Alrighty,
RegularVince here with my first content post of 2015: my review for the new Lego DC Super heroes set:
76025 Green Lantern vs. Sinestro.
I wish I could say I've really been waiting for this set, but what I've really been waiting for is a legit Green Lantern that doesn't cost
an arm and a leg. I really like my arms and legs. I use them regularly.
Back to the set at hand, for the MSRP of $19.99, you get 174 pieces, including three all-new minifigures in Green Lantern, Sinestro, and Space Batman. Yes, Space Batman. He's one of my favorite super heroes, but I really don't think we needed another Batman minifigure to round out this set. I would have much rather seen another member of the Sinestro Corps, or, since this year's DC line seems to be all about
full-sized figures, an
Anti-Monitor figure.
You need any more ideas, Lego? You know where to find me.
So let's start things off with the minifigures, and our titular hero: Green Lantern.
As you can see, the minifigure design is based off the more classic Hal Jordan look. Not that this is a problem, I just felt like I needed to point it out, since depending on when you were into the DC properties, he might not be the Green Lantern you're most familiar with. The design of this mini is rather clean, and far less busy than the
2011 SDCC exclusive figure, so it's definitely an improvement. And as you can see, GL comes with a double-sided head, featuring a stern look and a more playful smirk.
My one gripe is an almost non-issue, but it did bother me. The translucent green stud I have GL pictured with is supposed to be his power ring. Pretty simple, right? Well, maybe it was too simple, because Lego didn't actually include this in the set. That stud is just a left over from one of my other builds. Trivial? Yes, but it's something so simple that it's amazing it wasn't included, especially since a quick
Google search for Green Lantern shows almost every image with his power ring lit up.
Next up we have
Sinestro, GL's most famous villain, even though he's been known to act as the occasional anti-hero, when the mood strikes him. Sinestro also comes with a double-sided head; one stern look, the other a menacing grimace. He also comes with a yellow battle-staff contruct, The minifigure's design is based on his yellow lantern/Sinestro Corps outfit, which I think looks fantastic, but I also would've loved to see him in his classic
blue and black outfit. Maybe we'll see this in a later release, since Lego does love to release different versions of the same figure.
Speaking of different versions of the same figure, here we have yet another
Batman to add to our already extensive Bat-collection, this time sporting a space outfit to protect him from the harsh vacuum of space. Now why is Batman in space?
Why not?
Anyway, you can probably tell I'm not super excited to be getting another Batman minifigure, but I must say the design is pretty cool, and the amount of accessories he comes with is staggering. Bats comes with two heads: a full-on mask and a double-sided head, displaying a stern look and his trademark smirk; a helmet, two sets of wings, in the open and closed position; a jet-pack, which is actually designed to keep the wing in place, and the new super jumper. giving him the ability to leap into action at a moments notice.
Admittedly, it does have a greater range than seen above, that's just the first video I got, and I thought it was hilarious.
I do have to issue a huge warning about the super jumper:
it will damage your minifigure. Not because launching it across the room can ding it, and it can, but because of the way jumper itself is designed.
Behind the pegs where you place the minifigure, the plastic juts out just enough to apply pressure to the minifigure.
As you can see, the damage in my particular case wasn't that extensive, as it simply slightly dented the back of the legs, but I have heard cases online of the legs cracking and splitting because of the super jumper.
You have been warned.
Moving on to the rest of the set, I'll start off with
Sinestro's power battery Cage.
I suppose I could've listed this as an accessory for Green Lantern, but this set also comes with his power battery, which he uses to power up his power ring. And since Sinestro is the baddie in this set, of course he wants all the power. So what we have here is a construct used to house the power battery.
The build is pretty simple, but what I love the most is the dome on top of the build. Since it's on a hinge, it keeps the build closed when in the down position, and allows it to be opened up when it's not. The hinge is also loose enough to allow it to be opened with a direct hit from GL ship.
So now that you've seen that cool action feature, let's talk about Green Lantern's ship.
Here we have Green Lantern's fighter jet, what I'm assuming is supposed to be a construct of his power ring, and apart from me wishing there were more clear elements integrated into the build, or better yet, that it was completely made of clear elements, I like the design. It's simple, but honestly, it doesn't need to be anymore complicated, as it perfectly showcases what it's supposed to be.
There are a lot of great design elements built into this ship. The stud shooters are a new design, and built into the wings. I also love how the extra stud "bullets" are built into the wing design. This is something that most sets featuring these types of weapons don't do. And geniusly, the spring loaded missiles are housed within the cockpit, activated by a gear and crank system that runs through to the back of the ship.
As you can see, turning the knob on the back triggers the spring loaded missiles. And because of the way it's designed, you can fire both missiles relatively quickly and reload them without opening the ship. Brilliant.
The missiles also have pretty good range, launching between 6 and 10 feet.
Final Verdict
While I'm not thrilled with having Batman shoehorned into this set, and I'm certainly upset over inadvertently damaging my minifigures with the super jumper, I still think this is a great set to have. Green Lantern and Sinestro have pretty simple designs, but they are based on pretty simple characters, at least from a design standpoint. While I usually don't buy Lego sets for their action features, I can definitely see how this set would appeal to children, which makes the ease of this build all the better. It probably took me about 30 minutes to complete this build, and enjoyed every minute of it.
So while it does have it's problems, the DC Super Heroes: Green Lantern vs. Sinestro is worth picking up.
