In the early 2000s, comic book writer Grant Morrison set out to tell a grand Batman story that would bring 60-odd years of comic book history into a single canon.
Grant Morrison, via IMDb
“I became fascinated by the idea that every Batman story was in some way true and biographical from the savage, young, pulp-flavored ‘weird figure of the dark’ of his early years, through the smiling, paternal figure of the 1940s and the proto-psychedelic crusader of the ‘50s, the superhero detective of the ‘60s, the hairy-chested globetrotting adventurer of the ‘70s, to the brutally physical vigilante of the ‘80s and snarling, paranoid soldier of the ‘90s.”
“By taking his entire publishing history as the story of his life, I was able to approach Batman from a different angle and the multifaceted character that was revealed became the subject of my story.”—Grant Morrison
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight attempts a similar feat to Grant Morrison’s tenure on Batman: depict the Dark Knight’s numerous portrayals on the big screen—from Batman (1989) to The Batman (2022)—as one cohesive, lived story. Sprinkle in stories and elements from Batman’s comic book history, and you’ve got a nigh-definitive interpretation of the Caped Crusader in LEGO form.
How exactly does a game with the word “legacy” in its title honor not only the comics and film history of the character but also The LEGO Group’s lengthy work with Batman and his world?
Batman’s Legacy in LEGO
It’s been 20 years since The LEGO Group released its first wave of sets based on the Dark Knight himself. In those 20 years (I cannot believe it has been that long—I remember when these sets came out!), The LEGO Group has really utilized the license to its fullest extent. LEGO Batman has become his own distinct character. Or rather, Batman as a minifigure in the LEGO world has inspired numerous interpretations, both officially licensed and through members of the Brickfilm community online.
LEGO Batman, much like the Batman of the comics, has seen many adaptations. Traveller’s Tales’ (TT) first three LEGO Batman games characterize the Caped Crusader as how popular culture perceives him. Batman is cool, no-nonsense, and always in control. This interpretation extends to the animated direct-to-video LEGO DC Super Heroes movies.
LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) offered a very different take on the brick-built Batman. Unlike the cool and collected Batman of the TT games, Batman in this film is an immature guy who never grew up and thinks he’s the coolest person ever because he’s Batman. It’s almost meta. Everybody thinks Batman is the coolest hero, so what does a Batman, influenced by the culture’s perception of him, look like when he thinks he’s the coolest hero? Rather than being the straight man in a goofy LEGO world, Batman is the goofiest minifigure in the room at any given time.
So how does Legacy of the Dark Knight, in an effort to honor the legacy of LEGO Batman, characterize Batman himself when the previous characterizations of him are in such stark contrast to one another? Batman in this game is a blend of all previous iterations of the character in LEGO form. He’s driven, committed to the mission, and highly competent. However, he does have a goofy, relaxed side to him; Shai Matheson, the voice actor for Batman, leans into Will Arnett’s vocal stylings for Batman, drawing clear connections between this version of the character and the one from The LEGO Batman Movie.
Legacy of the Dark Knight also does a lot to honor the legacy of both LEGO Batman and Batman as a character and cultural icon through its narrative.
Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns is honored through a very nice translation of one of the suits featured in the comic
Traveller’s Tales’ LEGO games traditionally follow one of two tracks: they either directly retell a franchise’s films, as in The Lord of the Rings, Jurassic World, and the Star Wars titles, or tell completely original stories. The three previous LEGO Batman titles, the Marvel Superheroes games (sans Marvel’s Avengers), and LEGO City Undercover all have original storylines and missions without adhering to any particular film. Legacy of the Dark Knight takes a third option: crafting a new narrative using key elements from films within the Batman filmography.
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What is most endearing about Legacy of the Dark Knight’s story is its thematic emphasis on family and legacy. Family and teamwork are common threads throughout LEGO Batman’s many appearances across media, I’m sure in no small part due to the collaborative play encouraged by building LEGO with others.
LEGO Batman: DC Super Heroes was, thematically, about Batman learning to trust his teammates and friends, namely Superman. The LEGO Batman Movie was all about finding family and embracing connection and community; Legacy of the Dark Knight also adopts this idea, found throughout much of Batman media from The LEGO Group, and makes it the core of Batman’s arc in the game. Batman’s network of allies grows as the game progresses; Batman and Robin’s relationship is treated very clearly like a father/son dynamic, and the game clearly presents the good that comes from Batman’s crusade through his friends and family in a way that I wish mainstream comics would.
If Grant Morrison’s interpretation of Batman in the comics was an attempt to reconcile all the various aspects of the character—the goofy, the scary, the serious, the suave—then LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight attempts to do the same thing for LEGO Batman: blending the straight man, culturally recognizable idea of Batman from the early Traveller’s Tales games with the childish Batman who does what he does because he thinks it’s cool and fun of The LEGO Batman Movie. I would like to see more of this characterization for Batman in future LEGO projects.
Growing Up With LEGO Batman
I have a very personal connection to LEGO Batman, and LEGO games as a whole. I grew up with the first wave of LEGO Batman sets in 2006. For Christmas of that year, I received the Batcave and Batmobile as gifts. I already had an affinity for Batman from the 60s TV show and various animated adaptations, and having Batman as a minifigure was a big deal.
Growing up, my mom played through just about the entire LEGO game catalog on the PS2 with my brother and me. While my brother and I wanted simply to clear through a level as quickly as possible, my mom was determined to collect every stud, red brick, and Minikit in any given level, and she’d make sure we had the same goal as well. My mom’s introduction to the fandoms and hobbies I have now, namely comics, came through playing LEGO Batman and LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.
I couldn’t help but think of my mom as I played through the story of Legacy of the Dark Knight. Her determination to collect every stud in every room echoed in my mind as I played. And, being the dutiful son I am, even though she didn’t know I was playing the game, I collected every stud in every room I could.
After completing the story of Legacy of the Dark Knight, I tried out the split-screen co-op with my mom, eager to see her reaction to the game. LEGO games have come a long way since 2005’s LEGO Star Wars. It was fun to watch my mom figure out the game’s complex mechanics and features, even though she ultimately struggled to do much beyond gathering studs in Tricorner. It was sweet to be able to pick up the controller with her again, much in the same way we did when I was little.
One of the first Batman comics I read: Zero Year
In high school, I immersed myself in the world of comics—namely Batman comics—and tried to read as many high-profile, critically renowned works as I could. Seeing those stories and character designs represented in minifigure form, whether through official releases or the third-party custom scene, still excites me every time. Legacy of the Dark Knight’s story surprised me quite a bit, as it pays homage not just to the Batman films but also to Batman’s 80+ years of comic history, both through its story and its unlockables.
For example, the first chapter of Legacy of the Dark Knight is a blend of Batman Begins (2005), The Batman (2022) and, surprisingly, a favorite comic of mine, Batman: Zero Year (2013–2014) that I read numerous times throughout high school as I was getting into Batman comics and the industry as a whole. My favorite suits in the games come from the comics I was reading in high school, namely the Zero Year suit, which looks so good in minifigure form. I would pay serious money to see a physical minifigure of that costume released.
Hands down my favorite costume for Batman in this game
In many ways, I felt like I was both 7 and 16 years old again, playing through Legacy of the Dark Knight.
What Legacy Will LEGO Batman Leave Now?
It will be a difficult feat for Traveller’s Tales and The LEGO Group to develop a Batman game that surpasses Legacy of the Dark Knight just in terms of what it offers to honor the 20-year history of the Caped Crusader in LEGO form. The LEGO Group’s history of reimagining pop culture icons and their stories using LEGO bricks has led to definitive adaptations, such as LEGO Star Wars. But the work The LEGO Group has done with Batman and his world over the last 20 years has been as influential on the character and the culture’s perception of him as its work on Star Wars has been on that franchise.
Legacy of the Dark Knight’s ability to blend four distinct film franchises and 80 years of comics history into a fresh new story about Batman, which honors both major and minor adaptations, is impressive. Personally, this game brought me back to being a little kid again in a way that very few video games, let alone other media, do. That’s no small feat.
LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is available now on all game platforms for around $70 USD for the base version and $90 for the deluxe version.
DISCLAIMER: This game was provided to BrickNerd by LEGO. Any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
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