01.02
It took a long time for the DC Minimates to hit the streets. There was something like a year between the original announcement that they were being made, to the product finally coming out. At times the Minimate fandom put its collective head in its collective hands as it assimilated the latest cancellation rumour. Thankfully the rumours were unfounded and January 2007 saw the release of DC Minimates wave 1.
This is not the first time we’ve seen DC Minimates. Play-Along/Art Asylum had treated us in the past to the C3 construction sets. Sadly distribution was spotty on some of the later waves and a lot of fans missed out on regular characters such as Flash and Martian Manhunter. Distribution doesn’t seem to be a problem for DC direct. The DC Minimates are readily available via comic shops and online retailers and word is they’ve sold very strongly indeed. First up for review are Batman & OMAC. Batman is arguably the biggest star in DC’s ranks, so his inclusion is not a surprise, but OMAC was out of left field for a lot of people.
Packaging
The Figures
Batman
The body is also nicely done, this is Batman’s modern costume which has gone from black and grey to blue and Grey. I’m not sure why, or even when that happened in the books? But it looks fine, a lot cleaner and sleeker than previous Minimates too. Decoration is crisp and clear, the bat symbol on the chest stands out nicely and there’s a lot more abdominal definition than on previous Batman ‘mates.
The utility belt is a new piece and more compact than we’ve seen before. The gloves appear to be a re-use but that’s fine. The cape appears to be a re-tooling of the C3 miniflyer capes. The top part is the same shape but the cape is now non removable. It looks really good on Bats, more so than other attempts at the cape (worthy though they were). A minor complaint in regard to the paint apps on the trunks. The lines just aren’t as crisp as they could or should be. Whereas the apps for the boots are spot on.
Re-introduced to the DC universe a couple of years ago, the new OMAC (Observational Meta-human Activity Construct) are similar to Marvel comics human/sentinel hybrids that were around in the late 90’s in the X-Men books. These OMACs are humans that carry a latent technology-based virus. The virus is activated by a rogue sentient satellite (built by Batman, his bad!) named Brother Eye. The sole purpose of OMACs is to kill meta-humans.
Facially there’s not much to an OMAC. They have a single eye in the centre of their ‘face’ and a large crest which continues down the back of the head. Like Batman the ‘face’ is a sleeve which fits over the actual Minimate head. Both face and head are cast in translucent blue plastic.
The body is also fairly simple, again cast in translucent blue plastic the body sports the eye logo of Brother Eye. There is some very basic muscle definition on the torso. Much of this is a light blue print that I’m finding hard to capture in a picture. Trust me, it’s there, and it looks good.
OMACs can ‘morph’ their extremities into weapons and this is depicted in Minimate form as two detachable hands. One weapon is a vicious looking spike. The other a nasty claw that looks designed to sever limbs. Nice! The OMAC also comes with regular Minimate hands to make him a more soft and cuddly OMAC.
The legs are a major departure from regular Minimate design. Some OMAC designs (not all) show a flaring out around the hip area. This was probably to illustrate even further that the OMACs are no longer truly human. Sadly this look has been incorporated into the Minimate version of the character and it really doesn’t work too well on a block figure. For a start they appear to be asymmetric which detracts from the overall look of the figure. Secondly they severely restrict movement away from the hip joints as the top of the ‘flared’ section hits the T-piece of the hips.
In conclusion, a worthy adversary for Batman (for anyone really… the OMACs were a menace to anyone) and a signal of intent for DC Direct that shows any of their characters can turn up as a Minimate. The issue with the hips detract from what is otherwise a nicely thought out ‘mate.
MMC Score – 6 out of 10
Review and pictures by Stewart Kay
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