05.02
DC Minimates wave 5 is a very eclectic collection. The most recognizable characters (to casual fans) are probably Captain Marvel (Shazam) and Mary Marvel.
After Playalong/Art Asylum’s “Minimates with building blocks” attempts in the ill-fated C3 range, DC Direct decided to snap up the licence, bringing us 2-packs of Minimates a la Marvel, but with no chase figures. 8 waves were produced in all.
Packaging
The Figures
Shazam
There’s something wrong with the face on this Minimate. I can see what’s been attempted. The designer has tried to give it the look of the 50’s Captain Marvel with simple lines where the eyes should be, but the eyebrows dominate and take attention away from the eyes. Another problem is the grin.It’s just not big enough. Mike Allred did a really good take on Captain Marvel recently and it’s a shame that version wasn’t the cue for this ‘mate.
The off the shoulder cape is nicely crafted, there’s some lovely detailingto the back of it. But it hangs almost straight down behind the figure so it looks more like a shoulder pauldron than a cape. Detailing to the rest ofthe costume is well done and looks very accurate all the way down to the yellow button that clips the shirt front together at the top right of the chest block. The deco’s are very tight indeed. Especially the yellow and black bands around the wrists. I couldn’t see any bleeding whatsoever. Other additions to the standard Minimate body are the belt, which has some cloth texture detail, and the buccaneer boot pieces seen on the Golden Age Flash.
Captain Marvel has no accessories.
In Conclusion: Should have been great. Dodgy expression leads to feelings of’meh’. I’m not a huge fan of this ‘mate. It’s all nicely put together and the costume is very faithful to the comic book but the face is all wrong and spoils what should have been a classic Minimate.
MMC Score – 6 out of 10
Mary
Or rather Mary Marvel. It appears that DC just aren’t allowed to use the word Marvel in their marketing. Shame that.
Mary Marvel a very popular DC B-lister character who recently came to prominence in Formerly Known as the Justice League and she’s one of the major characters in DC’s maxi-series Countdown to Infinite Crisis.
I can only assume that this version of Mary is based on how she appeared in the 50’s as she looks nothing like her modern incarnation. The face is pleasant enough but like a lot of female ‘mates lacks that spark of personality. The hairpiece is horrible. There’s really no other way to put it. It looks lumpy and old-fashioned, it’s possible that it’s supposed to look old fashioned but it really spoils the ‘mate.
Mary’s costume echoes that of Captain Marvel’s. Red with yellow highlights, a white cape and of course that bold lightning flash in the centre of the chest. It’s such a shame that DCD have gone with this version of Mary’s costume. In current continuity Mary sports a white costume (occasionally black) that looks a lot sleeker than this clunky 50’s design. This mate, like Captain Marvel, is well put together and there are no complaints at all as far as build quality and paint app’s go. But in my opinion the wrong decision was made when the 50’s version was given the go ahead.
Mary has no accessories. She also has no underwear. Not quite so wholesome now eh?
In conclusion: Should have been great. Isn’t.
MMC Score – 4 out of 10
Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan
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