hellpop

"Blue Batman" (as my nephew calls him) is the Batman of my youth in the early-mid 1980s. The Batman of Super Friends, and the Super Powers toys. He is Batman to me, so I like him more.

Couldn't have said it any better (except that I don't have a nephew). Although, ironically, I kinda hate the Batman figure in a similar style that was part of DC Universe Classics Wave 1.

I picked up Salaak/Sinestro and Question/Batwoman, the latter simply so that I can customize a Vic Sage Question from her. I'll be using a non-breast chest (Gaius Baltar's, I believe) and the hat from Tiger Jacket Rocky, though I may try to get fancy and cut the Montoya hair off the Question hat and put on a man's hairpiece. It's a shame that they didn't just include parts so that you can decide which Question you want. It wouldn't have been hard, just an extra hat and a male shirt and tie on the other side of the torso.

Both Sinestro and Salaak look amazing in the package; I wasn't sure if I was going to buy this set right away or wait, but seening them in person convinced me. Cyborg also looks really cool, though Raven looks to be one of the weaker 'mates, IMHO. I didn't even look at the Red Son pack.

Nice list, dachande. I like your choices and thought processes. But who's Donny Troy?

You should probably read this interview with Grant Morrison to better understand the disconnect between Countdown, Death of the New Gods, and Final Crisis:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080609-MorrisonFC01.html

Basically, DC Editorial tried to build up to the stuff Grant was planning with Final Crisis, and did a piss-poor job of it. It's actually much better to just ignore those other books. Unbelievable, how bad the coordination leading up to this book was.

The difference between Secret Invasion vs. Final Crisis is that the former is being sold as "Skrulls invade the Marvel Universe!", while the latter is sold as "it's by Grant Morrison and JG Jones!". While I ultimately think that Final Crisis will be the better book, DC has done it no favors.

So who prefers which Batman? I personally like the classic Adams-style Batman. Looks better with Robin and Batgirl too.

I think that's the Legion that most fans would want. IMHO, DCD really dropped the ball when they made figures of the SA Legion rather then this version. I think the reaction to Geoff Johns' recent use of these characters has shown that that's the Legion that clicks with most readers.

All I know is, Wildfire's one of my 10 most wanted!

All of you guys getting multiple sets: you do know that you can usually find these listed individually on eBay, right? Why buy all those extras when you don't have to?

Just saw this on AFI as well. They look really great. I really like the Wasp. Giant Man looks to have the same full head-style mask that DCD Batmans do; I can't think of any other Marvel 'mate that does. That will be useful for making a custom Hank Pym and putting (say) a Doc Cottle head under the mask!

If only they would replace the Hulk with a villain like the Enchantress or Baron Zemo....

i have to say my favorite is the iron weenie

Me too!

In fairness, I also dislike Joker's hat. I give them props for trying to differentiate him from the C3 Jokers, though.

According to this months previews DCD minimates wave 7 were fourth in February's top 10 selling toys and statues.

That's FOURTH!

Now considering DCD mainly markets through Diamond previews that's got to be a pretty solid selling line of action figures. I think the people in charge just aren't minimate fans.

Of courese, that would indicate sales to comic shops themselves and not customers. Still, I think it's a pretty safe bet taht, by wave 7, that if these weren't selling through well, shops would have drastically decreased their orders.

So there's really no good reason for DCD to end these, is there?

I wondered if that pun would kill this thread....

I'm almost glad that they never started the Legion, because there's almost no way to finish them. I don't know if I'd rather have some Legion or none.

I agree that the OMAC should have been paired with an army builer, but the pairing with Batman isn't any more of a stretch than with the new Blue Beetle since Batman created Brother Eye.

Except that there are many, many more characters to pair with Batman that have much longer histories. I agree with the basic idea of pairing an expected big seller like Batman with a lesser character, but this should be a Batman-specific villain with little chance of being made otherwise. In a perfect world, you'd have Batman with, I dunno, the Ventriloquist (which would mean you'd have a Minimate-sized Scarface. How cool would that be?). I think this is the formula that led to Green Lantern with Star Sapphire (rather then Sinestro), Aquaman with Ocean Master (rather then Black Manta), Wonder Woman with Ares (rather then the Cheetah). Rather then pairing the hero with his/her most recognizable adversary, you save that adversary for a sidekick/secondary hero (like Salaak with Sinestro). Now, they did screw this up a bit with Superman/Luthor; Superman should have come with the Parasite or somebody, and Luthor with Gangbuster or somebody like that.

DCD was smart to not pair Batman with either of the obvious choices, Robin or the Joker. But they dropped the ball with OMAC.

Neat ideas for changes to the line there hellpop. I enjoyed reading your explanations for the pairings you'd prefer.

Thanks... I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. Don't tell the wife or the boss!

The comic Gods are Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale together.

I say Lee and Kirby, or Lee and Ditko. . .but I guess we are getting off topic.

I actually dig both the Wondertwins and the original Nightwing, I don't know why, but I dig them. . .something that I do not dig, however, is this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7...Youngblood1.jpg

Though Liefeld epitomized the worst of this, I have a strong, strong aversion to the "90s style," and the characters created by 90s artists, generally. In fact, part of why I really loved the Milligan/Allred X-Force/X-Statix books because they, and Allred's style particularly, seemed to be explicitly anti-what that whole scene was about.

As far as outfits that I really like, I would put Hawkeye and the modern, Alan Davis Captain Britain at the top of the Marvel list, and Mister Miracle, Speedy, and Ted Kord Blue Beetle at the top of my DC favorite.

Except for the part about the Wonder Twins, I could've written this post. :biggrin:

(This also shows how terrible it was that OMAC came with Batman rather then one of his rogues. Sorry, but it's a sore subject.)

But me likey the OMAC I've got 7 of them hovering around on my DC shelf terrorizing Robin, being smacked around by Superman...

My only regret is that OMAC didn't come paired with another army builder like a Manhunter robot. 7 Batmen in the fodder bin doesn't do me much good but 7 Manhunter bots, Parademons or Checkmate agents...those I could certainly use.

I agree, the problem with OMAC isn't really one of quality but pairing. A Checkmate agent would be a GREAT idea. Another good possibility would be the new Blue Beetle, who debuted against the OMACs. Of course, this doesn't solve your army builder problem....

the super boy with earings and a leather jacket.

I hated that look as well. Hated that character too. I know that his character developed pretty far away from that original conception, but I could never look at him and not think "this is what happens when 40 year olds try be 'hip' and 'with it'."

That choice almost makes up for you dissing Pixie Boots. Almost.

This is the first Marvel movie I'm actually excited to see since Spider-Man (not counting sequels). Can't wait.

The only glaring problem I see is the inclusion of Man Bat. Why Man Bat? You were just complaning about how minor Croc is, but you put in someone just as small instead. The Batman rogues gallery is indeed incomplete without the most honorable and interesting Mr. Freeze. I believe we can do without the mutated Bat-like freak.

Other than that, and the fact that I've never heard of you last two choices, I see no real problem with your lineup.

Of course, I don't know DC very well.

Love the Ocean Master/Black Manta switch though.

Man- Bat has a pretty long history and is pretty nifty visually. Of course, you could say the same for Mr. Freeze. I personally prefer Man-Bat, but I see the need... the need for Freeze.

(This also shows how terrible it was that OMAC came with Batman rather then one of his rogues. Sorry, but it's a sore subject.)

If I redid the line, I would toss aside some of those obscure characters like "Superman", "Batman", and "Wonder Woman" who nobody has ever heard of and toss in some more A-listers like Spider-Man, the Lone Ranger, Leonardo, and Darth Vader. Now that DC line would rock!

DiCaprio or DaVinci?

...Or both!?

Good costume: Stealth IM suit, very cool and very sleek. I almost prefer this to the the regular costume!

Bad costume: Most of Thor's beardier or armored variations. ( Although the new one is cool!)

T.

p.s. hellpop, the modern Thor costume is an easy quick custom... http://www.minimatemultiverse.com/index.ph...ost&id=1616

That's a nice custom. Where does the belt come from?

BTW, does anyone else think that Iron Man looks kinda weird in his unarmored state? It's like he's in his underwear or something.

Umm.. but, that is his underwear. I was under the impression he had a liner that appears from inside his body before he dons the armor. Am I right people?

Yeah I just re-read extremis and yes all the 'soft' (gold?) parts of his armor are now stored in the hollows of his bones.

So yeah what we have in the Civ war set is "Techno undies Stark!"

It looks damn cool though and for now at least mine will be displayed that way.

T.

"Stores in the hollow of his bones"!? WTF!? That's just bizarre. Who thinks that? "Well, I need a place to store the soft parts of my armor... I know! How about I hollow out my bones!" I wonder what the other options were....

Almost all of Wonder Man's costumes are terrible. I kinda like the first one, myself.

The only "history" between Green Arrow and Deathstroke is in Identity Crisis. Can you really say that this GA's connection to Black Canary, or Deathstroke's connection to the Teen Titans?

The 2nd Robin is debatable, but since Tim Drake and Dick Grayson are different characters I think it's justified. Plus, Modern Robin goes with Modern Batman. However, I could easily see subbing the Huntress in this spot, which would give you Huntress/ Man-Bat. Not bad.

I admitted that the Lobo/ Animal Man pairing is marginal at best. As I said, no one wroth making goes with Lobo any better (though you can certainly offer suggestions).

Most of my changes are based on adding characters that THE MAJORITY of Minimate collectors feel are missing from the line, based on the "one more wave" thread here and the online poll. Some of these are not "personal favorites", nor did I only dump characters I don't like. Did you actually read the posts?

Don't start the 'did you actually read the post' shit with me, you opened it up for discussion and I dissagreed, if you didn't want opinions then why start the thread?

I think that you aren't taking into account the timing of these sets, for example we'd just gotten over infinite crisis and OMAC was a hugely relevant character at that time, so makes sense to pair with modern Batman.

GA & Deathstroke have way more in common than Identity crisis... the 1YL storylines for starters, there are a host of others, I don't have time to find them right now, but I guess we'll have to agree to dissagree there.

More than one robin is a stupid idea considering the amount of other people that are being left off the list, no matter how you look at it.

As for your choices matching those that others feel are missing... go look at the most wanted 10 DC mates thread...

As I said at the start of my last post, don't take it personally I just disagree with your choices.

T.

All I meant by "did you read the posts?" is that I thought I already explained several of your criticisms, such as that these are not all "my favorites". Didn't mean it to sound rude; that's why I put the wink!

Looking through the Most Wanted Mates thread, I see Martian Manhunter... Black Canary... Zatanna... Kyle Rayner... all listed frequently. Sure, some of these are personal preferences. I know a lot of you like Bane. But that's...y'know... a personal preference....

I also tried to build this with the idea of filling out teams as much as possible, which is why I added so many JLA members. I also think that the Bat-Villains look incomplete without Two-Face. So there you go.

Don't mind the discussion at all, that's why I posted this. Don't worry, I didn't take it personally. I'd love for everyone to do this themselves.

But you're dead wrong about Green Arrow and Deathstroke.

Yea, sorry Hellpop...but I agree with TBT

For YOU this is a good list, but when I read it, it didn't do much for me, and I didn't think...yep THIS would have saved the line.

The truth of the matter is, we could ALL come up with different waves, and it still might not have saved the line. We all have our favorites, and no matter how you slice it...some of the figures appealed to someone and some never will .

I'm not suggesting that this would have "saved" the DCD 'mates, only that this would have left fewer glaring holes in the line (and lineups). Heck, if I wanted to "save" DC mates, I would certainly not eliminate the battle damaged versions of their most iconic characters; I probably would have added more.

Don't take this personally...

I completely dissagree with about 80% your changes... most of them don't make the lines any better they just pander to your personal tastes, heck you are stripping duplicates of everyone but adding an extra robin?

No history between Deathstroke and GA are you kidding me? but you are prepared to link Lobo and Animal man based on 52?

About the only change I'd agree with is swapping out M.Marvel for Black Adam.

T.

The only "history" between Green Arrow and Deathstroke is in Identity Crisis. Can you really say that this GA's connection to Black Canary, or Deathstroke's connection to the Teen Titans?

The 2nd Robin is debatable, but since Tim Drake and Dick Grayson are different characters I think it's justified. Plus, Modern Robin goes with Modern Batman. However, I could easily see subbing the Huntress in this spot, which would give you Huntress/ Man-Bat. Not bad.

I admitted that the Lobo/ Animal Man pairing is marginal at best. As I said, no one wroth making goes with Lobo any better (though you can certainly offer suggestions).

Most of my changes are based on adding characters that THE MAJORITY of Minimate collectors feel are missing from the line, based on the "one more wave" thread here and the online poll. Some of these are not "personal favorites", nor did I only dump characters I don't like. Did you actually read the posts?

WAVE 7:

This is probably the best wave DCD released in terms of character selection. Deathstroke is dropped in here with Starfire for Nightwing (the fact that Nightwing never wore that costume while connected to Starfire kinda bugs me. I think this pairing works better). Some may dislike Classic Batman, but not me. I think he looks great, particularly with pixie boots Robin and Batgirl. He stays.

And then there's Ambush Bug. I really love this figure (heck, I really love Ambush Bug!). But is he a necessary 'mate? ...Probably not. Also, the fact that he has no connection to Lobo (other then both being created by Keith Giffin) doesn't help his cause. Howevver, there's not a more natural mate for Lobo worth doing 9and I'm not dumping Lobo, since he may be the best 'mate of all). My solution? Animal Man, whom he hung out with in 52. Though I could easily be persuaded to keep the Bug.

Wave 8:

And this is the worst wave DCD has done/ is doing. It's really a mess. Cyborg and Raven only make sense if you're doing the other Titans (of which I've at least added another, Wonder Girl). I guess they can stay, but I'm keeping my eye on them. Sinestro is the only really necessary 'mate in the wave; he stays, and is now joined by Kyle Rayner. It's tragic, since Salaak is so cool, but I'm afraid he's just not as important as Kyle (and I don't even like the guy).

So we come to the dogs: Question/Batwoman and Red Son Superman/Wonder Woman. even before the cancellation these seemed like odd choices; now they actually make me angry. I badly want the Question, but not the lame new Montoya Question; she's out, Vic Sage is in. He'll be joined by his Charlton running buddy Captain Atom (a strong case could be made for the Huntress here, but I just like CA better).

The Red Son pack is replaced by some personal favorites: Mr. Miracle and Big Barda. I'm sure we all have our personal favorites we'd like in this spot; these are mine.

So there you have it; my reimagined DC Direct Minimates. It's hardly complete, and I could certainly use one more wave (okay, two more waves, and maybe a few box sets for good measure) to really fill things out. Please note that I tried to avoid the C3 'mates that are pretty widely available, which is why Catwoman and Darkseid aren't here (although Nightwing still is...hmmm...).