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Standard DC blister pack nothing new here other than the picture of Captain Marvel bursting out of the insert card. Not very exciting but at least you can see what you’re buying. The back of the packaging has the usual headshots of all the characters in the wave. Apologies for not having packaging pictures accompanying the DC wave 5 reviews. As usual the fantastic Minimate Database will have them! 

 

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I know very little about Hawkman. I do know he’s been around since the Golden Age, that he’s been a member of the Justice Society and Justice League. And that he’s got some really horrible continuity issues and has been retconned all over the place. Other than that he’s a bloke with wings and a bird hat.

 

I’m really not sure which version of Hawkman this is supposed to be. I’m guessing an amalgamation of the various ‘classic’ looks but I’m confused by the two-tone Hawk mask. To my mind Hawkman’s helmet should be gold with golden wings. This guy has a gold (yellow) mask section with the rest of the helmet and wings a reddish brown colour. Doesn’t spoil the look of the ‘mate in any way, but all the same it does seem odd. Remove the mask and add the alternate hairpiece and you have Hawkman’s alter-ego Carter Hall. At least I think you do. I quite like the face on this ‘mate, it has a very broody expression suggesting a deep thinker that’s not afraid to let loose in a fight.

The costume is very well rendered. Hawkman has a chest piece in order to attach his wings. It bulks him out and makes him look very imposing, much as he does in comic book form. The straps and the hawk symbol in the middle of the chest are well applied and the heavy black lines used to suggest muscle definition also make him look powerful. The usual complaint applies to the trunks section where once again we find asymmetrical paint lines, but that’s in the fine details. As it stands Hawkman is a very cool looking Minimate indeed.

Hawkman without wings would just be called ‘man’ and that would just be silly so he had to be given a pair. They look great on the ‘mate but well… “fiddly”, “intricate”, “fragile”, “unnerving” would be just a few of the words I’d use to describe the mechanism of attaching the wings to the body. A very small, very fragile-looking post is pushed into a hole on the back of the custom chestpiece. Yes it allows a great deal of movement to the wings but I’d hate to find this ‘mate on the floor after a dive off of a display shelf and wouldn’t dream of giving it to any child younger than thirty as tears would be inevitable.

Hawkman is accessorised with a shield and a mace which only add to the sense of power of this figure.

In Conclusion: Wobbly wings aside, this is a quality representation of another of DC’s worthy B-List characters

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

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Hawkgirl

Thanks to the Justice League cartoon Hawkgirl is a very popular character right now. Though it appears in the DC Universe her continuity is just as convoluted as Hawkman’s.

First off I really don’t like the mask Hawkgirl’s been lumbered with. I can’t understand why the eyes have been given pupils. It works on Hawkman’s but looks horrible here. The ‘nose’ section annoys me as it looks like it comes too far down her face and it’s also a complete pain to get it to sit in it’s correct position. The slightest air current seems to knock it off-centre and from then on it just looks silly.

Remove the mask and you’re presented with a fairly neutral female face that really could be anybody. Hawkgirl’s presented as a lady with a bit of an attitude in the books and on the cartoon show but this ‘mate’s all about the blandness. Hawkgirl has an alternative hairpiece but it’s the same as Batgirl’s just in a slightly different colour and doesn’t really suit her.

The body is ruined by the chest piece. Seriously, big chest pieces on female characters just shouldn’t happen. Calm down Danny, big chests are more than acceptable, just not big overjacket-type chest pieces (thank goodness for that, I thought for a minute I’d have to fire you over “creative differences”! – Ed). The chest piece is there for practical reasons as it enables her wings to be plugged in but more elegant solutions are available. Just look at how DST pulled off a similar problem with their Archangel/Death Angel ‘mates. The chest piece makes Hawkgirl look seriously lardy when she should be streamlined. Hawkgirl’s wings attach in the same fashion as Hawkman’s and are subject to the same criticism as seen in his review.

The lower half of Hawkgirl’s body is exactly the same as Hawkman. Hawkgirl is accessorised with her nth metal power mace.

In conclusion: Utter guano! I really looked forward to getting this figure but too many design flaws have wrecked what should have been a great Minimate

MMC Score – 3 out of 10

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

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