that he's gone out in public without wearing his trunks and boots.
Anyone else frustrated by the fact that the ingot on the belt is warm gold but the cheese slopes are yellow? Pick one or the other; mixing like that looks messy.
@Alia_of_AGL said:
"Anyone else frustrated by the fact that the ingot on the belt is warm gold but the cheese slopes are yellow? Pick one or the other; mixing like that looks messy."
I assume the ingot is the buckle one the yellow "belt."
Lex: uses mech to steal kryptonite so he can fight Superman mano-a-mano.
Superman: gets mech.
Hilarious that the mech gets red boots but they cheap out for the mini-figure. hopefully the gunn movie superman minifig gets a bit more effort put in to it
This is super-dumb.
This reminds me of The Return of Superman comics where the original Superman, whom was supposedly killed by Doomsday, regenerates himself within a Kryptonian Battle Armor mech-suit.
Would be cool if they had a Superman fig., black costume with silver emblem.
So this inspired me to do some more research and it looks like this set is the first DC Superheroes non-movie-related set not to feature Batman in some form since 2018, when there were 4 sets (76093, 76094, 76096, and 76098)
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
To finally go up against 6862.
@JoeArkhive said:
"Hilarious that the mech gets red boots but they cheap out for the mini-figure. hopefully the gunn movie superman minifig gets a bit more effort put in to it
"
From what I've been reading from leakers over on Eurobricks, we aren't getting any sets for that film. This is the only Superman set we're getting in 2025.
I actually don't mind the limb elements, but that's because I have enough trouble posing the legs, due to having limited use of my left arm and hand. That said, I would definitely find the lack of knee and elbow articulation a lot more annoying if I were fully able-bodied. Which isn't to say I'd never buy any of these mechs if that were the case. I mean, I bought 76241 just so I could get my hands on a non-bigfig Hulk.
@darkstonegrey said:
" @kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
It's to hide the fact that he's gone out in public without wearing his trunks and boots."
Best answer to this question. And you can tell that at least some of the people asking this question aren't familiar with the Superman mythos, because the real answer is obvious to anyone who knows what Kryptonite does.
Superman would crush this mech suit lol
@Studnotontop said:
" @beatnik said:
"Hi SNOT! or more politely put.....Good evening Studnotontop. Was wondering how you know the set won't retire until 2028?"
I’m in a Discord channel for keeping up with leaks. They typically have information on set retirement dates and if they change. How this information is found out is beyond me. I don’t know if there are rules against linking anything like that here, but you should be able to join the Discord if you look around the Reddit board for Lego leaks. Or at the very least you can find a Google doc containing all of that information. (I was actually wrong about this set’s current retirement date. It’s retiring at the end of 2027)"
Thanks very much. Will look into it. Thought a 3 year run was quite excessive for a set like this. Thanks again for the info :o)
I'm not sure what either of these costumes are based on. Maybe the original designs from Marvel are spreading.
@legoDad42 said:
"This reminds me of The Return of Superman comics where the original Superman, whom was supposedly killed by Doomsday, regenerates himself within a Kryptonian Battle Armor mech-suit.
Would be cool if they had a Superman fig., black costume with silver emblem."
They do have one, but it’ll set you back about five thousand dollars.
https://brickset.com/sets/COMCON029-1/Black-Suit-Superman-Minifigure
@RogueWhistler said:
"I'm not sure what either of these costumes are based on. Maybe the original designs from Marvel are spreading."
@RogueWhistler said:
"I'm not sure what either of these costumes are based on. Maybe the original designs from Marvel are spreading."
Lex is wearing a variant of his “warsuit”. Typically depicted as purple and green, this dates back to the Super Powers toy line of 1980 (because “suit and tie” doesn’t make a vary actiony action figure). It was introduced into comics continuity about three years later, and has appeared on and off ever since. And they do love that design in Billund, as this has to be at least the fourth set to reference it.
Superman…I’m not so sure about. Neither the New 52 nor Rebirth costumes include the iconic red trunks, but neither do they appear to include a yellow belt like this. Both had red belts. But they aren’t the only no-trunks Superman outfits. Cavill’s portrayal dropped them. Johnathan Kent also skips them, but it looks like he has red shoulders. The black solar suit Supes wore after getting killed by Doomsday didn’t have trunks or cape…but it was also black and silver. So there are definitely several costumes that lean in this direction, but I can’t find one that’s an exact match. I’ve had that problem with a few of the Riddler and Penguin outfits as well, but so, so many of the DC minifigs can be positively matched to specific comic appearances that I have to assume nearly every minifig they’ve produced is patterned after an existing design (excluding stuff like the first Mr. Freeze, or a bunch of the costumes shown in TLBM).
@PurpleDave said:
" @RogueWhistler said:
"I'm not sure what either of these costumes are based on. Maybe the original designs from Marvel are spreading."
@RogueWhistler said:
"I'm not sure what either of these costumes are based on. Maybe the original designs from Marvel are spreading."
Lex is wearing a variant of his “warsuit”. Typically depicted as purple and green, this dates back to the Super Powers toy line of 1980 (because “suit and tie” doesn’t make a vary actiony action figure). It was introduced into comics continuity about three years later, and has appeared on and off ever since. And they do love that design in Billund, as this has to be at least the fourth set to reference it.
Superman…I’m not so sure about. Neither the New 52 nor Rebirth costumes include the iconic red trunks, but neither do they appear to include a yellow belt like this. Both had red belts. But they aren’t the only no-trunks Superman outfits. Cavill’s portrayal dropped them. Johnathan Kent also skips them, but it looks like he has red shoulders. The black solar suit Supes wore after getting killed by Doomsday didn’t have trunks or cape…but it was also black and silver. So there are definitely several costumes that lean in this direction, but I can’t find one that’s an exact match. I’ve had that problem with a few of the Riddler and Penguin outfits as well, but so, so many of the DC minifigs can be positively matched to specific comic appearances that I have to assume nearly every minifig they’ve produced is patterned after an existing design (excluding stuff like the first Mr. Freeze, or a bunch of the costumes shown in TLBM)."
I don't know of any version of Luthor's warsuit that matches this, though. Previously there's been his 2000's Ed McGuinness redesign and the suit he wore starting with Forever Evil, along with another one I don't recognise.
Superman's triangular belt buckle reminds me of the Superman Returns costume with a second S-shield on the belt, which also showed up in comics at the time, but that costume had trunks, and I'm not sure what the lines on his shoulders are meant to represent.
@RogueWhistler:
I didn’t read many Superman comics, aside from the Death Of and some one-shot graphic novels (mostly of the Elseworlds or “vs Aliens” variety). I couldn’t point you at a single instance of the warsuit that any LEGO release is meant to depict, just that there are no less than three minifigs (including this one) and one mech (probably 2-3) that use that basic color scheme. I know even less about the Superman trunks vs belt situation. Heck, I’m a huge Batman fan, and it still took me several years to finally identify the black Batsuit from 2006 as being from the Troika storyline.
It's increbibly stupid that Superman in in a mech suit fighting Lex Luthor. So obviously should have been the other way around.
At least something different for DC SH besides the same old Batman set.
@Elberik said:
"It's increbibly stupid that Superman in in a mech suit fighting Lex Luthor. So obviously should have been the other way around."
Now, it would look _really_ weird if Lex was fighting Superman while piloting a Superman mech...
@PurpleDave said:
" @legoDad42 said:
"This reminds me of The Return of Superman comics where the original Superman, whom was supposedly killed by Doomsday, regenerates himself within a Kryptonian Battle Armor mech-suit.
Would be cool if they had a Superman fig., black costume with silver emblem."
They do have one. COMCON029, but it’ll set you back about five thousand dollars. @legoDad42 said:
"This reminds me of The Return of Superman comics where the original Superman, whom was supposedly killed by Doomsday, regenerates himself within a Kryptonian Battle Armor mech-suit.
Would be cool if they had a Superman fig., black costume with silver emblem."
They do have one, but it’ll set you back about five thousand dollars.
https://brickset.com/sets/COMCON029-1/Black-Suit-Superman-Minifigure"
Ah, yeah, I forgot, thx Dave.
Got the solution though, use legs roughly with that pattern from the Man of Steel Kryptonians, then just a black torso, Superman head/wig and get a knock off brand bandlier and sci fi weapons from BrickArms and we got the Return of Superman version.
Possibly I can find a knock off black torso with silver 'S' emblem too.
@legoDad42:
I kinda feel like I have a repro of the black suit Superman. Certainly there's no way to replicate it with stock parts, though you could come close if you get the Target Cube Superboy (black t-shirt with a red S logo).
@Atuin said:
" @kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Maybe just a weird reference to 6862-2?"
Does anyone know why this set is not listed as 6862-1 on Brickset and BrickLink?
@StarWarzFan7777 said:
" @Atuin said:
" @kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Maybe just a weird reference to 6862-2?"
Does anyone know why this set is not listed as 6862-1 on Brickset and BrickLink?"
Because of the existence of 6862-1.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @StarWarzFan7777 said:
" @Atuin said:
" @kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
Maybe just a weird reference to 6862-2?"
Does anyone know why this set is not listed as 6862-1 on Brickset and BrickLink?"
Because of the existence of 6862-1."
Thanks, I have heard of them accidentally using the same numbers before but figured that was not the case here. I see that I could've easily found it in the database but I was looking at BL inventories for variations.
@kyrodes said:
"Why does Superman need a mech?"
maybe he's under the influence of kryptonite. That's the only possible explanation
I know I'm not the target audience for this set, but I absolutely hate these prebent elbow/knee pieces, at least for replacing proper articulation.
Other than that, the mech looks pretty cool, the whole set actually. I only wish Superman had his red boots.
But given the elbow piece atrocity, it's no wonder Lego would cut every possible corner on this. It could be much better.
The Supermech is a necessity if Superman is fighting a kryptonite-wielding Lex Luthor - which is the case in this situation - so this set makes perfect sense. It’s a nice set, and I’m looking forward to more non-Batman (or at least more heroes than just Batman) DC sets.
isn't this supposed to be the other way around?
For the ones that said the mech is probably to protect himself from Luther’s kryptonite…
What about his exposed head??
I get that there is no possible explanation for this set, and certainly not an explanation that appears in the review and about 64 of the subsequent comments, but what we should really be asking is … how does it compare to the shadowbox version?
@DoctorZander said:
"As well as the lack of trunks, its a shame that the Superman figure doesn't have red boots, too!
At least the Super-Mech (?) has red boots (Ro-Boots?), I guess!"
I rather prefer him with his trunks not visible but you are right it seems wrong without the red boots. I do like the Lex figure a lot better tho.
Wonder if we might get a Steel mech and minifigure at some point.
I'm not sure I would go so far as to say highly appealing figures? We have had loads of superman already and quite a few Lex. Of course, they will always be popular but highly appealing?