by J. Brent Stewart

Marvel Minimates were a block-figure collecting geek’s dream come true. But with the Marvel Minimates came an oft-repeated question: where were the DC guys?

At the time, DC was still making its own in-house mini-figure line, Pocket Super Heroes. I may do another article on this failed line at some point, but the fact is that while they did have a certain charm, the lack of articulation and accessories, and the higher price point, doomed the line from the get-go, while Minimates flourished.

Then, suddenly, a bolt from the blue: Art Asylum would be making DC Minimates! But…there was a catch!

You see, due to the various licensing deals held by both publishers and toy companies (Toy Biz, Mattel, Playalong, etc.), Marvel Minimates had to be an exact size (2 inches, no taller), and COULD NOT HAVE VEHICLES. This is why your Green Goblin can’t have a glider, friends. However, Silver Surfer somehow managed to squeak past the watchdogs with his board. Maybe they told people it was an ironing board, and that he was Iron(ing) Man.

Get it?

See, it’s funny because…ok, screw you…

Anyway, in an appropriately Bizarro twist, we could have DC Minimates…but they could ONLY BE SOLD AS PART OF A CONSTRUCTION SET.

Build it yourself

So, no vehicles for Marvel Minimates, but you could buy two figures for about $5-$7, and be happy.

Meanwhile, the only way you could get DC figures was with C3 building blocks, with even the smallest sets starting out around $10.

There was a great deal of wailing, teeth gnashing, garment rending, and the internet breaking in half, and when the dust settled…well, some of us liked the C3, and some didn’t.

Me? I loved ‘em!

I was a huge Lego fan as a kid, spending countless hours totally disregarding the instructions, building my own fantasy worlds and characters. While I’m too old and cranky to do that these days, I still find these sets very appealing, as I do the Star Wars Lego stuff.

C3 (Create, Construct, Customize…I believe) building blocks are “compatible with other popular building sets”. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Lincoln Logs! But of course, you’re wrong, and deserve to be locked in a garden shed.

The rest of us recognize them for what they are: knock-off Legos. The “L” word is never mentioned anywhere, but these are Legos, folks, and you can use them with Legos. No shit.

The difference is that some of the plastic seems a bit flimsy (I had this problem with a couple of kits, but not at all with others, so who knows?) but otherwise you already know how these things work.

The initial wave of C3 kits consisted of:

Four Smaller Sets:

Chemical Factory Playset w/ Joker and Batman (Animated Style)
I guess if you had a little red hood to put on the Joker, this would be more appropriate. Still, not too shabby. Has a cool little crane arm than you can dangle Bats on, and a cauldron that you can throw the Joker into, recreating your favorite moments from “Killing Joke” or “Tim Burton’s Prince’s Batman”. Comes with Joker and Batman. Yay!

Darkseid, Superman and the Joker

Bat-Glider with Catwoman (comic style) and Batman (funky suit)
I don’t remember Bats ever using a glider like this, but it’s still a pretty cool design. He comes in some sort of funky flight suit, that looks not unlike the Guyver. Catwoman is here in her contemporary Darwyn Cooke get-up, complete with whip and nutsack…what? It’s a “money bag”? Sure. Sure it is.

Catwoman (with grapple, whip, and scrotum), Batman, Robin (w/ staff)

Mini Batmobile w/ Batman & Robin (comic style)
! I’m a sucker for Batmobiles, and this is a nice one. The mini-version is mostly bright blue, has a neat feature which makes the turbine flame turn as you roll the wheels, and comes with comic-style Robin (with suction cup grapple and bow-staff) and Batman. Recreate private fantasies where Batman forgets that Robin was working on the muffler, and crushes his head while peeling out of the Batcave!

Mini Batmobile

Apocalypse Throneroom w/ Superman and Darkseid
The only non-Bat piece in the initial C3 line is pretty cool. Superman is an obvious choice, but Darkseid??? Who woulda thought? He’s really cool, and even has a plastic skirt, like in the comics! He’s a crossdresser! And it’s cool!

The Throne Room takes an odd twist when you find that behind the throne is a torture chamber where skirt-wearing Darkseid can shackle Supes in kryptonite chains, and beat the bejeezus out of him. There’s also a neat transparent plastic “flight” stand which makes for a pretty cool flying effect.

Kryptonian S&M Dungeon Playset

The smaller kits retailed for about $10 at mass-market, a little more in direct-market shops.

Three larger kits:

Batwing w/ Pilot Batman
This is the one I haven’t bought yet, because it’s so omnipresent, I’m waiting until TRU decides to give me a case of them for free. It’s a cool design, and Bats comes in a “pilot” outfit, but for whatever reason, it’s a shelfwarmer.

Batmobile w/ Batman (comic)
! This is the king of the line, as far as I’m concerned. Sure, that throne room is cool, what with the Kryptonian S&M chamber and all, but this piece is too cool for school!
The color scheme is not exactly the same as what is shown on the box, and actually trends a bit darker, going with the dark blues and greys and blacks. Which is fine.

This is a classic, fat-nosed, big-winged style Batmobile, with cool turbine boosters that double as rocket launchers. And Batman comes with SUPER SCARY BAT-CAPE, for total display value. REALLY nice piece, and relatively the hardest to find in the set (though I still picked mine up on clearance at K-Mart for $12).

Batmobile

Batcave w/ Batman, Bruce Wayne, Joker
Wait, remember all that stuff I said about the Batmobile being best? I automatically rescind that nonsense when faced with the awesomeness which is the Batcave Playset.

Now, early on, there was a lot of complaining on the message boards because the thing was so hard to assemble. This was because, OOPSY, the instructions weren’t exactly right! In later editions AA fixed the instructional booklet, and also offered advice on their website on how to not give yourself a heart attack while trying to put this thing together.

Personally, I had six heart attacks, but it was worth it. All in all it took me about six hours to put it together, but that’s largely because I got about halfway through, accidentally dropped it (causing it to shatter back into its component pieces), threw the remaining intact portion against the wall, and spent three hours under the couch, quietly sobbing. A more rational person should be able to get it together in a much shorter time.

And once it’s done, boy is it ever worth it! You get the mansion façade (complete with secret Bat-phone and clock elevator!), a second level with a cool display case for his extra Bat costumes, and the true BatCave level, which has a huge super-computer with swiveling chair, and an exercise room with some sort of pommel horse. There’s also another Bat-figure, a Bruce Wayne, and yet another Joker (no Alfred???)

The playability on this thing is out of the world. If I was a kid I would have crapped my pants twice.

Batcave

Launching with the line was a ComicCon exclusive (which is now available at Tower, AFX, etc) Stealth Batwing jet, which is the same as the other large Batwing, only this one is cast in transluscent blue plastic. The thing originally sold for about $40, but can be found pretty cheap now.

Stealth Batwing (in bright blue!)

At last year’s toy fair there was a lot of C3 hubbub, with a wave of “miniflyers” (which would allow the non-builders a shot at DC Mini’s with smaller, cheaper construction sets), more JLU, more Batman tv show and comic stuff, and of course, Batman Begins!

Nightwing MiniFlyer

However, as the initial wave sat on the shelves, and were eventually clearanced out, AA grew quiet. What would happen to our beloved C3?

Unfortunately, the most recent Toy Fair confirmed what we already believed to be true: A few new sets would be released (that were already in production), but the future was bleak, with the possibility of Batman Begins sets being released.

Since then we’ve seen neither hide nor hair of Batman Begins C3, or any other sets, but we DID get a nice send-off wave, should this be the end of the road:

Mini-Javelin w/ Martian Manhunter and Flash
A nice little Javelin jet, with two awesome Minimates: Flash and Martian Manhunter! And to make it even cooler, they have a hair piece for Wally, and a conehead thing for J’onn, which you can exchange for their normal mask/forehead. Cool! Of course, this just makes me ache even more for Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the rest of the JLA, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Heroes...unmasked!

Batcycle w/ Batman and Manbat (“The Batman” cartoon version)
This is the crappy Manbat from the crappy “The Batman” cartoon, but the bike itself is pretty nice.

Batcopter
The last large-scale vehicle in the line? Perhaps so. Still, it looks to be a nice one. I wouldn't know, as I've been too cheap to pick it up so far. But soon, SOON!

Miniflyers:
In order to appease the whiners as best as they possibly could, AA tried to compromise with their contract by giving fans the DC Minimates they wanted, at the lowest price-point they could, while still adhering to their “must come with construction blocks!” rule. The result? Mini flyers!

This is a really cool assortment of characters (Nightwing, Batgirl, another Flash, Riddler (!), and Justice Lords Superman (!!!) with cool little vehicles. These are now hitting Target and TRU, though I personally haven't seen them yet. Argh!

Justice Lords Superman MiniFlyer

So, will the mini-flyers be the last hurrah of C3? The rumor mill is churning about a possible adjustment to the AA contract, so that they could finally release DC minimates without the construction sets, possibly through DC Direct. While I enjoyed the sets, I'd enjoy even more the possibility of quickly accumulating a universe of DC characters to complement all of the great, diverse Marvel Minimates.

Let us cross our fingers and pray to The Toy God that this may come to pass.

Until then, we've got a few really cool DC characters to square off against our Marvel MM's, and a torture chamber to torment them in. FUN!

Marvel Minimates Pt. 1

Marvel Minimates Pt. 2

Marvel Minimates Pt. 3

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