One of the topics that I thought I should address as Bricks Cascade 2015’s Superheroes theme coordinator was: Just what is a superhero?
I
couldn’t seem to come up with a single definitive answer to that question. But I do have a list of components and/or
aspects that you can usually find applied to superhero characters. (This paraphrased list comes to us courtesy
of my good friend Wikipedia.)
- Extraordinary powers or abilities, exceptional skills and/or advanced equipment and technology.
- A strong moral code.
- A motivation. (Spidey’s sense of responsibility, Batman’s personal vendetta against criminals, Superman’s belief in justice and humanitarian service, etc.)
- A secret identity.
- A distinctive costume.
- An underlying motif or theme. (Bat for Batman, Spider for Spider-Man.)
- A supporting cast.
- A rogues gallery.
- Independent wealth or a job that allows for minimal supervision.
- A headquarters or base of operations (usually kept hidden from the public).
- A backstory/secret origin.
As
it turns out, there are quite a few LEGO minifigures that have enough of those
qualities to qualify as being superhero-adjacent, if not actually
superhero.
The Obvious Three
Now,
LEGO currently has three licensed superhero themes. DC, Marvel, and Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles. So the easiest means of
building a superhero MOC would be to take the minifigures from a few of those
sets and design your project around that.
There
are quite a few minifigs to choose from.
Characters from the Avengers, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, the Batman
‘Family’, the Justice League, TMNT, the Foot Clan, the Kraang, and others.
But
when making a superhero MOC, you are by no means limited to what’s available
from the three Superhero specific themes that LEGO offers.
Ultra Agents
The
heroes of the Ultra Agents theme might not be superheroes (although I’ve always
gotten a strong SHIELD Agent vibe from both the current line of minifigs and
their two previous incarnations [Agents, Agents 2.0]). But the enemies that they fight are most
definitely supervillains.
Adam
Acid, Infearno, Retox, Terabyte, Toxikita, Tremor… all definitely cut from
supervillain cloth.
Ninjago
Spinjitzu
counts as an extraordinary power. Each
one’s element-of-choice works as an underlying motif/theme. And distinctive costumes are a big check on
their superhero checklist. (And not just
one costume per, either. Cole, Jay, Kai,
Zane, and Lloyd now have enough costumes in their wardrobes to rival the Iron
Man or Batman minifigs.)
And
their enemies definitely fit within the supervillain genre: Evil ninja, the undead, snake people, stone
warriors, robots, and who knows what all else (I’m a season behind on the TV
series, and haven’t gotten a lot of the sets).
Legends of Chima
I
haven’t been following the Chima storyline at all. But anthropomorphic animals have long been a
staple of comic book fiction. So there
are all sorts of superhero-worthy minifigs in the Chima sets. Lions and tigers and bears (oh, my!) Plus eagles, gorillas, crocodiles, wolves,
ravens, rhinos, beavers, scorpions, bats, spiders, mammoths, vultures, and
phoenixes.
Plenty
you can do with these guys, whether you stick to Chima canon or rename the
figures to be new characters. Everything
from Marvel’s Catpeople to DC’s Gorilla City and beyond.
City
Okay,
so there probably aren’t a lot of actual superheroes to be found in City, but
there’s certainly lots of potential for supporting cast. Civilian friends-and-relatives of
superheroes, coworkers of the secret identity, and so on.
Not
to mention a plethora of police, firefighters, and rescue workers, all of which
have a place in the background of the big hero vs. villain throwdowns.
Hero Factory
I
knew practically nothing about Hero Factory until about a week ago when I
looked up some stuff on the Wiki- and Bricki- pedias. I had no idea that those larger ‘constraction
figures’ were actually mechsuits and technical add-ons to near minifig-sized
robots contained within.
NOW
I’m kinda interested in the line. But
the LEGO store is clearing them out to make room for the newly returned
Bionicle line, and I don’t have the money to grab copies of what few are still
available on the sale page.
Those
little robots obviously count as superheroes, in or out of their larger mech counterparts.
Monster Fighters
There
are versions of Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster in both the Marvel and
DC Universes. (As well as other
superhero comics here and there.) Along
with various mummies, werewolves, and swamp monsters. Which opens the door for the Monster Fighters
line to be considered.
Ignoring
the official storyline, you could use the minifigs as good-aligned monster
hunters vs. villainous monsters; OR, misunderstood monsters as the heroes, and
their usual enemies being sadistic monster hunters. It’s all good.
(And
if you’ve got monsters/supernatural villains, you could also easily throw the
Ghostbusters into the general community of superheroes as well.)
The Lone Ranger
Most
people don’t automatically think ‘superhero’ when they think of the Lone
Ranger, but… he’s got a strong moral code, a motivation, a secret identity, a
distinctive costume (well, a uniform and a mask, anyway), a supporting cast,
he’s independently wealthy (owns a secret silver mine) and has a secret base
(again, secret silver mine).
Actually,
the real reason that I tend to lump the Lone Ranger and Tonto in with the rest
of the superhero crowd is because they fit into the same basic literary/theatrical
category as Zorro, who I consider to have been one of the earliest
superheroes. If the Lone Ranger was a
superpowered alien, he and Zorro would be the Superman and Batman of the Wild
West.
So,
if you were to throw a little time travel into the mix, the Lone Ranger would
be a perfect candidate for a modern superhero encounter. (And if you need precedent, then just
consider that both Marvel and DC have had modern day superheroes team up with
some of their western characters – the Two-Gun Kid is a one-time member of the
Avengers, and the JLA has fought alongside Jonah Hex.)
Parts and Creativity
It
just goes on and on. Star Wars is far
more space opera than superhero, but their minifigures are representative of
space-age clothing, mystic robes, and powered armor. Every now and then you’ll see superheroes
based on medieval knights, easily obtained from the Castle theme. And I’ve noticed more than a few figures from
the Collectable Minifigures theme that just scream out for
superheroization.
DIYOC
Do
It Yourself Original Characters. (Yeah,
I turned two acronyms into a portmanteau [portmantacronym?]. What’cha gonna do about it?) When coming up with a good superhero MOC, you
don’t even have to use established characters if you don’t feel like it.
Officially
licensed Superman and Batman minifigs?
Obviously. Doctor Strange and
Sub-Mariner minifigs assembled from miscellaneous heads, legs, torsos, hair,
and other accessories? You bet. The superhero and supervillain characters you
created back in high school for that comic you never got around to writing and
drawing? Well, why not?
I
mean, if you’re making custom (purist or otherwise) minifigs based on
characters that don’t have official versions available, why not also make
figures for characters that haven’t ever been published or filmed outside of
the bounds of your imagination? That’s
what LEGO is all about, after all. Making
whatever you want. (And then displaying
it in the Superheroes section of this year’s Bricks Cascade!)
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