Review: 76044 Clash of the Heroes
Posted by CapnRex101,
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice is shaping up to be one of the most exciting film releases of 2016 and three sets based on the movie have been released. The smallest of these is 76044 Clash of the Heroes which contains two minifigures, the eponymous heroes Batman and Superman, alongside a tiny model of a Gotham rooftop.
It is not at all unusual to see two of the most important characters from any given comic book movie appear in the smallest set of a wave, but rarely do the minifigures look as impressive as these. Both are exclusive to this set, although only due to the absence of dual-moulded legs in Superman's case, while Batman wears his armoured suit which appeared in the very first teaser.
Minifigures
The two minifigures are undoubtedly the most interesting aspect of this set. Superman features a brand new hair piece which is nicely textured and resembles Henry Cavill's hairstyle in the movie quite closely. The same piece will appear again in the Captain America: Civil War sets, albeit in a different colour.
The head is printed with two expressions, one smiling and the other angry with glowing red eyes to represent the Man of Steel's heat vision. It would have been nice to see an angry or determined face without the heat vision but I also appreciate the smile which is hopefully indicative of a slightly more upbeat tone than the grim nature of the first movie.
Superman's famous suit has also been brightened in Batman V Superman and this is reflected in the minifigure which is far more colourful than that which appeared in the Man of Steel line from 2013. There are more patches of blue printed on this torso than there was on the older one, although the base colour of dark blue has remained the same. The cape, which covers some intricate printing on the back of the torso, has also been updated and is made from the new spongy material.
Batman in his armoured outfit is probably the more exciting of the two minifigures as every one of its constituent elements is new or appears in a new colour. The helmet makes use of the older cowl element in pearl dark grey which is reasonably faithful to the source material but the ears should be significantly shorter. The head is new and glows in the dark to create the effect of the bright white eyes seen in the trailer. I really like the expression printed on the head which looks suitably aggressive for a brawl with Superman.
The chest armour has appeared before in the Ultra Agents range as well as Series 13 of the Collectable Minifigures but never in pearl dark grey, at least not without some additional printing. The segmented armour looks superb and there are clips for a pearl silver batarang and a grapnel to be stored on the back. The torso printing underneath is incredibly detailed and it is a bit of a shame that the armour covers it up! Batman's new insignia is emblazoned across the chest and the detailing continues onto the back, although this is obscured by a grey cape which is clamped beneath the armour.
The legs are equally impressive and the intricate printing continues, although I am not keen on the purple highlights around the knees. In addition to the grappling hook and batarang clipped to his back, Batman also comes with a new grapnel launcher, a Kryptonite launcher and a Kryptonite crystal. The grapnel launcher can be used with the hook or fitted to the stud-shooter to form a longer weapon which is reminiscent of Batman's interchangeable gadgets in the Arkham video game series.
The Completed Model
Many Super Heroes models are little more than a piece of scenery for the minifigures but this is a particularly stark example of the practice. The tiny rooftop is packed with play features but looks rather messy in my opinion due to the muddled colour scheme and strange assemblies which are stuck on somewhat haphazardly.
The railing at the front of the model has a pair of guns mounted on it which can be angled up and down. The orange antennas look bizarre but could be used to represent Superman's heat vision, so are not completely useless. This is only attached using a single stud and can therefore be knocked off very easily. A Super Jumper is included to facilitate this although I would not recommend using it as they are known to damage minifigure legs. Thankfully this element does not appear in any of the other Super Heroes sets released so far this year and I hope it will be retired altogether soon.
Additional ammunition for the Kryptonite launcher is found inside a green box and there is a spot for the Kryptonite crystal to be placed as well. The plunger at the back of the model is intended to send a minifigure flying through the railings and this works reasonably well despite its simplicity.
By far the most interesting aspect of this little build is the 4x4 dish element which is printed with the new Batsymbol and is mounted on a hinge to form the Batsignal! This looks decent thanks to the printed dish but the mounting lacks detail and I think a larger and more detailed attempt to create the Batsignal, perhaps even one which could light up, would have been a far more appealing prospect than the mediocre rooftop.
I should mention that the dish can be launched as a flick fire missile which is another fairly worthless feature in my opinion but I suppose it increases the play value a little.
Overall
The set as a whole is not particularly interesting but the minifigures certainly are. Whether or not you should purchase this set depends on whether you are planning to buy 76046 Heroes of Justice: Sky High Battle. If you are then the only value of this set is in the armoured Batman and the printed Batsignal element, which are not worth the price of £11.99 or $12.99 in my view.
However, if you are not going to purchase 76046 then I think this set is well worth having. The two minifigures alone offer a huge amount of play value and they both look superb despite the odd inaccuracies. If nothing else then the rooftop does include some nice pieces such as a green crate and a dark tan 8x8 netted plate, so is at least a decent parts pack.
JANGBRiCKS' Video Review
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21 comments on this article
Thoughts;
- The lack of dual leg molding is inexcuseable for Superman, especially when the higher sets have the dual molded legs.
- The build itself seems small and tacky, would have just preferred a large bat symbol with a light brick inside
- All the functions in this set seem tacky and don't really fit the idea of anything other than 'explode the roof'
- New hair piece does not fit Superman
- Batman should have had the working grapple from the Ninjago sets
- Batman armour does not match film at all and does not feel like an acceptable substitute
- Happy Superman head does not fit this version of Superman and the lack of a mutual expression means we cannot recreat scenes of Superman doing anything other than firing his eyes or smiling
^someone got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning! :P
What is a "mutual expression"?
If that batman was in a large set he would sell for £12 easy on his own, I think this is a great set.
Wait. So the bat-cowl with short ears that's perfect for this figure ISN'T being used for this figure? Why?! Also, Superman's hair looks stupid and unfitting. And restricting boot printing to the largest set is blatant cash-grabbing and obnoxious.
Super Jumpers DO NOT damage minifig legs if you put the minifigs on correctly. I have one of those, I've tried, and the way shown in the diagram in the instructions-- look at the instructions PDF --will NOT damage the legs. This diagram has been added so no legs get damaged!
That grapple gun piece makes me hope that maybe Chase McCain might use it if he appears in Lego Dimensions as a Lego City representative. It's a good enough representation of the grapple gun from Lego City Undercover.
76046 Heroes of Justice: Sky High Battle have superman with dual moulded legs
Looks a cheap way to get both main characters from the film and pieces.
Tell me, do you bleed? You will.
I liked the set okay. I don't play with my bricks, so I didn't build it. But it looks to get the job done. The bat signal is neat and I will make a bigger display for it to put on top of a modular building. The figures are both great, although I do feel the cowl should be lower eared. But in reality I feel it should be a little more rounded too to give a more brute-ish feel to it.
I agree Superman could have a different expression, but I like having a smiling head. It will add some variety. The hairpiece is neat. Superman should have his curly S hair, but the new version has a different toussled look.
I think the set is worth the price, and I will most likely get the larger set OR just bricklink the figures. I'm not sure yet. I already have the Batmobile set which is decent, so I don't need yet another Batman.
@ PicnicBasketSam
The reason for the older cowl is because his glowing chin would be visible without the covering of that piece.
@PicnicBasketSam: Because that cowl isn't perfect. It has no chinstrap, and the "real" armour cowl has a very thick chinstrap as well as short ears.
"Tell me, do you bleed?"
"No, but your parents did."
:O
I think it's kinda crappy lego perilously omitted lower boot printing on superman, but other that that this set looks like a way to get some figs and some parts.
Hmmm worth it for 12 bucks
@deephorse
An expression that would either match or work alongside the role of the character, in this situation something that would suite the same expression Batman has - one of anger, the other of a fairly bland face that can be used as a generic face.
@nparker
Actually, it is pretty inexcusable unless you can think of an excuse why Lego would purposefully avoid giving fans a more detailed piece despite sets such as 'Carnage Shield Attack' proving we could have heavily printed figure in a very cheap set.
If you disagree with my viewpoint on the set, that is fine, but critiquing me pointing out where Lego is essentially forcing the customer to get an inferior version of a product they offer (Superman with one leg molding rather than two) then i just don't get where you are coming from - unless you like inferior products being offered?
So... Batman's head glows in the dark?! These new BvS sets are strange...
@PicnicBasketSam its to make his eyes glow like in the movie
@pagani88 @flobnomdob I know that is the probable reasoning for using the older headpiece. But I have put on the headpiece from set 76025 and although it is a slight different colour, it suits the armor and batsymbol better. The head still glows through the paint, so rather have the correct headpiece and deal with the extra glow on the odd ocassion you display the minifigure in the dark. 99% of the play and display will be in the light, so make the minifigure resemble the bat on the bat signal and chest logo. The long ears puts everything out of place.
In addition, if you look at Superman's head, you are able to see that the face can be printed low enough on the part to cover most of the glow the old mask was used to hide. It is a pity this wasn't thought through, as this set was clearly about the minifigures.
I guess that main problem w this set is Ben Affleck. ipromiseiwillgivehimachancebutiguessitwillbehislastsuperheromovieever