LEGO Batman 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze review

Oof! Pow! Scrrratch? Spend! This is one LEGO Batman set that will lure you in, but perhaps leave you black and blue, whether it should be black or blue.

Finally, LEGO Batman is venturing back into mid-range LEGO set territory after a frustrating period lurching between 4+ and £250+ offerings at either end of the spectrum. And yet, while for all our patience 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze is the LEGO Batman set we need right now, it’s certainly not the LEGO Batman set we deserve.

Release: June 1, 2024 Price: £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 Pieces: 435 Minifigures: 3 LEGO: Order now

Don’t be blue… about the colour

Let’s get the colour out of the way – the Batmobile as seen in Batman: The Animated Series (BTAS) is not necessarily meant to be blue. The car is black with blue accents across it that are reflective of the dark surroundings that it speeds through, and there to help highlight and characterise what would otherwise be a black car on a black road in the middle of a black night. This Batmobile is technically meant to be black, just like all other Batmobiles. However, with consideration to its presentation, styling and the overall aesthetic that the BTAS cartoon offers, you can absolutely see where the opportunity for the LEGO design team to take such creative license was, just as it is true to say that the design of the vehicle on offer here doesn’t suffer for it.

Indeed, this dark blue LEGO Batmobile will grow on you, particularly for how – colour aside – there is a design approach here that stays very true to the source material. This is a really smart LEGO build for throwing in a couple of clever, more intricate details to polish off an otherwise largely smart, sleek design that perfectly captures the proportions and style of the cartoon car. Where the body to the Batmobile is long, smooth and angled on the show, so too is the LEGO set. The mini display stand as used in other Batmobile sets previously released also works just as nicely here, particularly for how worthy this set is of sitting proudly on display.

So whatever side you fall on black or blue, once you’ve built this Batmobile you won’t help but agree that everything is designed exactly as it should be here. And those are the best LEGO sets, aren’t they? They’re certainly the best LEGO Batmobiles.

It’s expensive

Well, they would be if they weren’t so wildly overpriced. There is clear quality, expertise and enjoyment to be had in 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze, but you have to steal a good number of diamonds to raise enough cash to purchase this at full price.

Realistically, we’re looking at a set that, with three minifigures included, comes in at an uncomfortable £10-15 more than it should. For however good this set is – and the Batmobile part to it certainly is up there – it cannot justify that high of a price for the size and complexity of the end product. However much we like the set, it is too small, the piece count too light and the time required to build it too short to push this set that far away from the £40 region.

(N)ice minifigures, but…

Perhaps the minifigures can go some way to explaining the price then? Well, yes and no.

The headliner here is the almost-best version we’ve ever had of Mr. Freeze, thanks primarily to a very clever torso design and a new-and-exclusive clear head piece to represent his cryogenic suit.

The cartoon world of The Animated Series translates so well into strong, simplistic minifigure form, and it is best exemplified by the effectiveness of that much smaller helmet for this version of Mr. Freeze. It’s so perfectly formed as if straight out of BTAS. Likewise, the bold, sparse design of the torso to his suit is excellently captured in LEGO form, thanks in no small part to some very clever and subtle highlights of edges that add a depth and light to the design that would otherwise be missing. You don’t notice these details first time, but they are the reasons for why it looks so good.

Those positives make the lack of simple leg printing (or dual-moulded legs) to represent his boots, and a simpler face design (akin to the very first LEGO version of this character we got almost two decades ago) all the more disappointing. They are factors that we can overlook but they do explain why we say this is just the ‘almost-best version’ of Mr. Freeze we’ve had. So close.

Similarly, Harley Quinn here – the same as one in April’s 76271 Batman: The Animated Series Gotham City (read full review here) – is perhaps the best red-and-black-suited version of the character so far, packed with detail and personality across her design. There’s a lot to appreciate in the subtle details that complete this minifigure design.

It should be said, though, that the face print is not of the best quality. On both sides of this review copy – straight out of the box – you can already see imperfections caused by scratches or marks (in the photos you can see them on the closed smile side above her right eyebrow and along the left side of the jaw, and on the open smile side you can see marks on the top right of her face just below the hat, and bottom right under the mouth). That’s not good at all for something brand new (and expensive).

Meanwhile, Batman is designed the same as in 76271 too, except that he has a rubber cape here. It works nicely – he can even sit down in it – and it is a nice different cape style to get for the character and it generally suits this minifigure version.

How much this overall design for the character works for you is a matter of taste, primarily based around the design of that cowl again. We’ve made it clear before that it is ill-suited in size and design to be used for Batman as seen in The Animated Series, and for a set with an adult price tag the point around it juniorising the character design is all the more apt.

As a trio of characters there’s plenty to admire and appreciate in 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze and, as the set name suggests, the minifigures are intrinsic.

The difficulty with the set being priced as highly as it is, though, is that each minifigure is put under finer scrutiny, and – depending a little on taste and personal tolerance around quality – they don’t all necessarily hold up their end of this pricier bargain.

We’ve lamented the lack of mid-range Batman sets on offer of late, so 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze is certainly welcome in many ways, with a fair few things to celebrate too. The car design is excellent and the creative risk taken around the colour swap pays off – but such a high price for the set still raises questions around value that can’t be answered by what’s inside the box.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Our honest opinion: 76274 Batman with the Batmobile vs. Harley Quinn and Mr. Freeze offers up a sleek LEGO version of one of the coolest Batmobiles, but at a laughably expensive price with minifigures of middling quality. Keep this one on ice.