Review: 76175 Attack on the Spider Lair
Posted by CapnRex101,
Superheroes frequently possess concealed lairs from which they operate, integrating enormous computer systems alongside cabinets for varied armours and costumes. Among these countless characters, Spider-Man is rarely associated with such elaborate sanctuaries.
76175 Attack on the Spider Lair embraces those conventions, displaying various memorable Spider-Man garbs beside an immense computer which seems decidedly reminiscent of the Batcomputer. That notable similarity to numerous Batman sets is potentially disappointing, although some impressive minifigures are included.
Minifigures
An updated Spider-Man minifigure has been introduced this year, incorporating new head and torso elements. This certainly represents an improvement upon the previous design from 2019, especially because printed arms are now included. Additionally, I like the bolder black webbing across each component but the absence of dual-moulded legs is rather disappointing because they did appear on the previous minifigure.
Three additional Spider-Man costumes are provided, including the rudimentary suit created by Peter Parker upon acquiring his abilities. This minifigure combines aspects of varying sources, resembling the homemade suit from Spider-Man: Homecoming in appearance while the colour scheme matches Ben Reilly's garb. The belt and hooded jacket are fantastic, although I dislike the large spider emblem on the reverse.
Peter Parker's double-sided head is shared with several past minifigures, displaying cheerful and worried expressions. These seem appropriate for the character and I love the printed hat which was designed for 76129 Hydro-Man Attack, representing Spider-Man's raised mask. An alternative dark brown hair piece and trans-clear head are provided too, along with trans-clear web accessories that return from 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio.
The classic Iron Spider suit has appeared in various Marvel Super Heroes sets, although this example remains unchanged from 76151 Venomosaurus Ambush. The intricate armour design and metallic gold decoration looks splendid, especially with the supplementary articulated arms. However, the decoration does not continue on the legs and I would have favoured another new Spider-Man variant to replace this one.
My favourite of these minifigures is undoubtedly Ultimate Spider-Man, whose design takes inspiration from the comic-book Stealth Costume and looks absolutely outstanding. The lime green and black colour scheme is beautiful, complemented by green and dark blue highlights. These lurid stripes correspond exactly with the source material and I anticipate the minifigure becoming as popular as the original suit, which has become known as Big Time Spider-Man!
Villains frequently accompany these superhero sanctuaries and two such minifigures appear here. Venom has remained unaltered since 2019 and seems suitably fearsome, featuring an intimidating head with bared teeth. The torso design is comparatively simple but matches the character's traditional comic appearance and I see little justification for alterations.
Green Goblin has been updated though and appears better than ever, in my opinion. Purple dominates the design and his clothing is completely tattered, conveying the unhinged psyche which characterises this villain! The detailed dark bluish grey padding on his chest and knees looks wonderful too, along with Green Goblin's double-sided head and accurate headgear.
The head features an evil grin on one side and a grimace on the other, both of which appear perfect for this character. Unfortunately, he is equipped with a pearl silver stud shooter rather than pumpkin bombs while Venom carries black tendrils. These new pieces were presumably created for another purpose but look appealing here, although I have found them surprisingly difficult to clip into the Symbiote's hands.
The Completed Model
Green Goblin is almost invariably accompanied by his Goblin Glider, the design of which has changed frequently. This example is relatively large and features angular wings, supported by rigid A-frame elements underneath. The resulting shape seems fittingly intimidating, especially in combination with the 2x3 pentagonal tile at the centre which displays decorative yellow eyes.
The colour scheme of green and purple is attractive and I like the contrasting horns which are situated towards the front. The thrusters mounted on the underside look reasonable too. This vehicle omits dedicated control surfaces, although that reflects the source material as Green Goblin generally directs his glider by shifting his weight. Fortunately, there is sufficient space where he can stand.
Despite sharing similarities in subject and organisation, Spider-Man's lair appears significantly brighter than Batman's famous Batcave. The red and dark blue colour scheme looks excellent and I was pleasantly surprised by the size of this model, measuring 41cm wide. Moreover, the integration of various sections seems relatively successful, particularly as the same trans-light blue accents appear repeatedly.
Of course, the view from behind is considerably worse as some unsightly colours are visible, notably including a conspicuous trans-green plate at the centre. However, the base structure does feel exceptionally robust and the entire model is easily transportable, although that is of limited importance for location-based sets which are typically going to remain stationary.
Spider-Man possesses various vehicles throughout the Marvel Super Heroes range and his concealed lair contains a maintenance area for one such vehicle. The colour combination of dark blue and red continues here to good effect and I like the trans-yellow lights beneath the motorcycle. Additionally, this vehicle can rotate on its elevated plinth and seems accordingly attractive.
LEGO has produced several motorcycles belonging to Spider-Man, including many elaborate mechanisms and aesthetic features. This vehicle lacks such complexity, instead incorporating the standard motorcycle fairing element that is decorated with stickers on either side. Webbed designs and blue highlights are integrated neatly, although the white antenna towards the rear appears awkward to me.
Advanced computer systems are valuable assets to any superhero and Spider-Man certainly impresses in that regard. His computer display features six trans-light blue screens which are decorated with individual stickers and packed with references! Applying those stickers is quite tricky but they look fantastic, undoubtedly improving upon the recent Batcomputer from 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion.
However, I think this computer could have been further separated from Batcomputer designs, simply by adjusting the screen arrangement. This configuration seems extremely familiar and Spider-Man deserved something tailored more specifically to him. The seat seems very basic too, although some appealing details are present. Peter Parker's camera and the video game controller are particularly fun.
The accompanying video game screen displays Spider-Man swinging through New York City. Certain aspects of the design resemble the recent PlayStation 4 game, although not perfectly. Five varying Spider-Man suits appear beside the video game, including one which is enlarged and reminds me of the original Spider-Man minifigure from 2002. However, the most intriguing example is the Bombastic Bagman costume!
Enjoyable details continue across the higher level of screens, notably including an email from the infamous J. Jonah Jameson! The character seems absolutely furious with Peter, as usual. Iron Spider's supplementary arms appear on the neighbouring screen, alongside Spider-Man's nimble drone which corresponds exactly with the physical element.
Two such drones flank the computer, adorning webs. This mechanical spider component was originally created for NEXO Knights but seems ideal for Spider-Man, having accompanied the hero thrice before. The prominent Spider-Man branding above this computer looks marvellous, although I was somewhat disappointed to discover that this is formed using a sticker.
Various pearl silver tools are stored underneath the drones. Unfortunately, they are relatively inaccessible, situated behind a support for the Iron Spider's separate arms. This entire model lacks cohesion in my opinion and the absence of connective walkways or steps is certainly an important detrimental factor. 76122 Batcave Clayface Invasion exhibited the same issue.
Furthermore, details are noticeably limited. The trans-light blue display cases for Spider-Man costumes appear bland and the aforementioned rack where the arms are stored seems quite disappointing. However, the curvature of these display cases is excellent, evoking 76125 Iron Man Hall of Armour which seems suitable given the connection between Spider-Man and Iron Man.
Peter Parker sometimes demonstrates an interest in skateboarding, hence a ramp is situated beside the display cases. This design looks good, although I think separating the leisure area from crime-fighting equipment would have improved the entire model. Instead, those sections are arranged at either end of 76175 Attack on the Spider Lair which seems illogical.
For instance, the prison cell at the opposite end is overshadowed by a basketball hoop. Both subjects are ideal for Spider-Man's refuge but this configuration seems completely ineffective. Moreover, the single weight which is placed in a rack beside the cell seems out of place and I think the designer could easily have included a much more substantial exercise space.
However, I appreciate the consistent design features which appear repeatedly throughout the model. Trans-yellow elements are ubiquitous and the prison cell reflects the costume displays, although that decision has compromised its size. There is ample space for a minifigure though and the differing modules can be reconfigured very easily, detaching from the base and linking together using clips.
The basketball hoop is certainly an unusual inclusion but looks good, especially because the backboard features an identification badge from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse! That was presumably the primary inspiration for this model so the reference is welcome. The basketball launcher is superfluous though and those elements should have been used to improve details elsewhere throughout the lair.
Overall
76175 Attack on the Spider Lair presents an interesting concept which provides spectacular creative potential, as demonstrated during Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. However, this execution is poor. The model appears jumbled, lacking successful cohesion as the disparate sections seem almost unrelated. The central computer is the only structure which looks truly impressive, in my opinion.
Fortunately, this minifigure selection is more appealing and I am particularly delighted with the Stealth Suit. The integration of enjoyable references is also appreciated, although they cannot excuse disappointing design. Additionally, the price of £69.99 or $69.99 feels rather expensive and further impedes this set, despite those superb minifigures which may be worth purchasing separately.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
You can read our previous 2021 Marvel Super Heroes set reviews here:
- 76168 Captain America Mech Armour
- 76169 Thor Mech Armour
- 76170 Iron Man vs. Thanos
- 76171 Miles Morales Mech Armour
- 76172 Spider-Man and Sandman Showdown
- 76173 Spider-Man and Ghost Rider vs Carnage
- 76174 Spider-Man's Monster Truck vs. Mysterio
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47 comments on this article
By now, Venom must be one of the most common Lego supervillains, if not the most.
I’m glad that even if Bombastic Bag Man is never made an official figure, he is at least part of the LEGO Marvel sets as a sticker. It’s my favorite wacky Marvel costume of all time, even though he only ever made one comic appearance!
@DavidBrick said:
"I'll say the same thing as I said on Jang's video. The right hand side, next to the basketball hoop looks completely unfinished. Like the designers designed something to be there but had to remove it for budget issues."
Or maybe it's done that way on purpose for an additional add-on like they did with the Iron Man Hall of Armor sets?
Anyone else think this might have been orinally designed as a batman set and then retooled into a spider-man set.
This set is horrible :D
The concept is good but the execution is underwhelming
It's a nice idea for a set, and I'm sure kids will get a kick out of it (I know I would have) but I also feel like a hi-tech lair is kind of antithetical to Spider-Man as a character. I mean, isn't the whole point of Spider-Man that he's an everyman flying by the seat of his pants, and that life is constantly knocking the stuffing out of him? Giving him a Batcave jars pretty heavily with that notion.
Of course, so does giving him his own giant robot, and I bought that without a second thought...
My son wants this set. He's not getting it. It's ridiculous. The only good thing about this set is the minifigures.
Not to bothered about the Spidey lair but I'd buy 3 of the minifigs from it and two from the Monster truck set!
This is fine but I'd make something like Peters Bedroom or some sort of Lab from his high school instead!
I can understand Spidey having cars, bikes and some other stuff on toys, despite Peter Parker not being able to afford this stuff in the comics and movies, because it needs to appeal the children. But some stuff is just way too exaggerated for him. It is the case of that Spider Lair. They really jumped the shark on that set.
I really think that this was supposed to be a Batcave set but they suddenly changed to Spider-Man because who knows...
@Mister_Jonny said:
"It's a nice idea for a set, and I'm sure kids will get a kick out of it (I know I would have) but I also feel like a hi-tech lair is kind of antithetical to Spider-Man as a character. I mean, isn't the whole point of Spider-Man that he's an everyman flying by the seat of his pants, and that life is constantly knocking the stuffing out of him? Giving him a Batcave jars pretty heavily with that notion.
Of course, so does giving him his own giant robot, and I bought that without a second thought..."
I would agree with you, but the comic books and films have played with giving Spider-Man resources like this before. As mentioned in the review, Into The Spider Verse has a Peter Parker Spider-Man cave hidden in a garden shed behind Aunt May's house. Its meant humorously to contrast against Peter J. Parker who is a VERY down on his luck Spider-Man from an alternate universe, who is shocked to see the Spider-Man of the 'verse he was in at the time had an underground Bat-cave like base.
@Paternoster_Lift said:
"My son wants this set. He's not getting it. It's ridiculous. The only good thing about this set is the minifigures."
I'd contend that it's a pretty decent play set. Even if it doesn't quite come together, all the individual sections are interesting enough- there's plenty for the figures to do and lots of potential for play scenarios.
Visually, it's not that great, but as a toy, it looks very fun and that's really the most important thing to get right
And I love the J. Jonah Jameson email, they need to make another Daily Bugle set
Why the database says only 5 minifigs?
Looking at the initial pictures for this I thought it had some hinges or clips to rearrange it to a more convenient shape, especially with how the big 1/4 circle bricks are arranged. I was perplexed to discover that this build is so rigid that you can't even easily remove the skateboarding ramp, and all that's put on top of the strangely shaped base is a couple rows of the Iron Man hall of armor units and a Bat-computer with some different branding.
This honestly feels like a first draft sketch model cobbled together from bits of other sets that accidentally made it to market. The only action feature in the whole model is the basketball launcher! I've seen Friends sets with more moving parts.
@The_Byzantine_Knight said:
"Is there precedence for a Spider-Man secret-lair/cave/headquarters, and if so, where? I've seen all the movies so know there isn't anything of the sort in there. Maybe in the comics or cartoons? I'd love to know."
Most interpretations of Spider-Man feature him as young and often on the edge of broke. But almost every comic that could be written has been written. Quite a few times, Parker has grown into a noteworthy scientist (often running his own company) and these interpretations usually have some kind of Spider-Lair or just his own company-sanctioned lab to work in. One of the more noteworthy instances happened when Doc Ock took over Parker's body in Superior Spider-Man (which I'd highly recommend)
Not every version runs Parker Industries but some definitely do, so unique sets like this absolutely fit within the Spider-Man universe even if the execution leaves a little to be desired
@bogdanst said:
"Why the database says only 5 minifigs?"
It could be an error in the database. Looks like Green Goblin is missing.
@The_Byzantine_Knight said:
"Is there precedence for a Spider-Man secret-lair/cave/headquarters, and if so, where? I've seen all the movies so know there isn't anything of the sort in there. Maybe in the comics or cartoons? I'd love to know."
In the animated film ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ from 2018, one of his incarnations has a vast hidden lair accessible from his garden shed.
I absolutely love the Green Goblin and glider, and the other minifigs are solid, but the lair itself doesn't do much for me.
This whole set really seems to be heavily inspired by the Spider lair from Into The Spiderverse animated movie from a few years back! I'm honestly sad the big time suit is in it because it means I'll likely never get it since this set doesn't appeal to me at all, even just for extra parts
Am I the only one who is getting some serious 4+ vibes there?
Bought the set for the minifigures. All other parts have been sorted for MOCs. The Spider-Man sets are pretty poor when you consider this build is still better than the vehicle garbage we've received over the past couple of years. Wish they could find a way to deliver a decent set with decent minifigures. It often feels like it is one or the other...
@BrickerNZ said:
"Bought the set for the minifigures. All other parts have been sorted for MOCs. The Spider-Man sets are pretty poor when you consider this build is still better than the vehicle garbage we've received over the past couple of years. Wish they could find a way to deliver a decent set with decent minifigures. It often feels like it is one or the other..."
I think this critique could be handed out for almost any Superhero set, considering the city is their environment, and barring the few sets that are inexpensive, Its hard to make a playground like that, especially for Spidey in NY.
I *want* a Bombastic Bag-Man figure. Who's with me?
@madforLEGO said:
I think this critique could be handed out for almost any Superhero set, considering the city is their environment, and barring the few sets that are inexpensive, Its hard to make a playground like that, especially for Spidey in NY. ]]
Agree with you that it is hard to make a decent city set in the cheaper price ranges. Just can't help but recall that the Raimi Spider-Man sets had facades that at least provided something interesting to go with a vehicle. The Daily Bugle came with a plane and was cheaper than this set. We've had the plane, a monster truck and some pretty poor vehicles in almost all Spidey sets over the last couple of years. A few of those could easily have had a decent size build. Don't need it to be modular quality, but at least something that isn't another vehicle. At least this set had parts that can easily be used elsewhere.
It does make it a lot easier skipping on most of the superhero sets, especially Batman because at least Spidey has had some new Costumes and characters to provide some appeal
@Slithus_Venom:
Not even close. I suspect if you actually run the numbers, Joker would come out on top, followed by Harley Quinn, and then maybe Penguin.
@jango_e1_g3 said:
"This whole set really seems to be heavily inspired by the Spider lair from Into The Spiderverse animated movie from a few years back! I'm honestly sad the big time suit is in it because it means I'll likely never get it since this set doesn't appeal to me at all, even just for extra parts "
I would suggest Bricklink for the Big Time suit, but it's selling for about $20 USD right now. xP
Anyone else get the feeling there may possibly be a supplementary set after this that adds on to the Spider-suites display? It’s designed very similar to the Hall of Armor set and its complementary add on Iron Man Armory. These here have the same open end clips & bars as well as the tiled tops with minimum studs, as if they are waiting for more units to be added either to the sides or above. Will be interesting to see if this is taken advantage of since Spider-Man is one of the few heroes to have a suit collection in LEGO form that rivals Iron Man and Batman.
@jango_e1_g3 said:
"This whole set really seems to be heavily inspired by the Spider lair from Into The Spiderverse animated movie from a few years back! I'm honestly sad the big time suit is in it because it means I'll likely never get it since this set doesn't appeal to me at all, even just for extra parts "
You could always try to BrickLink or eBay it, though it’ll likely be $15-20 for the figure alone
@PurpleDave said:
" @Slithus_Venom:
Not even close. I suspect if you actually run the numbers, Joker would come out on top, followed by Harley Quinn, and then maybe Penguin."
Your analysis was correct. The Joker has 40 sets with his tag, Harley Quinn has 22 sets with her tag, Green Goblin has 11 sets with his tag, Penguin has 9 sets with his tag, and Venom surprisingly only has 7 sets with his tag. The reason why it seems that Venom is in so many, is because he’s been in so many over the last year in relation to other Spider-Man rogues gallery members. Looking at his sets, I was reminded of the old green S.H.E.I.L.D. Flying car. I remember loving that set so much when it came out.
@Cooliocdawg:
I'm not even going to try to check all the Joker/Harley sets (though 70912 appears to be tagged for Dr. Harleen Quinzel, not for Harley Quinn), but the Penguin count is off. I see 11 sets, only one of which is Duplo (which I expect you excluded). So, that should be 10 sets. But he also has a unique minifig that only comes in a book, with his TLBM Arkham jumpsuit, which puts him up there with Green Goblin.
Apparently there are a few other Batman rogues with fairly regular appearances. I see ten minifig-based sets for Riddler, nine for Mr. Freeze, and eight for Catwoman. Even Poison Ivy ties Venom with seven.
Batman villains have a fairly hefty advantage, though. They got three years by themselves with the original Batman theme, which yielded 11 unique villains (Spiderman, on the other hand, was limited to only the villains who appeared in the first two films). Batman has also been the backbone of the DC Superheroes theme for a solid decade, and received his own movie (after which point Batman is pretty much guaranteed to hold the record for most unique villains of any superhero for all time). Marvel Superheroes focused primarily on the MCU, which had a ton of forgettable one-shot villains, but very few that warranted repeated appearances across the LEGO theme.
It doesn't surprise me that Spiderman is the only other character to land a Top 5 villain appearance. After Batman, he's regularly ranked the second most popular superhero, and he's got what is arguably the second most well-known rogues gallery. Most of the non-MCU sets have also prominently featured at least one variant of the character (in fact, I think he holds the current minifig record for the most unique characters who basically share the same superhero identity).
I thought this was a 4+ set at first glance.
We have already had liars for Batman and Iron Man, so this seems a re-run. Spiderman also uses his spidy senses to detect trouble rather than technology, and needs to be outdoors watching the city to be ready to make a difference. Looking at all the past sets the most popular for play value seems to have been 76057. I understand this may be around twice the pieces and price compared to this set, but TLG could provide an update to the less detailed 4852 for a new audience.
@ambr:
Spiderman 2099 can afford to have a proper lair. Plainvanilla Spiderman’s lair, to be realistic, should be the smaller bedroom of a tiny 2-bedroom NYC apartment (with Aunt May getting the larger bedroom).
OK, we get it, Venom is a Spider-Man villain...there are a PLETHORA of others though, LEGO, yeah...I’m talking to you, don’t you think we’ve had enough Venom figures by now? Maybe throw us Marvel Superfans something else?
How about a Big Fig of Rhino or Lizard, or even a Kingpin? What about Hammerhead, The Rose, Chameleon, Mister Negative, Morbius, Demogoblin, Tombstone, classic Electro, Spencer Smythe (or Alistair the Ultimate Spider-Slayer), Tarantula, Black Tarantula, Doppleganger, Man-Wolf, Jack ‘O Lantern and on and on.
Not to mention reformed villains now ‘friends’ like Black Cat, Silver Sable, etc.
We want a larger more diverse universe of characters in our Spider-verse, please!
Sick of Venom.
And Carnage.
Just sayin.
EDIT:
Reason I’m fired up about this is that my DC minifigure collection just smokes my Marvel collection hands down and this bugs me personally since I’m a huge Marvel Comics fan over DC Comics. Since I was a kid. I understand all the nuances as to why LEGO has more freedom producing more variety with the DC Universe...everybody and their gramma has a DC figure license it seems. Hasbro keeps that figure contract locked up pretty tight.
I’m just playing the role of whiny fanboy for a moment. It will pass. ;)
@blogzilly said:
"OK, we get it, Venom is a Spider-Man villain...there are a PLETHORA of others though, LEGO, yeah...I’m talking to you, don’t you think we’ve had enough Venom figures by now? Maybe throw us Marvel Superfans something else?
How about a Big Fig of Rhino or Lizard, or even a Kingpin? What about Hammerhead, The Rose, Chameleon, Mister Negative, Morbius, Demogoblin, Tombstone, classic Electro, Spencer Smythe (or Alistair the Ultimate Spider-Slayer), Tarantula, Black Tarantula, Doppleganger, Man-Wolf, Jack ‘O Lantern and on and on.
Sick of Venom.
And Carnage.
Just sayin."
Problem is, kids love Venom and Carnage, but nobody (including me) knows who Spencer Smythe or Black Tarantula are
@blogzilly :
https://brickset.com/minifigs/sh322/tarantula
Funny you should mention that, because they already did make a Tarantula minifig...for DC! Marvel’s problem is the success of the MCU. Disney’s cranking those out like Harlequin romance novels, and that’s the only Marvel universe that a lot of people are familiar with. They kinda have to do tie-in sets for all those movies, and they like to dabble in the cartoons, which doesn’t leave a lot of bandwidth for comic book sets. For some of those villains, I’m pretty sure that’s the only way they would ever happen, but they’d have to edge out famous/popular villains for the tiny handful of slots available.
TLBM was a godsend for Batman’s rogues gallery, since they were finally able to fill in a few key holes (Professor Strange, the original Red Hood), plus pepper a bunch of z-list villains in the mix. But even without that, the shift towards R-rates DC movies doesn’t leave them with a ton of opportunity for film tie-ins, so they could easily slip an oddball villain in periodically, as long as they still include some of the mainstays.
@The_Toniboeh:
Heh. I actually just found out about Black Tarantula sometime in the last two weeks, I think. I was looking up all the DC/Marvel characters that were named “Black Something-or-other” to see how many of them were actually black characters, like Black Panther, Black Lightning, or Black Vulcan. That’s one of the names I found, so I looked him up. I don’t remember a thing about him...
@PurpleDave said:
" @blogzilly :
https://brickset.com/minifigs/sh322/tarantula
TLBM was a godsend for Batman’s rogues gallery
@The_Toniboeh:
Heh. I actually just found out about Black Tarantula sometime in the last two weeks, I think. I was looking up all the DC/Marvel characters that were named “Black Something-or-other” to see how many of them were actually black characters, like Black Panther, Black Lightning, or Black Vulcan. That’s one of the names I found, so I looked him up. I don’t remember a thing about him..."
Before 2017, DC distribution was definitely on par with Marvel's variety but 17, 18, and 19 were a real boom for expanding Batman-related figs and just general DC characters. Spidey (and Marvel in general) had a real solid wave in 2016 but I think you hit the nail on the head with the MCU, it's incredibly popular so it's going to take up a lot of set slots
I'd also be intrigued to see your results, that's a really interesting hypothesis
the only reason you get this set is for that black and green spider suit
@The_Toniboeh said:
" @blogzilly said:
"OK, we get it, Venom is a Spider-Man villain...there are a PLETHORA of others though, LEGO, yeah...I’m talking to you, don’t you think we’ve had enough Venom figures by now? Maybe throw us Marvel Superfans something else?
How about a Big Fig of Rhino or Lizard, or even a Kingpin? What about Hammerhead, The Rose, Chameleon, Mister Negative, Morbius, Demogoblin, Tombstone, classic Electro, Spencer Smythe (or Alistair the Ultimate Spider-Slayer), Tarantula, Black Tarantula, Doppleganger, Man-Wolf, Jack ‘O Lantern and on and on.
Sick of Venom.
And Carnage.
Just sayin."
Problem is, kids love Venom and Carnage, but nobody (including me) knows who Spencer Smythe or Black Tarantula are"
Yeah...I should have said not only am I a superfan...I’m an aging superfan. I’d even be into a Madame Web!
Still, the occasional Lizard or Rhino or Kingpin has gotta be kinda mainstream, yeah? :) (The buildable suit version of Rhino doesn’t count, I want me some BigFig action!)
Neat set.
@fakespacesquid:
If the hypothesis you're referring to is the thing about black superhero names, it's not a hypthesis. It's something that's been commented on periodically by the fan community and people in the industry. The first black superhero was Black Panther, which, taken by itself wouldn't be so bad. But that was followed by Black Lightning, Black Adam, Black Vulcan, Black Racer, and Black Talon. That last one is particularly bad as it's a white character who lost a hand in a car accident and became a supervillain after having a black person's hand grafted on. However, there are quite a few "Black Something" characters whose names didn't appear to have anything to do with their race, apparently including Black Tarantula (seriously, I completely forgot everything I read about the character, but since I don't see the name on my list...). And that list wasn't the sum total of black superhero characters, as Falcon (the first African-American superhero), John Stewart (DC's first black superhero), Luke Cage, and Blade are all famous early black superheroes who got normal names.
@blogzilly:
Huh. I'd always known Kingpin as being a Daredevil villain (in fact, the only Daredevil villain I could name off the top of my head). Looking through his rogues gallery, the only other ones that I've even heard of (who aren't borrowed from Spiderman, or aren't generally considered to be hero or anti-hero characters in their own right) are Deadshot-I-mean-Bullseye, Tombstone, and Typhoid Mary. And mostly I just know them by name.
I wouldn't expect to see Kingpin in a Spiderman set _unless_ it also included Daredevil, as that's really the only way I can see them producing a Daredevil minifig.
@PurpleDave said:
"
@blogzilly:
Huh. I'd always known Kingpin as being a Daredevil villain (in fact, the only Daredevil villain I could name off the top of my head). Looking through his rogues gallery, the only other ones that I've even heard of (who aren't borrowed from Spiderman, or aren't generally considered to be hero or anti-hero characters in their own right) are Deadshot-I-mean-Bullseye, Tombstone, and Typhoid Mary. And mostly I just know them by name.
I wouldn't expect to see Kingpin in a Spiderman set _unless_ it also included Daredevil, as that's really the only way I can see them producing a Daredevil minifig."
He is a bigtime Spiderman villain. Daredevil as well, but that’s what you get when you both operate in NYC. He is one of the most important crime bosses overthere. Spiderman did team-up with Daredevil too to fight the crimebosses and the gangster wars were among the coolest stories with a lot of team-ups and villains.
About this set? For 4-6 yrs old -> perfect. For anybody older than that -> garbage
SO, I recently got this set too.
The price is absolutely disgusting and the only reason I got it is because (I had Birthday Vouchers and) the Stealth/Big Time Suit (no idea why they are calling it Ultimate Spider-Man) is my favourite Spider-Man costume of all time, so I am absolutely DELIGHTED to have this figure, and indeed a pretty good version at that. A little arm printing would have really set it off, but other than that it's perfect.
As for the rest of the set.
Minifigure printing is poor, low quality, juniorised. Green Goblin whilst a fairly good minifigure falls far short of the version from the Bridge set; that one had pin point-sharp printing, a bolder and more accurate colour scheme, better glider and better expression.
Why is there non dual-molded Spidey legs in a £70 set?
Another Venom. Completely out of place too, included because they have millions produced? Sick of this figure now.
The other figures are alright, obviously one new one but similarly to above, the printing isn't particularly good.
The set is horrible. Why is it a brick and a plate tall? Totally unnecessary and just inflates the price with the big circular pieces. None of it makes any sense to the character; skateboard ramp (and even an orange skateboard?! Not even a Spider-Man themed one haha), basketball hoop?! The defence of "It's a kids set aimed at kids" doesn't hold up here, I don't think. You can still have things here that are different but still appeal to kids. How about a Vending Machine with colourful sodas in, or a weapons & gadgets cache?
Massively juniorised (and again, I know sometimes people criticise this criticism because ultimately it is still a toy aimed at children, but larger sets can still appeal to children without becoming as dumbed down as this set).
Weirdly wide.
Repetitive build.
To be honest it's one of my least favourite sets, maybe of all time. I'm absolutely fine with the idea of a Spidey HQ, I think they could have kept most of the elements in this set, compacted them down, dropped the price, and re-thought the minifigure inclusion. I know Venom is a popular character and that's why he's in everything but some more thought could have gone into it - how about Spider-Man is studying a portion of the Symbiote at his HQ, so a small lab section, studying a symbiote piece, a new Venom (half transformed? battle damaged? Flash version? anything), perhaps even an Eddie Brock, a Symbiote Spider-Man, maybe a new Carnage, and some new Symbiote characters, maybe Scream, Anti-Venom or Gwenom?
Ugh. Sorry, I know this was ranty, I'm just passionate and it bums me out that we keep seeing the same characters when Spider-Man has one of the best rogues gallery in comics.
@ReZourceman:
C’mon, guys, answers like this shouldn’t have to come from the guy who hates Spiderman. The black/green suit was introduced as a high-tech stealth suit that was primarily designed to protect him from Hobgoblin’s sonic attack, but it was never officially named. Called the “Stealth Suit” by some, based on its purpose, it is also known as the Big Time Suit after the name of the run of comics when it first appeared (kinda like how the black Batsuit from 2006 is sometimes referred to as the Troika Batsuit because it appeared in the Troika storyline). So, they may have made up the name, or taken guidance from Marvel (who may have that as the name on record, even if they never said so). However, saying “Ultimate Spiderman” does sound like it’s “Spiderman from the Marvel Ultimate universe”, and not a fancy suit from the main universe.
@Brickodillo
Love the idea of a Hell’s Kitchen set with Spidey and DD teaming up to fight Kingpin and ... how about another mob related villain...Tombstone?
Like the way you think, bro.
@blogzilly:
When I was looking through Daredevil’s rogues gallery, I noticed that Tombstone frequently works for Kingpin, and I was thinking that exact combination of minifigs (plus maybe one more) was probably the best shot you’d have at seeing either Kingpin or Daredevil.
Now what would be hilarious is if they based Daredevil on the movie costume, as that would mean Affleck gets two minifigs on a technicality.
I don’t get why miles morales doesn’t come in this set.