DC and LEGO expand relationship

CB Droege 22 Jul, 2011 at 9:20pm ET Article published in Life

Warner Bros. Consumer products, owner of the DC Comics IP, today announced at SanDiego Comic-Con (SDCC), that they have expanded their relationship with LEGO to include toys. The two have already teamed up to create some LEGO adventures video games, with more apparently planned on the way. Starting in 2012, LEGO will also offer minifigures in the likeness of DC characters. The first line of 13 minifigures, to be released in January, will feature the core of the JLA: Superman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Batman, etc., as well as some of the more famous villains like The Joker and Lex Luthor.

By 2013, new DC themed LEGO playsets will allow fans to construct some of the famous sets and vehicles from the DC characters’ stories. Look for the Batmobile and the JLA satellite among the first available. Personally, I hope they do a jet out of transparent bricks for Wonder Woman. In fact, I can’t see how they could possibly resist.

Warner Bros. is also giving away a thousand each of the Superman, Batman, and Green Lantern minifigures at SDCC. Expect them to show up on eBay any second. The expected use for them however, is a promo contest in which the lucky recipients of the toys make videos starring the minifigures, and possibly win a trip to LEGO Land in California.

This has been LEGO’s way for a while now–making deals with holders of existing IP to base LEGO designs and games on. Other properties include Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Toy Story–all of which have video games, mini-figures and playsets associated with them.

DC has been doing a lot lately, including the end of the Batman film trilogy and the beginning of a Superman film trilogy which will both be out next year. Also, there is a JLA film on its way at an unspecified time. This also all colludes with the massive DC relaunch. Called ‘The New 52′, the relaunch is a renumbering of all of DC’s comic book properties, and a reset of much of the heroes’ canon, in an effort to bring in new readers.

Comments

24 Jul 2011 ~ 1:15pm Linc Lego is really doing a bang-up job in cross-licensing. Not just in producing figurines and sets, but in the video game department as well. Really intelligent moves.
24 Jul 2011 ~ 10:55pm annabelle78 I really hope with these partnerships we will see more LEGO themed videogames like LEGO spiderman.
25 Jul 2011 ~ 2:36pm GHoosdum Holy crap - kids have it so easy with LEGO these days. Why, in my day, we had to use our IMAGINATION!
8 Dec 2011 ~ 5:50pm Brooke Now LEGO just needs to partner up with Marvel :3
8 Dec 2011 ~ 7:33pm Cyclonite If only they weren't so pricey.
8 Dec 2011 ~ 8:35pm Ilriyas I still remember taking all of my lego when I was a little kid and making my own Medieval Castle! A castle I say! It was a mismatch of bricks, and was populated by everything from Storm Troopers to Cowboys but damn it I made it myself!

Seriously though, I haven't seen a single piece of DC lego I haven't liked yet and I can't wait to see what comes out next.