Tag Archives: Diamond Select Toys

#3386: Spider-Man & New Goblin

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

SPIDER-MAN & NEW GOBLIN

MARVEL MINIMATES

While we’ve gotten a lot of movie-themed Marvel Minimates over the years, they weren’t quite as plentiful in the early days.  Spider-Man 3 marked a turning point, though, getting the full two assortment treatment, covering just about every major character from the movie.  I’m diving back into that set-up today, with a look at the standard movie Spidey, and the vengeful New Goblin!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Spider-Man and New Goblin were released as a two-pack in Series 17 of Marvel Minimates, notably the first of the two assortments based on the movie.  Both assortments wound up shipping at the same time, in late 2007, as was a common practice for Marvel Minimates assortments during that era.

SPIDER-MAN

Since the two prior Spider-Man films hadn’t gotten any tie-in coverage for Minimates, SM3 our first stab at the standard Spidey look from the Toby McGuire films.  That said, this was the *second* standard issue to hit the line, following the con-exclusive two-pack version that had hit during the summer before these assortments.  While the differences between the two Black Costume Spider-Men were more notable, these two versions of the standard had their differences as well.  The figure is built on the post-C3 minimate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He’s a vanilla ‘mate, so there’s not extra add-ons for this guy.  It’s as it should be, since he doesn’t need to be bulked up or anything, and sculpting the weblines would certainly be overkill for this style.  He gets an impressive selection of paint work.  It’s not quite as good as the preview pack version, but there’s still a lot going on.  He gets all the appropriate webline detailing, as well as texturing on the blue sections of the costume.  The texturing even goes all the way around, which is pretty cool.  He doesn’t get the weblines for his hands and feet the way the preview version did, but it’s still more than the average Spidey got.  The SM3 figures marked a change in styling for Spidey ‘mates, as this was the first time that the belt of his costume was on the actual waist piece.  It changes the proportions a bit, moving him towards the more modern stylings of the line.  Spidey was without any accessories for this release.

NEW GOBLIN

Harry Osborne’s arc was one of the trilogy’s most invested ones, and Spider-Man 3 paid off his journey following in his father’s footsteps…to perhaps mixed results.  Norman’s Goblin design in the first movie wasn’t really met with universal praise, so they went a different direction for Harry’s “New Goblin” design.  Unfortunately, while it may be less overtly hideous, it’s also a lot less distinctive.  He’s kind of just a generic snowboarder looking guy.  I mean, it could be worse, I suppose.  Like Spidey, Harry is based on the standard ‘mate body.  That said, he gets quite a few add-on parts, all of them new to this figure.  He’s got a mask/hair combo, shoulder harness, belt, thigh pouch, bracers, left hand with pumpkin bomb, and boots.  It makes for one rather built-up figure, but not one that’s actually too bulky, which is certainly a plus.  The harness in particular marks DST actually doing just a harness, rather than a whole bulked up torso piece, which was a rarity at this time.  It all honestly works pretty well.  There are the odd quirks, of course, such as the bracers being loose enough to pretty freely spin even with the hands in place, but it’s not so bad.  Since his sculpted parts handle so much of the detailing, the paint’s not quite as detailed.  That said, he gets all the proper base work, and still gets a little extra detailing for the torso, as well as a pretty good likeness of James Franco for the face under the mask.  He’s packed with an alternate hair piece to show off said face, as well as his sword, knife, and glider.  The glider was the first time any of the Goblins got such a piece; unfortunately, due to the way the boots are molded, he doesn’t peg in place quite right on it, so he can’t actually attach to it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Despite all the nay-saying about it, I was very excited for Spider-Man 3‘s release, loved seeing it in the theatre, and was thrilled to get the tie-in stuff for it, with the Minimates in particular being high on my list.  I got the full standard set of the tie-ins from my parents for Christmas the year that they came out.  The basic Spider-Man’s not a lot too look at on first glance, but the extra detailing is certainly cool.  New Goblin may not be the most thrilling design, but I think he translated well, and he marked a real turning point for how sculpting could interact with the core ‘mate body.

#3381: Nova Flame Human Torch & Annihilus

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

NOVA FLAME HUMAN TORCH & ANNIHILUS

MARVEL MINIMATES

The Fantastic Four are an essential team to any Marvel line, really.  They took a break from marketing for a little while in the mid 2010s, but prior to that, they would resurface in just about every line every so often.  Minimates added them in 2005, and then updated them five years later in 2010, and then once again in 2013, getting them in just before stuff really started to slow down for the FF.  There was a dedicated assortment in the main line, as well as some corresponding coverage on the TRU front.  Today, I’m looking at part of the TRU side, with Nova Flame Human Torch and Annihilus.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Nova Flame Human Torch and Annihilus were released in the fifteenth TRU assortment of Marvel Minimates, which was 3/4ths FF-tie-in.  They hit within weeks of the 48th specialty assortment, which was the main FF coverage.

NOVA FLAME HUMAN TORCH

“Believed dead following a battle against Annihilus in the Negative Zone, Johnny Storm was recently revealed to be alive and well, and has resumed his position with the Fantastic Four.”

There was a Human Torch in Series 48, but that one was a half-step partially flamed on version.  This one, on the other hand, is a fully flamed-on version, making him a direct update to the two prior Torches.  He’s built on the standard post-C3 Minimate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  He gets an add-on for his flames that slips behind the head and over the shoulders, and also gets a non-standard set of feet with some flame effects (shared with his Series 48 counterpart).  They add flame detailing, while still keeping him very much a core ‘mate, making him more of a proper classic Human Torch.  Aiding in the classic Torch set-up is the paint work, which does the scorch lines look that’s a very early comics look for him.  It’s specifically patterned after the John Byrne version, allowing him to fit in with the similarly Byrne-inspired FF from Series 48.  Some of the details get a little lost on the figure, since he’s transparent and all, but it works well, and it’s certainly the best take on a fully flamed on Johnny the line has gotten.  Human Torch is packed with two flame effects for his hands, as well as a rather elaborate flame stand in the shape of a “4”, and a clear display stand (which debuted as a standard feature in this assortment and in Series 48).

ANNIHILUS

“The ruler of the the Negative Zone, the insectoid tyrant called Annihilus is always seeking to conquer new lands and is endlessly reincarnated through his offspring. He was recently re-elected.”

With Blastaar, another denizen of the Negative Zone, released in Series 48 (packed alongside the other Human Torch, no less), including Annihilus in this set made a lot of sense, especially given that he’d just seen a bit of a resurgence in the comics at the time, and was in fact tied in with Johnny a bit.  He makes use of four add-on pieces for his collar/wings, gloves, and belt.  All of these pieces were new to Annihilus, and they do an alright job of capturing his comics look.  They’re a little restricting, and the collar has some trouble staying in place, but they’re generally not bad.  His paint work is solid.  He’s slightly metallic, which makes him suitably other worldly, and his line work is nice and clean.  Annihilus is packed with a flight stand and a clear display stand, covering all of his standing needs, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Series 48 was one of my favorite sets of Minimates (I’m a sucker for John Byrne FF), so I got that whole set as soon as possible when it was released.  I put some effort into tracking these down as well, so that I could round everything out.  This set’s not as essential as, say the Thing/Surfer set, since there was already a Johnny, and Annihilus isn’t exactly a core character, but it’s still a pretty respectable offering.

#3376: Classic Iron Man, Bolt Face Iron Man, & AIM Soldier

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CLASSIC IRON MAN, BOLT FACE IRON MAN, & AIM SOLDIER

MARVEL MINIMATES

2008 into 2009 was quite a resurgence for Iron Man, due to that whole, you know, really successful movie thing he had going for him.  In the world of Marvel Minimates, it meant that he went from a character with one release every now and then to a character that could very seriously be banked upon.  In the space of about a year, his number of Minimates tripled, and we even got some looping back for proper updates to older releases.  He wound up as an anchor figure for the line’s 25th series, which saw him get two different figures, each packed with an AIM Soldier.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Classic Iron Man and the AIM Soldier were released in the 25th specialty series of Marvel Minimates, with Bolt Face Iron Man swapping out for Classic Iron Man in the one-per-case Variant set.  Classic Iron Man and the AIM soldier would both also see release in the third TRU-exclusive series, albeit split up and packed with other figures (Mark I War Machine for Classic IM and Bucky Cap for the AIM Soldier).  Series 25 hit in May of 2009, and TRU Series 3 hit the following month.

CLASSIC IRON MAN

“Continually improving his Iron Man armor designs, the brilliant Tony Stark’s early red and gold armor set the standard for years to come by combining lightweight and maneuverable armor with new Repulsor technology!”

Iron Man had debuted with his classic armor in Series 6, but it had been a couple of years since that at this point, and there hadn’t been a proper update to the design since.  With all of the new attention, DST opted to do an all-new one, based again on his ’70s-’80s armor.  The figure is built on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/2 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Classic Iron Man got a rather astounding 9 add-on pieces for this release, which included the helmet, belt, collar, shoulder, arm, and leg cuffs.  All of the pieces were new for this release, and represented DST moving to a generally more sculpted approach to even classically-based designs, although it also showed more of a melding between purely sculpted and printed detailing, as well as a general slimming down of certain figures.  The gloves and boots get cuffs without the need of full hand and feet pieces, and the shoulders get their add-ons without needing to bulk up the whole torso.  It was honestly a pretty big change-up.  The shoulders in particular are a little frustrating, since they had trouble staying properly in place, but they do look good when properly set.  Iron Man’s paint work is pretty involve, with a lot of detail line work on just about all of the surfaces.  While the prior Classic Iron Man had used flat colors, this one used metallic red and gold.  The gold’s a little on the orange side, which kind of muddies the look just a bit.  On the plus side, it’s held up better long term than other gold paints, so it at least doesn’t look awful.  I was never much of a fan of the face plate on the helmet for this guy, though; something about the spacing of the eyes, coupled with the actual eyes being visible, just doesn’t work for me.  It was a pretty common complaint at the time of release, and DST changed it up for later releases of the designs, so they seemed to agree.  Under the helmet, there’s a slightly more intense facial expression for Tony, which was honestly a pretty decent look.  Classic Iron Man was packed with an alternate hair piece (re-used from 24‘s Tony Almeida) and an alternate left repulsor hand.

BOLT FACE IRON MAN

“Similar to his previous armor designs, this improved model featured modular components such as the Black Light Tracer, Reverser Ray, Miniature Generator and even a Proximity Alarm designed to mimic Spider-Man’s Spider Sense!”

We couldn’t just have one Iron Man, so we got two instead.  This one goes for a just prior to classic look, ever so affectionately dubbed “Bolt Face” due to the rivets on the faceplate.  We’d sort of gotten this armor before in its horn-masked iteration, but this was the first proper “Bolt Face.”  Structurally, he’s largely the same as the standard version, though he ditches the shoulder add-ons and gets the Series 6 belt, which gives him a slightly older school look.  His paint scheme is also pretty similar, with the shades all being the same, but the actual detail lines being changed up.  They’re really nice, not as over detailed as Classic, and just a very nice recreation of his comics look for this one.  This time around, the helmet gets blacked out eyes, and the spacing just generally looks a bit better.  The face under the helmet is a lot calmer than the standard, and is again a very ’60s looking Tony, which I really like.  Bolt Face IM got an alternate hair piece (re-used from Jack Bauer), and a repulsor hand, just like he Classic.  He also got a spare helmet, which represents the short-lived nosed faceplate, as well as the shoulder pieces, so that you could turn him into a slightly later stage Iron Man.  Technically, the pieces don’t really match the rest of the detailing on the armor, and would be more at home on the standard Iron Man.  And, actually, swapping the nosed helmet to the Classic Iron Man fixes my only real issue with that figure, and lets me leave this one in all its Bolt-Faced glory.

AIM SOLDIER

“Capable of both saving the world and destroying it, Advanced Idea Mechanics is a powerful terrorist group consisting of brilliant yet misguided scientists determined to invent more and more destructive weapons.”

The AIM Soldier marked an important change for Marvel Minimates: Army Builders!  Up to this point, you were forced to buy a duplicate of the figure packed with the Variant, and it was at this point that DST officially decided to try to make lemonade out of those lemons, and make the duped figure one that people might not mind having a dupe of.  The first offering in the army building venture was those crazy beekeeper guys themselves, who are honestly a pretty natural choice.  The AIM Soldier had two add-on pieces, one for the mask and one for the holster.  The mask was an all-new piece, and a pretty spot-on one for their classic comics look.  The holster was a re-use from Assault Punisher, and it’s a little bulky, but it’s also very easily removed if it’s not your thing.  The paint work does a quite nice job of capturing the usual AIM design; there’s plenty of line work on the suits, bot front and back, and the belts even continue all the way around the waist.  Under the mask, there’s a fully detailed face with ears and a pair of lenses.  The AIM Soldier included a standard pistol (re-used again from Assault Punisher), and a larger rotary gun, which is a slight reworking of one of of War Machine’s cannons.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When this series and the Series 28 (which was originally Series 26, before it got bumped for the Origins tie-in assortment) line-ups were revealed, DST ran a contest to guess the line-ups based on daily clues.  I was actually quite good at it, and wound up winning a fair bit of free stuff because of it.  Interestingly, Iron Man and his variant were the two that stumped me, but I did get the AIM Soldier.  In general, the whole thing made me very pumped for both assortments, which, as per usual for the time, I got via Cosmic Comix.  Classic Iron Man wasn’t my go-to at the time of release, nor has he really stuck with me.  The variant, on the other hand, remains one of my favorite Iron Man variants.  Likewise, the AIM Soldier’s top two for army builders for me.

#3371: Black Suited Spider-Man & Sandman

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN & SANDMAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Marvel Minimates‘ relationship with movie tie-ins is sort of a turbulent one.  The first series of the line only exists in the form that it does because it was 2003, and Daredevil and Hulk both got movies, but the actual ‘mates are entirely comics-based.  The first true movie tie-ins were a pair of waves, one being based on X3 and the other being based on Ghost Rider.  The X3 set was at least able to get by on being X-Men, but the Ghost Rider set is infamously the only specialty series of Marvel Minimates to be outright cancelled.  DST’s next go at movie tie-ins was for something that felt like more of a shoe-in, but still didn’t quite stick the landing, Spider-Man 3, which got two whole assortments of coverage.  Today, I’m taking a look at Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman, based on their looks from the film.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Black Suited Spider-Man and Sandman were released in Series 17 of Marvel Minimates, which was the first of the two assortments dedicated to the movie (though both of them wound up shipping at the same time, as was a common practice for Marvel Minimates at the time).

BLACK SUITED SPIDER-MAN

With the symbiote playing a major part in Spider-Man 3, there were understandably quite a few variations available in the line.  This one aimed to be the standard issue version…but it wasn’t quite there.  The figure’s on the post-C3 minimate body, so it’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He gets one add-on piece for his torso, because, for some reason, DST decided to make Black Suited Spider-Man really buff.  Not sure why, since it’s still just Tobey McGuire, with his regular Spidey build, under the suit; there’s no reason to bulk him up compared to the regular one.  But, they did, and it makes him look really puffy.  Not exactly what you hope for on this design.  The paint work is generally alright, with a good deal of texturing and smaller detail work going on.  While the preview version of the figure (which also ditched the torso cap) got web detailing on the hands, this one does not, and the shades are a little closer between the underlying color and the weblines on this one too, making him generally seem just a bit too muddled.  His eyes also feel just a touch too close together, which makes the torso look even larger by comparison, and makes him feel even more bloated.  Spidey was packed with no accessories.

SANDMAN

We got two different Sandmen courtesy of this movie, depicting him in relatively human and totally sand forms.  This was the relatively human one.  Seeing as his design was also a rather faithful recreation of his classic comics look, it also allowed him to serve as a standard Sandman, if you were so inclined.  He’s got add-ons for his hair and chest cap, both of which were new for this release.  The hair became a rather common piece, and the chest cap saw use on a couple of other Sandmen that followed.  They’re both actually pretty nice pieces, working well within the context of the film design, but also showcasing the improved sculpting that DST really started to roll out with this assortment.  His paint work is generally pretty solid.  The face sports a respectable likeness of Thomas Haden Church, though he’s perhaps a little too light-hearted looking for the rather sullen Marko from the movie.  Of course, it makes it easier to turn him into Lowell for my Wings display, so I suppose it’s not all bad, right?  Sandman gets a spare set of arms bulked up into sand form, which is honestly a pretty fun extra.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got the whole Spider-Man 3 set, minus the variants, from my parents the Christmas that they were released.  I was rather excited for them at the time, I recall.  The Black Suited Spider-Man was always rather a let-down, and is only more so in recent years.  Sandman, on the other hand, is actually a really good figure, and was honestly one of my favorites from the set.  He signifies the advancements that these two particular series really brought to the line, all in one little package.

#3341: Age of Apocalypse Nemesis & Age of Apocalypse Morph

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

AGE OF APOCALYPSE NEMESIS & AGE OF APOCALYPSE MORPH

MARVEL MINIMATES

2010 marked the 15th anniversary of the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline, and since 15 is not nearly as cool an anniversary as 25, there wasn’t a *ton* done for it.  There was a little, though, and that included two boxed sets in Diamond’s Marvel Minimates line, which covered eight of the story’s bigger players.  DST followed up on those two sets early the following year with a couple more characters packed in a pair of two-packs.  Some of the story’s real breakout characters got their coverage there, which was the case for today’s focus pair, Nemesis and Morph!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Age of Apocalypse Nemesis and Age of Apocalypse Morph (as they are both decidedly billed on the packaging) were released in the 10th TRU-exclusive assortment of Marvel Minimates.  Though a slightly odd pairing at first glance, they aren’t the weirdest pair, given that Morph does masquerade as Nemesis briefly during the original crossover, and they are part of the same portion of the crossover.  That said, they, more than anyone, are a pair the spares set-up.  I’m not complaining, though.

NEMESIS

“Nemesis was sent to destroy as many of Magneto’s young students as he could while the X-Men where off fighting Apocalypse’s Horsemen. He was defeated in battle by the Scarlet Witch, although he was able to destroy her. He left before the X-Men returned and was embraced by Apocalypse as his newest Horseman.”

As with all toy versions of the character, Apocalypse’s son uses his pre-body destruction moniker of “Nemesis,” due to an overall desire not to trivialize the real world event with which he shares his other name.  It’s kind of a heavy subject matter for a line of little block figures, so I can definitely dig that.  This marked the character’s one and only time in Minimates form, which certainly makes sense.  Counting his original Toy Biz figure and his Hasbro Legends release, that places him at three figures.  Not a bad spread.  This one remains his most recent.  The figure is just shy of 3 inches tall and has 11 actual working points of articulation (his neck and ankle joints being rendered static by the construction of the figure).  He’s still using the core ‘mate body, with add-ons for his helmet/chest, hands, thighs, and boots.  The thighs and boots were shared with the Hulkbuster, while the chest and hands were new.  The chest was re-used down the line for the Mandroid, but the hands would remain unique to this one.  The general look is pretty far removed from the ‘mate aesthetic, but it does at the very least look the part for Nemesis.  His paint work is mostly rather simple, with the vast majority of the figure just being molded in translucent yellow.  His head and torso get his signature red skeleton remains, which looks pretty sweet, and he also gets a little bit of red on his left hand, presumably meant to simulate his energy effect.  Nemesis was packed with no accessories.

MORPH

“Morph joined Rogue’s team of X-Men in Chicago to evacuate as many humans as possible and stop Nemesis. Sneaking into the Inifinite processing plant, Morph and the rest of the X-Men managed to rescue some prisoners and destroy the plant, saving lives.”

Quite possibly my favorite piece of the whole AoA crossover is its distinctive take on Morph, who I actually first encountered because of his old Toy Biz figure.  I’ve had a love for the character’s design since, and he was at the top of my list for the ‘mates.  This guy uses the standard base body, with add-ons for his cape and boots.  The cape is re-used from the AoA Magneto, which makes sense, since they had the same style of cape in the crossover and all.  The boots are the standard Marvel-style flared boots, which I never liked quite as much as the DC ones, but are still more more than serviceable.  The rest of the work is handled via paint, which the figure handles respectably well.  The face showcases the best work, capturing Morph’s more carefree attitude.  The base body also details his costume pretty well.  The yellow on the knees is a little thin, and the edges of the gloves are a little sloppy, but it otherwise works okay.  Like Nemesis, Morph is without accessories.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

My interest in AoA is just so-so, but my interest in Morph and Blink from the Exiles time is pretty high, and Morph in particular was a real draw for me.  I snagged this set, plus the Blink and Sabretooth, and the Thor, Captain America, and First Class tie-ins all at the same time, while on a road trip with my family, back when these were all new.  Morph is my favorite of the AoA subset, and just a fun little figure in general.  Nemesis is decent, though I admittedly have less ties to the character.

#3336: Marvel Villains Box Set

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

GREEN GOBLIN, MAGNETO, DR. DOOM, & RED SKULL

MARVEL MINIMATES

After Iron Man hit in 2008, everything Marvel got a bit of a rebirth as Marvel prepared for what would become the MCU.  This included a lot of their licensed products.  Over in the Minimates corner, it was exactly the bump they needed, and in many ways the line effectively started anew, with a focus on circling back around to some of the heaviest hitters, as they aimed to sell to a new audience.  In 2009, to aid with this, they produced a pair of boxed sets, one heroes, and one villains, which served to update the big guns, all in a nice, concise package.  I’m taking a look at the villains today!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Marvel Villains Box Set, subtitled “Bring on the Bad Guys”, was a specialty release boxed set for Marvel Minimates, hitting in the spring of 2009.  It overlapped with the second TRU-exclusive assortment; three of the villains included here were re-packed with a hero from the other pack.  Green Goblin was packed with Spider-Man, Magneto with Wolverine, and Hulk with Dr. Doom (hey, they had to pair them off with *someone*).  Red Skull was exclusive to the release, as was his opposite number Captain America from the heroes pack.

GREEN GOBLIN

“The Green Goblin is perhaps Spider-Man’s most deadly, dangerous and unpredictable foe. Deemed rehabilitated after time in a mental institution, Norman Osborn pretended to leave his life of crime behind him and became head of the Thunderbolts with an army of super-powered villains under his control.”

Absent from the line since its second series, the classic Green Goblin returned with this set.  It marked his third overall ‘mate, but only his second classic one, since the middle one was the Ultimate version.  This figure’s bio is a rather time-specific one, referencing his place with the Thunderbolts, something closely linked to Civil War and Dark Reign, and not really all that important to him being Green Goblin.  Yeah, it was an odd time.  The figure uses the standard Minimate base, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Green Goblin makes use of four add-on pieces for his hat/ears, satchel, and gloves.  The hat and satchel were re-used from his original Series 2 figure, while the flared gloves came from the Series 5 Captain America.  The set-up is a little more on the basic side, but it works.  They never really did top the hat, and while the satchel’s a little blocky, it’s certainly not bad.  The gloves were a nice bit of flair, but the one downside was that they meant he didn’t get a pumpkin bomb, which was a shame.  The paint work on this release was far more detailed than the original, with a more intense expression, a more subdued palette, and a downright insane level of detailing on the scales.  They would rein things back in just a little bit for later releases; this one definitely felt just a little bit overdetailed.

MAGNETO

“One of the most powerful mutants to ever live, Magneto’s powers first manifested in the weeks leading up to World War II and allowed him to survive the events that followed. Able to manipulate electromagnetic fields, he vowed to prevent mutantkind from sharing his family’s fate.”

At this point, Magneto was technically getting his third Minimate, but seeing as the Dark Tide release was just a change to the face of the original exclusive one, this Magneto was effectively only the second outing for the character, which does seem a little surprising all things considered.  Structurally, he was the same as the first version.  Not a bad call, really, since his helmet and cape add-ons were rather nice pieces, and not really out of date at this point.  There’s a very definite vibe of not fixing what isn’t broken there.  The new paint was again a lot more detailed.  In Magneto’s case, it doesn’t go quite as overboard, which works more in his favor.  Apart from his stubble being perhaps a little heavy handed, he works pretty well.  Magneto was packed with an alternate hair piece and an energy effect to go on his hand.

DR. DOOM

“Victor Von Doom rules the nation of Latveria with an iron-clad fist as he pursues his goals of ruling the world and finally exacting revenge from the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards. Created using both his scientific and mystical talents, Dr. Doom’s arsenal contains some of the most destructive weapons ever invented.”

Doom was also on his third ‘mate, by virtue of the original release having gotten a variant.  Like Magneto, it feels like that doesn’t really count, though.  This marked the first true update, however, and that’s what’s most important, I feel.  This figure uses the same cloak and skirt pieces as the first release, but adds a pair of gloved hands (which are the FF gloves, amusingly enough) and affixes a holster to his skirt.  Both of the re-used Doom pieces were nice enough on the original, but by the time of this one felt a little bit out of place and stiff.  The gloves at least bulked up the arms a bit, but he’s generally the figure in this set that feels the most outmoded in the sculpting department.  His paint work was alright; admittedly, the paint on the original wasn’t bad, especially when it came to the armored parts.  This one does a bit better on the tunic, so there’s that.  I’m not a huge fan of the face on this one, especially given how oddly slanted the eye holes on the mask wound up being.  Doom was packed with a gun (re-used from the BSG line) and a chalice (borrowed from Loki).

RED SKULL

“Born in the fires of Nazi Germany, Johann Schmidt was personally trained by Hitler and served as the evil tyrant’s right-hand man – instilling fear and hatred as the Red Skull! Kept in suspended animation for decades, a re-awakened Red Skull now fights against Captain America for control of the world’s destiny.”

The real selling point of the set was this guy, since he was not only an exclusive, but also the first version of Red Skull.  Another Skull, this time more modern, followed in the main line later that same year, but this one was definitely first.  He depicts Skull in his classic green jumpsuit, which is my favorite look for the character.  It’s one that’s not really in need of any extra parts, so this guy’s all vanilla.  The paint work carries him well, though.  The face is an absolutely perfect rendition of the Skull, crazed look in his eye and a mad cackle clearly being let out.  It remains to this day my favorite face for a ‘mate version of Red Skull.  The jumpsuit is more basic, but that’s expected.  The important details are there, and it looks decent overall.  Red Skull was packed with a small pistol.  Sadly, the budget for a Cosmic Cube just wouldn’t be there for a few more years.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I got this pack brand-new, day of release, from Cosmic Comix back in the day.  I recall being pretty excited for this set at the time of its release.  I didn’t have the original Magneto or Doom, so I was excited by the updates, and Green Goblin seemed pretty cool too.  It was really Red Skull that most excited me, since he was all-new.  It’s a set that is very dialed into its specific era of the line, but it’s also still a pretty fun set all these years later.

#3326: Iron Man

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

IRON MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

In the second year of Marvel Minimates, after a focus on Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Daredevil in the first year, Diamond expanded the line’s horizons a bit in the second year.  The Avengers, a notable omission from the first year, got their first taste of the line, with Captain America leading the charge in Series 5.  Iron Man wasn’t far behind, with his ‘mate debut hitting just a few short months later in the next assortment.  And I’m taking a look at that figure today!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Iron Man was released in Series 6 of Marvel Minimates, in a pack alongside the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider.  This one was the standard release, and there was also a stealth variant that swapped out for this version.  This same figure was also packed with the standard Dr. Doom for the Walmart and Target Group A selection, as well as in a TRU four pack with Silver Surfer, Gamma Hulk, and Wolverine, and the big TRU 10-pack that debuted Mr Fantastic at the end of the year.  There was also a very slightly modified version packed in with the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD for certain releases.  The figure was built on the long-footed Minimate base body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Iron Man made use of two add-on pieces for his helmet and belt, as well as a unique left hand for his replusor blast.  All of the pieces were new for this release, though they were all shared with the variant from his debut series.  The belt and the hand would also become standard pieces, and the helmet was used once more for the Civil War set before being retired.  The parts are all quite nicely handled.  They show the line’s progression towards a little more detailing in the sculpts, while still remaining rather on the simple side.  The paint work is quite impressive, and to date holds up one of the best Iron Man paint schemes from the line.  They manage to make the armor look shiny, while still making use of flat colors.  It maintains his look from the page, which I think really works.  It also means that he avoids the issue of how the metallic paints held up over time, which was a persistent issue for the later Iron Men.  Under the helmet, there’s a fully detailed face for Tony.  Again he showcases the line moving towards extra detailing. Also, he’s got a full goatee, which doesn’t feel quite right for this particular era of armor, but it could be worse.  To showcase the unmasked head, Iron Man was packed with an extra hairpiece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was very excited by the prospect of the Avengers being added to the line, so Iron Man was my most wanted out of Series 6.  I bought him and Ghost Rider both brand new from my local comic shop, Cosmic Comix.  I wasn’t quite as good about keeping all the parts to my Minimates at the time, so I wound up losing most of their parts.  I was able to piece Iron Man back together with a few spare parts I picked up second hand over the years, so he’s back to his original glory.  He’s quite a nice ‘mate.  I don’t really know that any of the 81 variants that followed ever really topped him.

#3301: Insulated Spider-Man & Electro

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

INSULATED SPIDER-MAN & ELECTRO

MARVEL MINIMATES

In 2009, we were between cinematic versions of Spider-Man, so all of his toy tie-ins were sticking closely to the comics for their inspiration.  This was especially true of Marvel Minimates, who had three dedicated assortments just for comic Spidey, as well as working him into some of the mixed assortments.  Wedged in the middle of the themed set-ups was today’s set, a variant of Spider-Man and one of his classic foes, Electro!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Insulated Spider-Man and Electro were initially released in the fourth TRU-exclusive assortment of Marvel Minimates, before getting a follow-up release in Series 30 of the main line.  The set from this review was the specialty release, but the two sets were effectively identical apart from packaging.

INSULATED SPIDER-MAN

“This alternate costume was created by Spider-Man to counter the devastating electricity powers of the super-villain Electro. By utilizing non-conductive materials and building on his original ‘rubber air mattress’ design, he defeated Electro with ease.”

Introduced in 1997’s Amazing Spider-Man #425, Spider-Man’s Electro Proof Insulated Suit was crafted to battle Electro’s increased powers of the ’90s.  It had graced toy form before during Toy Biz’s run with the license, but with this it had a Minimate.  Different!  The figure was based on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  His only add-on is a full face-mask piece.  They were standard for Spidey for a brief span of time, but this assortment actually dropped that; the only reason this particular figure got the piece was for the extra padded design.  Everything else is handled with paint.  There’s quite a lot going on, but it does a great job of capturing the design of the costume as seen in the comics.  Under the bulked up mask is a standard Spidey mask.  It’s unfortunately saddled with the peg hole in the head, but otherwise it was really great, and the red was designed to be an exact match for the standard Spidey from Series 24 of the main line, allowing a replacement of his bulked up mask piece from the original release.  Spider-Man was without any extras for this release.

ELECTRO

“Given super-human powers by a freak electrical accident, Max Dillon was transformed from an average electric company lineman into the super-villain known as Electro! Able to absorb and manipulate near-limitless amounts of electricity, Electro can only be defeated by shorting out or overloading his powers.”

This marked Electro’s introduction to this line.  While there were another four variants of the character to follow, but this is to date the only one based upon his classic design.  He got three add-on pieces for this release, for his mask and his two glove cuffs.  All three were all-new pieces.  The mask was a little bit deep at the front, but was otherwise a good piece.  The cuffs take what would become the standard approach for the flared gloves, and add the electric effects to the ends.  His paint work is respectable enough; the colors are nice and bold, and the line work is quite detailed.  There’s a ton of work on the face, which would perhaps be overboard on another character, but actually kind of works for Max.  Electro was packed with two electricity effects pieces, shared with Series 29’s Storm.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I bought this set new from my go-to place for Minimates at the time, Cosmic Comix.  I remember being pretty happy about getting an Electro, and the Insulated Spider-Man was certainly a cool design.  The figures both suffer from a little bit of production issues cropping up, but they’re both pretty good overall, and neither found themself with any real replacement.

#3296: WWII Wolverine & Hydra Agent

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

WWII WOLVERINE & HYDRA AGENT

MARVEL MINIMATES

In 2009, we weren’t yet into the actual MCU proper, so we had to make due with our only Marvel movie of the year being X-Men Origins: Wolverine.  Dark times, I know.  There was, of course, a proper tie-in assortment of Marvel Minimates for the movie, but the line also had a fair number of Wolverine-themed comics-based ‘mates.  There was a largely Wolverine-themed assortment in its entirety, but then they also worked him into the mixed assortments as well.  For Series 29, there were two sets, focussing on old and new.  Today, I’m looking at the old.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

WWII Wolverine and the Hydra Agent were the variant set for Series 29 of Marvel Minimates.  The Hydra Agent was the shared army builder between the two sets, with WWII Wolverine swapping in for the X-Force Wolverine from the standard set.

WWII WOLVERINE

“Before he joined the X-Men as Wolverine, Canadian soldier James Howlett served alongside Captain America, Bucky and others during World War II – something Wolverine himself only discovered after the memories of his past were restored.”

Wolverine’s past, specifically his service during the second World War, has been a subject that’s been rattling around the Marvel universe since early in his comics career.  With Origins‘ renewal of interest in the era, this made for a sensible choice of design for this assortment in 2009.  The figure is based on the standard post-C3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He makes use of four add-on pieces, for his helmet, jacket, and sleeve cuffs.  He also gets a set of tweaked hands featuring his pre-Adamantium bone claws.  The helmet came from the DC Minimates Sgt Rock, the jacket from Platoon‘s Sgt Barnes, the sleeves from BttF‘s Marty McFly, and the hands from the “Wolverine Through the Ages” Weapon X.  Aside from the helmet not having any trace of Logan’s hair, making him look kind of bald with it removed, the parts do their job pretty well, so that’s actually pretty cool.  The paint work on this guy is pretty drab, but that’s expected.  It’s not a bad look at all, and there’s actually some really nice detail work going into some of it.  The head was consistent with the other comics Logan ‘mates at the time, and he’s even got a fully detailed shirt on the torso block under the jacket.  I also really dig the “X” on the helmet; it’s a fun touch.  Wolverine was packed with an alternate hairpiece (one of the Origins tie-in ones), a spare set of standard hands, and a Thompson machine gun (also re-used from Sgt Rock).

HYDRA AGENT

“The loyal minions of super-villains such as the Red Skull and Baron von Strucker, HYDRA Agents are bent on world domination through terrorist attacks and dangerous experimental technologies.”

The Hydra Agent marked the line’s fourth go at the army builder concept for the re-pack figure.  He’s a pretty classic one, and one that was at the top of everyone’s lists when the concept was first discussed.  It was kind of a big deal, really.  How’d it go?  Umm…about that… So, right out of the box, he’s got six add-on pieces.  All of them are re-use, with the standard full-face mask piece, the DC-style flared gloves, Emil Blonski‘s torso cap, the skirt from BSG’s Laura Roslin, and Assault Punisher’s holster.  They were clearly trying to get the most out of re-used parts here, and it largely works.  The real issue’s with the torso piece, which just doesn’t quite feel like it fits the usual style of Hydra Agents.  The paint is where the mixed bag really comes into play here.  Series 29 and 30 mark DST really trying to go more in-depth on the line-work for Minimates, so there was a lot more smaller detailing and creative shading, and things just generally looking more scratchy and sketchy.  The face on the full face mask for this figure is kind of a victim of that; there’s just really way too much detailing going on, and it gets kind of distracting.  There was a push on these figures to add alternate looks, and that certainly helped this one a little bit; removing the mask, gloves, and torso cap reveals a slightly more classic Hydra Agent, which is generally an improvement.  Unfortunately, due to a mix-up at the factory, this guy wound up getting a head with a peg-hole at the top, which can become just a touch distracting.  Also, I’ve never been much of a fan of the figure’s coloring.  They went for two shades of green, rather than the usual yellow and green, and the two shades are much closer than I’d like.  Throw in that both shades are rather on the dull side, and the whole thing becomes rather muddy looking.  In addition to all the removable add-on pieces, the Hydra Agent also got a pistol, an assault rifle, and Blonski’s night vision goggles, but in a matching green.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was actually pretty excited about this set when it was announced.  Sgt Rock was one of those unexpected favorites of mine from the DC line, and I liked being able to expand his set-up just a bit with this version of Wolverine.  I’d also really been wanting Hydra Agents for a while.  When I finally got the set, I was admittedly underwhelmed.  Wolverine’s certainly not a bad variant, but he’s also not really meant to be the selling point.  The Hydra Agent showed a lot of promise, but ultimately has a lot of little issues that add-up to him not being so great.  Thankfully, there was a later variant that improved on him, but until then, this was all we had.

#3291: Tactical Wolverine & Marvel Now Magneto

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

TACTICAL WOLVERINE & MARVEL NOW MAGNETO

MARVEL MINIMATES

For the last few years of Fox’s hold on the X-Men film rights, Disney actively discouraged licensees from doing any direct tie-ins with Fox’s movie releases.  So, while we got tie-in assortments for both X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine from Minimates, the last of the solo Wolverine films, Logan, went without.  To tie-in with the general themes, however, there was still a comics-based Wolverine assortment in the main line, as well as a corresponding TRU-exclusive.  Today, I’m looking at the TRU-exclusive.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Tactical Wolverine and Marvel Now Magneto were released in the 23rd TRU-exclusive assortment of Marvel Minimates, alongside two shared sets from Series 72 of the main specialty line.

TACTICAL WOLVERINE

“A verteran of many wars, the slow-aging Logan has acquired a great many human combat skills to complement his natural animal instincts.”

As the 65th version of Wolverine to grace the line, Tactical Wolverine definitely comes from a place of “what more can we do to make different versions of this one guy?”  The answer, as it turns out, is add a headband and a vest.  Very exciting stuff, really.  The figure is based on the standard post-c3 ‘mate body, so he’s about 2 1/4 inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s got add-ons for his hair and vest, plus the adjusted hands and feet with the claws and signature boots.  The hair is the same piece unmasked hair piece that had been in use for a few years at this point, and the hands and feet were the same set-up.  The vest appears to be a unique part.  It’s alright.  Kinda soft on the details, but not the worst.  The paint work on this guy gives him his brown costume, and it’s actually pretty crisp and clean.  I definitely dig the extra stubble on his face; it looks really cool.  For accessories, he’s packed with a mask piece, so that you can convert him to a proper Brown Costume Wolverine, as well as a clear display stand.

MARVEL NOW MAGNETO

“Max Eisenhardt has been both friend and foe to the X-Men over the years. His magnetic powers make him one of the most powerful mutants on Earth.”

Ah, yes, Marvel Now.  Or, I guess Marvel Then at this point, since none of it stuck.  Well, except for Magneto going monochromatic, I guess.  Yay.  Glad that stuck.  Big fan of that.  There were a few different versions of his costume in play.  This one’s sleeveless and black.  He’s got add-ons for his helmet, cape, belt and wrist cuffs.  The belt and cuffs appear to be new, while the cape is a re-use from the Avengers Vs X-Men Scarlet Witch and the helmet is from the Series 50 Onslaught.  The parts are all pretty respectable matches for the source material, so that’s cool.  His paint, monochromatic though it may be, is pretty crisp and clean, and just quite nice looking.  His head gets full face detailing, as well as ears, since Magneto was bald at the time he had this look.  He’s still got the hole in his head, of course, but, you know, there it is.  Magneto’s packed with both a flight stand and a clear display stand.  The flight stand is a bit too small, so his foot doesn’t actually securely stay put, which makes balancing him a real…well, balancing act, I suppose.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

None of these sets really appealed to me at the time of their release, largely due to me not having a whole lot of money to throw at Minimates.  I got these for the same reason I got most of the Minimates of the same era: TRU was going out of business and they were cheap.  Both figures are pretty nice, all things considered, but they’re also both non-essential looks, which makes this set as a whole kind of extraneous.  Still, they’re not bad.