LEGO DC Super Heroes Collectable Minifigures 71026 Review Part 2

Continued From Collectable Minifigures 71026 Review Part 1

Huntress 71026-11

The Huntress made her first cameo appearance in the 1977 issue of All Star Comics #69 and full storyline in DC Super-Stars #17. Both these comics were released the same day, so neither can truly claim to be her first appearance. This version has Helena Wayne take on the role of Huntress after her mother Selina Kyle is killed. Having Helena be the daughter of Batman and Catwoman was made into an alternate reality after Crisis on Infinite Earths. In the new earth that was created, Helena Bertinelli became huntress and made her first appeared in the 1989 issue of Huntress #1. Over the years her character has been given different origins, but they typically involve the murder of one or all of her family members. In typical Batman style, this drives her to seek vengeance and then ultimately becoming a superhero. Like most of the Batman family in which she belongs, Helena does not have super-powers but relies on her advanced martial arts training, expert acrobatics capabilities and superior weapon skills. Her preferred weapon of choice is the crossbow. Besides being part of the Bat Family, she is also a long term member in The Birds of Prey.

I love the texture LEGO put into the black leg piece. They didn’t just give her black pants and dark purple boots. Instead they made sure that the pants had two light bluish grey lines running down the front of each leg so the material looks thicker to protect our crime fighter in battle. Part of the purple costume pattern from the torso can be seen on the side of the hips. The boots are what impressed me the most. The boot pattern on the top is common but then a line with a diamond pattern on the ends was added. I believe this represents the straps that typically go around her boots.

The minifigure utility belt was introduced back in 2017 for The LEGO Batman Movie themed sets and dark purple was one of the first colors introduced into the LEGO world. This is because it was Catwoman’s utility belt color. The piece might not be original but it is a great match to her belt in comics and having it be the same piece worn by Catwoman is a nice connection to her original appearance as Helena Wayne. In that storyline, Helena wore a mix of her mother and father’s costumes after Catwoman was killed and she began her own crime fighting career.

I not only like the design of the torso piece, but I'm also happy with the choice of costumes LEGO decided to use. While I like the Huntress character, many of her costumes are either very dated or drawn for a specific audience. This is one of my favorite costumes because it keeps that comic book superhero feel and looks more practical. Once again we see the light bluish grey lines making the material look like thick leather instead of thin spandex. The dark purple pattern on the front and back replicates her costume and gives the minifigure shape. The large white cross design on the front included the character element where she usually has a crucifix on her but isn’t blatantly religious. Rather than simple dark purple shoulder pads, three black lines were added to give a plated look. Dark purple hands were used for her gloves.

The cloth cape with a straight bottom and single top hole that’s made from a spongy stretchable fabric was first used on a Robin minifigure in 2018. It has since come in a lot of different colors but as of now this is still the only time it has appeared in black. The simple cut works for her cape. While a white edge would have helped with comic book accuracy, I actually don’t like how that printing looks on minifigure capes.

I have mixed feelings on the original dual sided head piece. From a printing perspective, LEGO did a fantastic job. The magenta lips pressed together over her small smile or parted into a scowl with gritted teeth looks great. The feminine eyelashes are clearly visible through the large eye openings of the mask. Small lines under the angry expression add to her emotional state. It’s the mask that has me conflicted. From the points at the top to the section coming around to her jawline, the shape of the mask is perfect. I even love the lines they added to make the mask look more like an armored face covering than a cloth costume piece. However, I like how the Huntress mask sticks up slightly past her head to mimic the bat-ears from the Batfamily cowls. Sometimes it got a little carried away, but still. I also realize that this would have required a new headgear piece, but I think it’s an important enough costume element to justify a new part.

The mid-length, wavy female hair piece was introduced in 2016. However, when Huntress came out in 2020, it was the first time this hair was available in black. It did not stay original for long, because it was used for the Eternal, Ajak, the following year. Since Huntress wears a domino mask instead of a full cowl, her long hair is often used to give movement to the static comic book drawings. LEGO picked the right headgear piece to use for her character. The long hair is the perfect length and the strands of wavy hair let us easily imagine how this hair would be whipped around as she moves through the city.

The pearl dark gray crossbow crossbow is not an original piece. It has been around since 1990 and is still going strong. Pearl dark gray is also the most common color used for this piece. However, since the crossbow is her weapon of choice, it makes the perfect accessory. LEGO did such a great job molding this piece, that it is hard to improve upon. The bolt or arrow is pulled back on the string. The latch is engaged and ready to be released. The stock is slightly wider to help brace the weapon against her shoulder. The stirrup in front will allow our archer to quickly reload another bolt into her weapon. For not wanting to make war fun, LEGO crafts some really good weapons.

Metamorpho 71026-12

Metamorpho, The Element Man made his comic book debut in the 1965 issue of Brave and the Bold issue 57. On an adventure to Egypt, to find the Orb of Ra, Rex Mason was exposed to a radioactive meteorite. I know, but it was the 60s. Anyway, it turns out this meteorite material was used to create the Orb of Ra. The sun god Ra had used this powerful element to create an army of super warriors in his battle against Apep. Rex now had the ability to shapeshift and change into any element or combination of elements found in the human body. In his now natural untransformed state, he is invulnerable to physical damage. Unfortunately, the Orb of Ra is also his greatest weakness and acts much like Krypotinie does to Superman. Since Metamorpho can’t take his flesh and bone form again, he considers his superpowers a curse.

The leg piece is my favorite part of this figure. Dual color printing is always cool, but to get 1 translucent clear leg is beyond awesome. The clear plastic with some ice blue accents represents his water leg. For his right leg made of dirt, LEGO used a dark tan color with reddish brown mudlines. Metamorph’s costume consists of black underwear and a light blue belt with the letter M printed on it. While the detailed printing can be found on the sides of the leg piece, the back consists of the single base colors. Making his underwear a thong.

LEGO had their work cut out for them when they decided to make this hero with a body made out of multiple elemental properties. The right side of his torso is an orange color, with those large muscles we expect from a superhero. There are also black lines to represent the shading technique used in the older comic books. His left side is a magenta color with reptile-like scales. This detailed printing is put on the side and back of the piece. My one complaint is the use of a light nougat skin color on the upper part of his chest. It should be the same color as his head. I am not sure if this was a deliberate choice or an oversight by LEGO, but for a character that will never have normal human skin again, this little detail creates a big mistake.

The head piece does use the white coloring we see in the comics. The printing on the face is amazingly well detailed. The lopsided grin and razed eyebrow show the expression of a man who should not be messed with. The shadows around the eyes bring depth to the 2D printing. Compared to the rest of Metamorpho’s body, his head is rather simple, so I am glad LEGO took the time to add those wrinkle lines across his face. I am disappointed that they didn’t put these light bluish grey lines on the back as well. As a bald character, a little detail on the back would have been nice. While disappointed, this was not a flaw in the design.

For his accessory, LEGO included a magenta gorilla fist hand piece. This would be the first time we would get this oversized hand piece in a magenta color. It’s a nice way to show his shapeshifting abilities and his tendency to morph his fist into a more powerful instrument of destruction.

The Joker 71026-13

The Joker is one of Batman’s most popular villains. He first appeared in the 1940 issue of Batman #1. His character was originally going to be killed at the end of the storyline, but editors kept him alive. Now this murderous psychopath with a warped and sadistic sense of humor has become Batman’s greatest enemy. While The Joker has more minifigures than any other Batman villain, this is the first time he comes in a white suit. I am not counting Disco Joker, since that was a ridiculous outfit for a comedic Batman parody and this minifigure is probably based on Frank Miller’s miniseries, The Dark Knight Returns.

The white leg piece shows that subtle does not mean plain. The all white pants have no detail, but we can see the end of his jacket hanging down over the pants. This was created by not only using black lines for the shape of the jacket but also gray lines to create shadowing. This subtle use of colors shows that two separate articles of clothing are being worn.

LEGO did not go subtle with the torso piece. The white blazer has the same black and gray lines to create the lapel and collar. Solid black lines are used for the button and the opening near the bottom. I appreciate that light bluish gray lines were added to give creases and folds on both the front and back of the coat. The medium lavender shirt underneath has all the usual details we can expect from LEGO and adds the color often associated with The Joker character. The white tie makes this a fancy suit and not a lavish disco outfit.

I was a bit surprised that we were only given one facial expression on this headpiece, because the headgear piece completely covers the back of the head. This could have easily hidden a second face printing. That being said, the one face we do get is amazing in the way it shows just how diabolical The Joker is. The wide toothy smile with parted red lips is that of a madman enjoying the suffering of others. Those long villainous eyebrows are arched as he comes up with a murderous plot. The light bluish grey wrinkle lines has him smiling with his whole face and erasing any silly clownish features. This is definitely the clown prince of crime.

I was shocked that the lime colored short swept back hair with sideburns and a widow's peak was an original piece. The color makes it original, the mold itself is very popular. Even an Alfred minifigure has been known to wear this hairstyle. A few years later, LEGO would use this headgear mold again for the Batmobile: Batman vs. The Joker Chase set #76224, but made his hair green. I am glad LEGO has kept this piece original for all these years.

The Joker comes with two accessories. Using a 4L bar to hold a bright pink minifigure head and then sliding on a 2X2X1⅔ Cone with stacked rings to create cotton candy is not an original build. This exact technique was used for the 2018 Roller Coaster set. The cone piece itself is called a Beehive or Cotton Candy on Bricklink. The build might not be original, but it confirms my belief that this minifigure is based on The Dark Knight Returns comic. In that story, The Joker gave out poisoned cotton candy to kids while wearing a white suit. I wonder if LEGO knew the accessory they gave The Joker referenced him killing an entire cub scout troop? The printed 1X2 white tile piece is my favorite part of this figure. Just like all the pieces to create The Joker minifigure, it is unique to this set. The tile was printed to look like a joker playing card. A Joker minifigure with his lime hair and classic medium lavender jacket is holding a card with a blue Batman printed on it. The level of detail on what is used in many stories as The Joker’s calling card is fantastic.

Bumblebee 71026-14

Karen Beecher first appeared in the 1976 issue of Teen Titans #45. She was introduced as a scientist and girlfriend of Teen Titan Member Mal Duncan or Herald. She used her genius level intellectual abilities to build a high-tech battle suit, so she could fight the Titans and make Herald look good infront of his team. She put on this suit and made her first appearance as Bumblebee in Teen Titans #48. She escaped their first battle without being unmasked, but later confessed to what she had done. They were so impressed with her abilities that they offered her a spot on the team. She was now officially a Teen Titan Member and superhero. Originally, her super strength, speed, stamina, endurance, agility, reflexes and flying abilities all came from her power suit. She even installed weapons that allowed her to fire an electric blast for her bee sting and trap enemies with a sticky adhesive she called honey. While she had the ability to change her size, during Infinite Crisis she would be hit with a Zeta-Beam that shrunk her permanently down to 6 inches tall. She could now fly and produce a hypersonic blast on her own. Bumblebee has been part of many DC animated shows, in which many of her abilities are superpowers that she naturally possessed and her costume would simply add a few more options to her list.

Bumblebee has worn lots of different costumes over her long career. Many of those have included boots or patterns on the bottom half of her clothing. The outfit LEGO went with had Karen in solid black, spandex pants. For this reason we get the common all black leg piece for the CMF character. It is also this piece that makes me believe LEGO was modeling the minifigure after the Teen Titans cartoon character.

The torso brings us to our first original piece and lets us know this is a superpowered individual. The crop top might be stylish, but lacks the full coverage needed for power armor. The midriff not only includes the belly button, but we can also see the lines forming her abs in the front and spine on the back. Three black chevron stripes were printed onto the yellow plastic to create the pattern associated with bees. A closer inspection will show the barely visible orange shadowing to create her chest. On the back there are 4 teardrop shapes with a black dot inside. These look like flaps for the wings to fit through her costume. On her arms, a bright light orange cuff pattern was printed to create her wrist bands. I find it interesting that LEGO used a black line on the top of the bands but not the bottom near her hands.

Some versions of bumblebee have her with real wings and others have her use robotic wings. Whichever one you choose to make these wings, it remains an original piece. The translucent clear fairy wings have been around since 2012, but the black oval line pattern printed on these wings make them unique.

The original dual printed head piece looks amazing. The first side has the confident smirk we come to expect with our superheroes. The second side has the gritted teeth, scowl of a hero giving it their all to save the day. It’s those eyes behind the yellow lensed goggles that make this piece spectacular. The thick black outline, yellow lenses and white glare are perfect for our fast flying heroine dressed as a bee. I love that the shape of the eyelashes and long thin eyebrows shift to capture both emotions. I’m always impressed with the amount of emotion LEGO is able to put into their characters with only a few simple printing designs.

Bumblebee has worn lots of costumes, but only a few hair styles. While I do like the curly hair with a strip of yellow we saw with the LEGO mini-doll, the two buns that look like antennas have always been my favorite. When this set came out in 2020, it was an original piece. The female hair, parted in the middle with 2 buns on top has since been used in lots of different sets. Looking at the amount of detail put into the mold you can see why. The curly bumps on the buns and the wavy hair on the rest is so well crafted, it matches real life hairstyles.

To create Bumblebee’s electrical bee sting, she was given 2 of the double angular wave with a bar handle pieces. To make this less of a tongue twister, she has two electric zigzag pieces. This piece originally came out in 2019, but this is the first time it was available in a translucent yellow color. It would be used again for another electricity wielding superhero, Storm, in 2023. You can see this is the perfect accessory for zapping enemies with electricity. Previously, minifigures were given a single angular wave with bar end for their lighting powers. While the single bolt of lighting looked good, attaching it up or down instead of directed at their enemy made it less useful in MOC work. We could go a step further and say that these lightning bolt shapes also work better for Bumblebee in the 2004 Teen Titans cartoon, who used weapons shaped like the letter B to fire her electric blasts.

Flash 71026-15

This minifigure is based on the very 1st person to take on the superhero Flash identity. Jay Garrick first appeared in the 1940 issue of Flash Comics #1. Based on the Roman god Mercury, Flash was able to reach superhuman speeds. Those exact speeds have varied for our Golden Age hero. Initially he could run just shy of the speed of sound. At times he moves so fast that he can vibrate the molecules of his body. Powers are not the only thing that changed over time. His origin has been tweaked and changed. He first gained his powers while taking a smoke break in the laboratory he was working with his academic advisor Professor Hughes. He accidentally inhaled some hard water vapors, which apparently is more destabilizing to your body's cells than tobacco, and a superhero was born. The decline in superhero popularity would eventually lead to all his comics being canceled and his Golden Age run officially ended in 1951.

This is one of those rare moments where I actually like the leg piece more than the torso. The black belt with a silver buckle printed on the blue hips was a simple design that captured the more basic art style of older comics. It’s the red boots over the blue pants that caught my attention. The thick black line creating the outline at the top of the shoe and lighter line underneath to create the fold are nice, but it’s the gold wings that I love. The stylized look of these wings is fantastic. I’m always talking in these reviews about how it’s those little details that make a big difference. Here it is the way the wings are not just on the red boots. The tips of the wings are printed slightly onto the blue section of the pants. That minute detail helps these printed wings look like they are sticking out three-dimensionaly from the boots.

I might like the legs more, but the red torso piece also looks amazing. The large, light orange lighting bolt on the front of the torso is shaded in gold and then outlined in black. It gives so much depth to what was a rather simple design in the comics. I think the best part of the torso piece are the light nougat lines used to create the fabric. Typically, these superhero minifigures have their overdeveloped muscles bulging from underneath their skin tight costumes. Here we can’t see his muscles under the thick shirt that folds over itself to button on the side. We can see the wrinkles where the fabric is bunching together. Even the back has this thicker center section that offers a hero more padding. This is definitely a more practical superhero costume.

The single facial expression printed on the head piece is perfect for the hero who is often smiling on the front cover of his 1940s’ comics. While modern day comic readers will recognize Jay Garrick as an older Flash from long before Barry Allen came along, he was a young man during his Golden Age Stories. Here we see that youthful face, with his chiseled jaw giving us a confident lopsided grin. The Shadowing around the eyes helps us imagine the wind hitting his face as he travels at super speeds. I love how his eyebrows are not perfectly straight but have the ends slightly curling up on the inside. I do NOT love how this exact same head piece was used for the Jurassic World park worker minifigure in the Indominus Rex vs. Ankylosaurus set that came out this same year. As a part of the collectable minifigure series, I would have preferred a unique collectable head piece.

The original headgear piece is my favorite part of this minifigure. The flat silver, wide brim hat with pearl gold wings on the side looks amazing and is useful far beyond the DC Super Hero theme. The flat silver makes it look like this helmet is made of metal. The lightning bolt wings sticking out the side instead of being printed on are amazing. Since both the Greek god Hermes and Roman god Mercury famously wore a winged petasos hat, the image has been incorporated into lots of characters over the thousands of years these gods have been around.

Technically, Flash does not come with any accessories. The translucent clear minifigure neck bracket with 2 back studs and the two translucent yellow lighting bolts are considered part of the minifigure build. Usually these neck bracket additions are considered part of the minifigure build. However, since the lightning bolts only appear when he is using his powers and running at super speeds, I consider them an accessory. Neither of these pieces is rare but they do add another way for builders to create the effect of him running lightning fast. I enjoy the creative ways people have brought Flash’s super powers to life using static builds techniques. This was the first time I saw a single angular wave with a bar end used for that purpose.

Bat-Mite 71026-16

Bat-Mite first appeared in the 1959 comic Detective Comics Issue #267. This imp from the 5th Dimension idolizes Bat-Man. He is constantly setting up ridiculous events to see his favorite hero in action. He is not technically a villain, but a misguided fan. Once he realizes that he has actually annoyed Bat-Man with his stunts, he will leave in shame. Although it appears that Bat-Mite is a powerful magical being, he is actually using advanced scientific technology from his world that is beyond our understanding. I’m shocked it took till 2020 to get him in minifigure form. He was heavily featured in the 2014 LEGO DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered T.V. special and major character in the LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham video game released that same year.

The non-bendable kid legs are an obvious choice for this extremely small character. The original dual color used to create the lower part of his Bat-Man costume is great. The blue boots and hips separated by the light bluish gray pants are perfectly proportioned. The only downside to these non-bendable legs, is that they severely limit the use of the 1L bar with angled hollow stud included in this series. This bar piece was supposed to allow people to display the minifigures in more dynamic poses, but Bat-Mite just looks like he is falling down.

The Toros piece gives us another unique piece that is jam packed with amazing details. The sewn on bat symbol is great. The messy outline of a bat, on a white oval stitched onto the light bluish gray shirt captures that homemade halloween costume feeling. I love how LEGO took the time to put lumps and creases into the shirt on the front and back. This small detail highlights the loose fitting shirt, instead of the skin tight clothes usually worn by superheroes. The crooked utility belt with its end hanging sloppily out the buckle completes the ensemble perfectly. This torso piece also matches his previous LEGO television and video game appearances.

The blue cape is the same shape as the one used for Batman in the Mighty Micro series, but this is the first time it comes in a blue color.

I was surprised that Bat-Mite only came with one facial expression on the head piece. While I will often complain about this with CMF characters, the one face created is so well done that I didn’t mind at all. The oversized bat shaped glasses are the perfect accessory for a Bat-Man fanatic. The geeky grin and buck teeth show us this character isn’t evil spirited, he’s just over zealous in his fandom.

The blue Batman cowl is another unique piece. The bent right ear not only matches the character’s appearance in the comic books, but also adds to the sloppy cosplay costume seen with the rest of the figure. I instantly thought how this cowl could be switched out with other Batman minifigures, for people wanting to do stop motion or MOC work that has Batman beaten up.

For this accessory, Bat-Mite came with the stand pieces to create that dynamic pose we talked about earlier and a printed 2x3 bright orange tile piece. The printing on the tile piece recreates the cover of Detective Comics #27, but with some nice LEGO twists. The attention to detail that LEGO put into recreating this 1939 comic book is amazing. Looking at the actual cover and this piece side by side just highlights the care LEGO takes in designing these pieces. Having the first appearance of Batman is not only a great match for this super fan but also a great connection the the Batman minifigure from this series that has him wearing his original comic book costume.

Conclusion

I loved this series. LEGO did a fantastic job transforming DC superheroes into minifigures. They captured all those details found in the comic book art and printed them onto the minifigure pieces. I enjoyed getting so many characters who have never been made into a minifigure. I’m particularly excited to finally get a Bat-Mite minifigure. I have been dreaming of this since he was featured in the 2012 LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes video game. It only took 8 years. With the exception of Superman and the Joker, I thought LEGO did a great job giving us alternate versions of characters who have had lots of minifigures in the past. With only two fails out of sixteen minifigures, that is a successful series.