LEGO has just officially announced the release of the LEGO Batman ™ 2: DC Super Heroes video game for the summer of 2012. Like the other games in the LEGO range, this one is developed by TT Games and produced by Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. The game is clearly announced as the sequel to the previous game, LEGO Batman, sold over 11 million copies.

It will be available on all market platforms: Xbox 360®, PlayStation®3, Nintendo Wii ™, PC, Nintendo DS ™, Nintendo 3DS ™ and PlayStation®Vita.

On the program: Gotham City and a slew of DC super heroes with Batman and Robin joined by Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to face Lex Luthor and the Joker among others. We will find the vehicles seen in the sets of the Super Heroes DC Universe range such as the Batmobile or the Batwing. The press release also mentions the possibility of using new gadgets like the Batman's Power Suit or Robin's Hazard Cannon and new abilities like the ability to fly, super-breathing (super breath) and thermal vision.

In short, a classic announcement for a game awaited by fans but which should remain in line with the previous games that made the concept so successful. I would be sure to play it with my son, as split-screen play is especially enjoyable with LEGO products.

You can find all the latest news on LEGO video games on the dedicated space at http://videogames.lego.com.

Bruce Wayne, the wealthy industrialist philanthropist who became Batman following the assassination of his parents, was the subject of two minifigs: The 2006 one, rather generic and without excessive customization, which does not really resemble the Bruce Wayne from the animated series Batman The Animated Series and even less to the character seen in many comics, and that of 2012 which in my opinion cultivates a certain resemblance to Christian Bale, interpreter of the character in the trilogy The Dark Knight.

The minifigure from 2006, delivered in the set 7783 The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion, no longer has anything original. The head has been used many times for various characters including a guard in the set 7785 Arkham Asylum also released in 2006, a Hoth Rebel Trooper in the set 8129 AT-AT Walker in 2010 or an Alamut guard in the set 7573 Battle of Alamut released in 2010 ...

This same head is also used, as a nod to the 2006 Batman range, for a guard (sh023) in the set 6864 The Batmobile and the Two-Face Chase...

The chest Dark Blue Suit was also used for Harry Osborn's minifigure in the set 4856 Doc Ock's Hideout released in 2004.

Strangely, this minifigure is sold for only around € 8 on Bricklink and many sellers currently offer it.

The minifig from 2012 delivered in the set 6860 The Batcave looks a lot more eye-catching with her faux air of serious Christian Bale with slicked back hair and a crisp and exclusive 3-piece suit. she is already selling around 10 € on Bricklink, a price that should drop with the gradual arrival of sets from the new Super Heroes range around the world. Be careful, however, it should not be marketed again in another set and if the torso remains exclusive, its price should quickly skyrocket ...

If you are a licensed collector, treat yourself to the 2006 minifigure or buy the parts separately on Bricklink, because even if it is rather generic, the fact remains that Bruce Wayne is the key character in the Batman universe. As for that of 2012, obviously, it must be obtained without delay either in the retail or in the set 6860.

Another set which is referenced at Brickset (9476 The Orc Forge) but about which nothing has filtered yet.

If this set ever sees the light of day, it will no doubt be a LEGO Shop or Toys R Us exclusive. On the content side, we should have orcs, orcs and more orcs ... and some walls to replicate them. Isengard ironworks. And maybe even some new weapons ...

In short, we don't know anything, and we will have to wait a few more weeks to find out more about this set.

Are these the two exclusive sets for the second wave of Star Wars sets in 2012? I'm not sure of it...

But Brickset references these two sets out of nowhere without further details:

9525 Pre Vizsla's Mandalorian Fighter

Pre Vizla is a human leader of the Mandalorian Death Watch faction during the Clone Wars. He is also Dooku's ally and governor of the planet Concordia, a moon of Mandalore. His ship featured in this set should be the Gauntlet, a class hunter Kom'rk seen in the animated series The Clone Wars (Season 2 - Episode 12: The Mandalore Plot).

9526 Palpatine's Arrest

 This set could reproduce the scene of the arrest of Palpatine aka Darth Sidious in TheEpisode III Revenge of the Sith. We would therefore be entitled to the minifigs of Saesee Tiin, Mace Windu, Agen Kolar, Kitt Fisto and Palpatine. Maybe we will also see Anakin in this set, he intervenes in this scene where he saves the Chancellor ... Saesee Tiin, Mace Windu, Agen Kolar and Kitt Fisto do not survive this failed attempt to apprehend Sidious.

Rest assured, I'm not crying scandal, as usual ...

I was quietly surfing the internet, looking for some interesting info, and I came across a revelation: What if Luke's minifigure helmet in the set 9493 X-Wing Starfighter was not the correct one?

Or rather if it was in fact one of the countless helmets used in the filming of the saga ...

If you are a Star Wars fundamentalist or just like to educate yourself on everything related to this universe, you owe it to yourself to go to this link.

You will discover, with descriptions and detailed analyzes, everything about the different helmets used by Mark Hamill during the filming of the first two films of the Original Trilogy.

I also can't resist the urge to give you a photo of Jek Porkins alias Red 6 at the controls of his T-65 X-Wing Starfighter, this hero of the Rebellion accompanied by his droid Astromech R5-D8 (in the background on the picture).

The photos of the minifigs are those of Huw millington (Brickset) posted on his flickr gallery.