When looking at a new LEGO Marvel Super Heroes set, it’s all about the epic characters, mechs and spaceships – but these boxes also contain some easily overlooked but excellent vehicles that could be right at home in your city layout
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes is a theme that has been around since 2012 and has given us many great sets. From motorcycles, trucks and aircraft to buildings, monsters and mechs, Marvel Super Heroes has done it all.
Some of the best sets have been the more fantastical ones. Who wouldn’t want another Iron Man Hulk-Buster or a Venom T-Rex dinosaur? All of these sets are great, but it’s the vehicles that are the least super that stand out. In fact, some of my favourite builds would be those that can be taken out of their Marvel context and placed in other situations, such as a LEGO City display. Who would have thought that the vehicles of Marvel Super Heroes could populate a LEGO town layout so well?
76067 Tanker Truck Takedown was released in 2016 to tie into the movie Captain America: Civil War. 76067 came with good minifigure selection – Vision, Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Captain America himself. Note that this Spider-Man was the first MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) version ever made. This was also the first time a Spider-Man minifigure had ever had arm printing as well as dual molded legs.
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The minifigures were what drew many to this set, including myself at the time of its release, but the Roxxon tanker truck included is surprisingly good. The build feels a step above similar vehicles released by the LEGO Group. The truck has a solid, well-crafted feel to it, which could be due to the number of tiles that cover the tank portion, contributing to a clean look. At six studs wide, the truck fits perfectly with City road plates and can blend in among your other trucks and cars. While a driver is not included, you can put any minifigure in the driver’s seat to complete the look. You can easily remove the tank from the truck and use the front end to move other things you might have, as there’s a ball joint attachment on it. But this wouldn’t be a Super Heroes set without explosions. If you turn a knob, the back of the tank will shoot off and the top will open up to reveal flames. Thankfully, the exploding action feature is so well integrated that you can’t even tell it’s there.
2016 saw the release of 76015 Doc Ock Truck Heist, which came with the first Doc Ock minifigure sporting his lab coat printed onto his torso and legs. This minifigure was what attracted me to the set. The secure transport vehicle filled with diamonds and $100 bills looked okay, but wasn’t especially interesting.
As with the tanker though, 76015 can blend into a city perfectly. Remove the super-powered characters of Spider-Man and Doc Ock, and you have a well-built everyday vehicle. There’s a driver included, so this six stud wide vehicle can be put in any modern city layout with no modification needed. Sometimes the LEGO Group will highlight an action feature by making a knob or switch a bright colour, but that’s not found here. Instead it’s a case of simply pressing down a hidden grey lever so the entire roof explodes, sending four safes packed with riches flying everywhere.
76176 Escape from The Ten Rings is a set from Marvel’s Shang Chi line and is on store shelves now. The movie has not yet been released, but the battle damaged car and two motorcycles included indicate an action packed car chase scene. Similar to 76083, the car included in 76176 features battle damage depicted by stickers. You could apply the stickers and have a slightly dented up car cruise through your city, or you could leave them off entirely to make the car look brand new.
The Spider-Man: Homecoming inspired set, 76083 Beware the Vulture, shares similarities with 76176 and the other sets mentioned here. It includes battle damaged stickers you can either apply or leave off, as well as an action feature in the form of a giant stud shooter that can be hidden away. Applying the ‘damage’ stickers only adds realism, as they do not completely overwhelm the surface area of the eight-stud wide van.
One of the brand new sets, 76192 Avengers: Endgame Final Battle is packed with many amazing elements. Endgame Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther and many more appealing characters including a new big-fig Thanos with a posable head. The portion of the Avengers compound includes a meeting room and jail cell, but what has great potential is Ant-Man’s van. At six studs wide, its muted colour palette adds realism that wouldn’t usually be found in a theme like City, where the vehicles often feature more vibrant colors.
So when looking for vehicles to populate your city, don’t narrow your focus to official City sets and broaden your search to other themes – you never know what you might find.
All of this year’s Marvel sets are listed on the LEGO 2021 checklist.