LEGO Marvel 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar review

The countdown to this year’s LEGO Marvel Christmas has officially begun, as the latest Spidey advent calendar swings into view – but is there enough festive fun here to justify the price?

LEGO Marvel-themed calendars are relatively new when it comes to the company’s line-up of festive sets, with past releases focusing on The Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy. This year’s offering shines a spotlight on everyone’s favourite wall-crawler though, with a New York City setting featured on the box and present in many of 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar's mini-builds.

Release: September 1, 2024 Price: £29.99 / $44.99 / €44.99 Pieces: 246 Minifigures: 5 LEGO: Order now

Big Apple builds

To be more specific, 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar's packaging features a view from inside a Manhattan apartment (possibly Peter Parker’s?), complete with wintery weather outside. However, it’s what’s inside the box that you'll want to dive into, so just what holiday treats does this year’s LEGO Marvel advent calendar have in store?

Waiting behind each of 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar’s 24 doors is a selection of mini-builds and minifigures based around Spider-Man’s friends, villains and various NYC street scene elements. Frustratingly, the only exclusive minifigure in the 2024 advent calendar is Miles Morales, who’s barely recognisable with a dark green holiday jumper, grey legs and green headphones.

That leaves just Spider-Man, Ghost-Spider, Venom (with scarf) and Green Goblin, all of whom have already appeared in numerous previous LEGO Marvel models. Also slightly annoying is the lack of printed or dual-moulded legs on any of the minifigures, something that seems to be an ongoing trend with many LEGO Marvel sets and an odd cost-cutting exercise.

Marvellous mini-models

The good news is that the rest of the micro-builds to be found in 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar are at least a little fun and do play into the 'Christmas in NYC' setting. They include a snow Spider-Ham, Peter Parker’s desk, Electro’s winter tree, tiny Spider-Man and Miles Morales racing cars, a Sandman catapult with presents, a hot dog cart, spare webbing, street storage for Peter’s rucksack, a traffic signal with fire hydrant and more.

A couple of stand-outs to mention in the LEGO Marvel set are the small wind-up Rhino-bot, Mysterio and Spider-Man curling rocks, and Ghost-Spider’s drumkit, all of which use a minimal number of pieces to create just the perfect diminutive models.

The Green Goblin also gets his due, with the super-villain receiving a brick-built glider and optional sleigh attachment, both decked out in traditional red and green festive colours. There’s even room on the back for presents and a sack, with Norman Osborn’s dark side no doubt ready to deliver holiday mayhem in the US city.

Webbed wonders

While previous LEGO Marvel advent calendars have included more minifigures, they’ve only featured the usual holiday jumper torsos, so you’re not really missing out on much if you’re looking for exclusives in this set. That makes 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar a perfect purchase for younger fans, who probably won’t even notice the lack of any truly unique minifigures.

Younger Spidey fans will also have plenty to play with come December, as cracking open each of 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar’s doors adds yet another fun item or character to the expanding New York City street scene.

The pack of spare webbing is certainly a useful addition too, with a selection of white elements allowing multiple options for trapping foes, attaching to the various mini-builds in the advent calendar and for swinging Spidey from lamppost to traffic light.

Needs more minifigures

76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar certainly manages to nail the overall festive feel required from such a seasonal release (something sorely lacking from 75395 Star Wars Advent Calendar), but the set could still have delivered a little more.

We’re not expecting super-rare exclusive LEGO Marvel minifigures to be locked behind an advent calendar, but the selection on offer this year does feel a little underwhelming. After all, how many times have we been presented with the exact same version of Spider-Man and why isn’t the star of his own set the one to receive a holiday jumper print?

That said, loyal comic book fans will still get plenty out of 76293 Spider-Man Advent Calendar and its many surprises waiting within. We’d like to see next year’s festive LEGO Marvel offering expand to cover a much wider spectrum of the comic book universe though, with a few more minifigures thrown in, but for now this seasonal set will suffice.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Our honest opinion: A fairly satisfying entry into the annual range of advent calendars from LEGO Marvel, but its minifigure selection will leave veteran fans wanting.