Johnny Thunder doesn’t belong in LEGO City – here’s where he fits better

Johnny Thunder returns from the retro Adventurers theme in this summer’s LEGO City line-up, but he doesn’t really belong there. The good news is that there’s a better alternative already on shelves…

The LEGO Group has resurrected Johnny Thunder across this summer’s City jungle sets, marking the latest in a growing line of Adventurers reduxes. Dr. Kilroy and Pippin Reed both made their modern debut in December last year, in 10326 Natural History Museum and 21344 The Orient Express Train respectively, while some consider 71037 Series 24’s Newspaper Kid to be a subtle reference to Mike.

Johnny Thunder was actually the first Adventurers character to get a modern update in 71025 Series 19’s Jungle Explorer, with clear visual links between that minifigure and the retro adventurer even if the LEGO Group never completely spelled it out. But now he’s back again, with a design that is inarguably intended to be Johnny Thunder (even if the set materials once again don’t identify him by name).

From his tan shirt and red neckerchief to his well-maintained moustache and brown fedora, this is the Adventurers hero through and through. And inserting him into the City jungle sets makes sense on paper, because one of the four original Adventurers subthemes saw our intrepid heroes traverse deep into the heart of the jungle in search of treasure and artifacts.

But while Johnny might fit conceptually, it’s hard to argue as strongly that he fits into these sets from a narrative perspective. As previously noted in our review of 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck, old Johnny (or his ghost, or maybe his clone) is completely ill-suited to a set that’s otherwise focused on research and exploration, like the Deep Sea and Arctic subthemes before it.

The ethos across the entire summer jungle City subtheme is on studying and learning more about nature, rather than searching for jewels, robbing temples and facing off against bad guys. 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck includes a truck, a tiger, two research scientists, a small slice of jungle scenery and then this old guy wandering around in the background like a relic from another time.

It makes Johnny Thunder’s inclusion in these sets at all feel a bit cynical. He doesn’t fit the vibes of the jungle models, and won’t really mean much to kids, but those of us old enough to remember the original Adventurers theme will probably have already picked up the truck or 60424 Jungle Explorer ATV Red Panda Mission (if nothing else, Johnny is at least available in cheap sets).

The good news is that for at least another couple of months, there are off-the-shelf LEGO sets tailor-made for the age of adventure – and they suit Johnny just fine with pretty much zero modification required.

Indiana Jones always felt like the inspiration for Johnny Thunder in a time before the LEGO Group had properly embraced licensed properties, so you’d be forgiven for assuming that the two would never really be able to share shelves (and indeed, LEGO Indiana Jones only came along long after Adventurers had ended). But they’re now available in tandem, and rather than competing with each other, they’re completely complementary.

At least two of the three LEGO Indiana Jones sets that debuted in 2023’s mini wave feel like Adventurers sets of old, and again probably not by coincidence, given how much the in-house sets riffed on Lucasfilm’s whip-cracking hero. 77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb can stand in for a desert set (Adventurers’ original 1998 setting), while 77015 Temple of the Golden Idol feels like a better fit for a jungle Johnny Thunder set than the City subtheme ever could.

Pluck Indy and his supporting characters from either of those sets and instead pop in the updated cast of Adventurers minifigures, and you’ve got yourself the trappings of a modern Adventurers theme. That’s especially true for 77013 Escape from the Lost Tomb, which can just stand in for an Egyptian temple without being so heavily locked to a specific scene.

77015 Temple of the Golden Idol is a little more Indy-focused but still doesn’t look out of place with Adventurers characters (once you’ve stripped away the stickered Raiders of the Lost Ark quote tiles), and you get the bonus of all that set’s brilliant play features to boot.

All in all it’s a strong argument for having these kinds of characters and sets on shelves simultaneously, allowing those of us with fonder memories of LEGO Adventurers than LEGO Indiana Jones to mix and match for the best of both worlds. But it will only be the case for a few more months, as all three LEGO Indiana Jones sets are due to retire by the end of 2024.

You’ll find all of those available at LEGO.com and through other third-party retailers now (keep an eye on our deals page for particularly good offers on the latest LEGO sets), while Johnny Thunder is available in 60424 Jungle Explorer ATV Red Panda Mission and 60426 Jungle Explorer Off-Road Truck. Dr. Kilroy’s updated minifigure can be found in 10326 Natural History Museum, while you’ll find Pippin Reed in 21344 The Orient Express Train.

All sets included in this feature were provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Author Profile

Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.

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