Later this year, the MCU will change forever as Victor Von Doom arrives and Marvel universes collide in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday. As seen in the trailers, the film will unite various Marvel characters from other studios, bringing them into the MCU for the first time; they include the X-Men from the 20th Century Fox film series. One of the LEGO® Marvel sets inspired by Doomsday continues the Epic Moments Collection, which also features sets inspired by Sony’s Spider-Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. The latest Epic Moments set features a mutant-hunting Sentinel battling several Marvel minifigures, including some appearing in a LEGO set for the first time. Here’s a look at the LEGO Marvel Epic Battle: Avengers: Doomsday set.
Product Details
Set Name: Epic Battle: Avengers: Doomsday | Set Number: 76348 | Pieces: 846 | Theme: Marvel
Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Sticker: sheet x 1 | Minifigures: Doctor Doom, Magneto, Thor, Nightcrawler, Mystique & Mister Fantastic
RRP: £89.99 / 99.99€ / $99.99 / 149.99AUD / 139.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers from October 1st
The Build
The build begins with the large, looming Sentinel figure. Fans of the X-Men will know these mechanical menaces were created to hunt down mutantkind. In Doomsday, it’s rumoured they will be reanimated by Doom to do his bidding. So it’s safe to assume this Epic Battle scene is inspired by that. Considering the small number of LEGO sets inspired by the X-Men, this is the third version of a Sentinel. The new version is similar to the one featured in the X-Mansion set, but it’s not just a direct copy. Firstly, it’s slightly bigger, and it feels a lot more ‘complete’ as its joints are better covered. Those joints give the Sentinel plenty of articulation, so it can be posed in different ways.
What makes an Epic Moments set is the inclusion of a display base. But this isn’t just a platform to stand something on; it helps to tell the story of the scene the set is based on. Here, that appears to be the ruins of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. This is shown by some of the debris scattered around the display stand. This includes the school’s sign, part of a fountain, rubble from the building and a photograph of Charles Xavier. Much of the debris is mounted on pegs, making it look more dynamic.
The display base also features two additional pieces of a Sentinel. These include a damaged arm and head. Both can be mounted on the display base, or you can add them to the Sentinel figure to transform it to look like it’s battle-damaged. You can also display the set’s minifigure on transparent rods mounted to the Sentinel and base. These can be fixed in different ways, expanding how you can stage the battle scene.
The Minifigures
For many, the draw of the set will be its minifigures and the set features six characters from Doomsday. Of those six characters, two of them are making their minifigure debut. Before featuring in the Doomsday sets, Doctor Doom first appeared in a LEGO set back in 2013. The latest version is far more detailed and is also the most common, as it appears in all Doomsday sets, including the Doctor Doom Bust. Thor has had a variety of looks, and here he is similar to how he appears in Infinity War and Endgame. Thor sports a moulded cape, and his torso features lightning sparks. Mister Fantastic is another returning character, and this version uses the same head, hair and torso. But instead of using bricks to create his stretched legs, the longer legs, which are also found in the Avatar sets, are used. They might not be as long, but they look much better.
With Doomsday bringing together all of the various Marvel universes, the ‘Fox universe’ X-Men will feature heavily in Doomsday. They include an older version of Magneto. This uses the same helmet piece used for other takes on the character. This is combined with a moulded cape, featured here in grey and a battle-worn suit, presumably tying into the notion that the OG X-Men universe is on the brink of destruction. Nightcrawler has also aged since we last saw him in X-2; this is also the first time the character has featured in a LEGO set. His tail is a new blue piece that slots in between the legs and torso, which unfortunately breaks up the detail on this suit. Mystique also makes her LEGO debut; for her MCU appearance, she’s wearing a white costume, which evokes her classic comic book look. From her brief appearance in the Doomsday trailer, it does seem that her minifigure could have used a shorter hairpiece.
The Verdict
The ‘epic moments’ sets have proven to be consistently decent sets, and this latest addition continues that trend. Although it’s designed to be a display piece, it can also be played with thanks to the Sentinel being removable from the base. I like that the set features a cool spread of characters, and even more surprising is that it has print detail on the legs, and they look so much better for it. That’s not to say the set has a couple of issues. Mystique’s hair is one, and I’d have liked to see Reed Richards wearing his goofy jacket, just to make the minifigure a little more unique. It’s also not a cheap set; it is a little overpriced, but it’s surprisingly detailed and doesn’t rehash the Sentinel from the Mansion set. However, the film is expected to be immensely popular, and younger fans may want to continue their Avengers adventures after seeing the film. Unfortunately, there are no pocket money-friendly sets being released this side of Christmas, and this set, as cool as it is, will be too costly for many. The LEGO Marvel Epic Battle: Avengers: Doomsday set will be available from October 1st, and Doomsday hits cinemas on December 16th.
The LEGO Group provided this set to BricksFanz.com for review purposes. The thoughts in this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group, Disney or Marvel Studios. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of it
