NQL 3

NQL - Not Quite LEGO #3

It’s time for another edition of “Not Quite LEGO” – the column that takes a look at some of the other toys out there that are “not quite LEGO.” No, we’re not talking about MegaBloks, but about other toys that are sometimes similar to LEGO, or may be of interest to LEGO fans in general!

This issue: DC MiniMates!

Ever since LEGO released their popular LEGO Batman line, I’ve been hearing fans speculating on LEGO’s relationship with DC Comics and saying things like, “they should do Superman,” or “they should do Justice League,” or “they should do Teen Titans!” While it remains to be seen if LEGO will actually produce anything like this, Art Asylum’s two-inch block-figure line, MiniMates, gives us the next best thing with their new DC SUPERHEROES line.

MiniMates and DC characters aren’t anything new, as most AFOLs may remember Art Asylum’s C3 line, which combined Batman and Justice League character MiniMates with terrible clone-brick vehicle sets (I know a lot of people bought these for the figures and threw away the bricks!). The line started in 2004 with a series of Batman sets; a second line of smaller sets, using both Batman and animated Justice League characters came out in 2005. Art Asylum showed plans and prototypes for sets based on the The Batman animated TV show, and the Batman Begins movie, and also for more Justice League sets with characters like Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. Possibly due to low sales and low interest in these new sets, the line was cancelled, the license from DC was never renewed, and this third line never came out. Not too long after, LEGO announced their own Batman line, and this was surely the final nail in the coffin for C3 and DC Minimates.

That is, until spring of 2006.

It was announced that Art Asylum would produce a new line of DC MiniMates, without the crappy construction set component, much in the style of their successful Marvel MiniMates line. While this line did encounter some production delays, the first run finally came out this past February, and is promising to give us an interesting range of DC Universe characters beyond the usual Superman and Batman figures seen in other DC toy lines.

I want to take a look at the first three lines of figures that have come out so far.

Each package comes with two figures in classic pairings. In the first line it’s Superman and Lex Luthor, Joker and Harley Quinn, Green Lantern and Star Sapphire, Batman and OMAC. OMAC? Now I haven’t been reading a lot of DC comics recently, but I can’t figure out why this 1970s Jack Kirby character is packaged with Batman!(1) Or would packaging Batman with Robin just be too obvious?
	With this one exception, the character line-up is great! Art Asylum’s attention to detail makes these figures both fun to play with and to collect. They all have 14 points of articulation; with good attention to detail while maintaining the simplicity (and lack of noses!) that makes these sorts of block-figures appealing to LEGO fans. Along with the standard body, each figure has many unique parts, like hair pieces, capes, belts, gloves or boots. Unlike what we see with LEGO and mini-figures, there’s very little reuse of parts between characters! Also, most figures come with individual accessories, for example, Lex Luthor comes with some Kryptonite, Green Lantern comes with his lantern battery, Harley Quinn comes with a giant hammer. Also, characters with masks, like Batman, come with a hair piece, so that when you remove his cowl, Bruce Wayne isn’t bald!

One strange detail is that Batman’s cowl piece covers his whole head, so the exposed parts of Batman’s face are painted on, and not cut away as it was with the many Batman figures made in the C3 line, or with characters like Captain America, Daredevil and Wolverine in the Marvel MiniMates line. This design decision allows Batman to have an angrier mouth as Batman than he does as Bruce Wayne. The drawback with this design is it makes the mask really difficult to get off. I really would have preferred using the same mask design for Batman that was used in the C3 line. Harley Quinn also uses a similar full-face mask design (allowing her to not be in white ‘make-up’ without her jester hat).

The second line gives us very recognizable figures, like Battle- Damaged Superman and Brainiac 13, Robin and Penguin, and some lesser known characters, like Booster Gold and Blue Beetle, and Powergirl and Dr. Fate. Art Asylum seems to have a real thing for battle-damaged superheroes, as several of their Marvel MiniMate figures were seen in torn up costumes, and even some figures in their upcoming Star Trek line will be “Battle-Damaged.”

Brainiac 13 has to be one of the best figures in the whole line. Brainiac 13 uses the larger MiniMates two and a half inch body (originally seen in the MiniMate Lord of the Rings line, where this body was used for humans and elves, while the two inch body was used for the hobbits). So with the bigger body and six mechanical tentacles coming from his back, Brainiac 13 looks quite imposing (as imposing as a block figure can be, that is!) –giving Superman a reason to be battle-damaged! Oddly enough, this time around, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, who wear masks, don’t get the full face treatment like Batman did. This is probably because their masks both use clear yellow plastic over their eyes, to let their painted eyes show though. A nice little detail!

Arguably, one of the worst figures is also on this line: Powergirl. In the comics, Powergirl is supposed to be well-endowed (but seriously, what female character in comics isn’t portrayed in an unrealistically exaggerated manner?), and to reflect this, the figure is given a sort of vest piece that fits over her torso. This idea has been used before on characters like The Thing to represent muscles and bulk, not to represent breasts. Besides drawing attention to her cleavage (as if her costume design doesn’t), it just makes her look strange.

DC Superheroes’ recent third line gives us another great mix of characters: Aquaman and Ocean Master, Battle-Damaged Batman and Killer Croc, Green Arrow and Deathstroke (who I thought was more of a Teen Titans villain, but has become a Green Arrow villain more recently), and Wonder Woman (finally!) and Ares. Both Killer Croc and Ares use the larger MiniMate body. Green Arrow has to be the standout character in this line, as he comes with so many accessories–his bow (naturally) and three different arrows, including a handcuff arrow (how that would work, I don’t know) and the classic boxing glove arrow! This set is worth it for the boxing glove arrow alone!

Future lines promise to give us a continued mix of recognizable characters (Supergirl, Hawkman, Captain Marvel, Batgirl), lesser- known fan-favorite characters (Guy Gardner, Deadman) and ones that make you scratch your head (Ma Hunkel?). Regardless, this seems like a fun line that will hopefully continue on for a few years (like the MiniMates Marvel line!), and looks like it could get to every DC hero you could want (and maybe a few you don’t want). Look for these figures at comic or specialty toy stores everywhere. The two-packs should be between $6 and $10 (and remember, there are no ‘chase figures’ in this line, so nothing is rare—don’t get ripped off!). And if you missed any of the Batman or Justice League C3 sets, a quick look on eBay, or possibly even the discount aisle in your Toys ”R” Us or Wal-Mart, should yield some results.

(1) Okay, in doing a little research, I found out that Batman has been tied in to OMAC’s origin in the recent Infinite Crisis storyline. Still, wouldn’t we all rather have a Robin or Nightwing than the weird blue guy?