LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster D2C rumours rocked by Black Panther reveal

Rumours of a brand new LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster have been rocked by the reveal of 76215 Black Panther – but it’s easy to see where the confusion could have come from.

The rumour mill has long suggested that the final quarter of 2022 would see two huge LEGO superhero sets arrive on shelves, numbered 76210 and 76215, with one of those models thought to be a supersized take on 2018’s 76105 The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition. Recent reports indicated the Iron Man armour would come in at $349.99 for 2,961 pieces – numbers we now know belong to 76215 Black Panther, the newly-revealed life-sized bust of T’Challa.

If a new Hulkbuster is still on the cards for 2022, it will need to fill the slot left by 76210, which is said to retail for $500 in the US. That would represent a more than 300% increase in the price of 2018’s massive Hulkbuster, which retailed for only £119.99 for 1,363 pieces. It’s difficult to imagine the size of mech that could warrant such a price tag, particularly with a view to making it able to support its own weight.

The more likely scenario is that the rumours of a new Hulkbuster were actually based on the fact 76215 Black Panther is a life-sized bust. If the set was codenamed ‘bust’, or some variant thereof, it’s easy to see where the usual suspects might have drawn a link to a new Hulkbuster. And if that really was the basis of those rumours, the safe money is on the rumoured $500 superhero set being something else altogether.

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That’s bad news for the five people hoping for yet another Hulkbuster, but never fear: a smaller, minifigure-scale version is said to be on the way in 2023. 76194 Tony Stark’s Sakaarian Iron Man and 76201 Captain Carter & The Hydra Stomper are still available at LEGO.com, meanwhile, offering a more immediate Marvel mech fix.

If nothing else, this is a cautionary tale not to put too much stock in rumours. But it won’t stop us wondering what else could be in the works for that $500 set – if it exists at all – because it’s always fun to think about how the LEGO Group intends to drain us of our disposable income in the run-up to Black Friday and Christmas.

The latest reports suggested that the biggest Marvel set of 2022 will also be (or at least include) a Black Panther model, but given the existence of 76215 Black Panther, it’s possible that those rumours could also have been a case of crossed wires. We’ll find out for sure if and when the LEGO Group unveils 76210, but remember that nothing about it (including its price) is confirmed at this stage.

76215 Black Panther launches October 1 for £299.99 / $349.99 / €349.99. Check out more images of that set by clicking here.

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe
I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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