Here are all the 2019 LEGO SDCC exclusives that you won’t be getting

July 12, 2019 | 19

(unless you cough up hundreds on eBay)

LEGO today unveiled their latest San Diego Comic Con 2019 exclusive on Twitter, and it’s possibly the one that’s going to piss off their fan-base the most – Barb, a fan-favourite character from Season 1 of Stranger Things.

LEGO have had an illustrious history of using SDCC to give out extremely coveted minfigures and promotional sets, which is a bit of an SDCC tradition itself.

For those of you lucky to get to SDCC, some of these sets are available to purchase in limited quantities, and some others like the minifigures need to be won in raffles – so you’re not even guaranteed to get one even if you’re lucky enough to attend.

If you live anywhere else in the world – you’re shit out of luck.

I think the practice is plain dumb, and LEGO needs to stop them. I’ve penned most of my thoughts in a 2017 blog article, and my position on them has not changed a single bit.

It’s just disappointing that its 2019 and LEGO is continuing to take a massive dump on their fans, and they deserve to cop all the outcry on social media every time they reveal SDCC exclusives.

Anyway, here’s a rundown of all the LEGO exclusives from the 2019 SDCC.

Barb from Stranger Things Minifigure

I’m not even a massive Stranger Things fan (I barely got through Season 1) but even this made me mad. Barb is a fan-favourite and events surrounding her pretty much laid the foundation for the entirety of Season 1, and even the franchise.

“Fan-favourite” is putting it lightly and for those of you who eagerly picked up The Upside Down (which I hear is a fantastic set), and want to complete your Stranger Things cast – you’re fat out of luck.

This is just absolutely mind-boggling to me and I have no idea why LEGO decided to release her as an SDCC exclusive, instead of a Gift with Purchase promotional polybag.

Super disappointing and probably the exclusive that will piss people off the most at this year’s SDCC.

Captain Marvel and the Asis

This is another sore spot for me. LEGO are releasing a Captain Marvel and the Asis (her test spacecraft/jet plane), which comes in a specially designed box, and includes 2 exclusive minifigures + a Flerken.

Captain Marvel is in her Kree suit, which looks amazing, but it’s an alternate costume that I can sort of live without.

What irks me is the inclusion of Maria Rembeau, who played a major part in the movie. The thought of Disney walling her behind an SDCC set, which will only reach a tiny proportion of LEGO and Captain Marvel fans is a bad call.

Representation has been a major theme in the entertainment industry, more so than ever, and gating a prominent black character behind an SDCC set just sends a really bad message.

For younger LEGO fans who looked up to Maria as a role model in Captain Marvel, how are you going to explain it to them that it’s going to be near-impossible to get a Maria Rembeau minifigure to add to their collection?

Zebra Batman

SDCC is often a hotbed for LEGO to release bizarre takes of popular characters and Zebra Batman is no exception to the rule.

Coming from an obscure 1960 comic, Zebra Batman would make a fun addition to anyone’s Bat-collection.

Advanced Suit Spider-Man

On the Marvel side of things, we have an Advanced Suit Spider-Man, which you may know from the PS4 game.

It’s pretty neat and all sorts of geeky and I especially love how expressive his eyes are on the minifigure, as well as the detailed printing across his body.

Sith Trooper Bust

LEGO also teased a new bust-style set, with its new Sith Trooper. This one looks pretty interesting, and reminds me of the limited edition Darth Vader bust that was a Target (US) exclusive.

Another intriguing thing is the box art, which has the words “Early Release Edition” in the bottom right corner. No idea what this explicitly means but if I’m making assumptions, it does sound that this bust will be made available, hopefully in a wider release further down the track.

If my prediction is correct, this represents yet another fantastic mechanic for “SDCC Exclusives”, which I hope translates to a fairer experience for fans.

Dark Knight of Gotham Set

Last but not least is, in my honest opinion the blueprint that all SDCC sets should follow – The Dark Knight of Gotham City celebrates 80 years of the World’s Greatest Detective with a small diorama of Bats standing guard over Gotham City.

Apart from a printed 80 Years of Batman tile, and the sweet box design, there’s nothing particularly exclusive about this set, and you can easily re-create this with easy to obtain parts.

LEGO, THIS is what we want to see from you when it comes to Convention exclusives. Exclusive (but very nicely designed) packaging, maybe a unique printed element or two to make it special, but that’s it.

So yeah, that’s it for the SDCC Exclusives so far. I think we haven’t seen them all, and I suspect that we’ll also get an elusive LEGO Harry Potter minifigure thrown in somewhere – if I was a betting man, I’d put money down on a young Dumbledore from Crimes of Grindelwald.

Once again, I’m just disappointed by LEGO’s treatment of its fans, but if you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you already know how I feel.

? Make ? LEGO? More? Equitable? To? All?

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section!