LEGO Batman Movie Blind Bag Minifigs In Stores NOW!

The LEGO Batman Movie Blind Bag Minifigures aren't officially scheduled for release until January, but word got out a couple days before Christmas that Targets across the land were letting them hit shelves. I ran out and, via the squeeze method, found my two 'must-haves' and grabbed a couple more to surprise myself, and boy is this a great series! I'll be collecting them all at a relatively liesurly pace now that I have the two I couldn't live without. Who are those two? Read on, true believer...

I ended up with Red Hood and Nurse Harley (my must-haves) as well as James Gordon, Calculator, and Pink Batman! As with all LEGO blind bagged minifigures, there is a dot-code on the back of the packages, but I find that frustrating and unreliable, and simply squeeze the packages to find the piece or pieces unique to a specific figure. For Red Hood I felt for that massive dome, and for Harley those pig-tails are unmistakable. We'll look at those two last, and SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: If you don't want to know who Red Hood is under his red hood, then turn away before you get to the bottom of the page!

First up is Calculator. I like this guy because he's a great unexpected villain, who ever would have expected a Calculator minifig? My only gripe is that his visor says 07734 instead of 58008. I'll have to make a custom visor methinks.

Under the visor, Calculator has a sinister grin MWAHAHAHAHAAA! To find Calculator via the squeeze method, feel for that massive backpack/shoulder-piece and confirm via the helmet or the little square piece that makes the 'calculator' portion of his chest-piece.

Commissioner James Gordon is great, and the first Gordon minifig I have in my collection. An integral part of any good Batman story, James Gordon was long missed in my minifig world. Gordon comes with a Joker 'wanted' poster and your generic LEGO walkie-talkie part that's been around for decades. Feel for those to confirm you have yourself a Jim.

Fairy Batman. Of all the bat variants in the LEGO Batman movie entourage, this one has to be the best. One word: Tutu. Feel for that, the wand and/or the wings to be sure you have this wonderful pixie-Bat. Bonus: a pink cowl to re-create that episode of the Adam West series about the radioactive cowl.

HHHEEELLLLOOOOOOO NURSE! I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I needed the Nurse Harley minifigure the most. I adore the LEGO Batman movie Harley Quinn design, that hair is amazing!

The nurse hat is removable too!

Finding Harley is all about feeling for the hair. The 'clipboard' piece will further confirm you have the crazy candy-striper in your grasp.

Lastly...SPOILER WARNING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHO IS UNDER THE RED HOOD'S HOOD IN THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE!!!!!

Okay, you've been warned...

The LEGO Batman blind bagged Red Hood is a thing of absolute beauty. The perfect little classic Red Hood, he has that wonderful dome, a bow tie, a red cape and a couple uzis.

Red Hood is even wearing a tuxedo. I wouldn't have thought in a million years LEGO would have any reason to make a classic Red Hood! I can't wait to see what part, if any, he plays in the movie. Flashback perhaps?

And underneath that hood hides...

HHHARRRRLEEEEY!!!!!!

Kidding, kidding.

Under the Red Hood hides...

...Red Hood. More questions than answers here. Will Jason Todd Red Hood be in the LEGO Batman movie, and will he be dressed as classic Red Hood? Only time will tell.

Regardless, the Red Hood is (Harley Quinn not withstanding) the best of the LEGO Batman blind bag series in my humble opinion. Feel for that dome, you can't mistake it for anything else in the series.

That's all for today, kids. I'll be grabbing more myself in the future, but I'm glad I won't feel any pressure or jealousy as I read about others finding them, and I won't be sad if I come across an empty or overly picked over box at the store.

In the meantime I bid you all 'happy hunting'!

BootLEGO Red Hood minifigure

I have a pretty decent Robin minifigure collection between all the LEGO and BootLEGO minifigures I've amassed, covering Dick Grayson, Tim Drake and even Damian Wayne, but until now I did not have one that was definitively Jason Todd. (Now I need a Carrie Kelly Robin!)

This BootLEGO minifigure is definitely one of the lower-end bootlegs. You can see the paint is pretty choppy on the torso, and he's made of a cheap plastic and the plastic molding left a lot of flashing on it. but he was incredibly cheap and he displays well, and he came with two guns...

...and an alternate head/hairpiece too. Well worth the price even if he comes across as a bit cheap. And now I have an official Jason Todd in my Robin minifigure collection. Win win!

Imaginext Bat-Family Foil Packed Figures :: A Christmas Miracle!

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus...and he got my wishlist! Hot off the digital presses, Imaginext.com just released images of a new wave of foil packed single bagged (possibly blind bagged) Batman themed figures! No word yet on a release date, but the website gives these figures a suggested retail price point of $4.00 each. GOTTA HAVE THEM ALL!

 The most shocking addition to the Imaginext Gothamite collection is Red Hood. Hokey smokes!

Maskless Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke. This is a fun one although I do already own a masked Deathstroke. If I could pass on any of these, this would be the one.

New 52 Nightwing. I never liked the red Nightwing symbol, but this one will look cool next to my other Imaginext Nightwing. I suppose I could pass on this one too but it's always tough to pass up any version of the original sidekick Dick Grayson!

FORCED PERSPECTIVE! Purple Catwoman appears to be a straight repaint of the original Catwoman and also comes with the same cat her original version came with. Still, she's PURPLE so of course she's a must have.

Two-Face. Two-Face was one of the first Bat Villains Imaginext made, and he looks a little dated now that the series is so much slicker and more streamlined. So it's nice to see an updated version.

Batman unmasked! I love it!

Zero Year Batman. PURPLE GLOVES! This is a fun bat variant styled after Greg Capullo's Zero Year Batman. A definite must have.

Imaginext didn't have a single shot of Joker, but he appears to be a repaint of the modern Imaginext Joker with a giant wrench. Because reasons. I do like that they painted his saddle-shoes though. Classy!

Expect to hear more about these the second I or others start to find them at retail. Stay tuned!

Red Hood LEGO Minifigure MOC

About a year ago I made a LEGO minifigure of the pre-Joker version of Red Hood. This past weekend I was shuffling through our LEGO parts and it dawned on me that a red helmet with a red visor might make for a cool looking modern Jason Todd Red Hood. I considered giving him a Robin head behind that visor, but the blank head actually adds to the 'mystery' of the Red Hood. I gave him a hoodie-clad torso from one of the recent blind bag series figures - a skateboarder I think - and some weapons. I couldn't decide if I should go with double hand-guns or heavy artillery so I went with a happy medium - a handgun and a missile launcher.

Red Hood isn't known for his subtlety.

I tried a few different iterations, some bodies with 'armor' ala Arkham Knight, some looking a bit more like the crazy Grant Morrison anti-superhero version, but I kind of like the 'basic' Red Hood I ended up with. There's really not much to him, but he's a fun addition to my LEGO minifigure Bat-Family.

Red Hood LEGO Minifigure Custom

I've had this odd red enlarged LEGO-esque piece in my LEGO stuff for as long as I can remember. And I always thought it would make a good Red Hood head (hood?) - The problem? It didn't actually fit over a minifigure's neck piece.

Well I finally busted out the drill-bits and made it fit! unfortunately, I drilled too far and instead of the little LEGO nub at top, now there's just a hole. I am considering gluing a nub up there so his head looks like an enlarged LEGO head piece, but the hole is ok for now, and only a problem if you look at him from above!

I like the effect, because Red Hood is a guy (The Joker, sometimes Jason Todd) with a helmet over his head. A simple red LEGO head piece wouldn't have had the correct effect. This looks like a LEGO red dome over a LEGO head! I added the Red Hood to a LEGO tuxedo piece I have, and gave him black gloves...maybe white gloves would be better? He is also holding a BrickArms grenade launcher.

Batman Under Where?

Like every other Geek in Geekdom worth his Geekredentials, I too got my hands on Batman: Under the Red Hood this week. Under the Red Hood is the latest in a long and almost always awesome line-up of DC Universe Animated Original Movies.

So how was it? Amazing. One of the best DC Universe animated flicks yet.

But be warned, it isn't for the feint of heart. Under the Red Hood is pretty damn brutal at times. Many times. But that certainly shouldn't surprise anyone even vaguely familiar with the comic book source material it's based on.

This ain't no Brave and the Bold!

I won't get all spoilery; I'll keep my review here general and brief. The voice talent is great, John DiMaggio (currently best known for his work as Aquaman on Batman: The Brave and the Bold) does an excellent Joker. Jensen Ackles does very well as Red Hood, Bruce Greenwood does a Batman that at times even sounds a bit like Kevin Conroy, and fan favorite Neil Patrick Harris steals the show with some great lines as Nightwing.

And if anyone from DC/WB is listening, based on his appearance here, I think a Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing animated feature length film would be pretty sweet! Just saying.

The animation and action are tops (although there were a few too many 20+ foot vertical backwards jumps and other push physics a little too far, even for a cartoon leaps for my liking,) and the story has some surprising depth and a few great cameos and flashback sequences.

The Jonah Hex Showcase Short before the feature is good too. Not great, but fun. I think the Spectre Showcase Short that appeared before Crisis on Two Earths sort of set the bar a little too high for JH to reach, but it's a nice add and probably seventeen hundred times better than the recent Jonah Hex movie.

I picked Under The Red Hood up at Best Buy, and was able to get the last exclusive copy, which comes with a Red Hood figurine (similar to Crisis' exclusive Owlman figurine.)

A fun little add-on; I wouldn't have worried about it if I didn't get it, but it cost the same as the 2 disc special edition DVD with or without it, so I'm all over the free toy angle!


The second disc includes a featurette called Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson. I'm pretty sure you can guess what that's about; and two episodes of Batman the animated series. I haven't popped that DVD in yet so I don't know which episodes.

Also included is a "First Look" at the next DC/WB animated offering: Superman/Batman Apocalypse. That one should be fun!

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