Welcome back to another installment of For the Distinguished Lego Batman Collector! Next on tap is a review of the three sets of DC Comics Mighty Micros: 76061 Batman vs. Catwoman, 76062 Robin vs. Bane, and 76063 The Flash vs. Captain Cold. Full disclosure: I was pretty excited about grabbing these at my local Lego Store. These chibi-style mini-builds are DC's version of Star Wars Microfighters and, as any distinguished Lego Batman collector might be, was excited to see chibis appear in Batman form.
As usual, first the basics: there are three individual sets here: 76061 Batman vs. Catwoman includes 79 pieces, 76062 Robin vs. Bane includes 77 pieces, and 76063 The Flash vs. Captain Cold includes 88 pieces. Each retail at $9.99, and include two vehicles and two minifigures. Each minifigure has at least one accessory it carries in its hand, with Catwoman and Captain Cold sporting a generous two.
Lego has really hit the mark with the Mighty Micros. They are a perfect cross between a collectible and a toy, working well for either a Batman display, or a simple, easy to build vehicle that will appeal to kids, teens and adults alike. The builds themselves are simple yet cleverly done, depicting a vehicle that has relevance to each respective character. From Bane's drill to Batman's mini-Batmobile, none feel like the designers mailed in their designs. All the vehicles work well to frame their minifigures.
Speaking of the minifigures, these little dudes (and dudette) steal the chibi-show. Like the muted landscape surrounding the Mona Lisa, the sets exist to highlight these simply awesome figs. The torso and head prints, while simpler versions of their larger minifig cousins, are all excellent, and give Batman collectors and fanatics a completely new version of each character to expand and enhance their collections. Every minfigure is completely unique, with the only overlap of existing minfigure parts being the head gear/hair, short pants and Batman's cape. These bad boys (and girl) will charm the socks off any Lego Batman collector. They're simply amazing!
The box art is also really well done, with the punchy brick depictions set on an azure background of a cartoonish night joyride through mini-Gotham City. I love that vehicle/miifigure pair comes with separate instruction books because it makes splitting the build with a child or loved one a breeze - one takes book 1 and the other takes book 2. No arguments, no fighting over the single instruction manual, and no heartburn, just pure fun spending time with your favorite Lego builder.
On to the individual sets...
76061: Batman vs. Catwoman
Given the presence of Batman in this set, it's obviously the anchor of the line. Batman vs. Catwoman comes with a mini-Batmobile and a Cat-Car, complete with a tail, yellow eyes and a carton of milk. The choice of Catwoman to pair with Batman is intriguing, as we don't know whether Batman is pursuing or being pursued by a love-struck Catwoman. It's up to you to decide the direction their tempestuous relationship takes...
The Dark Knight shrinks! While this Batman minifigure is smaller than his other minfigure brethren, he more than makes up for it with personality. He sports a facial expression that should be titled "STFU", and his torso print, while simple, is iconically Batman. The only small issue is that his cape is a little too long, like Momma Wayne bought him one size too big from Target so he could grow into it. While Lego whiffed slightly on the cape, the rest hit the mark. Outstanding start.
Even Batman's head print gives him the appearance of a questioning squint when his cowl is on - yet another characteristic of his personality from a minifig that oozes it.
Not much to write home about the back printing, but I'm glad they included it as it does complete the minfigure, and let's the buyer know the designers thought of everything.
Even the min-Batmobile looks good. SNOT techniques are used well for a small set, and while I would have liked to seen some exaggerated Batwings on this Batmobile, it's simplicity plays its role in keeping the minfigure the star of the show.
Catwoman exudes elegance through simplicity. Her torso print is nice with an oversized cat belt buckle, yet keeps the suit understated to allow the Cat mask and head print to shine. Catwoman also has the best accessories of any of the Microfighters: the milk carton "chibis" the character by grounding an otherwise beguiling villain with a folksy carton of milk, while the diamond takes the character in the opposite direction by reminding the collector of her naughty side.
Catwoman just looks like she's having fun, no? Great facial expressions bring minfigures to life, and this one clearly succeeds in doing so.
Similar to Batman's, Catwoman's back printing is just icing on this beautiful cake.
Like the Batmobile, the Cat-Car is a success but for very different reasons. The cat eyes give this vehicle life, and let their owners know this set contains three figures, not two. The printing on this specific piece is great, too. It's good to see Lego taking a chance with brick prints on non-tile pieces as these eyes will be useful for all sorts of MOCs. And last but not least, the tail is the perfect "end" to a great vehicle and a great little set.
76062: Robin vs. Bane
This set pits the Boy Wonder in his Robin-mobile against the evil Bane in his driller. Batman Lego fanatics should recognize Lego's fascination with pairing Bane and some type of drilling vehicle as Bane's get-up mimics the pair from 6860 The Batcave. Robin's car feels a little like a failed Batman prototype painted In red, yellow and green. This set, while not as intriguing as the Batman vs. Catwoman set, more than makes up for it with punchy bursts of color that make this set pure eye candy.
Robin looks like he's having the time of his life! Bane? Not so much...
The Robin minifigure is my favorite of the DC Comics series. Colorful and fun, this awesome mini deserves to be appreciated. With a great cape, great printing, a neat red megaphone gun with grappling hook, and a playful grin, it's phenomenal.
Back printing is simple but satisfying - it provides the minifigure some interest when the wind takes sail.
The Robin-mobile is slightly disappointing. It's kind of a shapeless car with a spoiler, but the spoiler has a great "R" print with Robin's emblem. It's the saving grace for an otherwise bland build.
Another quality minifigure, Bane looks great. The head printing is awesome with some mean red eyes on a stylized white field that manages to give the impression of Bane's mouth gear. Bane's facial features make him look mean without being scary. His torso print is also great: a clever combination of the B and the red belt buckle creates a sudden exclamation point, letting all good-guy chibis know he means business! The rest of the torso print is nice with the ubiquitous super hero six pack and a very 50's nuclear era belt rounding out the graphics. All in all, another great fig.
Bane's back printing keeps the hitz coming. His signature venom bottle and cranial dispenser look really sharp and true to the character.
Bane's driller is good, but not great. The drill feels a little too long for the vehicle, but the driller's color the flaming exhaust pipes look great. Even the headlight look like it belongs. In the end, the driller is still worthy of its owner.
76063: The Flash vs. Captain Cold
A very interesting choice of DC characters, The Flash vs. Captain Cold doesn't have have anywhere near the stature of Superman or Wonder Woman who,were skipped in this iteration. Perhaps that bodes will for a Series 2...I can only hope! That said, this set continues the strong run of the DC Mighty Micros with another great pair of minifigures and their vehicles. Even though Captain Cold and The Flash aren't as widely recognized as other DC characters, their pairing is smart as they are nemeses in the DC universe.
Both figs sport nicely designed vehicles that work well with their themes: Captain Cold is riding a snow plow, while The Flash drives a turbo charged go kart.
By now I probably sounding like an echo, but The Flash minifigure looks great (great, great). His signature head mask is the same as the other Flash characters, but everything else is new: his head, torso and even his Power Bolt energy drink. The Flash minifigure wears a small, wry smile and has really sharp torso print complete with The Flash logo and a couple of sporty lightning bolts that point to his...pants thrown in for good measure. The Flash's accessory, his Power Bolt energy drink, is another playful bit of bling that gives the manic Flash a bit more personality.
With his head gear off, the flash shows off those eery white saucers.
The front lightning bolts are reflected on the back, and point directly at his behind. The Flash sure knows how to draw attention to those parts that pay the bills.
I actually really like The Flash's go kart. It has nice lines and two fire trail pieces that were previously used as Ninjago sword blades. To complete the set, an excellent printed 1x2 cheese wedge with The Flash's logo is emblazoned on the front like a hood ornament. A great effort by the designers.
The Captain Cold minifigure is a nice effort too, but I can't say it's the best of the group. His torso print is good but not great with the graphics showing an overly stylized fur-lined parka that doesn't quite look right. It does convey a bit of a feel of icicles to enhance the cold weather motif. The head printing looks good, but his hood is a holdover from the first iteration of Captain Cold, and while it works it's still a repeat.
Taking off the hood reveals a head print that looks the same as when it was on the minfigure. Not much of a surprise here...
The Captain's back printing matches the front printing. I really appreciate the back printing on all of these minfigures. The extra detail really round out already great minifigures. Captain Cold's printing is no different.
The Captain's snow plow is really well designed as the shape, while still exaggerated, is easily recognized as a plow. The front plow blade can also double as Captain Cold's snowboard when winter storm Captain blows through. The small details of plow front grill and the single smoke stack are two cherries on the sundae.
Comparisons
Since every Mighty Micro minifigure is packed with personality, I wanted to see how they compared to other minifigures of the same character. Here's a side-by-side comparsion of the Mighty Micros next to their older brethren:
Incredibly, I like the Mighty Micro Batman better - the black pants look really sharp with the dark bluish gray torso, and it's "WTF" expression is better than the gritting teeth of the regular minifigure who looks like he's trying to chew gravel.
Catwoman is nearly a carbon copy down to the zipper and belt pattern. However, the original is a little shapelier. The Micro has a better belt buckle - advantage: Mighty Micro.
The Robins are similar too, although I can't say enough about the facial expression of the Micro - so happy! In this case, it's Lego Batman collectors FTW.
You'll have to excuse my headless Bane - my son decided to put it on another minifigure, so now you can't tell whether the headless minfigure is Bane or WWE's Kane. All that said, I actually prefer the Mighty Micro version - the exclamation point B is awesome as is his 50's era nuclear belt.
The Flash minifigures are really similar, although the Mighty Micro has those goofy white eyes and lightning pointing to the crotch. I would probably take the original, although they're both great figs.
The Captain Cold minfigures are pretty close too, although I would probably pick the original for the better looking fur neckline and outstanding faceprint. That said, the ice cream cone is a nice touch.
As anyone can tell by the review, I love these Mighty Micros. They're cute, whimsical, and playful. They make for great play pieces or display pieces. And above all else, they really look great. For the Distinguished Lego Batman Collectors, the DC Comics Mighty Micros are must haves!
For the Distinguished Lego Batman Collector
Edited by Quacs
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