Rumors have been swirling about a series of LEGO Collectible Minifigures based on Marvel’s superhero franchise for years, but it seems the new spate of TV shows hosted on Disney+ have finally given LEGO the push they needed to let you buy at least some of your favorite superheroes à la carte. Of course, unlike the last series of CMFs based on Looney Toons, Marvel superheroes have long been a staple of LEGO’s lineup,  The latest wave of the blind-pack figures, 71031 Marvel Studios Collectible Minifigures, is set to drop Sept. 1 for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49 each, and the series includes 12 unique characters from across the four Disney+ Marvel Studios shows so far: WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and What If?.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Before we dive into the review, a few things to note. I’ll try to avoid major spoilers as much as possible, but some spoilers for these shows are all but inevitable. So if you haven’t watched them yet, be warned. Also, I’m relying on the expertise of our resident comic guru Chris Doyle, so if I happen to call someone Alfred instead of Jarvis, blame him.

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Unboxing the case and packaging

Starting with Collectible Minifigures Series 21 at the start of the year, LEGO has moved to a smaller case size of 36 packs, down from the decade-old formula of cases of 60. In conjunction with the smaller case counts, though, the number of unique characters also decreased from a standard of 16 (and sometimes ranging as high as 22 for the Harry Potter CMFs) down to just 12. The upshot of this change is that LEGO can perfectly fit three sets of figures into each case, and I’m happy to report that’s precisely what we’ve found here. Our case contained three full sets of 12, making it easy to split a case among friends should you be lucky enough to score one.

The color scheme this time around is dark blue with strips of monochrome LEGO Marvel comics around the edges.

As always, each character includes a 4×3 minifigure stand, this time in standard black. And like previous superhero series (such as the DC Super Heroes series) each character also comes with a clear posing stand and a black 1×2 jumper tile to attach it. A few of the characters also included a spare stand.

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The Scarlet Witch

Wanda Maximoff appears here in her alter-ego form as Scarlet Witch from the finale of WandaVision. Although Wanda has only been in a few other sets before—though none in the last five years—she also features in the just-released 76192 Avengers: Endgame Final Battle (US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK 79.99). However, the CMF version is substantially different sporting her Scarlet Witch guise in full and a new hairpiece.

She swings dual energy blobs and has a soft dark red cape that billows a bit thanks to a single neck hole. The arms are unprinted but dual-molded in light nougat and dark red, and she’s got a double-sided head with alternate Wanda and Scarlet Witch faces.

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The Vision

If you’ve seen WandaVision, this minifigure will need no explaining. If you haven’t, you may be wondering why Vision is white, in which case you should go watch the show. White Vision has a long comic history even before the show, though, going way back to West Coast Avengers #45 in 1989. Despite the name, White Vision is actually mostly light bluish grey, with white hands, lower legs. and head. He’s covered in printing that includes white, silver, gold, and even some subtle lavender sparks, with the detailing extending down the arms, legs, and back.

White Vision’s sole accessory is a laptop, which displays the hex around Wanda’s house, printed on a trans-light-blue 1×2 tile and book cover. Since White Vision doesn’t have any hair or helmet piece, the head is single-sided with more detailing on the back, but Vision never really needed many expressions anyway.

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Monica Rambeau

Monica is the show’s third protagonist alongside the titular Wanda and Vision, and here she’s depicted wearing the S.W.O.R.D. uniform she wore to breach the hex. Monica also has a long history with Marvel, going back to The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 in 1982, but this is the first time she’s appeared in LEGO form. She sports a brand-new hairpiece, which is a welcome addition to the woefully small assortment of black hairstyles for minifigures. She also has a double-sided head for smiling and somber expressions.

Monica carries the S.W.O.R.D. spy helicopter drone, which is made of a few basic LEGO pieces (the bar that makes the tail is new in red). The helicopter is a good accessory only insofar as it conveys the general idea of being a “helicopter,” because otherwise it bears no resemblance to the one in the show, either the real drone or the hexed toy version, each of which have different colors and form factors. Even a S.W.O.R.D. logo printed on the side would have been an improvement. Monica also gets shorted with plain black pants. When you’re paying $5 for a minifigure, they should really have detailing throughout, even if it’s just pockets and seams printed on.

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The cast of WandaVision feels a little incomplete without regular Vision or Agnes, but this is a good start. Since WandaVision isn’t slated to receive a second season, we can only hope that LEGO has plans to fill in the gaps anyway with either regular sets based on the show or a few characters in another Marvel CMF series.

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Winter Soldier

Now we move on to The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, starting with Bucky Barnes, AKA the Winter Soldier. Bucky has one of the longest histories of any figure in this series, hailing back to Captain America #1 in 1941. True to his character in the show, Bucky’s got his vibranium arm that he picked up in Infinity War, and it’s beautifully detailed with silver and gold printing. He’s got a double-sided head and full back printing, and the black legs come with details printed on, too. Bucky’s right arm is just plain dark blue, however.

Here he’s wielding Cap’s shield, which yes, has happened in the comics too, though he didn’t get a lot of screentime with it in the Disney+ show. (Fun fact: Bucky has even been Captain America for a bit, such as in 2009’s Captain America #34.) The shield is an all-new design with extra detailing and silver highlights. It’s identical (of course) to the one that’s included with Captain America. His other accessory is a dark grey knife, which of course come as a pair on a sprue, so you’ll end up with an extra.

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Captain America

Sam Wilson, previously known as the Falcon, dons the Captain America moniker in the finale of the Disney+ show, following an appearance as Cap in Captain America (vol. 7) #25 back in 2014. Cap is an exquisitely detailed minifigure with his new uniform printed in red, white, and dark blue across the torso front and back, arms, and legs. Falcon has appeared in a few sets before with various techniques for his wings, but this minifigure brings a novel solution in the form of a new element that attaches to his neck and allows flags to be clipped to the wings to get better swooping action.

The new wing piece also has a stud on the center of the back, where Sam’s drone Redwing clips when not in flight. Redwing is a printed 2×2 triangle tile. Sam’s head white with the face printed on the front and details on the back. The new Captain America also brings us another new hairstyle, with high and tight short curly hair.

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While I enjoyed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, of the three live-action Disney+ Marvel shows so far it was my least favorite, and felt the most like a “standard” Marvel offering (for better or worse). But Sam Wilson’s Captain America minifigure is the best of this series, because not only is it a really, really cool minifigure, it’s done very well with cool new pieces and fantastic printing that doesn’t feel like any corners were cut.

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Loki

It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I was enthralled with the Loki series, so I was especially pumped to get my hands on a Variant Loki minifigure. Loki’s usual attire is pretty casual with a tie, light jacket and slacks, so there’s nothing crazy going on with his outfit, but the minifigure looks the part perfectly, right down to the TVA belt buckle. The legs are printed with just a smidge of Loki’s jacket, a detail I think probably should have been left off, but they also have seams and creases on the front. His button-up shirt comes off as slightly more blue here than it seemed in the show, though as we’ve discussed with Star Wars characters in the past it’s often difficult to pin down the precise color of something on-screen without seeing the real reference item (which LEGO designers, working months in advance, often don’t have access to).

Around back, Loki’s jacket proclaims VARIANT in big letters. Loki also carries a TVA mug, and has his signature fool’s grin for an alternate expression. LEGO hairpieces are notoriously difficult to cross-reference, so I’m not 100 percent positive, but I believe the mid-length hairpiece is also new.

Loki’s companion is an odd little frog creature. Many fans identified it as Throg, but there are rumors that there’s a deleted scene in which Variant Loki turns Thor into a frog, making him Frog Thor (but not Throg, who is a distinct character). In either case, it’s likely at least a reference to Throg, with or without the additional steps, and this little Frog Thor has a single anti-stud on the bottom, as well as hands that can be held by a minifigure. He’s dual-molded in silver and lime green, with armor printing on the front and a red cape around back.

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Sylvie

Sylvie is one of the other protagonists of Loki, a female variant of the god of mischief. Despite being recently introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, “Lady Loki” has been around a bit longer, having first appeared in Thor (vol. 3) #5 in 2008, where her character even included a broken horn. The LEGO version, however, falls a bit short. The face design is more or less unrecognizable as Sylvie, instead having some of the subtle facial characteristics that LEGO typically uses to indicate a child. It’s double-sided but the alternate smirk is only mildly better. The hairpiece is quite obviously new, as it incorporates her signature broken gold horns. 

Her armor is printed on both front and back, and the arms are dual-molded in dark grey and black with some small details printed on. Her legs, however, share the same fate as Monica’s of being plain black with no printing. Sylvie’s accessory is a green sword, which matches the color of her magic (and an extra is included).

And her companion is Alligator Loki, one of the instant hit cameos from the show. Sadly, Alligator Loki is missing his crown, but this is likely because the creature was developed as a baby alligator for the City theme, and simply happens to be appearing here first.

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While I would have loved to see a minifigure version of Mobius M. Mobius, getting Loki and Sylvie staves off the cravings for LEGO Loki characters, at least for now. The fact that LEGO included Alligator Loki and Frog Thor as well are just awesome bonuses. And while the Loki minifigure is simple, it does justice to Loki’s simple outfit, and the face is perfect. It’s a shame the same cannot be said for Sylvie.

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Zombie Hunter Spidey

The rest of the minifigures hail from Marvel’s What If? series, which at the time I’m writing this has only released the first episode. So we’ll be light on the lore for the rest of these characters, but we do know this one is called Zombie Hunter Spidey. Presumably at least one episode of What If? will focus on Marvel Zombies, which is presumably based on the comic series of the same name from 2005. Spidey, however, was also a zombie in that run. Here he appears to be wearing Doctor Strange’s cloak, which might end up being a tie-in to Spider-Man: No Way Home that’s slated to release this Christmas.

This minifigure is highly detailed with great printing all around, and a double-sided head for Peter Parker. A full alternate head is also included to complete Spider-Man’s costume. His only accessory is a standard rope element in white.

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Zombie Captain America

If you’ve got a Zombie Hunter Spidey, that must mean there are zombies for him to hunt. Enter….Captain America? That’s right, Cap’s been bitten (and this looks like Steve Rogers’ Cap) and he’s rampaging around…or something. I haven’t seen it yet. At any rate, this Cap’s looking pretty sick (get it?) with great printing all around. He’s lost a boot and a glove exposing his pale aqua skin.

The helmet is a bit banged up as well, as one of the wings has bite taken out, and Zombie Cap’s only accessory is a shield that has most definitely seen better days. Cap’s head is single-sided with a few zombie flesh warts on the back.

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Captain Carter

The hero of the first episode of What If?, Captain Carter is what happens when Peggy Carter steps into Stark’s super-soldier serum machine instead of Steve Rogers. The result is a bad-ass superhero that definitely needs more screentime. She’s also the only What If? character to have already appeared in a LEGO set, 76201 Captain Carter and the Hydra Stomper. The minifigure is quite different here, though, with red and white highlights on the armor and shield instead of the muted blue and silver.

Another wonderfully detailed minifigure with lots of great printing all over, this version of Captain Carter also employs a new hairpiece that’s much closer to her hair in the show. She features a double-sided head with happy/angry expressions, and carries a unique version of her Union Jack shield. She also includes the Tesseract, which again is a different than the one in the Hydra Stomper set. Here’s it’s made with a pair of 1×1 plates in transparent light blue opal, which is not only the first time it’s appeared in that color, it’s the first plate to appear in that color. Nicely, an extra is included, too.

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T’Challa Star-Lord

Answering the question of what if T’Challa were taken by the Ravagers instead of Peter Quill, this version of Star-Lord no doubt has a very different outlook on things. Rumor has it that this will be a multi-episode part of What If?, and is voiced by the late Chadwick Boseman. Equipped with a purple jacket to match his upgraded Black Panther suit, and black legs with dark brown boots, there’s nice printing on both, though the arms are plain. (Proving, however, that printing details on black legs is quite possible and looks great.)

Although Star-Lord’s head is single-sided, he has a new hairpiece, along with a new version of Star-Lord’s helmet that has different hair on top.

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Gamora with the Blade of Thanos

It’s hard to say exactly what this version of Gamora represents without having seen the episode, but a shot in the dark is that Gamora kills Thanos and takes over his quest to bring balance to the universe. We get a beautiful version of Gamora in gold armor, and like most of the other figures in this series features wonderfully detailed printing. Her hair is almost the same as the previous Gamora minifigures, but with a mixture of pink and purple in the hair instead of just purple like previous versions.

She’s got a double-sided head with neutral and angry expressions, and as her key feature she carries Thanos’ blade. The blade is made of common elements, so it’s nothing particularly special.

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The What If? characters are as varied and zany as the show, but each of them are fantastic in their own way, with great printing and details. They don’t coalesce into a lineup quite the same as the characters from other shows do just due to the episodic nature of the show, so a minifigure series is a perfect place to get crazy alternate versions of superheroes.

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Conclusion and recommendation

If you’re a Marvel fan, you’re definitely going to want to pick up this series. These figures are largely of the quality we’d expect from a big, exclusive set, and they’re characters that may not find a home in the regular LEGO Superheroes lineup, at least not right away. And while having only 12 in the series means some fan-favorites have certainly been left out, it also means that finding a complete set shouldn’t be an issue, especially with no chase or rare figures.

This series earns a hearty recommendation if you’re a Marvel superheroes fan. If you’re not into superheroes, though, there’s not as much to draw you in, because many of the pieces and prints are pretty specific to the characters. However, there are still some great pieces that make this series worthwhile, such as the three new hairpieces for black characters (plus Captain Carter’s new hair is great, too). Even Captain America can lend a new zombie head to your hordes.

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71031 Marvel Studios Collectible Minifigures will be available starting Sept. 1 from LEGO for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49. They may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.