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WAVE 5: I'm going to take the bold step and drop Mary Marvel for Black Adam. There's a couple reasons for this: I think it's a more natural pair, and I hate the way the two red costumed characters look together. If I were a MOC collector, this would drive me nuts. Since I want the whole Marvel Family, I will put Black Adam here and plan to put Mary and Junior together later (unfortunately, I don't know that this is going to happen). And Ma Hunkel... sigh. It's so cool that they made you, but you may be the most unnecessary DCD 'mate of all. Sorry. Your spot will be taken by Zatanna, in her fishnets. The Perez costume (with the long sleeves and the roach on her head) may be more appropriate, but this is the definitive Zatanna outfit. WAVE 6: One easy one: BD Wonder Woman is replaced by Wonder Girl. This helps fill out the New Teen Titans. Really tough choice with Blackhawk and Sgt. Rock. I really love this set, but they stick out like a sore thumb next to the rest of the DC 'mates. I'm afraid they're gone. Their replacements: The Atom and Adam Strange, the two most important remaining Silver Age characters.

WAVE 3: Ocean Master, I'm sorry, it's nice that they chose you, but you're just not the best Aquaman baddie. Plus, you're a rather uninspiring Minimate. You're benched. Black manta, get your glove, you're in the starting lineup. And here's another BD figure... gone. Modern Robin in his place. (that's two Robins in a row, so I'd proably move this pack back). Killer Croc seems like a lesser Bat-villain... ah, forget it. You can stay. EDIT: Changed my mind. I want a new, better, browner Man-Bat. Back to the swamp for you, Croc. The 2nd- worst 'mate pairing (after Batman/OMAC) is Green Arrow/Deathstroke. These characters have no real history together; what's worse, both have much more logical counterparts. So I'm bumping Deathstroke, and putting in Black Canary. WAVE 4: Okay Bane, I don't think you've ever even met Batgirl, and I don't like you, so you're gone. I'm moving Nightwing up and dropping him in here (perhaps you can guess whom will now be with Starfire?). I would loose Steel and the Cyborg in a heartbeat, but I realize that I'm probably in the minority, so they can stay. The Spectre replaces Deadman with Dr. Fate. Those two have much more history together, and Deadman's just not a great 'mate. I'm afraid he doesn't return.

One of the ironic things about DC Direct's decision to- for the time being, at least- drop Minimates is that one of the greatest strengths of the line, it diverse and eclectic character selection, has become a weakness. We're left with a line that has Ma Hunkel but no Martian Manhunter, Ambush Bug but no Two Face. So I decided to look back through the releases and see how I would update these waves so as to maximize the amount of available slots with the best characters possible. It's not easy; some favorites have to go. I've tried to balance out some of the odd pairings as well. Perhaps, on one of the parallel Earths where DC Direct is not run by a bunch of [insert favorite derogatory term here], these are the Minimates they're getting. WAVE 1: Not a lot of changes here needed. Some may quibble with the choice of Star Sapphire over Sinestro, but there are plenty other GLs to pair with the Big Red Head. Also, I sorta would have preferred Silver Age Luthor, but the Battle Armor is so cool it's hard to quibble. There's one 'mate that stands out, though: OMAC. With all the great villains Batman has, he comes with OMAC!? Ridiculous. I'm sure the thinking was that the Bat villains are strong enough on their own to not need to be packed with Batman, but I'm going to go ahead and throw Two Face in this spot. WAVE 2: Well, the most important thing is that, with limited spots available, there's no room for battle damaged guys. So you're gone, BD Superman. Also, Braninac 13 is a pretty minor incarnation of the character. I'd like to put in SA Brainiac, but I can't think of a good pairing, so I'm afraid he's gone too. This pack is thus replaced with... Martian Manhunter and Firestorm. Both are essential for anyone trying to recreate the classic JLA, and I think Firestorm may be the coolest 'mate of all (no pun intended). Also, I'm subbing out GA Green Lantern for Dr. Fate. There's a pack down the road that makes more sense for the good doctor, and I can't find a better spot for GL.

I like that Nightwing costume! George Perez did design some stinkers for the Teen Titans, though. They looked especially bad when drawn by other artists. Jericho leaps immediately to mind. I still think the classics are the best, for the most part. Gil Kane's Green Lantern costume and Carmine Infantino's Flash design are just perfect. Among replacement costumes, I think the black Spider- Man outfit is terrific. It's probably better then the original, but that one's so classic it's impossible to replace. I think the current Thor costume is really good, and I hope that one stays around (and that we get a Minimate of it!). My least favorite costume of all time, though, is that modular Iron Man armor (the one he was wearing in his cartoon). Ugliest thing of all time, completely incongruous with the classic Iron Man style. I can't even read a comic with that armor in it.

Just got mine yesterday. I mostly echo the thoughts of others here. Cap is probably the best, despite my general dislike for battle damaged 'mates. I had planned on cannibalizing him for my regular Cap, but it doesn't look right, unfortunately. Iron Spidey is probably the biggest disappointment. His eyes look... not right. Probably my least favorite of the many Spidey mates. Really, the thing I'm most excited about is that I immediately got an extra mate by making a custom Tony Stark (using the 24 Tony Almeda body). And, if I can ever figure out a recipe I like, I'll have a Steve Rogers and Peter Parker as well. 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.

But... but... MR. T and Hulk Hogan are in this set!

I noticed that, too, and it kind of pisses me off, actually. Why the hell does the same company offer higher shipping on its own site than it does when it eventually posts an item on eBay? Boggles the mind. I figured this out only after I had ordered the set from their site. Oh well....

I'd also suggest using a dry dust cloth. I use these all the time on my figures, and they work very well. You can buy them by the pack at the grocery store.

Nina Myers (from 24) has a great Wasp face/hair. Should come in handy for customs.

There seems to be a real lack of promotion for the Hulk compared to past Marvel movies, and of course the current inescapable Iron Man. I get the feeling that Marvel is really not all that confident about this one. I wouldn't be surprised if they're holding off on these to see how the rest of the merch does.

That's my plan. It's all about the buccaneer boots.

Civil War set please. Thanks for your generosity!

Champions/Iron Man Crossover, in the 70s He was also on the Avengers team that took on Ghost Rider around #210 or so. These guys are like the Abbot and Costello of the Marvel Universe!

Well, I'd argue that those costumes are not the most popular versions of those characters-- the "classic" looks are. The other three versions of the X-Men that were made- Ultimate, New, and Astonishing- were tied in to what was the current look of the characters at the time, so it made sense to do those. Certainly, there's a market for characters from that era that have never been done, such as Gambit, but the need for new versions of characters we (in some cases) have four Minimates of seems pretty small to me.

I passed on AF Spidey and just bought Mysterio loose, and I kind of regret it. He is a really nice figure; I just don't want any more Spider-Mans (and I only have a couple compared to the rest of you).

Be sure to post pics! I'm curious to see how the sculpted mask comes out. That's assuming I actually go through with it....

Hey karamozov80, I've actually also been planning on doing the exact same Hourman custom! Right now I'm waiting for my extra Spectre to ship, and to get up the courage to attempt a more detailed custom. heck, I probably could have written your post! Some thoughts: I've been thinking the same thing about the mask, also planning on giving Sculpty a try (this would be my "virgin attempt"). I like the look of the face painting that you did, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to follow suit. I think I may still give sculpting a try. For his crotch piece I plan to use a classic Cyclops; the belt is red, and I can easily paint the trunks black. I'm also probably going to just use a pair of extra legs, paint them yellow, and fill in the black/red parts. Also, I'm definitely stealing that pocket heroes hourglass! Anyway, though I'm a bit disappointed that you beat me to the "world premier" of the Hourman recipe, I think it's pretty cool that are instincts were so close! :biggrin:

Good points. They also attend numerous conventions over the year as part of the larger DC presence. There's really no excuse for them to be having trouble staying in touch. The one that's really gonna sit is Red Son Superman. Considering the other characters that were passed over, that one really sticks in my craw. I think I won't buy it just out of spite.

BSG Wave 2 is available on clearance at BBTS for $15.99. Hmmm...that's tempting, since the only figures from that wave I bought I used for customs. I've been trying to avoid getting too deeply into these things beyond Marvel and DC, but damn.... EDIT: Okay, I bit the bullet and did it. Don't tell my wife.

The joke's on her!

Hey A.J.V., I got the variant set from an online seller a few months ago for the normal price ($6.95 plus the shipping). I'm racking my brain to remember what site it was, but you might want to do a Google search before you buy.

There are also lots and lots of these on eBay, BTW.

The price drop shouldn't effect series three, since it's too new. This is just a normal markdown that the company does for older materials.

Surely the two most highly desired DC-mates are Mr. Tawky Tawny and Robby Reed (Dial "H" for Hero)! Well, you'd have to make about 50 different 'Mates to go along with Robby to do him right....

I agree with you about Gamora, in that Annihilus seems a more natural choice. Also, I'd much rather have Gamora in her classic outfit with an Adam Warlock.