Legacy of the Dark Knight

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is one of the most fun and unique LEGO games ever made, while also being one of the best Batman media projects of all time. The game encompasses the Caped Crusader’s entire history, embracing every era regardless of the medium. As such, I feel like there’s really only one way LEGO could ever hope to top Legacy of the Dark Knight in the future.

Rather than simply referencing Batman’s past, Legacy of the Dark Knight rebuilds and reimagines so many beloved movies, shows, and comics into one cohesive and very creative game and storyline. It really is the ultimate celebration of Batman and his nearly 90 years of history.

While I’ve since finished the main story, there’s still so much of Gotham City to explore, Easter eggs to find, and items to collect. LEGO has created something very remarkable with Legacy of the Dark Knight as a peak Batman tribute. However, I have started thinking about what other properties could support a similar LEGO game that could be just as dynamic. To that end, I’m confident there’s really just one obvious answer with a character whose legacy could absolutely sustain a similarly epic LEGO treatment.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of The Dark Knight Truly Lives Up To Its Name

Like many Batman fans who’ve picked up the new LEGO game, I’m incredibly impressed by how seamlessly Legacy of the Dark Knight combines Batman’s full history.

Bruce Wayne’s origin features elements from Tim Burton’s Batman movies while incorporating characters and dialogue associated with Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy and Matt Reeves’ The Batman at the same time. Classic visuals and homages are everywhere, and even some of the characters are depicted as unique hybrids. The Penguin combines both Colin Farrell and Danny DeVito’s portrayals simultaneously, Joker seamlessly transitions from Jack Nicholson to Heath Ledger, and Bane is clearly based on Tom Hardy while still having Venom enhancements from the original comics and Schumacher’s Batman & Robin.

Beyond the movies, comic book references, animated series tributes, and even inspirations from the Arkham games are woven throughout the entire experience, not to mention all the best Batsuits and Batmobiles. The gameplay itself is just as impressive, as it’s clearly inspired by Rocksteady’s beloved and definitive Arkham trilogy, incorporating more advanced combat for the first time in a LEGO game, as well as some incredibly solid traversal and open world exploration.

LEGO Should Absolutely Give Spider-Man The Same Legacy Treatment

Keeping all that in mind, I believe Spider-Man would be the perfect superhero for LEGO to look at next for a similarly epic legacy game. Like Batman, Peter Parker has one of the richest multimedia histories across decades, with close to as many beloved iterations across mediums.

A LEGO Spider-Man legacy game could similarly rebuild and pull from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man movies, the MCU, Spider-Verse, animated shows, and the original comics all at the same time. Likewise, variants like Spider-Noir, Spider-Ham, Spider-Gwen, Miles Morales, and 2099 could all be featured with their own unique abilities, just like Batman’s allies in Legacy of the Dark Knight.

The gameplay foundation is already there as well. LEGO could similarly borrow from Insomniac’s acclaimed open-world Spider-Man games and combat systems, the same way Legacy of the Dark Knight clearly adapted mechanics from the Arkham trilogy.

More importantly, Spider-Man’s history is absolutely large enough to justify the same kind of celebration that Batman has just been given thanks to LEGO, one that similarly spans the entire Spider-Man mythos. If LEGO ever wants to top and/or rival what it just accomplished with the massive success of Legacy of the Dark Knight, the answer definitely lies with Marvel’s Webslinger.