I’m a huge fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The fact that there’s this massive, intertwined universe of superheroes and villains across so many different forms of media is incredibly exciting. When The LEGO Group offered me all four LEGO Eternals sets for review, I couldn’t say no! Unfortunately I’ve not had a chance to see the movie yet, but I’m working on it! In the mean time, let’s take a look at these sets as they are. I’ve also done a fair bit of reading up on the story and the characters.
For the uninitiated, the Eternals are powerful immortals who have been around on Earth for a very long time. They’re created by the Celestials – enormous beings that are the oldest race in the universe, around before the dawn of creation and were responsible for creating everything in the MCU. The Eternals were put on Earth to fight the Deviants – monsters intent on wiping out all life. Who are the Eternals though, and what are their powers? All are super strong, can teleport, have telepathy and telekinesis, flight, and much more. Some can do things way better than others though.
- Sersi can manipulate non-sentient matter, which is pretty powerful. Played by Gemma Chan in the movie, she works as a museum curator, dates a human (played by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington), and is also has a history with Ikaris. She loves humanity and respects them. As a human, that’s good!
- Ikaris is one of the most powerful, and can fly and shoot light beams out of his eyes (Superman much?). He’s played by Richard Madden in the movie.
- Kingo, played by Kumail Nanjiani, is a Bollywood star in his non Eternals life in the film, can manipulate energy with his hands, with the abilty to fire powerful bolts of energy from his hands.
- Sprite looks like the kid of the bunch, but is still thousands of years old. Played by Lia McHugh, she’s very good at matter manipulation, and creating illusions.
- Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) is the inventory, creating weapons and technology for the team.
- Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff has super speed, who is also deaf, the first in the MCU.
- Druig can manipulate other people’s thoughts through telepathy. Druig is played by Barry Keoghan.
- Gilgamesh (Don Lee) is the warrior of the group, being the strongest. He’s apparently as strong as Thor, and has been known as Hercules or Samson in the past.
- Ajak, played by Salma Hayek, is the leader of the group, and has the ability to heal. She’s also the bridge between the Eternals and the Celestials, as the other Eternals can’t communicate with them.
- Thena (Angelina Jolie) is also a warrior, and can manifest weapons from nothing, also known as the Goddess of War.
All of the minifigures have some stunning printing, really showcasing the intricate artwork on both the torsos and legs. Unfortunately Sprite has the small legs, so no printing. One thing I have noticed is the box art – in particular the image of the eternals in the top right corner. It seems to me like it’s a badly drawn interpretation of a photo of them? I didn’t take a photo of mine unfortunately, but take a look for yourself and let me know what you recon.
Ok, on to the sets!
76145 Eternals’ Aerial Assault
133 pcs | 2 Minifigures | AU $17.99
The most basic of the four sets, this one includes Ikaris, Sprite (who’s exclusive in this set), and a winged Deviant. Being the first Deviant I built, it was honestly a little underwhelming. I was hoping it would be a bit bigger, but the part count was taken up with the wings. They look good, and the head is pretty cool – very Anubis-esque. Maybe I’m being a bit critical, but the claws are also very awkward.
76154 Deviant Ambush!
197 pcs | 3 Minifigures | AU $34.99
The Deviants are getting bigger! This one is pretty cool, as the whole build is a big six legged monster. There’s also Thena, Makkari and Gilgamesh, who’s exclusive in this set. There’s something to like about each of the minifigures – Gilgamesh’s fists, Thena’s staff and a new hair piece for Makkari, but the focus is on the brightly coloured Deviant. It unfortunately can’t stand on it’s hind legs, but it’s still imposing. It would have been nice to see some more of a bottom jaw, but the rest isn’t bad. The back legs are interesting and add a bit of character.
76155 In Arishem’s Shadow
493 pcs | 4 Minifigures | AU $119.99
This one brings a Celestial to the mix – in particular, Arishem. Crazy powerful, and known as Arishem the Judge, he’s the one that says whether a planet lives or dies. Oh yeah, he’s also the leader of the Celestials. The Eternals included are Ajak, Kingo (both exclusive), Ikaris and Sersi. There’s also a Deviant included. The Deviant is a bit of a miss for me, but Arishem is …interesting.
He’s big and imposing, which is pretty cool, and I love the dark red, but there’s a few things about the mech that are not great. The huge (and unsightly) Technic feet are necessary because he can topple very quickly, and he can’t bend his knees enough to sit down, as there’s a block in behind the knees. It’s a shame. The legs from the box art look chunky and awesome, but it’s all a facade, with three flip down panels clipped loosely over the top. The upper section is good, and the head is just cool, but the bottom half is where we’re let down.
76156 Rise of the Domo
1040 pcs | 6 Minifigures | AU $179.99
The big one, with 6 Eternals – Phastos, Druig (both exclusive), Makkari, Sersi, Thena and Ikaris has the most minifigurses of the lot. It was interesting to build, and has some nice parts, but there’s a lot of stickers. I forgot to count, but there’s a fair few. The Domo – The spaceship of the Eternals is cool. It’s an interesting shape, and has a few nice features inside, but having not seen the film yet, I’ve got no idea what they are. I do like the gold flex hose feature under the main door though. It was annoying to get in place, but it does look cool.
It opens up nicely, but I feel the scale is way out. I’m not sure why they didn’t just pick a room in the Domo and have at it. This seems strange. I’d be in this one for the minifigures alone. The shape is very well executed, but the outside looks a little chaotic, with the mix of colours. I do like the inclusion of a little coffee machine. Apparently even Eternals need caffeine. They also apparently like gaming too, with a game controller included amongst a variety of Earth artefacts. One thing I thought was extremely well done was the small statue of Arishem inside, using stacked roller-skates for his head.
Also included are a couple of larger Deviants. These two look super cool, but I think the parts should have been focused on the Domo instead. The humanoid (ish) one is Kro, the leader of the Deviants. He’s got a pretty awesome looking head. He’s also got a lot more articulation than the big guy, Arishem. The only problem with the head is that it’s too awesome. It doesn’t match the much more simple body. The other animalistic Deviant looks great, but doesn’t have as much articulation in it’s legs. The winning features here are the feet which look small, but work well, and the big spikes on it’s back, using the opalescent horns to good use.
That’s it! Let me know your thoughts on the sets. Do they line up with with your expectations?
A special thank you to LEGO for sending me copies to review. All thoughts on these sets are my own and are not influenced in any way, shape or form. The provision of sets for review does not guarantee a favourable review.
