Doc Ock

Image: LegoNew year, new... Lego? That’s how that saying goes, right? After a few quiet months to round out 2023, Lego is starting 2024 with a bang with tons of new sets. Marvel! Star Wars! Sonic! Jurassic Park! Bouquets and Polaroids! Truly, something for everyone.Seriously, after the last few months delivered a few handfuls of sets here and there, 2024's Lego floodgates are already well and truly opened. Almost every primary Lego line has a bunch of new sets releasing this month, including City, Creator, DREAMZzz,…

The holidays are coming, and no matter your age, that can often mean sitting down after all your gifts are unwrapped, surrounding yourself with bags of plastic bricks, and building a new Lego set. To help you become the most popular gift giver of 2023, we’ve rounded up our favorite sets of the year—from fancy supersized kits to smaller ones that are lighter on the wallet but just as fun.This Week's Toys Are Straight From a Multiverse of Marketing MadnessLego Natural History MuseumImage: LegoWhy we like it: Lego’s “Modular…

Image: Sony Pictures/Marvel ComicsThis is where things get properly weird with Madame Web. The version of Ezekiel we see in the movie—almost a serial killer Spider-Man with the costume to match—is radically different to the Sims introduced in the comics. We first meet Sims as an old man and wealthy businessman, with startlingly similar powers to Peter Parker. Revealing himself to Spider-Man after hiring several private detectives to help uncover his identity, Sims reveals that he gained his powers in a mysterious…

From the very beginning and all the way to a multiversal web of Spider-heroes, anyone who takes on the legacy of Spider-Man’s mantle—across the comics that started it all, to the myriad film, tv, and game adaptations—has had to navigate a complex relationship with the police. Both Into and Across the Spider-Verse have been no exception, but the latter in particular walks a delicate line in navigating that relationship.io9 Interview: Oscar Isaac Was 'All In' on Moon KnightSpider-Man’s history as a vigilante, and the hero’s…

Image: SonyThe reason Miguel is doing everything in this movie is to make sure the Spider-Canon stays intact. It’s the basis for everything, such as trying to keep Miles from going home and saving his dad. Miguel is sure if that happens, the universe will end. But, at the end of the film, when Gwen’s dad says he quit his job and is no longer captain, Gwen says “But that means...” and trails off. In her mind, at least, that was the canon changing without significant consequence. We don’t see what happens in Gwen’s universe…

Image: LegoWhen you think of epic Marvel movie set pieces, it’s hard to top Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The former brought almost every character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe together in a last-ditch attempt to defeat Thanos, and the latter saw three Spider-Men from different dimensions clash with four of Spider-Man’s most dastardly villains ever. Both are set pieces we love to revisit again and again. Soon, you can bring them directly into your home as actual sets made of pieces. Lego just…

Screenshot: Sony Pictures AnimationNow this one’s interesting. The badge, belt, the uniform and the fact that he’s acting as some kind of multiversal traffic director make this feel like a riff on the “Spider-Cop” gag from Insomniac’s game Marvel’s Spider-Man. In that game—which faced criticism for its portrayal of Spider-Man as a staunch accomplice of the NYPD, aiding them in the setup of an OSCORP-branded citywide surveillance system—Peter has a running bit with his NYPD contact, Yuri Watanabe, in which he adapts the…

Image: Funko/Marvel StudiosNeed more than a trio of big-noggined Spider-Men in your life? This Wal-Mart exclusive set contains the three heroes and all five of the villains from No Way Home, including your only chance to snag the film’s version of the Lizard and Sandman (at least for the moment).Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.…