Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop review

The Sanctum Workshop plays a big part in Marvel’s latest Spider-Man movie, No Way Home. Buried underneath Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum, it’s where Peter, MJ, and Ned spend a lot of time as they concoct a plan to deal with the villains spilling in from other universes. And so it makes sense that as part of Lego’s Spider-Man: No Way Home range, it would create a set that brings the location to life.

Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop isn’t a set aimed at adults, so don’t expect a huge amount of detail designed to be displayed. Instead, the set contains a basic cutaway of the Sanctum Workshop, packing in plenty of interactive details. There’s a sofa complete with video game controller, a workbench packed with tools, a desk with a swivel chair, and more. Oh, and there’s a huge bug monster ready for Spider-Man and Doctor Strange to wage war against. It’s perhaps not completely accurate to the movie then, but we don’t mind.

Read on for our detailed thoughts on Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop. If it’s other Lego sets you’re after, you can find our best Lego Marvel sets here. Or if you want to see where Spider-Man: No Way Home fits into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here’s an excellent run down of the Marvel movies in chronological order.

Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop review: Build

• A quick and simple build
• But perhaps a little too simple

As the 7+ age rating on the box of the Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop should tell you, this isn’t a complicated build. It’s purposefully simple to put together so that little builders can do it without much help. There are a lot of small, fiddly pieces however – like decorative jars and individual tools – that make this a set unsuitable for the youngest of Lego builders. Competent builders will have this together in little more than 40 minutes, while kids will undoubtedly need a little longer.

It’s a pleasant build, with no frustrating sections. Split over three bags, you’ll start by putting together a big green and black bug monster. It’s a bizarre addition to the set if you ask us, but it makes for a nice play piece – particularly since its front pincers are large enough to grab a minifigure.

Moving onto bags two and three, it’s here that you’ll construct the Sanctum Workshop itself. It’s reasonably sized – it spans 9 inches (22 cm) – so there’s plenty of space to set up fun scenes with the included minifigures. We just wish there was a little more detail. 

The doorway is surrounded by white blocks decorated with stickers and provides a focal point to the set, yet the brickwork atop feels unfinished to us – two gray hinges hold the set together either side, but they look somewhat out of place. Even just a strip of gray bricks across the top would have tidied this up. Then again, when it comes to playsets, Lego ultimately has different priorities than it would if this was a display set.

Much of the detail of Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop is in the sides of the set. You’ll use gray plates that jut out at an angle to add in a desk, shelving, and workshop area. We had great fun putting these together, and when finished it really does feel like a true living space. It’s just a shame it’s not all brought together with more congruence – but for a $40 playset, we can’t really expect any more than what we’ve got. It’s a good value set, all told.

Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop review: Design

• Some nice details in the environment
• Excellent selection of minifigures

As we mentioned in the Build section above, it’s the little details that really brings Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop to life. This is a set full of little trinkets: a camera, a desktop PC complete with keyboard, a boombox, a fully-stocked tool bench, a candelabra, a sextant, shelves filled with random jars, crystals, and a mysterious egg. It all lends itself to creating a feeling that this really is part of the Sanctum Sanctorum – a place of mystery and wonder.

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Perhaps our favorite part of the set, though, are the four minifigures included. There’s Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, MJ, and Wong – and they’re all unique to this set. Spider-Man is dressed in his black, red, and gold suit, while Doctor Strange has a plastic cape, giving it a wonderful, flowing form. It’s a nice change from the soft fabric capes that typically hang lifeless around a minifigure’s back. It’s just a shame that Ned (Peter Parker’s best friend) isn’t included.

As is probably obvious just by looking at photos, Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop isn’t designed to be a display set. This is a playset through and through, and its interactive details make it perfect. All of those trinkets we mentioned before? They can be picked up and messed with. There’s even a bike hanging on the wall that can be taken down and a minifigure can ride. Spider-Man also comes with a range of webs to be attached to his hands in order to create various scenes.

Should you buy Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop?

For children who love Spider-Man or Doctor Strange, Lego Marvel Spider-Man at the Sanctum Workshop makes an excellent playset. For its asking price of $39.99 / £34.99, this is a busy set that packs in a lot of detail. With the minifigures, the giant bug, and all of the items decorating the set, there’s so much scope for imaginative play. 

For an adult collector, though, your mileage will likely vary. There’s certainly value in the four minifigures considering they’re unique to this set. And there’s a number of interesting and rare parts, like an hourglass and the golden sextant, both of which only appear in one other set. However, it’s not the nicest set to have out on display and it’s a very simple build. So, unless you’re a die-hard Marvel fan, you might not get a great deal out of this.

Other Lego Marvel sets to consider

If it’s more Spider-Man that you’re looking for and money is not a problem, the best Lego Marvel set you can buy at the moment is undoubtedly the Daily Bugle. At $299.99 / £264.99 it’s also the most expensive Marvel set, but its sheer size (nearly a meter tall!) and the amount of included minifigures (25!) more than make up for it. If you want to stick with Doctor Strange, the Lego Marvel Gargantos Showdown playset makes a good companion piece to the Sanctum Workshop at just $39.99 / £24.99.

In terms of Lego Marvel sets aimed at a grown-up audience, we love the Guardians of the Galaxy ship. There are enough play features for it to suit older children, but the included display stand makes it an excellent showpiece for adults, too. Elsewhere, there’s Thor’s Hammer, an 18 inch (46 cm) high replica of Mjolnir, or the Infinity Gauntlet – but we’re pretty sure the Lego version doesn’t give you the power to destroy the universe.