Review: LEGO 76053 Batman Gotham City Cycle Chase

April 11, 2016 | 27

Suicide Squad is one of my most anticipated movies this year as I can’t wait to see some of DC Comics’ most beloved villains duke it out on the big screen. I was kind of disappointed that LEGO didn’t release any LEGO sets to coincide with the movie but not too surprised since they chose to focus on Batman v Superman sets instead.

As a small consolation, we get 76053 Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase, a small LEGO set featuring two major characters from Suicide Squad in minifigure-form – Deadshot and Harley Quinn! It’s not an official Suicide Squad set but hey, I’ll take it since I’m especially excited about the debut of the Deadshot minifigure!

Let’s get into the review of 76053 Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase!

Name: Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase
Set Number: 76053
Pieces: 224
Price: AU$39.99 | US$19.99 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [Amazon]
Exclusive to: N/A
Minifigures: 3
Theme: DC Super Heroes
Year of Release: 2016
Instructions: LEGO 76053 Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase Book 1 Book 2

First, I want to point out how much of a mouthful this set’s name is. Say it slowly – Batman. Gotham. City. Cycle. Chase. The Batman in front of the set is kind of unnecessary since I don’t see the need to brand every set Batman since nearly every DC Comics set has Batman in it.

Also the alliteration is a little much! This is like the second C-heavy alliterative set name after the mouthful that was 2012’s Catwoman Catcycle City Chase! Phew, now that’s off my chest, let’s really get to the review!

There is a minimal number of stickers in the set, which is always a nice thing. They’re also round stickers which are relatively easy to apply. If you completely hate stickers, you could also skip out on the Batman logo stickers, which aren’t essential to the overall build.

As with most DC Comics sets, the highlights are almost always the minifigures accompanying Batman. Deadshot is perhaps the biggest draw of the set, as it’s DC’s sharpest marksman’s first outing as a minifigure. Harley Quinn is also another desirable minifigure. Batman is well, just Batman.

Deadshot has had a bit of a resurgence lately, with memorable appearances in the Arrow TV Series, and is set to propel into mainstream pop culture lexicon with Will Smith playing him in Suicide Squad. The Deadshot minifigure does not disappoint – with a striking, bright colour scheme to suit his comic book roots.

Deadshot’s defining feature, his metallic face-plate with red targeting device is pretty much perfect. I also love the red jumpsuit, and all the sharp details printed on it – the crosshair emblem on his torso is a really campy yet cool addition. Special mention to Deadshot’s yellow gloves as well.

For some strange reason, Deadshot is armed with a comically large bazooka which is a bit of an odd choice since I’d have much preferred more subtle and elegant weaponry… like a rifle. The bazooka is large, clunky and I don’t really like how disproportionate it is to Deadshot’s size. It uses a transparent cheese slope as a targeting eyepiece.

While it looks large and unwieldy, the bazooka is sort of cleverly designed and employs a stud shooter for a bit of playability. The handle, however is a little odd looking as it sticks out a bit too much.

Not sure if this is true to the comic books, but Deadshot also has a jetpack. I don’t hate the jetpack’s look, but combined with the bazooka – I just feel like there’s too much going on with Deadshot.

Strip away all the optional accessories and Deadshot becomes a much neater package. Here’s a better look at Deadshot’s back printing and my favourite bit of detail on him – the printing on both arms, specifically his trademark wrist-mounted guns.

Deadshot doesn’t have an alternate face which is fine, since an alternate face wouldn’t really suit his character well. It would’ve been nice if we had gotten another head to have an un-masked option, but that’s a pretty unrealistic luxury for someone who’s not a major DC character.

I’ll be honest – Batman is incredibly boring and the most unappealing minifigure in this set. For LEGO DC Super Heroes enthusiasts, it’ll be highly likely that you already own this very same minifigure as it’s been included in 76034 The Batboat Harbout Pursuit and 76026 Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas.

While it’s not a bad Batman minifigure at all, I just feel it’s kind of lazy for LEGO to recycle the minifigure, especially since Batman is notorious for owning a gazillion different suits.

All the usual contemporary 2016-2016 Batman trappings are included such as the soft spongy fabric cape, chinless cowl and that heavily-tanned face that I hate with a passion. I seriously cannot wait till they phase this head out and revert back to the back to the normal flesh-coloured face.

Batman comes with a grappling hook gun and one of those new pearl silver Batarangs. But apart from that, he’s same ole Batman and it’s really hard to muster up any excitement for a Batman that I already have 2 of.

Thankfully, Harley Quinn more than makes up for Batman’s shortcomings. In Gotham City Cycle Chase, we get a blue/red coloured variant of Harley Quinn that’s a nod to Margot Robbie’s character in Suicide Squad and also DC’s New 52. It’s a really nice variant as we’ve only got Black and Red Harley Quinns before this making this a must-buy for Harley fans.

Harley Quinn eschews her traditional court-jester inspired outfit for a more risqué look with a corset and pants combo that’s fitted out with an ammo belt, and a leg harness of sorts. I really love the dichotomy of blue and red throughout her costume, right down to her gloves. Harley also comes with a gorgeous blue and red ponytail hairpiece which first made its appearance on Series 14’s Zombie Cheerleader.

Like most licensed minifigures, Harley has an alternate face which has your standard angry/baring teeth expression. Back printing is also present which is always nice but the highlight of her back view is her two-toned legs, and you can see how two different coloured leg pieces were fused together. A bit sad that we didn’t get any arm printing though.

I sometimes give a lot of shit to Batman’s ridiculous garage of Bat-vehicles but the Batcycle included in this set is actually pretty well designed and I quite like it. The Batcycle reminds me a lot of a chunkier version of the Tumbler’s Batpod with its two massive wheels and armaments down the side.

Here’s the view of the Batcycle from the side which gives you a better look at the overall shape. It’s not a comfortable way to get around as Batman has to grip the handlebars and hang on for dear life.

The Batcycle’s simplicity is what makes it such a pleasant looking vehicle. You’re drawn to the oversized back and front wheels while the rest of the body makes use of a number of slopes. I don’t really fancy the large orange spotlight as it looks quite out of place.

There’s a Batlogo on each side situated next to some practical mudflaps. There are two “guns” near the front wheel but they’re purely for cosmetic purposes which is a nice change of things.

On the back wheel, there are 2 clips to hold Batman’s Batarang and grappling hook gun but there’s also a nifty little play feature built in.

Both stud shooters are able to rotate and swivel forwards for offensive capabilities, giving the Batcycle some much needed firepower. It’s a really simple yet pleasing mechanism as you can always swivel them back into position. I like how seamless the entire transition is, and how they don’t stick out like sore thumbs when lodged back into position.

Not to be outdone by Bats, Harley Cycle’s is equally as impressive. While not as long or streamlined as the Batcycle, Harley Quinn’s bike more than makes up for it with a campy, almost carnival-like vibe that befits her character’s jester origins.

Harley’s Bike also bears the same blue and red colour scheme of the driver, and has an oversized wheel for the front, but the most interesting accessory is Harley’s weapon of choice – a massive mallet that is attached to the side.

Harley’s hammer or mallet makes clever use of stickers with “POW” on one end that comic book fans will undoubtedly love. The mallet is attached to the side of the bike, but you can easily remove it if Harley wants to wield it on its own.

You can adjust the Mallet’s angle but it’s a shame that they couldn’t incorporate a forward “smashing” function which would’ve really made Harley’s bike a whole lot of fun.

At the other end of the Mallet, we’re treated to Harley’s iconic diamond emblem/design which is a nice nod to the character’s roots. You can also see four exhaust ports erupting from the back – two of which are movable so you can adjust them at different angles.

Harley’s Bike has a seat for her to ride on, but she can also just cling on to the handles as she flails about wildly in the air. From the side, you can see how short and stumpy the vehicle looks, but it doesn’t detract from the overall look that incorporates what a carnival-ride might look like.

I also love the red rims in the front tire. It’s a bit of a letdown that her back tire didn’t have blue rims to suit the overall aesthetics.

What I liked:

• Harley Quinn and Deadshot are both excellent and well-designed minifigures
• Harley’s “POW’ hammer gives the set a great comic-book vibe
• Both vehicles are great and they provide plenty of playability

What I didn’t like: 

• Recycled Batman minifigure (yawn)
• Deadshot’s accessories are a little too over the top
• You can’t really “hammer” Harley’s mallet when its attached to the bike (actually just found out that you can achieve this by attaching it to another clip!)

Final thoughts: For a small LEGO DC Super Heroes set, 76053 Batman: Gotham City Cycle Chase has all the necessary ingredients for a winning recipe. The minifigures (except for the lazily recycled Batman) are incredible additions to your DC Super Heroes collection. I’m really disliking this trend of recycling core characters like Batman as it brings back flashbacks of 2012-2014 Marvel sets where you’d get the exact same Spider-Man minifigure in each set.

In a world where Iron Man almost always gets a new suit in each set, it’s really unacceptable to get the same Batman from 2015. Change a bit of his armour, give him dual-moulded legs so we has boots, change his cape colour – at least mix it up a little. Previously, you could expect a newish Batman in each set, so this path that LEGO is on is a little concerning.

Luckily, Deadshot and Harley Quinn more than make up for Batman’s shortcomings. Harley Quinn’s New 52-esque blue and red colour scheme is executed almost perfectly. With Suicide Squad due to hit cinemas in a couple of months which I’m expecting to create a whole legion of new Harley Quinn fans, this set allows you to get a close approximation of her on-screen character in minifigure form.

Deadshot is also a welcome addition and despite the unnecessary accessories like the comically oversized bazooka, the overall design more than hits the spot. Deadshot’s printing is as sharp as his aim, and I really like that they incorporated all that red and yellow. His wrist guns printed on his arms also make him a standout minifigure.

The vehicles in Gotham City Cycle Chase also deserve due credit. The Batcycle does a great job of channelling the Tumbler’s Batpod with a sleek no-nonsense design, while Harley Quinn’s bike captures the essence of her personality and character with the matching colour scheme and ridiculously large Mallet down the side.

Both bikes feature great play features, chief among them are the fact that younger kids can actually race the both of them down slides, makeshift ramps or even hard flooring. For older fans, the set actually looks really good on display despite its small size. There’s just something about matching vehicles that make for good viewing.

All in all, Gotham City Cycle Chase is an extremely satisfying DC Super Heroes set. The fact that it’s quite affordable (especially if you can get it on sale) is yet another plus. If you’re a DC Super Heroes fan or even a casual comic book fan, I highly recommend picking this set up.

Rating: 4/5

Did you buy Gotham City Cycle chase? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review! Be sure to check out the Review Hub to discover more LEGO DC Super Hero reviews. To stay up to date on the latest posts, be sure to subscribe to receive email alerts in the right sidebar or follow the Jay’s Brick Blog Facebook page.

Have an awesome day!