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Set Review: 76026 Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas
 Sunday, June 7th, 2015 at 10:43pm by Benjamin, BZPower ReporterWhen you're a superhero who can run at super-speeds, not much can get in your way. A telepathic gorilla, however? That could pose some problems. So when your icy-cold rogue teams-up with him, you make a team-up of your own: Wonder Woman and Batman! Today BZP reporters xccj and ChocolateFrogs review the Flash's latest DC Comics Super Heroes set: Gorilla Grodd goes Bananas. Check it out for a team-up video review and to see if the set is worth your time and money, or if you should run in the other direction as fast as you can!
The set is $50 USD and has 347 pieces, which is not too good as most sets go, even for licensed sets. But there is one maxi-fig and five minifigures, most of which are new or slightly-different, all of which might entice one to buy this. Plus there are all those clear pieces from the Invisible Jet. All that said, however, read on to see just how well the set stacks up outside of its contents. Presentation
ChocolateFrogs: The box art is very flashy (hehe). Lots of action seen between the logos, including The Flash running, Captain Cold icing, and Wonder Woman flying with Batman stopping Grodd from terrorizing. The box also shows off the cast of minifigs and the it-sounded-better-as-an-idea “super-jumper” seen in this year's Super Hero sets. The back continues to show off the various features of the set for full playability. Building
CF:The Banana Cart is a quirky kind of three-wheeled car. Certainly something we haven't seen before in sets. More on this vehicle in the Playability section.
Building the Bat-Mech shows off some great piece usage, from grills and slopes to armor and limbs. It is fairly sturdy, though some pieces do fall off while playing with it, and feels like something that can go up against Grodd.
The Invisible Jet is one of the best parts of the set. Really makes the purchase worth it.
Seriously though, it has a sleek, fast look, which is all you can really hope for when LEGO is limited by what transparent pieces they can produce. The clear pieces hide the solid-colored parts fairly well in the build. There is also some SNOT action going on. Set Design
xccj: There are a bunch of cool and new pieces in this set, including a lot of transparent pieces from Wonder Woman’s invisible jet. Some of the interesting elements in that color are the 2x2 curved slope, 4x4 wedge plate, headlight brick, tail fin, and large wing element. The latter also seems to make for a decent stand for ships and other models, which could be put to good use. There’s also the trans clear / trans blue flame, which is relatively rare. There’s also another Hero factory / CCSB chest piece with the Batman logo on it, a nougat colored crate, a new sword design for Wonder Woman (the set comes with two), the new stud launcher with a plate connection, and lots of banana pieces! Finally, this set also comes with a clear super jumper piece, which attaches to a minifig’s legs and lets you launch them around. It kind of works, but it also grips the legs tightly, making it difficult to take them off and putting them at risk for cracking, so both of us don’t really care for it.
xccj: As far as my opinions of the Bat Mech, I feel that it’s just more of the same. LEGO has done some great mechs in the past, but this one just seems a little boring to me. Since it’s Batman, the colors and pieces aren’t that interesting either, and I feel that there are plenty of better LEGO Mechs to choose from, such as Iron Man’s Hulkbuster armor on the Marvel side. This last picture here shows how the super-jumper with fig fits in the Bat Mech, but we didn't want to try removing the stand from the fig later and this space Batman was already in the part. CF: I am really not excited by the Bat-Mech, and that takes up most of the set. I am consistently annoyed at the lack of knees on all of LEGO's mechs, for starters. While I like a lot of the pieces, the overall feel is just boring. Sure, he can take on Grodd, but overall I wish it looked cooler.
xccj: The Invisible Jet seems a little simple, but it uses the pieces well to show off its sleek design. I do like the large clear wing pieces, and there are also the blue flames coming from the engine and the spring loaded launchers at the tips of the wings. The body of the jet isn’t made out of clear pieces, so that’s somewhat disappointing, but it fits Wonder Woman inside snugly and is fairly swooshable. It’s not the most impressible model, and it would’ve been nicer to see something more substantial, but it works.
xccj: One of the more interesting designs is the little Banana Cart, which is a compact little three-wheeler transport. The neat action feature built into it is that the back is connected via a hinge, so when Gorilla Grodd smacks down on the cart, it bends inward and launches up the crate of bananas. It’s simple but it works!
CF: The good news is, the Bat-Mech passes the “standing on one foot” challenge!
CF: Grodd is the stand-out character of the set. He is big and tough, as expected. He is wearing the telepathic crown for his abilities. His hands are also molded to hold minifigs by the legs. xccj: Captain Cold is one of the Flash’s main antagonists, and it’s refreshing to see a non-Batman villain show up in a DC Super Heroes set. He has a medium blue parka on, including a recolor of the new headpiece. He has two expressions on his face, with one side being serious and the other grinning, complete with his blue goggles. He also carries a neat ice gun to use on the Super Heroes. CF: The Banana salesman is pretty fun. He is, of course, scared due to the peril he has found himself in, but the banana on his overalls reminds him to keep a cheery attitude. He is just a civilian minifig, but a nice addition to LEGO city life nonetheless. xccj: The Flash makes his second appearance in a DC Super Heroes set, although his design hasn’t changed. His torso has his lightning bolt insignia. His head has two facial expressions along with a detailed helmet design. It’s great to have him in a set again, and this time against villains from his own rouge gallery. CF: Batman here is Batman. Is there anything more to say? Well, he does have the new cowl mold, along with a black minifig head with the face printed on, I suppose to blend into the cowl and his suit. He has two facial expressions: focused and stressed. I prefer the smirk found on The LEGO Movie Batman, but the cool head design makes up for that. xccj: Out last hero is Wonder Woman; she is making her second appearance in minifig form, but this time she’s had some upgrades. She comes with a new torso design and pants, and although she reuses the hair mold, the crown is recolored. She also has two facial expressions: happy and angry. The new sword mold is worth mentioning again too. Playability
CF: There's lots to do with Grodd in this set. From terrorize Flash and the innocent Banana salesmen...
...to battling Batman for the fate of Central City!
All the figs look great, especially when settling their problems in the usual comic-book manner.
CF: So, despite some not-so-great models in the set, as something for the kids to play with there are a lot of options. Having 6 characters filling the scene helps, plus a few conflicts to engage the narrative in. The stud-launcher and new spring-loaded missiles really add to the fun. The super-jumper allows for some daring-do attacks too, but its popularity declines as soon as one tries to remove the minifig from it. Way too hard. Final Thoughts
Overall, we think this set is great for the cast of minifigures but poor on the vehicles. The Banana Cart is fun and the Invisible Jet works for its size, although we wish it could have been bigger. The bulk of the set is the Bat Mech, but it feels pretty lackluster. There are a few nice pieces, but at $49.99 it’s a little too pricy for what you get. If you do want to grab some of the figs or pieces here, we would recommend waiting for a sale.
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