It was after reading tonight's VIP newsletter that I asked myself the question: What if the Sith were not successful?

In fact, LEGO doubles your VIP points with the purchase of the pack 5000067 pompously titled LEGO® Star Wars Sith Collection and grouping the sets 7957 Sith Nightspeeder sold 20 € on Amazon et 7961 Darth Maul's Sith Infiltrator sold 48 € on Amazon.

We can already ask ourselves questions about this pack which should not interest many people and conclude without getting too wet that LEGO is trying to get rid of a few extra boxes in its stock.

If at least LEGO had made the effort to produce a new box as is the case with the usual Super Packs, I would have spent 105 € to add a new box to my collection. But there, apparently we are only entitled to a bundle of two known boxes that many of us have already purchased separately.

So, if you absolutely want to treat yourself to these two sets which frankly are only interesting the minifigs and you love the VIP points, rush on the lego shop. Otherwise, buy them on Amazon, or go your way and save your money for the 2012 novelties, you will need it ...

Because there are a little fed up with speculations of all kinds that turn into absolute reality from blog to blog or from topic to topic, I come back in this article to what has been spelled out about the collaboration to come between LEGO, Warner / DC and Disney / Marvel as of 2012 and this over several years as indicated by the mention "... multi-year agreement starting as of January 1st, 2012... ".

By relying on the official press releases released by LEGO that few people have finally read to the end, it is possible to clearly define what we are going to be entitled to, and what is only pure speculation. 

First of all, let's remove the doubt about the Marvel range. LEGO announces clearly in his official press release what will this range be made of: "... three Marvel franchises - Marvel's The Avengers movie, and X-Men and Spider-Man classic characters ..."

It is clearly stated here that the lineup will be based on the movie The Avengers which will be released in May 2012 and the classic characters (as opposed to those in the licensed films) of the X-Men and Spiderman. Exit therefore the X-Men seen in the various films, or the Spiderman of Sam Raimi. Back to the good old comics.

Regarding the Avengers, and as I announced in previous articles (6868 Hulk's Helicarrier Breakout ... et 6869 Quinjet Aerial Battle ...), the sets will be well based on the film, and by extension, the vehicles and the theme of the action as well.

The characters confirmed in the Avengers lineup are: "... Marvel characters as Iron Man, The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Loki and Black Widow to LEGO minifigure form ...Wolverine, Magneto, Nick Fury and Deadpool ... Spider-Man, and Doctor Octopus ... "the rest is pure speculation as well.

The minifig of Wolverine was presented at the San Diego Comic Con in July 2011. It will likely be delivered in the set 6866 Wolverine Chopper.

Regarding the actual release on the market of the Avengers range, here again LEGO gives a clear and precise indication which leaves no room for speculation: "... The retail debut of the Marvel-inspired LEGO SUPER HEROES collection is timed to coincide with the highly anticipated Summer 2012 blockbuster movie release of Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures feature film Marvel's The Avengers ..."The official release will therefore be based on the release of The Avengers movie in 2012.

On the DC Universe line, again the official LEGO release leaves little room for interpretation. 

First of all, this agreement is considered as an extension of an already existing partnership, and which had allowed the development of the LEGO Batman range a few years ago, with the success that we know, especially for video games. taken from the license sold 12 million copies since 2008: "... Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP) with DC Entertainment (DCE) and The LEGO Group has announced the extension of a successful partnership ..."

The planned launch date, January 2012, without geographical precision is written in full: "... Construction sets, minifigures and buildable characters and creatures inspired by the universe of DC Comics are slated to launch in January 2012 ..."

The confirmed characters of the range are: "... Batman ™, Robin ™, Catwoman ™, The Joker, The Riddler ™, Two-Face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn ™, Bane, Bruce Wayne, Superman ™, Lex Luthor ™ and Wonder Woman ™ ..."

We also have confirmation that  Green Lantern will at least be entitled to a minifigure, the one distributed during the San Diego Comic Con in July 2011. No set has been announced with this character yet.

It is clearly stated that the DC Universe line is a reinterpretation of the LEGO Batman line released between 2006 and 2008: "The company will revisit their previous successful collections like LEGO BATMAN ™ ... Given the fan enthusiasm for previous LEGO BATMAN collections, we couldn't be more thrilled to continue the build-and-play adventures ..."

In short, these two press releases give us sufficient details, it suffices to read and translate correctly what is mentioned therein. Everything else is pure speculation and should be seen as such.

To put in the box contradictory information : The catalog page that I presented to you in this article clearly indicates in French that the launch of the LEGO Superheroes range is planned for MAY 2012, at least in France. The images from the foreign catalog which presented the Ultrabuild range also indicated a launch in MAY 2012.

To put in the box speculation, no evidence is officially available:

The biggest sets in the LEGO DC Universe range will come with a comic inserted in the box. I got this info from one of my sources, and it is confirmed today by another source on Eurobricks.

 The two official LEGO releases: 

The LEGO Group to create LEGO® DC universe SUPER HEROES (20 / 07 / 2011)

Marvel Entertainment and the LEGO Group announce strategic relationship in construction toy category (21 / 07 / 2011)

I may alienate some of you, but I have to write this article. You probably already know, MegaBrands has had the Marvel license since 2004 in its range. Mega Blocks. I would not launch the debate here on the quality of the range Mega Blocks but I would venture on the other hand to a comparison between two ranges of direct competitors.

The Marvel range at the direct competitor of LEGO is clearly oriented towards mini sets sold at an affordable price and composed of either a minifigure and a vehicle (Marvel build vehicle) , is several miniatures from different factions and various and varied gear or backgrounds. There are also characters sold blind and individually in a bag under the name Marvel Character Building, on the same principle as what we know with the series of collectible LEGO minifigs.

LEGO arrives in 2012 in this Marvel niche and will have to consider what its competitors are doing. Today, an original idea is quickly taken up or even plagiarized outright: Playmobil has just been released a range of characters to collect whose bag is strangely similar to that of the LEGO range.

LEGO will he mind the aging license of Mega Blocks for its Marvel Superheroes range? I think so, to a certain extent. Yes Mega Blocks is very poorly distributed in France, even in Europe, we must not forget that the brand is a hit in the United States and Canada. LEGO must take this into account and offer affordable products to those countries where the culture of superheroes far exceeds that of other licenses, Star Wars included. 

Will we see characters sold in sachets? Mini sets with a single character and a vehicle? I think so if the license lasts beyond the first year of operation. The sale of super heroes in sachets would make it possible to offer a very wide range of characters from the Marvel team, which has several hundred of them, beyond the most famous. Vehicles are also a good way to offer small sets at competitive prices. If we look beyond traditional and historical comics and are interested in cartoons for example, each super hero has his motorcycle, his flying machine, his car, his jetpack or his jet-ski ...

With the arrival of Disney at the helm, the Marvel license should take, in the opinion of all specialists, a turn even more general public than what we know and generate a cohort of derivative products intended for the youngest who do not. weren't necessarily the intended audience for the original comics. LEGO, like all manufacturers holding this license, will have to follow suit and meet market expectations. After all, who predicted that LEGO would launch a Star Wars range based on mini planets resembling a pokeball?

The release of the photos of the set 6860 The Batcave from the range Lego superheroes expected for early 2012 brought its share of happy and disappointing. Some expected more, others are pleasantly surprised by this well-stocked playset.

So what should we think of this type of set considering our demanding AFOL position? Are we jaded or do we simply expect LEGO to amaze us with each new set at the risk of being necessarily disappointed?

For my part, each new image of this set, from the official image above published everywhere a few days ago to photos from New York Comic Con 2011, comforts me in the idea that this set will form a simply awesome playset and a source of minifigs all very attractive in their current versions.

Nostalgic for the Batman range of 2006 moan, thinking of the first Batcave marketed under the reference 7783 The Batcave: The Penguin and Mr. Freeze's Invasion. At the time, this set with its 7 minifigs and more than 1000 pieces was already a good example of a playset intended for children and packed with features, making it essential for any young fan but also for any older collector.

The Batcave and the Batmobile are to the Batman universe what the X-Wing and the Tie Fighter are to the Star Wars universe: Transgenerational symbols which have marked minds and which are used in each adaptation of these universes to the over the decades.  
To relaunch a range dedicated to super heroes, LEGO has chosen to reinterpret with current codes this Batcave which has made children and adults dream through the various films or cartoons released in recent years. This is the key to the success of this range, which must position LEGO in a credible and sustainable manner in a universe populated by amateurs at least as demanding as Star Wars fans.

The set offered by LEGO today is visibly designed while respecting many cost constraints: Production costs, with a limited number of parts and the widespread use of stickers, but also marketing.
According to the first unofficial price indications we have, this set should be sold around $ 70 in the USA but I would bet more readily on a price of around € 90 in France. For this price, the buyer will be entitled to 5 minifigs, and two vehicles. The distribution of the forces present will allow immediate playability without risk of frustration. The structure of the Batcave, although relatively more summary than the version of 2006, remains sufficient to locate the action resulting from the imagination of the smallest.

And this is the brilliant balance of this set: The youngest will see it as a complete and flexible playground when the older ones will find new minifigs or reinterpretations of characters whose historical minifigs have now become unaffordable. in the parallel market.

Let's not forget that a whole generation of kids is impatiently waiting to be able to send Batman and Robin to fight Bane and Poison Ivy without risking destroying minifigs whose current price often exceeds € 30 each and which their parents do not necessarily allow access to. understandable reasons.

On the side of collectors, enthusiasts or speculators, I cannot recommend the purchase of this set enough. It will inevitably take on significant value over the years for a simple reason: It is a playset, which means that most young buyers will not hesitate to put it together, handle it, and scatter it around. bottom of a toy box over time. The stickers do not support manipulation very well, we know that only too well. Minifigs also rarely survive handling by young children, and parts are easily lost.

In the end, the Batcave will always remain the Batcave, and buyers who have missed the opportunity to buy this set during its marketing period will sooner or later be ready to pay the price to satisfy their frustration. The 7783 set released in 2006 was marketed for $ 90 in the USA, it will cost you almost $ 400 today if you want to buy it. in new condition on Bricklink.

For my part, I am obviously attracted primarily by minifigs. They will join those of the previous range and my other super heroes, custom or not. I would acquire this set anyway, and probably others from the same range to feed my nostalgia for the time when I was reading comics, like Strange or Spidey in secret at night under my duvet for help. an electric lamp, or the one where I discovered in 1989 at the cinema the Batman by Tim Burton with Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Billy Dee Williams (And yes, he played the part of Harvey Dent) and the sublime Kim Basinger.