Review: 76213 King Namor's Throne Room
Posted by CapnRex101,Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduces the underwater Kingdom of Talocan and its revered ruler, Namor. This fascinating antihero is among Marvel's oldest characters, although there have evidently been updates to his backstory for this onscreen appearance.
Additionally, 76213 King Namor's Throne Room presents an extremely detailed Namor minifigure, including his winged ankles. The powerful Sub-Mariner's throne also looks superb, although the price could overshadow these qualities.
Summary
76213 King Namor's Throne Room, 355 pieces.
£29.99 / $34.99 / €34.99 | 8.4p/9.9c/9.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Despite certain qualities, the price and lack of exclusive minifigures is disappointing
- Accurate and attractive throne
- Unique submarine design
- Namor minifigure inaccuracies
- Too expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Following the sad death of Chadwick Boseman in reality and therefore Black Panther within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Shuri is evidently taking on a more action-oriented role. Her black and purple attire, with intricate metallic silver highlights, definitely resembles the famous Black Panther suit, albeit featuring more vibrant colour.
This whole minifigure is exceptionally detailed and looks great, although the inclusion of flame yellowish orange is perhaps one colour too many. The new hair component includes wonderful moulded detail as well, which has always been the case for Shuri minifigures. I dislike this head though, which includes two smiling faces rather than an appropriate expression for combat.
Shuri's deadly Vibranium Gauntlets always accompany her minifigures, represented by pearl dark grey pieces produced for Ultra Agents. While the onscreen weapons are more elaborate, these are a viable substitute and the trans-light blue 1x1 round plates provide some additional detail.
King Namor traditionally rules over Atlantis in the comics, rather than Talocan. Nevertheless, this underwater kingdom takes inspiration from the mythical Aztec location of Tlalocan, which has evidently influenced Namor's design. The metallic gold belt certainly evokes Aztec design and looks excellent, while the neck collar appears more Egyptian in style.
These adornments and Namor's detailed trunks are reasonably accurate to the movie, but the double-sided head lacks suitable facial hair. That doubtless reflects changes between concept artwork and the final character design, unfortunately. Attuma looks marvellous though, wearing an extraordinary helmet, with dual-moulded sand blue spines and appealing texture.
I think medium azure looks perfect for the Talocanian warrior's distinctive skin tone, with subtle spots on the front and back of the torso. Attuma's traditional garb also includes elaborate detail and his double-sided head displays two expressions. Both characters are equipped with spears and viewing these minifigures from the side reveals Namor's wings too, perfectly printed on his ankles.
The Completed Model
Wakandan technology shares a distinctive style and this submarine, dubbed the Skirmisher in the set description, conforms to that aesthetic. Its sleek shape looks splendid, blending angles and curves. Moreover, the submarine measures just 13cm long and its small size distinguishes this creation from the numerous other LEGO underwater vehicles.
Despite the small scale, the submarine does accommodate a minifigure inside, even one with Shuri's large hair piece! 4x5x1 canopy elements line up ingeniously to form the unique cockpit, leaving only subtle gaps between them. Of course, ideally the gaps would be completely closed, but they are disguised by the dark colour.
The minifigure also looks odd lying down inside, although that was unavoidable because their articulation is inherently limited. Assuming this driving position reflects the movie, I can excuse its strange appearance here. Also, I like the trans-light blue details towards the stern, alongside stickers. The integration of the twin stud shooters leaves something to be desired though.
Trailers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever have revealed Namor's throne and this rendition seems fairly accurate. The open jaws are interesting and stand out nicely against the dark red base, although I think their shaping could have been improved. The structure looks slightly too narrow and bulging the sides outwards would create a more natural shape.
Additionally, the throne seems overwhelmingly large with Namor seated, although minifigures often appear too small beside vehicles or within their environments. The stickered symbols on the jaw bones look attractive and I like how seaweed and fish are integrated around the throne, providing some indication of the undersea setting.
Past themes based underwater, such as Aquazone and Atlantis, have demonstrated the liberal availability of treasure on the ocean floor. Several gems are therefore present here, hidden in a drawer under the throne! Furthermore, pushing this drawer forwards will launch a pearl gold 2x2 round tile from the front. While unoriginal, I am pleased the designer made use of this available space inside the base.
Overall
76213 King Namor's Throne Room presents some appealing features. The throne is certainly striking and the submarine has exceeded my expectations, particularly given its clever cockpit design. The minifigures are also quite well-executed, although recent leaks have demonstrated that none are actually exclusive, which is unusual for the Super Heroes theme.
Namor's inaccuracies cannot be overlooked either, given this character's significance and the attention paid to including his wings. However, perhaps most problematic of all is the price of £29.99, $34.99 or €34.99, which feels expensive for a set of this size. Without any exclusive minifigures or truly outstanding models, I would recommend other Wakanda Forever sets over this one.
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39 comments on this article
What color is Namor's skintone? I can't tell from the pictures if it's medium nougat or warm tan.
Nice looking set. Namor looks more like his comics counterpart, which makes it a must-buy for me!
Oh geez. This is primed to become a Mr. Nimbus MOC. I think I might get it to do just that!
@G_man284 said:
"What color is Namor's skintone? I can't tell from the pictures if it's medium nougat or warm tan."
Medium nougat.
@ahamling27 said:
"Oh geez. This is primed to become a Mr. Nimbus MOC. I think I might get it to do just that! "
I kind of let Mr. Nimbus slide, but then I found the Planetia episode and realized how often R&M just slaps a coat of paint onto existing IP.
Find it all very poorly designed overall. The sub and the throne are both rather plain and under detailed to me, as are the minifigures themselves, and as such this set has nothing that interests me. From the size of the set it feels more like a £15 at most pocket money set rather then something that warrants a £30 price tag.
A very easy pass.
(Grumbles in comic reader)
For some reason, it never bothered people who mutually read both Marvel and DC that both companies had disparate versions of Atlantis. Both companies also have the Greek and Norse pantheons. Yes, DC also has a Thor and a Loki. Bothered nobody. So, argh.
Based on what you get this looked like a nice $20-25 set. But the actual price is $35. Even at a typical 20% off the set is still too expensive.
Love the builds here but they're definitely too small for $35. This seems like a great $20-25 set.
I really wish Namora had been included in this set or 76214. Namor is an excellent minifigure, but the face print isn't accurate to the movie which is a real shame. He's got a very striking appearance in the movie and I wish the facial hair and piercings had been replicated on the LEGO minifigure to some degree.
Shuri's smiling faces also really irritate me. For some reason LEGO loves giving female superheroes two smiling faces whenever they make new prints for them, even when it's completely inaccurate to the character. Wanda, Sylvie, Shuri... we rarely get new face prints for Marvel heroes anyway, and when LEGO drops the ball like this it's even more disappointing.
That's a mighty big toilet.
I saw the "War on the water" set at my local target today. It did not interest me.
This set would be OK, but not at that price.
Absurd price. This is barely bigger than a battle pack. Look at how much stuff you get in 60314. This is just shameful.
Thank you, LEGO, for spoiling the reveal of who the new Black Panther is.
Those are some mighty big, leaky gaps in that sub. And is that guy supposed to be wearing a hammerhead skull as a helmet? Sharks don’t have bony skulls. That’s why the jawbones are the only common shark-fishing trophy, because everything else is just soft cartilage that decays.
@goldenguy880 said:
"Thank you, LEGO, for spoiling the reveal of who the new Black Panther is."
Was there really any other choice for the new BP? Honestly, it was obvious from the day they announced his death who was taking over the reins...
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"(Grumbles in comic reader)
For some reason, it never bothered people who mutually read both Marvel and DC that both companies had disparate versions of Atlantis. Both companies also have the Greek and Norse pantheons. Yes, DC also has a Thor and a Loki. Bothered nobody. So, argh."
Having read about the history of comics, and how Marvel and DC were just copying each other constantly, it really pushed me off the genre altogether. Even more so when they tried to appropriate existing mythology into their canon.
@ResIpsaLoquitur said:
" @ahamling27 said:
"Oh geez. This is primed to become a Mr. Nimbus MOC. I think I might get it to do just that! "
I kind of let Mr. Nimbus slide, but then I found the Planetia episode and realized how often R&M just slaps a coat of paint onto existing IP."
You can't skewer pop-culture without drawing from existing IP. I personally loved both episodes myself and would put the Planet Tina episode above Mr. Nimbus. But we're getting wildly off topic now. ;)
Wait, is that supposed to be a shark's jaw? It looks so elongated.
Not much interesting stuff in the set IMHO, but at least we have a treasure drawer!
Man, I miss stuff like Adventurers.
I know that this Namor is inaccurate to the movie, but I'm still really happy with the design and how it's a blend of the comics design and the MCU actor's likeness to some degree. Know it won't be to a lot of MCU purists' tastes but very happy with this outcome.
are there other examples of side only leg printing?
I imagine the change of what kingdom Namor rules was a bid to disassociate from Aquaman's Atlantis. There are certain mythological and cultural elements that both Marvel and DC use in their comics-both franchises have their own Dracula, for example-but with something this prominent and aiming to attract people who may follow the films but not necessarily the comics, they probably didn't want to make the Aquaman/Namor connection so obvious.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @goldenguy880 said:
"Thank you, LEGO, for spoiling the reveal of who the new Black Panther is."
Was there really any other choice for the new BP? Honestly, it was obvious from the day they announced his death who was taking over the reins..."
Granted, it was obvious, but I was hoping Marvel would get creative and make the next Black Panther a bit more complicated than just handing it off to Shuri. Potential plots I thought of just now included ...
1. M'Baku, after years of hostility between the other Wakandan tribes and his own, must claim Wakanda and help rebuild after the events of Infinity War and Endgame shattered the Wakandan political structure and left the kingdom open to threats like Namor. He is cautious to take on such a complex situation with a war on the horizon, but the honor and respect that T'Challa showed him long ago inspires him to honor his legacy.
2. Okoye has served the royal family for so long, but with Wakanda stretched thin across IW/Endgame rebuilding efforts, diplomacy with other nations, and tension with Namor and his kingdom, Wakanda makes the desperate decision to separate the king and the Black Panther into two roles. Okoye is picked as Black Panther and struggles as the next rule of Wakanda and her must compromise between the tradition and stability of the old Wakanda and the apparent needs of the current, unstable Wakanda.
I mean sure, number 3 could easily be Shuri, but being the sister of the king of Wakanda feels like too simple a plot thread to make the royal dynamics of a kingdom without T'Challa interesting or meaningfulmeaningful.
Back to the set, it's ... fine? I've certainly seen worse Marvel sets, but this one doesn't exactly scream with potential either. Maybe I'll get it on sale for my inner superhero collector but I dunno.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @goldenguy880 said:
"Thank you, LEGO, for spoiling the reveal of who the new Black Panther is."
Was there really any other choice for the new BP? Honestly, it was obvious from the day they announced his death who was taking over the reins..."
Plus it’s already been done in the comics from a 2012 storyline.
I'm a little surprised that it's described as expensive. I mean, it hits the holy grail of PPP ratios, ten cents per piece! Granted, just barely, but it does. I like that sub, slightly gappy though it may be.
I agree it's a shame about the price, but I absolutely love the Namor figure, so this is a day one purchase for me. I actually like that this figure is more comics-accurate than the movie portrayal (this one's even wearing speedos, over the board-shorts in the movie).
@Binnekamp:
Different sharks have different jaw shapes. It's one of the ways they can identify what species of shark attacked a human. Great whites, bulls, and tigers all have pretty wide jaws, but makos have more elongated ones. Of course, makos don't grow nearly that large...
@ohrmazd:
You can't see it in the Brickset photos, but 852856 has cargo pants, with sewn-on pockets printed on the sides of the legs.
@ohrmazd said:
"are there other examples of side only leg printing?"
Not side only. His sparkly budgie smuggler [I learned this term from Brickset commentors] maybe small and backless, but definitely printed. ;)
@Phoenixio said:
" @ResIpsaLoquitur said:
"(Grumbles in comic reader)
For some reason, it never bothered people who mutually read both Marvel and DC that both companies had disparate versions of Atlantis. Both companies also have the Greek and Norse pantheons. Yes, DC also has a Thor and a Loki. Bothered nobody. So, argh."
Having read about the history of comics, and how Marvel and DC were just copying each other constantly, it really pushed me off the genre altogether. Even more so when they tried to appropriate existing mythology into their canon."
So we‘re not allowed to use mythology or legend in stories? So long as the writers at Marvel and DC aren’t pretending to replace the original myths, it should be fine.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I'm a little surprised that it's described as expensive. I mean, it hits the holy grail of PPP ratios, ten cents per piece! Granted, just barely, but it does. I like that sub, slightly gappy though it may be."
I was shocked, too, although I kind of understand why it’s considered expensive since it was initially listed as $29.99 before the price increases.
But can he control the police?
@lordofthebricks614 said:
"But can he control the police?"
He can with Every Breath He Takes, just as long as you Don't Stand So Close to Him.
@PixelTheDragon:
Nobody mention the Stargate TV shows!
Ahahahaha! That price!!! For yet-another 2nd rated superhero movie!! I believe it will collect dust on the shelves till it reaches the 20-25€ price range...
@Trigger_ said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I'm a little surprised that it's described as expensive. I mean, it hits the holy grail of PPP ratios, ten cents per piece! Granted, just barely, but it does. I like that sub, slightly gappy though it may be."
I was shocked, too, although I kind of understand why it’s considered expensive since it was initially listed as $29.99 before the price increases.
"
Thing is though, a large number of those pieces are single 1x1 tiles, or similar small parts rather then bricks or larger pieces.
Honestly, I think we should start using some kind of 'price per weight' measurement for the value of lego sets.
@GrizBe: I totally agree with you. A 2x8 brick shouldn't be considered equal to a 1x2 plate, for instance. I was just saying that it's a metric a lot of people seem to use.
@GrizBe:
Labor and production time cost more than the plastic, so quantity affects their bottom line a lot more than weight. Different materials also have different densities, or different costs. Polycarbonate is more expensive than ABS, but the weight difference seems negligible. Polyethylene, on the other hand, is lighter than water (or possibly it’s a witch).
@TheOtherMike:
Piece count is easy to track down, where weight is not. Even if they listed weight on the website, it would include the box, manual, and any internal packing material.
Bricklink weights might be imprecise, or fail to account for mold revisions that occur over several decades of production. Weight also has little impact on the build experience, as it takes no longer to place a 2x8 brick than a 1x2 plate. If you build for the experience, bulky parts just take up more space without providing more experience. They also tend to produce bland models with few interesting techniques.
@PurpleDave: Hmm... good point there while also showing that price per piece is more diverse then I was thinking, reminding me of the various different materials.
Lego really need some kind of better metric for perceived set value though as, as you've shown, PPP and price per weight don't cut it alone.
@GrizBe:
They do have a different metric, but it’s not one they’re willing to share with the public. Theirs is based on production cost vs sales vs product lifespan, with inflation playing more of a factor for multi-year D2C releases. Ours is based on how we perceive value, whether that be based on quantity of pieces, weight of pieces, volume of the model, favored themes, construction experience, assortment of parts, desirable minifigs, or part-out value. The best example is that a 2L Technic pin is a complicated part that requires a minimum 4-section mold to produce, but you can’t give them away on Bricklink. To TLG, they are more expensive to produce than 1x2 plates, but they hold little to no value for the AFOL community. TLG absolutely has to factor them into production costs, but Technic AFOLs would prefer to exclude them from any quantity or weight metric.
Attuma looks so bad. This is the first time I actually say I would like figure to be MORE detailed. Especialy the hat looks bad. It supposed to be a SKULL:, while in Lego looks more like a steel instalation