MOC: Gotham City - Oracle's Clock Tower

[BeKindRewind]

In the second part of my Gotham City MOC, we head down the road from the Batcave into Gotham City proper. Our first stop along the way is Oracle's Clock Tower, where we will meet up with Batman's closest allies in his fight against crime.

(A quick word about how I MOC. I like my MOCs to be playable which usually means accessible interiors and various play features. This can sometimes limit the aesthetics of the exteriors, but being Lego I like knowing they can be played with.)

Who is Oracle and why does she live in a clock tower? For the non-avid Batman readers out there here is a quick synopsis. Barbara Gordon was the original Batgirl. She was shot in the spine and paralyzed from the waist down by the Joker. Unable to give up hero-ing she uses her superior computer skills and photographic memory as the Oracle, the ultimate go-to for any super hero in trouble. Yes, her clock tower was destroyed in the disastrously ill-conceived War Games story line and yes, more recently DC has opted to give Gordon the use of her legs again thereby destroying the character known as the Oracle. However, I think she is one of the strongest characters in the DC Universe and will always consider her and her clock tower as part of the Batman legacy. Shall we move on?

Here is the Clock Tower from behind showing viy clinging to the walls. You can also see levers near the bottom and a wench at the top which come into play later.

And a look at the clock face itself. Normally, I'm a Lego purist, but I did need to add a few custom stickers here.

Enter into the main entrance and you come to the home of Barbara Gordon as her father thinks of it. (I apologize for the photography but the tight space makes picture-taking a bit difficult.)

And another view.

Here you see her impressive book collection, but it is so much more than that.

THe bookshelf slides apart (using the levers from behind) to reveal a working elevator!

The elevator leads to the second floor, where Barbara Gordon becomes the Oracle!

In this corner you can see her mainframe computer which rivals the bat-computer (she's even looking at the same screen he is in the Batcave .

In this corner is her personalized gym.

And finally her computer itself, situated directly behind the clock face.

Up to the roof you can see a secret entrance for various heroes to enter directly into Oracle's base. Batman visits for advise, Batgirl visits for a little training, and Nightwing...well...why does he come around so much ? BTW, for those who don't know Batgirl is Cassandra Cain, the BEST Batgirl ever envisioned, also tossed aside by the heartless and unfeeling DC oligarchy.

You may have noticed the small black button on the roof as well, which, when pushed, lights up the interior and is most impressive as night (but not in this picture as it wasn't dark when I took it).

Back out to the front we see Oracle and Nightwing with his motorcycle straight from Lego's Arkham Asylum. Nightwing doesn't have an iconic vehicle, so I just left him with what he's been given.

Next is Robin and his Redbird. This I got to have fun designing as there are multiple iterations of it. Here you see it in street-mode.

And here it is in flight-mode!!!

And last but not least, Batman and all of his allies in his fight against crime in Gotham City!

Check out more angles and pics in my Brickshelf folder:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=493526

So that's it for Part 2. Stay tuned for Part 3 coming soon: Gotham City's Police Department!!! Same bat-time, same bat-website!

[K-Nut]

Wuv it! I like the parts usage on Batgirl. Great work!

[Miss Kyle]

Great work on the wheelchair, very well done! Love the keyboard she carries on her lap all the time :D The clock window is also great and I like your bookshelf. More, more, more!!

Edited January 8, 2012 by Miss Kyle

[Lothos]

Should update it to Kord Tower. Before the "new 52" garbage she was given the tower by Bruce as part of the Batman Inc plan. I may disagree with your choice of "best batgirl" but, the build is nice and looks dead on for the clocktower from the comics.

If you go through some back issues of nightwing he does have a set of wheels, it's a muscle car, almost alot like a charger painted, you guessed it blue and black. Though I think it was used maybe a dozen times, maybe less? He did the whole soar above the city or in the city thing, stupid trapeeze artists, sheesh.

Like I said earlier though! I like the build alot, the elevator and clock are probably my favorite features of the place. Looking forward to part 3. Maybe we'll see the bat "bunker" or even GCPD.

[B-Lister]

Barbara is not the original Batgirl, she is the second Batgirl.

[Vindicare]

Just when I thought the Batcave was top of the charts, you come at us with this! The play features are brilliant. I love how the bookshelf comes apart to reveal the elevator(that works!). Not to mention the light brick. The interior details are top notch as well. With her computer a kills, maybe she hacked the Batcave, that's why she's looking at the same things on her screen? Great job, and I really can't wait for part 3/4!

[VBBN]

A very fine moc indeed BeKindRewind

It looks good from all angle both inside and out, and the detailing is very nicely done,

And very neat bookshelf-to-elevator feature!

[Masked Builder]

Dang dude! Another stunning MOC! I really do like your bios, as I don't know much about Batman.

[BeKindRewind]

Thanks everyone! I'm glad you all like the elevator in particular. I noticed after taking pictures that the bookcase secret entrance wasn't closed quite all the way, but I swear it is normally completely concealed.

As far as Barbara being the "original" Batgirl, it is true that Betty Kane was the first Batgirl, but I figure by now the 1960s are far enough past us that most would consider Babs to be the "original". To Lothos, I assume you are a Babs-as-Batgirl fan. I can respect that. While I prefer Cass, Babs does have some admirable Batgirl qualities. Now, if you prefer Stephanie Brown...well...that's a whole other story

Nightwing is actually my all-time favorite DC character and I own every issue. His car was a bit too short lived to make it into my MOC and never made it to ICON status. In one issue he even took a taxi!!! (A particular low point for the writers in my opinion )

[toycardriver]

You are two for two. Another nice build. I have to agree with you about your MOC's gearing towards playability. Can't wait for parts 3 and 4!

[lightningtiger]

AWESOME work again 'BeKindRewind', the detailing is fantastic....the computer...I think see scored it off Bat's when he upgraded and she got stuck into it....made it more powerful ?

At least Robin's vehicle looks a bit tougher than he is normally.

Clock tower is a good solid build, I now wait for part three in your series.....Bat-brick On !

[SoupOrFishOil]

Great job, and I'm really looking forward to the GCPD building and whatever comes after that (Arkham? Blackgate? Wayne Manor?). I myself am a fan of the Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl, so I'm not a fan of what Joker did to her, but I guess it did make her a stronger character in some respects Speaking of Batgirl, your Cassandra Cain figure is great too, and it was really a great idea to use Catwoman's cowl as her's (I'd know, I had the same idea ). I love the details you put into this, especially the bookshelf, elevator, clockface, and computer. I especially love how you made it playable, something I like to do with my own MOCs Again, looking forward to your next installment, would you be able to tell us how long we'll have to wait?

[Lothos]

Touche sir! And I agree with ya about the "icon" and nw's wheels. I actually didn't like Cassie at all, Babs was fun and all, but I was actually thinking that my favorite batgirl was "huntress" during the no man's land stint. Wacky I know.

Making Babs walk again ruined a great comic in my mind. The killing joke and a death in the family were solid in my opinion and then DC said just kidding. Jerks

[BeKindRewind]

Lothos, No Man's Land = best ... storyline ... EVER! Every single villain and hero seamlessly integrated into one awesome roller coaster ride from start to finish? Yes, please! And Helena (whether as Batgirl or Huntress) really proved herself in that story: a very strong character. As for part 3, I just need to finish up with the pictures so just a few days.

[JackJonespaw]

Nice MOC! Is the Prof. Trelawney's head?

[Ceroknight]

Great second part!

I agree, the Oracle is really strong and quite underrated..

Can't wait for the next one!

[B-Lister]

Incredible.

Love the wheelchair, but the whole set is awesome.

Really dig the Redbird too!

[Ayden]

This is such an awesome MOC. I love how you kept in mind "playability" by adding the working elevator, and sliding bookshelves.

[TheBoyWonder]

I love the fact that this MOC is playable, and at the same time visually appealing!

[CaptainBermuda]

That would be rather creepy if you look at the clock and see some lady looking down on you. very nice MOC

[Dayton]

This moc is really creative! I am loving all the different bits of detail in and out of the Moc.

[B-Lister]

I forgot how terrible the original Nightwing's hair was.

Col MOC though!

[Faefrost]

That is wonderful. And includes the best realized Lego Wheelchair that I have ever seen. So simple yet effective.