TL;DR:
- Original Price: $4.99 (each)
- Pieces: 8 (more or less)
- Minifigure(s): Yes
- Sticker Sheet: No
- Pros: Colorful and detailed
- Cons: Might be difficult to re-use for figbarf (given the prominent Spider symbols throughout)
I pre-ordered this from Minifigures Plus, and as always they did an amazing job. Some lego fans might enjoy the "thrill of the hunt," weighing, shaking, or scanning boxes in the various local stores...or worse ordering them individually or in un-guaranteed 6-packs (I've read several reviews on previous CMFs where purchasers got three of one and three of another in such a thing); I, on the other hand, prefer to be sure that I'm getting one of each. I've actually used Minifigures Plus for this before: first with the Dungeons & Dragons CMF (because I knew I'd be making use of all the parts), then Series 25 and Series 27, not to mention various figures I needed to complete my Disney and Space collections. Their customer service is exceptional, and their handling is swift. For anyone wanting to get a full set of minigures (or grab one or two), I wholly recommend them. (Note: when buying the full set, the price for each minifig is the same, but when buying individually the price can vary wildly—for example, in Series 27, $3.29 for the Longboarder vs. $21.99 for the Wolfpack Beastmaster)
I also used the Minifig Scan iOS app (as you can see in the composite photo above) to check that all boxes were there before even opening them. I also recommend using this app when in the store hunting for that perfect single figure.
In the interest of efficiency, I'll be reviewing each of them individually, and then provide my score for the set as a whole. Buckle up, we're getting spidery!
#1 Spider-Man / Miles Morales:
Part Count: 7
Accessory: Spider
Dual-Printed Head: Yes, both
Spare Parts: No
The main character of the two Spider-Verse movies, he appears here in the dark suit he wears in the second movie, with lightning effects on the front and arms to reference the powers he also develops in the second movie. The mask head has an interesting stippled texture, with a subtler version of the pattern on the back; the medium brown head has both a cautiously optimistic expression and a strongly determined expression, both very fitting for the character. It would have been neat if the spider were colored more like the spider that bit him in the first movie, but it's still a good addition to the set.
#1: 🧱🧱🧱
#2 Spider-Punk / Hobie Brown:
Part Count: 8
Accessory: Guitar
Dual-Printed Head: Yes, both
Spare Parts: No
The printing on this one is the most elaborate, with suitably-punk safety pins and patches arranged asymmetrically on both arms and the sides of his legs. I also appreciate that his silver piercings are picked out on both sides of his head. The flat silver rubber Mohawk and the black dreadlocks hair piece are both entirely new molds. He looks oddly normal, compared to the notebook graffiti art style of his dimension, but the Lego team did a good job of translating his energy into a standard figure format.
#2: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
#3 Prowler / Miles G. Morales:
Part Count: 10
Accessory: Record
Dual-Printed Head: No
Spare Parts: No
In an alternate reality where Miles didn't get bitten by the spider (from another alternate reality), he took after his uncle and became the Prowler. The mask and hairpiece (both with his signature cornrows) are both new pieces, as is the collar. This is one of the few in this collection with neither a second head nor a second face, which is oddly appropriate given how closely tied Miles and the Prowler are in his dimension. The gauntlets are made of a weaker plastic (similar to brick separators), likely so as not to damage the figure's hands, but the tricky process of snapping them into place results in scratches and scrapes on the little handle bar inside them. A minor point, but worth mentioning
#3: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
#4 Spider Gwen / Gwen Stacy:
Part Count: 8
Accessory: Polaroid
Dual-Printed Head: Yes, but only unmasked one
Spare Parts: No
I really appreciate the character of this. They did such a good job of capturing her spirit, and even her expressions are such a distillation of what we see in the movies. The hair piece is a new mold, but my favorite part is the Polaroid tile, showing her and Miles; her arc of opening up to having a friend—even one so long-distance—was a nice sub-plot of the first movie, and the picture really captures that feeling.
#4: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
#5 Spider-Man 2099 / Miguel O'Hara:
Part Count: 9
Accessory: Statuette
Dual-Printed Head: Yes
Spare Parts: Statuette
With a futuristic cape and a hologram in hand, Miguel definitely hails from the future, and his head's angry face does nothing to hid his view of the anomaly Miles Morales. His suit is pretty simplistic, a generic-ish futuristic look with the same dot pattern used on Miles' mask (see #1 above). The highlight of this figure is the micro-figure/statuette of Lyla, his holographic assistant ("LYrate Lifeform Approximation," apparently); what appears to be heart-emoji eyes are actually the glasses she wears in the movie, with white printing to represent her big white jacket. The fact that we get an extra one is just icing on the holo-cake.
#5: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
#6 Spider-Man India / Pavitr Prabhakar
Part Count: 9
Accessory: Cat, Teacup
Dual-Printed Head: Yes
Spare Parts: Yes, teacup
Hailing from Mumbattan, this high schooler comes with a fluffy spider-cat (new mold) and a fluffy hairdo (also new mold). His legs have gold printing for his anklets, and his arms have silver for his bracelets. I appreciate that the azure headband is on both heads, allowing his flowing locks to be on display whether he's in disguise or not. An extra teacup means that spider-cat can enjoy a cup of chai too! (Googles "can cats have tea"...) Ok, maybe just some warm water instead.
#6: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
#7 Cyborg Spider-Woman / Petra Parker:
Part Count: 11
Accessory: No
Dual-Printed Head: Yes
Spare Parts: Yes, light bright orange utility belt, light bluish grey 2L bar, & light bluish grey 1x1 round plate with open stud
Refugee from a robot war in her own reality, this gruff lady comes with her own arm-gun. She doesn't get much screentime in the second movie, but shows up in a deleted scene ("Miguel Calling") wherein she has one of the best overly-dramatic and at the same time genuinely tragic lines: "I remember friends." Because, as we've seen in many future-pocalypse movies, when you're fighting for survival against hordes of killer 'bots, you don't have time for friends and pretty kitty tea parties. Thankfully in the Spider-Society she can relax, at least when she's not reality-hopping to preserve the canon. And thanks to the cannon hand you have to build and its duplicate parts, this figure technically has the most pieces of any in the collection.
#7: 🧱🧱
#8 Sun-Spider / Charlotte Webber:
Part Count: 7
Accessory: Forearm crutches
Dual-Printed Head: No
Spare Parts: No
The backstory on this character is cooler than the figure, lamentably. Apparently Sun-Spider was a fan's spider-sona included in the Spider-Verse comics (#3), and the though she gained powers from her reality's radioactive spider, it didn't cure her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome; instead, she used the joint hypermobility caused by the disease to her advantage. And, what's even cooler, her spirit never faltered: "Do you think," she asks Miles mid-chase, "spider-people too often use comedy as a crutch? Get it, 'crutch'?" And then smacks him with one of her web-shooting crutches. Sadly that vivaciousness and humor don't really translate to this minifig, hence the lower score.
#8: 🧱🧱
#9 Spider-Byte / Margo Kess:
Part Count: 7
Accessory: Tablet screen
Dual-Printed Head: Yes
Spare Parts: No
This cybercrime-fighting gal is an avatar projection in the Spider Society's HQ (on first watch, I actually conflated her and Lyla, since both were presented as holographic entities). This explains why her arms and legs are satin trans-dark pink (so sparkly!) and her skin a computery blue; it's a striking look. It's a nice touch that the spider on her tablet's screen has 42 on it, a reference to the trans-dimensional arachnid that bit Miles. And her worried face is perfect for when she joins the team going to Earth-42 to rescue him after the "Go Home Machine" sent him to the wrong reality.
#9: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
#10 Spider-Man & Mayday / Peter B. Parker & May Parker:
Part Count: 8
Accessory: Baby carrier
Dual-Printed Head: Yes
Spare Parts: No
While simple, the story with this pair is the best part. In the first Spider-Verse movie we meet Peter B. Parker, mid-slump, having seemingly lost everything including his faith in himself. Thanks to Miles, however, he regains his confidence and remarried Mary Jane. They had the child he was so afraid of, and she inherited his powers. By the time of the second movie, the eight-month-old was quite a handful (reminding me of Merida and her brothers from Brave), so much so that Peter couldn't leave her with normal babysitters, and instead brought her on his Spider Society missions. The pink bathrobe and suggestion that he's wearing blue slippers over his socks give him the tired house-dad vibe, but you can see the joy in his printed features at the exploits of his little spider-baby. The Mayday baby figure is pretty simple, but the printing on the head does a good job of evoking the little knitted cap she wears in the film.
#10: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
#11 Web-Slinger & Spider-Horse / Patrick O'Hara & Widow
Part Count: 10
Accessory: Lasso
Dual-Printed Head: No
Spare Parts: Yes, red bandana
Where Spider-Noir's reality is gritty 1940s and Spider-Punk's all colorful 1990s, Web-Slinger's is all Wild West—so much so that his own radioactive spider was caused by a traveling salesman's elixir, which bit both Patrick and his horse. With the second-highest part count, this is my favorite of the whole collection. First, the minifig torso and legs are generic enough to be useful for other builds; second, the accessories (hat, lasso, neckerchief, bandana) are also very useful; and finally the horse is just adorable. I'll definitely be looking for a second one of these, if only to go into my figure parts bin.
#11: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
#12 Werewolf Spider-Man / Peter Parker:
Part Count: 5
Accessory: No
Dual-Printed Head: No
Spare Parts: No
Easily one of the coolest standalone figures in this set, the most disappointing thing is that he stands alone, with no accessory to add to the storytelling, nor even an alternate head showing him mid-transformation. That said, the tail piece can be useful, and is the same color (medium nougat) as used in both the Tom Nook and Beast/Prince Adam minifigs. I couldn't find much backstory to this one, either...apart from the fact that in his reality the werewolfized heroes ate Galactus. Talk about turnabout!
#12: 🧱🧱🧱
All Together: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
Like the Dungeons & Dragons and Space CMFs, it's great to see a whole group of minifigs in a single theme; though I won't say that the more random collections like Series 25 and Series 27 aren't fun themselves (and often fantastically creative). In this case, seeing all of these different Spideys really got me curious. I'm not a big superhero fan, so beyond what I knew from watching the movies, I had to do a bit of research to be able to add the biographical notes above (such as they are).
It would have been nice to have Spider-Pig and Spider-Noir (and even the super-anime Peni Parker and SP//dr) as part of this collection, since they were more impactful than some of the other more-backgroundy characters
Taking a page out of the D&D CMFs, most of these come with a human head and a masked head, meaning you get to choose to display them in their full super costume or showing their smiling faces. Where the D&D figures had the benefit of being somewhat generic, however, these characters are all fiercely specific and very accurate, much like the Marvel and Star Wars minifigs I've seen; as such, that means that using these guys for anything other than Spider-Man-related things will require some creativity.
Just as some previous themed sets (D&D, Disney 100, Space) had special printed 3x4 plates, these all come with a new trans-orange plate to stand on, which I think is intended to invoke the look and energy of the inter-dimensional portals in the Spider-Verse movies.
My prediction is that the Webslinger and Werewolf ones will be the hottest sellers (similar to the Wolfpack Beastmaster from Series 27, or the Dragonborn Paladin from the D&D series, respectively), though I could see Spider-Punk's unique pieces being particularly popular as well. On the whole, the strong theming means that these minifigs aren't for anyone who doesn't like Spider-Man (and more-specifically, the Spider-Verse movies, and don't have many useful parts for use in other purposes. They're also somewhat toned down from the movies' chaotic energy, but are a good compromise between those disparate styles and the standard minifig.
Score (out of 5 🧱):
- Price: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
- Process: 🧱🧱
- Presentation: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
- Play: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
- Pieces: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
- Total: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
Lego Instructions: here
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