Open Threads

Spooky Lego: Pharaoh’s Quest Day Thread (10/5)

In 2011, Lego had a gap in their lineup. Adventurers, their ’00s Indiana Jones knockoff line, was long over. Their official Indiana Jones line, started in 2008 to coincide with the release of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, now also laid dormant. It was time for another original take on two-fisted ’30s supernatural action-adventure! So they summoned up the spirit of the Stephen Sommers Mummy movie and made Pharaoh’s Quest.

Everyone in Pharaoh’s Quest uses dynamite very casually.

While the Mummy may have gotten short shrift in the Studios knock-off Universal Monsters line, here he was the star. Mummies are everywhere in PQ, commanding legions of other Egyptian-themed monsters: giant scarabs, jackal-headed guards, massive stone snakes, enormous scorpions, and even a living Sphinx statue.

Yes, it’s actually clearly some sort of jackal and not a Sphinx but who am I to argue with the set name?

Pharaoh’s Quest lasted for only one wave in 2011, but it’s an admirably unique theme in Lego history with a strong unifying aesthetic and some really cool monsters. It was succeeded the following year by an even more “classic horror” original action theme.