Few places are more iconic in the Marvel Universe than Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters for X-Men fans. Sure, the X-Men have had other bases ranging from abandoned towns in the Australian outback to the living mutant island nation of Krakoa. Still, its original home remains the definitive standard, solidified by its presence in X-Men: The Animated Series and the X-Men movies. Ever since The Lego Group began rolling out Lego sets based on other iconic headquarters like Avengers Tower and Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, X-Men fans have held out hope that the Avengers’ training grounds X-Men receive the same treatment. That hope has become a reality with the launch of Lego X-Men: The X-Mansion place.

Built with 3,093 pieces with 10 X-Men character minifigures included. X-Men: The X-Mansion It’s a striking package and a satisfyingly simple construction. It’s also modular, meaning fans can move the left and right sides away from the center of the structure to glimpse interior rooms, including the Danger Room where mutant abilities are honed, Professor and a classroom with an attached library. A few qualms aside, the X-Mansion set is a fun piece of fan service to build.

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Welcome to the X-Men

The mansion is packed with Easter eggs from comics, cartoons, and movies that X-Men fans have pored over for years. The back of the building includes posters for Nightcrawler and Dazzler performances and another that replicates the Wanted poster from the iconic cover of amazing x-men #141, the first chapter of “Days of Future Past”. Inside, there is a mention of Lake Alkali, which may look familiar to anyone who has seen X2: X-Men United, and a photo of Cyclops and Jean placed on Wolverine’s bed, a reference to the meme generated by him X-Men: The Animated Series episode “Captive Hearts”.

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Each room in X-Mansion has its charms, but my favorite is the Danger Room. It’s the only room that spans both floors of the building, and it’s filled with spinning swords, lasers, and other traps that have appeared in many training montages versus the X-Men comics over the years. Adjacent to the Danger Room on the second floor is a control room with a transparent window that reminds me of X-Men: Pride of the X-Menthe failed pilot for an X-Men cartoon prior to the eventual debut of X-Men: The Animated Seriesthat served as a basis for the beloved X-Men arcade game.

Longtime X-Men fans have plenty to discover in the X-Mansion set, and those who enjoy posing their collectibles will have plenty of options for building scenes on the mansion grounds with their minifigures. Meanwhile, the set is interactive enough that younger builders can role-play any X-Men story they can imagine.

I hope you survive the experience.

Some criticism can be made of the X-Mansion set, mainly because the exterior of the building is not as striking as other similar Marvel Lego structures. This is not entirely Lego’s fault. They have based the facade on the X Mansion as it appears in X-Men: The Animated Serieslikely the best-known version of the building, but it is still a mundane, albeit large, mansion. Adding a battle-damaged area to represent the many times the Mansion has been raided, plus all the Easter eggs in the back, including a dumpster with Nightcrawler’s machete and a few other items, helps. However, the building itself can be a bit disappointing when connected to the sets of Avengers Tower, the Daily Bugle, and even the Sanctum Sanctorum (as it should be). The variety of options for building action scenes with the Sentinel and minifigures makes up for it. However, builders should be aware that the chaos that will occur on the lawn and not the building itself will likely be what draws attention to the set once it is on display.

The building’s modular interior is packed with items and Easter eggs, but including them all means the rooms can be difficult to access and a little cramped. While I love it, the Danger Room is particularly challenging due to its depth, and the individual rooms fit about two minifigures at a time. It’s still fun to poke around in there, but it’s something to keep in mind for those who like to create interior scenes with their sets.

For me, my X-Men minifigures!

The X-Mansion includes 10 minifigures. Until now, the available selection of official Lego minifigures of X-Men characters has been fairly limited, consisting primarily of various iterations of Magneto and Wolverine. The X-Mansion once again offers all those familiar faces (Rogue, Magneto, Cyclops, Storm and Wolverine), as well as five new additions to the Jean Grey, most of whom are decked out in their ’90s outfits, making them instantly recognizable to fans of X-Men: The Animation series or X-Men ’97.

The X-Mansion set is packed with clear pieces to help position the minifigures as if they were in the middle of a battle with the cool Sentinel (the first thing to build out of the box) or Magneto, who can be placed on top of the domed ceiling of the mansion. That roof can be broken by pulling the lever at the back of the building, one of the few interactive features in the set. Elsewhere, Storm can appear as if she is riding the wind above the mansion, other flying characters can appear to float above the ground, and any character can appear caught in the air by the Sentinel’s mechanical tentacle. Wolverine’s motorcycle can be posed as if it were sliding down the sidewalk, and the Sentinel even includes a notch on its back so one of the heroes can attack it from the sky – the perfect way to recreate Gambit’s “remember it” moment X-Men ’97.

The set includes fewer minifigures total than its Marvel peers, although it has a comparable number of new figures. If I had to guess, I’d bet that making so many variations of Magneto and Wolverine left Lego with a few other previous minifigures to repackage into the X-Mansion set. In my opinion, the set’s inclusion of a buildable Sentinel makes up for the smaller number of minifigures (although be careful when placing it, as the finger pieces come off easily if too much pressure is applied), but others may not agree. agreement.

The choice of minifigures is another potential sticking point. Longtime Lego collectors may roll their eyes at getting another Wolverine and Magneto, but it would be hard to justify creating an X-Mansion set without them. All other minifigures, with one exception, are mainstays of the X-Men: The Animated Series and X-Men ’97 and they are portrayed accurately, no argument there. The inclusion of Iceman is puzzling since he hasn’t had a major presence in the X-Men shows. It’s especially strange given that the X-Mansion has half a bedroom apparently designed around Jubilee. X-Men: The Animated Series‘Fan favorite POV character who is absent from the set.

While the minifigure designs are mostly great, there are two that one could criticize. If Iceman is included in the set, coloring him snow white seems incorrect, as it evokes his appearance in the Silver Age more than his appearance in the 1990s and beyond, which is the predominant aesthetic for the rest of the set. set. The Cyclops minifigure looks great and comes with a long piece of clear red plastic to hold in front of his face, recreating moments when he pushes the side of his visor to unleash an optical explosion. However, the connecting piece that Cyclops holds in his hand is opaque and bright red, making it look like he is holding a rubber toy in front of his face. In both cases, using more of the same clear plastic used for the effects of the mutant powers would have solved the problems, although there are probably practical reasons why Lego decided to go another route.

Building the dream

As a casual Lego collector but die-hard X-Men fan, I longed for Lego to create a definitive X-Men building experience. I am satisfied with how X-Men: The X-Mansion fulfill that promise. The set is precise and goes above and beyond with iconic characters, Easter eggs, a buildable sentinel and interactive touches. I’m still amazed at how much fun it is to play with the minifigures and find new ways to place them in front of the mansion, and I may not stop playing with the set until I’ve put it through every possible configuration.

Sure, it could be said that certain aspects could have been modified for the better; I’m as disappointed by the inclusion of Iceman instead of Jubilee or Nightcrawler as anyone (sorry, Bobby), but I hope this opens the floodgates for more. X-Men minifigures who will enroll in Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters in the future. And ultimately, these are minor flaws that hardly ruin an overall great experience, or is it x great experience?

The LEGO Marvel X-Men: The X-Mansion set is available to the general public starting today, November 4. online here at LEGO priced at $329.99. Unfortunately, the LEGO Marvel Brain (5009015) set that was offered as a gift with the purchase of LEGO Experts It sold out quickly. LEGO provided the set for this review.