A year on from release, and six months away from retirement, is LEGO Batman: The Animated Series’ Batmobile worth picking up?
It’s not a stretch to say that the Batmobile from the highly-acclaimed ‘90s animated series was among the most heavily-requested vehicles from the Caped Crusader’s garage, and having already cycled through Batmobiles from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, the ‘60s live-action series and more,
But when it did race on to shelves last summer, it was to a slightly mixed reception, courtesy of two dividing factors: its colour and its price. So now that the dust has settled a year later, and with one eye on the fact it’s already set to leave shelves by the end of 2025, is this Batmobile worth picking up for those of us who have held out to this point?
We’ve cracked open a fresh copy of
The first thing that springs out putting together this 435-piece model is that it almost feels overengineered. Some sets you look at and wonder where the part count has gone, but this Batmobile is the other way round: so fiddly is the construction in parts that it feels like there must be far more pieces in the box. It’s all in pursuit of recreating the precise shaping of this angular Batmobile, and results in the sort of building experience you’d expect from a set pitched to a slightly older audience, closer in approach to LEGO Speed Champions than LEGO Super Heroes.
Indeed, it’s the sort of design language you’d expect from an 18+ set, from the twin perspectives of authenticity and, unfortunately, budget. Kids want to drive a Batmobile around, but is there really a desire to pay £55 for it just to make it more complex to build? Because, yes, this 435-piece set costs a hefty £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 at retail.
The biggest clue is the fact that the stud shooters slapped on the front end of the car aren’t attached by studs, but rather a bar and hole, and can easily be removed without compromising the aesthetics or structural integrity. You don’t even need any additional pieces to disguise their removal, as you might if they left behind any exposed studs. It’s a smart approach and, crucially, an acknowledgement – or perhaps concession – that the majority of people buying this set are just going to bin them off straight away. Because they’re not kids.
And that makes sense too, because Batman: The Animated Series is probably not on many kids’ radar. But as mentioned up top, it’s a set adult fans of LEGO DC have been requesting for years at this point – and now it’s finally here, has arrived to relatively little fanfare and is quietly leaving shelves only 18 months after release. So what gives? Is this one LEGO Batmobile too many on Billund’s endless Bat-conveyor belt, or is it a rare gem in danger of being overlooked (and therefore skyrocketing in price on the aftermarket)?
Well, there are a few factors to consider beyond the building experience, and first and foremost is unfortunately that price tag. This is a part-intensive build that’s also pretty big next to its minifigures (it’s certainly not to scale with them relative to the source material), and yet it still doesn’t feel like £55 of LEGO when all’s said and done.
Once upon a time – a time not so long ago – Batmobiles came in at around £25 to £35, but now appear to be in their ‘Star Wars sequel trilogy’ era, going bigger, getting more detailed and rapidly ticking up in price (hello, £90 X-wings of the late 2010s). £55 is a tough price to pay for
It all makes this Batmobile feel far removed from those as a value proposition, the same as 2025’s Tumbler, and as with that January set you still only get three minifigures in the Animated Series set (or only one more than the aforementioned 2021 and 2022 models) – two of which are repeats from 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City. Another chance to get Bats and Harley in a cheaper set is nice to have, but one extra villain wouldn’t have gone amiss either.
There’s another big point of contention around this Batmobile that’s divided fans, too: its colour.
And whether you dig the blue or would prefer black, it’s hard not to respect bold design choices. But the designers have unfortunately stopped just short of committing to that decision with a black-suited Batman.
Stick with us here: surely the same lighting and art style that applies to the Batmobile would also apply to Batman? The blue highlights that provide definition and contrast to the car can also be seen on his suit, so it’s very strange that the colour scheme isn’t consistent between the two. He’s not walking around Gotham in a Batsuit that’s a different colour to his car in the show, after all.
Batman suffers too from the generic one-size-fits-all cowl that’s circulating at the moment, juxtaposing LEGO DC’s high-budget era with a cost-cutting approach to its main character. We’ve brought it up before and we’ll bring it up again and again until it changes, because it’s incredibly disappointing that we’re finally getting these Batsuits we’ve been wanting for years and they’re short-changed by cowls that don’t fit.
Harley Quinn is a strong minifigure reminiscent of the 2006-era design (which also took inspiration from Batman: The Animated Series, the series that first introduced Harley to the masses) but like 75354 Coruscant Guard Gunship’s Commander Fox, she really needs extra layers of white printing over the red. As is, she’s giving ‘accidentally left a red sock in my white laundry’ vibes.
You could call Mr. Freeze simplistic with plain arms and legs, and looking at the character’s design in the Animated Series, that would be true. Where are the blue rings around his elbows, shoulders, wrists and knees? Where are his purple boots? The new dome element at least sells that part of the design, and only the physical limitations of minifigure printing (his goggles can’t wrap all the way around his head) let down the torso and head otherwise. But for the only exclusive minifigure in a £55 set, he doesn’t quite cut the mustard.
So, back to that question up top… should you buy
If you’re not so hot on that particular series, have to be a bit choosier with your budget or just can’t find it on sale, it’s fair to say there are better ways to spend £55 at the LEGO Store (and not on another Batmobile either). It’s a fine set and the colour helps to distinguish it from other Batmobiles, but without that affinity for the source material there’s no getting away from the fact it is yet another Batmobile.
A final point of consideration is that previous Batmobiles have jumped at least a little bit in price post-retirement, so the best time to buy
You can score it with double Insiders points at LEGO.com until June 23, and it will get you some of the way to
This set was provided for (re-)review by the LEGO Group.
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