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My Holy Grail of Legos has always been the Lego Star Wars Death Star. My amazingly loving and generous wife crossed that one off my list a few birthdays ago and it was absolutely worth the wait.
Sure, I’ve done plenty of Marvel and Star Wars Legos since then and they’ve all been great. But nothing, nothing filled with me pure everything-is-awesomeness like that Death Star.
Until now…
Meet the Lego Daily Bugle
The Lego Daily Bugle has kicked the awes-o-meter up a few notches. I’d say if the Lego Death Star was a 10, this new Spider-Man set goes to 11.
Yes. It’s that amazing.
Spectacular even.
You could even say sensational.
Not only did I have a blast putting this bad boy together, but the sheer attention to detail from those brilliant Lego Architects nearly brought me to tears.
I remember when Lego sets had small pamphlet like instructions that were maybe 10 small pages. My have we grown up.
The Daily Bugle instruction book will give your biceps a workout. Clocking in at a whopping 374 pages, this is one set you won’t be completing in just a couple of hours.
Building the Bugle
From a checkerboard tile entryway to a rat-stalking manhole cover, the Manhattan street level sets the stage for the detailed floors to come.
One item you’ll see continually popping up throughout the build is the Daily Bugle newspaper itself. While there are a number of different editions, the NO CRIME “No Thanks to Spider Menace” headline is the current issue, as tons of copies are strewn throughout the building.
Speaking of details, just look at this soda vending machine.
Each can is put together and then placed inside the machine, ready for a thirsty Ben Urich to head down for an afternoon pick-me-up.
The genius architects behind the Lego Daily Bugle knew that people would want to look inside each floor once it’s complete. Otherwise, what’s the point of all these fun details?
Every other floor of the building has a removable front wall to peer inside. You can also easily remove each floor as full module itself. All except for the first floor that is.
With the beautiful Daily Bugle sign and entryway, the first floor simply can’t have a removable front wall. So to help, there’s a breakaway wall on the side to pull out and see what’s shaking in the lobby.
Of course, you can also peek in through the windows, the sliding front door or the back door too.
The back of the building houses all sorts of garbage. And no, I don’t just mean Carnage.
Lights over the Exit door. A pigeon on top of an air conditioner unit.
And probably my favorite hidden gem of the whole set…
Yep, behind that pile of webbing is a secret space for Peter Parker to store his backpack!
The Newsroom
The Daily Bugle itself is one of the coolest supporting characters in the Marvel Universe. And next to J. Jonah Jameson, the most recognized staffer would be intrepid reporter Ben Urich. (He even knows Daredevil!)
Ben and his fellow reporters call the second floor of the Bugle their home.
This floor was sooo much fun to put together.
The TV monitors on the top of the center column. The desks. The file cabinets. Even the elevator in the corner, which happens to flow all the way from the first floor to the top.
That Electro headline cracks me up:
CITY POWER BLACKOUT… WE NEED ELECTRO!
And of course there’s the famous “Spider-Man No More?” comic cover depicted as a Daily Bugle front page.
On the other side of the room, though, is a reporter’s most useful tool… the kitchenette.
Not only do you get a box of pink frosted donuts, but look at that coffee pot in the center!
Here’s a front view of how the first two floors of the Lego Daily Bugle stack up.
Stack? Get it?
Like, stacking newspapers?
Okay, let’s move on…
Peter Parker’s Office
Even though he’s just a freelance photographer (well, he has had staff jobs at the Bugle), our friendly neighborhood Peter Parker has his own office! It’s obvious this is Pete’s thanks to the big framed Spidey photo on the wall.
Peter’s office is right next to the copy room, crowded with file cabinets, boxes and a photocopier. You can even see his familiar camera there on top of the file cabinet.
And of course, his dear Aunt May is always by his side ready to feed his hunger and lift his spirits.
The top floor of the Daily Bugle is home to the most notorious, Spider-Man-hating publisher the world has ever known. Yes, that’d be J. Jonah Jameson.
His office may be a bit small and sparse, but there are loads of adorable goodies strewn throughout.
His computer monitor points to a recent email of his saying: YOU’RE FIRED!
Then on top of his file cabinet you can see a number of trophies, along with what I believe is a moon rock! Remember, JJJ’s son John was an astronaut who walked on the moon. (And of course turned into the Man-Wolf.)
The office to Jonah’s right sits Bugle mainstay Betty Brant. She always had a soft spot for Peter and somehow put up with Jonah’s routine outbursts.
The Finished Product
J.J.J.’s office may be the top floor, but it’s not the top of the Daily Bugle.
Nope.
The final step comes with what’s on the roof of the building. A water tower, cell tower and the most funnest part of all, the Daily Bugle logo itself.
Not only does the roof offer a few different features, but with plenty of surface area, the wallcrawler will always find some place to stick his webs.
For full battle effect, the Green Goblin smashes through the building on his Goblin Glider!
One thing I think would’ve been cool is if Lego included basic instructions for completing the front without the damage.
I do love how it looks though with the flame bursts and broken windows.
And the flagpoles are perfectly located for minifig hanging.
Not to mention how it really looks like Mysterio is flying in off the right side of the building. (A well-placed clear Lego stand helps create that illusion.)
There’s also instructions for building vehicles such as the taxi and the never-out-of-style Spider-Mobile!
For some reason, it’s climbing up the side of the Daily Bugle. Or maybe that’s where Spider-Man likes to park it…
The back of the Bugle has a few neat areas for battle or placement as well. The 3rd floor has a door onto a balcony for the Black Cat to sneak in and out.
And the billboard with Jonah’s growling face on it has a small handle on each side to let your heroes hang.
When you put it all together, the Daily Bugle set is seriously impressive.
Daily Bugle Lego Set Minifigs
As if the giant news building wasn’t enough, what makes the Daily Bugle one of the greatest Lego sets of all time are the minifigs. We’re talking 25 adorable Lego-ized characters from the Spider-Universe.
The first minifig you put together is the matriarch of the Marvel Universe: Aunt May. Always the voice of reason, the one to keep things moving forward, and keep Peter Parker inspired, Lego Aunt May comes with a stack of her world-famous wheat cakes!
Gotta keep her nephew full both in body and mind.
Fresh from the Spider-Verse, we get our web-filled hands on Ghost-Spider, Spider-Ham and Miles Morales Spider-Man!
Ghost-Spider’s alter-ego and Peter Parker’s college gal Gwen Stacy gets in on the fun.
The Daily Bugle Staff steps out: J. Jonah Jameson, Ben Urich, Robbie Robertson and Betty Brant.
Bring on the Bad Guys!
Spider-Man’s Rogues Gallery is one of the best in comics. And this Lego set offers up a few of the best. Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Mysterio and even the Black Cat (complete with whip and stolen diamond!) kick off the supervillains.
Along with Doc Ock and Mysterio, the Sandman helps bring half of the Sinister Six to Lego life. Not one to take the easy way out, the Sandman minifig has a larger base.
But you also get to put together a huge sandstorm base to really make William Baker (a.k.a. The Sandman) stand tall.
The Sandman minifig fits easily on top of the larger base and makes it all look like one seamless sand tornado.
These days you can’t throw a frisbee in New York City without hitting a superhero. Joining Lego Spider-Man to help protect the Bugle are The Punisher, Firestar, Daredevil and Blade.
Personally while I love each and every one of these, I find Blade and Firestar a little bit out of the ordinary. I mean if they also included Iceman, then we could’ve recreated Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Oooh, you’d even get a Lego Ms. Lion minifig!
But Blade? I’m guessing he’s tossed in as a nod to the future MCU Blade movie that’s in the works.
In addition to Spidey’s friends and the Daily Bugle staff, you also get yourself a number of civilians, like Bernie the cab driver!
And of course, fan favorites Ron Barney and Amber Grant.
You know, Ron Barney.
Ron.
The guy who… uh… seriously… uh… is this a real character?
And then Amber? Is she a regular as well?
The Daily Bugle Lego set shows Amber in the News Stand next to the building. So I’m assuming she’s always popping up in the comics, we’ve just never noticed.
My biggest question about the minifigs, though is: Where is Mary Jane?????
Sure, we get a Gwen Stacy minifig so one of Peter’s love interests appears. But MJ has always been there for Peter. We’ve got Aunt May, JJJ, Gwen and Peter. How could we not get MJ too?
I mean, really, we even got the Spider-Mobile! Not to mention Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham. The least Lego could do is toss in an MJ.
Or… maybe a little creativity with Firestar’s red hair is all I need.
The Lego Daily Bugle Minifig collection
All in all, it probably took me about a week to put the Daily Bugle together, working an hour or two every night. It was so much fun putting together, that I almost want to tear it right down and start over.
Here’s hoping that Lego continues these large structures and maybe puts together a full-sized Avengers Tower, Fantastic Four Baxter Building or even an X-Mansion complete with Danger Room!