.

The packaging style for this wave is consistent with the previous waves. Batgirl takes the spotlight as the character breaking out from the bubble. The figures are held into the back tray of the blister by twist ties. Apologies for not having packaging pictures accompanying the DC wave 4 reviews. As usual the fantastic Minimate Database will have them!  

 

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Poor Barbara Gordon. For a brief time she shone as Gotham city’s dominoed daredoll. Then, while in civvies, she catches a bullet from the Joker! To this day he doesn’t know who exactly it was that he crippled. Still a fan favourite character despite the fact that she’s not been the in-continuity Batgirl for around twenty years. I’d love to see DC restore her to her former glory.

 

Batgirl’s face is not a bad face, but I’m sure I’ve seen the mouth elsewhere. In fact I’m pretty sure it’s the same print as seen on Rogue and a few other female ‘mates. The expression is a bit mediocre, I’d have much rather she had a big Babs grin as seen on the animated series version of Batgirl. The mask detail is great. Nice crisp lines around the eyes, and the black section of the mask is also well applied. Like the DCD Batman, Batgirl’s head is a slip over piece. Remove this piece and there’s Barbara Gordon’s unadorned visage. Thankfully DCD have included an extra hair piece so she doesn’t look like Patrick Stewart with a bit of lippy on. The expression on Barbara’s face is exactly the same as Batgirls. A missed opportunity there, when it works so well for Batman/Bruce Wayne to have different expressions.

Costume details are excellent, the cape is the same as Batman’s but that’s no cause for complaint. The bat symbol is picked out in yellow and is nice and sharp. There’s a fair bit of definition to Batgirl’s torso but it’s not over muscled (nor over-developed boobage wise). It’s nice to see that someone’s been paying attention and has included not only Batgirl’s purse (on her right hip) but also a bat shaped clasp on the utility belt.

Batgirl’s costume is finished off with bright yellow gloves and boots. The boot tops are also bat themed. I’ve seen a few pictures of Batgirl with boots like this but generally they’re just ordinary yellow boots. It’s doesn’t look too bad though.

Batgirl has no accessories. For a Bat-character, that’s a criminal waste! Batgirl has C3 feet and the standard peg hole in her head (under the mask sleeve).

In Conclusion: A very, very nice Minimate spoiled only by a ‘meh’ expression and lack of, at the very least, a batarang.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

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Bane

The man who broke the Bat. A Venom fuelled ‘roid-rager, with a keen intellect and the drive to fulfil his ambitions. Bane’s entire life (up until his escape) was spent behind bars. In that time he became top man in that prison and once he escaped he identified Batman as the guy to beat so that he could become the top man in Gotham City.

The Bane mask is great, it even has the zipper at the top! Bane’s mask is styled like that of a wrestler, hell… His whole costume is like a wrestler’s but you wouldn’t see this guy play-acting. The front of the mask features a white section which frames the burning red eyes and completely covers the nose and mouth. The back of the mask is where things get interesting. There are tubes going into the back of Bane’s head which inject the steroid based drug ‘Venom’ directly into his brain. Bane’s mask is removable. I was unaware that this would be so until I’d removed the ‘mate from his packaging. It was a pleasant surprise to say the least. The detail on Bane’s face is very good and hints at anguish more than anger. There’s a hint of scarring on the back of Bane’s head that I think is supposed to suggest the holes where his Venom tubes enter his skull. I’ll assume that’s what they are, and that DCD didn’t really want it to be too graphic for fear of offending parents everywhere.

Bane’s been issued in the 2.5 inch scale. This has been the subject of much discussion among collectors. More than a few have pointed out that in the comics Bane’s height is said to be over six feet, but not freakish. However most of the examples I’ve seen of Bane suggest he’s easily around seven foot tall, if not taller. I believe this is where creative licence comes in. Comic characters are always changing shape and size depending on who’s drawing them, and I feel that Bane is better suited being a big scary dude. It looks as though Bane is wearing a one piece wrestling costume (you tell him it’s a leotard, I’ll stand back and watch!) and a large section of his torso is visible. His musculature has been picked out in very heavy black lines which again suggest mass. I’m not sure what the grey stuff on the black section is supposed to suggest? It could have been intended to continue the muscle definition but in my opinion hasn’t been done all that well and looks a tad messy.

Bane keeps a supply of Venom in a holder on his left wrist. A tube travels up his arm to the pump on the back of Bane’s head. It’s held in place by a strap on his upper arm. This strap has been designed so that the tube can move freely through it. That’s a touch of class that you probably wouldn’t see on figures four or five times the size of this one. Bane’s belt is faithful to the character and is the only other non-standard piece on this ‘mate.

In Conclusion: I’m a fan. It’s true to the character and there’s some nice design going on with this ‘mate.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

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