I’m not very much into news articles these days. I mean, it’s called “news”, it needs to be new, right? When it comes to LEGO sets, I learn about the latest news the same time as everyone. Write about it, translate it, and before you know it, it’s not news anymore. However, there have been some I couldn’t not mention, like the Magic of Disney set from last month. Today’s subject managed to take me way back, so ladies and gents, I give you LEGO 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion!
I started reading comics way before X-Men, but they are responsible for my entry into Marvel. When I was in 9th grade, the supermarket we shopped at started to sell monthly comics and X-Men was among them. Back then, the paper quality wasn’t very good, and everything was in black & white. I remember reading them over and over again before the next issue came out. The cover was printed in color, though, and it was the most valuable part; I could see how the characters were dressed, or what their hair color was. My dad and I had a lot of arguments, he said it wasn’t possible to have such wide range in genetic changes. He was okay with a few, but each mutant had a different power, and he argued it was biologically impossible. I used to defend my X-Men (!) with all my heart.
As years passed, different series came out, different books. I read everything I could get my hands on (I’m guessing it wouldn’t even cover 1% of comics, but still). My favorite was the Ultimate X-Men series, probably because it was my first full-color book. After a while, my X-Men mania faded away, I started showing interest in other stuff. I watched the movies, but that was it.
I never had a chance to watch the X-Men ‘97 animated series, which the LEGO 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion is inspired by. I took a quick look at the first episode, wrote a mental note to watch it later, and of course, never did. Still, I wanted to write a few words about the set since X-Men was very dear to me when I was young.
LEGO 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion
The set will be released on November 4, 2024, although Insiders will be able to grab it starting November 1st. It’s made of 3,093 pieces, and released under the Adults Welcome theme. The design is like the Modular buildings. It’s priced at $329.99/€329.99/£289.99.
There 10 minifigures in the set, 4 of which appear in minifigure form for the first time. Personally, I think that number is 5, since Jean Grey only appeared as a SDCC collectible – not easy for us mortals to get our hands on. Anyway, the minifigures in LEGO 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion include Jean Grey, Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Professor X, Magneto, Rogue, Gambit, Bishop and Iceman. Professor X, Gambit, Bishop and Iceman never had their own minifigures before. The set also includes a buildable Sentinel.
When you purchase the set between November 1-7, you also get a little Cerebro set as GWP.
From Avengers to X-Men
To be honest, I’m glad X-Men sets started to show up. I like Avengers as much as the next guy, but I’ve had just enough of seeing Iron Man and Captain America everywhere I look. Who knows, maybe there will be smaller X-Men sets in the future. They appeared in Marvel CMF series when there wasn’t any proper sets, so there’s hope.
The first set under X-Men theme is from 2012. Wolverine’s Chopper Showdown (6866) is also the first and last set that had a Deadpool minifigure. It comes with Wolverine, Deadpool and Magneto. X-Men vs. Sentinel (76022) from 2014 brings Storm, Cyclops, a different Wolverine and Magneto. Mighty Micros from 2017 brings comical, short-legged Wolverine and Magneto. We get Wolverine Mech Armor (76202) in 2022, Wolverine Construction Figure (76257) and Wolverine’s Adamantium Claws (76250) in 2023. The X-Men X-Jet (76281) set is the last X-Men set before the X-Mansion.
Who knows what’s coming?
Just like most comics characters, it’s possible to find dozens of different variations of X-Men characters. Classics, renewed, this story, that timeline… LEGO 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion narrows down the range a bit. Both old and new X-Men fans are probably looking forward to getting new characters in the future.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, too. See you in the next one!
All images except the books and the cover image are taken from Brickset and Jay’s Brick Blog.
Some girls play with Barbie dolls, while others create small worlds with LEGO minifigures and continue to do so when they grow up. You can probably guess which group I belong to :)
