How exclusive will LEGO DC 76271 Batman Gotham City’s minifigures be in the long run?
LEGO DC 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City includes four brand new and unique minifigures, but how exclusive will they be in the long run?
Arriving on shelves on April 1, the LEGO Group’s 4,210-piece ode to the ‘90s superhero show includes new versions of Batman, Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Joker, all modelled on their animated appearances. And at the time of release, all four of those minifigures will be available exclusively in 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City.
That’s bad news for anyone hoping to add these characters to their collection who doesn’t fancy hanging a 76cm-wide artwork on their wall. But just how exclusive will these minifigures be really? Well, a combination of historical precedent and current rumours suggests that we could see at least one of them show up in another set as soon as this summer – and potentially up to three of them in some form.
Hop into the Batmobile with us for a spin through the potential future of these four new LEGO DC minifigures.
Batman
We’ve had so many variants of Batman minifigures over the years that it would normally be difficult to see anyone losing sleep over not being able to get yet another one – but so iconic is the Caped Crusader’s animated suit that this minifigure is probably going to be pretty high on wishlists. The LEGO designers have swung for a more literal interpretation of the suit, forgoing the dark blue used to add depth to the design on-screen in favour of black and dark grey.
At the time of writing, though, it sounds pretty unlikely that this Batman is going to reappear elsewhere. Our best shot at seeing him again was in this summer’s rumoured 76274 Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile, but fresh reports from Polish LEGO fan site Fanklockow suggest that the Dark Knight minifigure in that set will feature a rubber cape, distinguishing it from the version in 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City.
That said, if the cape is the only unique element, it should be pretty easy to swap it out for a regular fabric version to recreate this Batman at home. And even if it uses a moulded cowl-and-cape combo, a la the Tim Burton-inspired Batman minifigure, you can always swap in the current cowl from another set too: the Animated Series version doesn’t have a unique cowl.
There’s one other hope for a readymade version of this minifigure, though: 76272 4+ Batcave also includes a Batman minifigure, but we don’t yet know whether or not that set will also be inspired by Batman: The Animated Series.
Catwoman
While Batman might be relatively straightforward to assemble from smaller and cheaper sets come summer 2024, the same can’t be said for Batman: The Animated Series’ LEGO Catwoman. This new and exclusive design features a brand new head and torso, neither of which you’ll find elsewhere – and Selina Kyle is not currently rumoured to feature in the summer 2024 line-up, so this is one character that may remain forever exclusive to 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City.
Harley Quinn
If any of the four LEGO minifigures in 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City looks most likely to reappear this summer, it’s Harley Quinn. She’s listed among the three characters said to be included in 76274 Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile, alongside Batman (with his rubber cape) and Mr. Freeze. There’s no word yet on whether it will be exactly the same minifigure, but given Harley’s design didn’t really change throughout the show, it’s tough to see the LEGO Group cooking up an alternative.
Unless it opts for one of Harley’s non-costumed variants, such as in the Season 2 episode Harley’s Holiday, but that feels… unlikely.
Joker
76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City’s Joker is one of the stand-outs in what’s already a very cool cast of characters, even if his design does look to take heavier inspiration from successor show The New Batman Adventures (peep those black rather than yellow eyes). But as things stand, his status as an exclusive character design mostly hinges on whether or not the rumoured 76272 4+ Batcave is indeed based on Batman: The Animated Series.
That 180-piece set is said to include Batman, Batgirl and Joker. Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl appeared in six episodes of the original animated series, so this could conceivably join the Gotham City skyline and Batmobile to form a trio of sets inspired by the show. If that is the case, this could well be another opportunity for Joker to pop up.
That means up to three of 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City’s exclusive minifigures could be scattered throughout other sets by June 2024.
It’s also worth considering across all four of these characters that the LEGO Group has established different precedents for the exclusivity of its minifigures across different themes. The DC line has plenty of unique designs locked behind expensive sets, for example, such as The Dark Knight’s Batman and Joker in 76240 Batmobile Tumbler.
At the same time, it looks like the LEGO Star Wars theme may be leaning into better availability for its most desirable characters this summer, with recent rumours suggesting 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser’s exclusive Captain Rex is reappearing in a Microfighter. If the DC theme is preparing to take its cues from the LEGO Star Wars playbook, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the most iconic of these minifigures making their way into more accessible sets.
Still, if you’d rather guarantee adding all of these minifigures to your LEGO Batman collection as soon as possible, 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City will be available for LEGO Insiders from April 1 (and for everyone else from April 4) for £259.99 / $299.99 / €299.99.
LEGO Batman sets confirmed and rumoured for summer 2024
| LEGO set | Price | Pieces | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40748 8-in-1 Batman | TBC | 325 | July 2024 |
| 76270 Batman Mech | $14.99 | 140 | June 2024 |
| 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City | £259.99 / $299.99 / €299.99 | 4,210 | April 1, 2024 |
| 76272 4+ Batcave | $39.99 | 180 | June 2024 |
| 76273 Bat-pod with buildable Batman figure | $69.99 | 713 | June 2024 |
| 76274 Batman: The Animated Series Batmobile | $59.99 | 435 | June 2024 |
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