Tag Archives: Minimates

#0071: Aquaman & Ocean Master

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

AQUAMAN & OCEAN MASTER

DC MINIMATES

Just when you thought there couldn’t be more, it’s another Minimates review.  Okay, I know.  It’s hardly a surprise at this point.  I’m a creature of habit.

Anyway, this’ll be my second look at the tragically too short DC Minimates line.  Unlike other Minimates, the DC ones were handled by DC Direct.  They were actually pretty innovative, and were released during a time when the Marvel line had somewhat stagnated.  When DC Direct upped the game, Marvel caught up and quickly surpassed them.  DC, for a variety of reasons decided to get out of the Minimate game just before Minimates hit it big.  Oh well.  So, today I’ll be looking at one of DC’s most infamous heroes: Aquaman and his *second* greatest foe Ocean Master.  So, there…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 3rd series of DC Minimates.

AQUAMAN

First up, it’s the ever loveable Aquaman.  Yes, loveable.  Deal with it.  Aquaman is presented here in his classic orange and green look.  If you want to get technical, he’s got his look from the early issues of the Peter David series, since he doesn’t have the black shorts over his pants.  But most people probably wouldn’t notice the difference.  He’s on the usual Minimate body, which means he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He has specially sculpted hair, gloves and feet.  The hair has a “heroic hair” thing going for it.  The gloves were used a few times over the course of the line, and are just basic flared gloves.  The feet are specially sculpted to feature fins at the back.  The rest of Aquaman’s details are handled via paint.  He’s mostly molded in the appropriate colors, so the paint is only really used to provide detail lines.  Everything is pretty sharp.  The face has a nice stern regality, and the shirt has the appropriate scaled texture, which is nice and subtle.  Aquaman includes a trident, because that’s the accessory you give Aquaman.  I’m pretty sure that’s like in the DC license or something, because every damned Aquaman has one, and the character’s used one, like once.  But it’s there, so…

OCEAN MASTER

Next, it’s umm, well its Ocean Master.  “Who is Ocean Master?”  Yeah, legit question.  He’s Aquaman’s half-brother Orm, who wanted to be Master of the Ocean or something, so he fought Aquaman a lot.   He’s shown here with what I believe is his look from the 90s.  It’s not far off from his earlier look, but he’s gray instead of a mash of purples.  He’s on the usual body, and has the usual stuff.  He’s got a helmet, cape, belt and gauntlets.  All new pieces, and I don’t believe any of them were ever reused, which is bold, considering it’s Ocean Master.  The rest of the detail is handled with paint.  It’s all very sharply done, although the face is a bit odd.  Ocean Master includes his own trident, but it does make a little bit more sense here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like with the rest of the DC Minimates line, I eagerly picked this set up the day it was released.  It’s a pretty good example of the line’s strengths, in how it handled the heavy hitters, and it’s well done sculpted parts, but it also shows the lines faults, like releasing Ocean Master over a better known Aquaman villain such as Black Manta, or even Aquaman’s sidekick Aqualad.  I still really like this set and still wish there were more DC Minimates!

#0065: Venom Through the Ages Minimates

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VENOM, VENOM, VENOM & VENOM!

MARVEL MINIMATES

So, yeah, it’s…uhh…Venom.  And Venom.  And Venom and Venom.  That’s 4 Venoms.  What is it?  1995?  Anyway, it’s more Marvel Minimates.  This time around, it’s a boxed set commemorating all the different incarnations of Venom from over the years.  Because Venom’s such a diverse character.  Regardless, that’s the set I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were released last year, as the “Venom Through the Ages” boxed set.

VENOM UNLEASHED

First up, it’s the real star of the show.  This is the version of Venom that most people think of when they think of the character.  It’s the big, bulky, long-tongued, slobbering version of the character.  If you read my review of the recent TRU Venom, you’ve pretty much seen this figure before.  This one’s got most of the same pieces, only this time, cast in black instead of the dark blue from that figure.  To counteract this, they’ve done the muscle detailing in a light blue instead of black.  It’s all nice and cleanly done.  This one doesn’t have a Spider-Man under all the pieces, instead showing a crazed Eddie Brock.  He also includes a spare mask that is partly pulled back to reveal Eddies face, and an alternate hairpiece to show Eddie totally revealed.

VENOM – EDDIE BROCK

Next, it’s another version of Eddie Brock.  This time around, it’s based on his more svelte look from his earlier appearances.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, with all the usual articulation.  In place of regular hands, he’s got a pair of clawed hands, which have been used for Venom a few times before.  He’s also got a torso cover that’s been used a few times in the past for some of the more bulky characters.  It’s not my favorite piece, due to its blockage of the figures shoulders and neck articulation, and its overall odd shape, but it works okay, I guess.  Instead of a sculpted head, Venom’s face is all paint on this one.  It looks pretty accurate to the material, and fits the minimate aesthetic a bit better.  The rest of his detailing is similar, though not identical, to that on the Venom Unleashed figure.  Venom also includes an alternate Eddie brock head, this time with a more calm expression than the last one.

VENOM – ANN WEYING

Next, it’s Ann Weying, one of the attempts to make a “She-Venom” back in the 90s, when everything Venom sold millions.  She was Eddie Brock’s ex-wife, or something, and had the symbiote for a little while, during one of Eddie’s many breaks from the role.  Quality story telling there.  She’s on the typical Minimate body, though with the same clawed hands that the Eddie Venom used.  Like Eddie, she has a painted face instead of a sculpted one.  The only other sculpted piece she has is a tendril piece that goes over her neck.  She’s detailed similarly to the Eddie Venom, though a bit more simplistic, and of course, more feminine.  She includes an unmasked head with hair.

VENOM – FLASH THOMPSON

Lastly, it’s Flash Thompson’s Venom.  This one’s kind of the outlier of the set, being form the last few years.  He’s also the only one that’s not a variation on the same basic look.  And he’s heroic to boot.  Flash’s design is of course based on his look from his series that’s been running the last few years.  For him, the symbiote is used more as a tool, and not a controlling force.  It’s an interesting take, and that’s actually not sarcasm.  Anyway, he’s on the usual body, but he’s got a whole bunch of add-ons.  He’s got a mask, vest, gloves, a belt, a holster, and boots.  With the exception of the mask, which has been used several times before, all the pieces are new to this figure.  They all look accurate to the source material, which is good.  Flash has minimal detailing, but it’s all well done.  The eyes and logo stand out nicely, and there’s a nice pattern representing the texturing on his arms.  Flash also includes an assault rifle, a handgun, and a hair piece to display him unmasked.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m honestly not the world’s biggest Venom fan, but my usual online store had this set marked down during their Black Friday Sale, so I picked it up.  Eddie and Ann aren’t gonna win any awards, but Unleashed and Flash are both really cool, so I’m glad to have picked it up.

#0064: Lara Croft

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LARA CROFT – BATTLE DAMAGED

TOMB RAIDER MINIMATES

Another Minimate review!  It’s another previously un-reviewed line, this time based on the popular video game franchise Tomb Raider.  Diamond Select Toys picked up the license for the most recent game in the series, and have released a line of Minimates to coincide.  I’ll be looking at the Battle-Damaged variant of the main character, Lara Croft.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

This version of Lara was released as part of the first series of Tomb Raider Minimates.  She was packed with the Armored Tomb Raider Scavenger, but I picked Lara up loose, all by herself, so I won’t be looking at that one.  Lara is based on her look from later in the game after she’s been raiding tombs, or whatever.  She’s got sculpted hair, belt and shoulder strap.  These pieces are all new to the figure, though, the hair’s been seen before on this site, in my review of Rescue & Robot Hulk.  I liked the piece there, and I like it here.  It’s a nice piece and I would be glad to see it used more often.  The belt’s got a holster for her pistol, and the shoulder strap’s got a clip for her machine gun.  The paint on this figure is nothing short of amazing.  She’s got scuffs and stains everywhere, and is all bandaged up.  There’s even mud in her hair.  Lara comes with a handgun, a climbing axe, a machine gun and a shotgun.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’ve never actually played any of the Tomb Raider games, nor do I know all that much about the series (in case you couldn’t tell from my description of Lara’s activities as “raiding tombs or whatever”).  But, I was ordering a bunch of stuff from Luke’s Toy Store during their Black Friday sale, and I saw her loose for a good price, and thought it was a cool enough figure.

#0063: Captain Archer & Dolim

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CAPTAIN ARCHER & DOLIM

STAR TREK LEGACY MINIMATES

So, yeah, it’s more Minimates today.  This time, they’re from a line I haven’t yet looked at, Star Trek.  Minimates actually owe a lot to Star Trek, as Trek was one of the earliest licenses, back when the figures were still 3 inch scale.  Sadly, Trek hasn’t seen a load of success in the Minimates world.  The 3 inch line only lasted a single series, and the first 2 inch line only went 5 series, barely making it past the classic Trek crew.  In the last year, Diamond attempted to relaunch the line again as Star Trek Legacy.  This time around, they focused on several of the Trek show simultaneously, releasing the captain from each series with one other character.  There were Toys R Us and Specialty assortments, with 4 two-packs each.  Today, I’ll be looking at Archer and Dolim from Star Trek: Enterprise.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the first specialty series of the Star Trek Legacy Minimates line.

CAPTAIN ARCHER

First up, it’s the captain, and de facto lead of the show, Captain Nathanial Archer.  He’s shown here in his basic look from the show, his blue jumpsuit.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He has sculpted hair and a belt.  These pieces both look to be new.  The belt is rather basic, and could conceivably work for many different purposes.  The hair piece looks fairly accurate to Archer’s hair from the show, but I’m not sure it’s spot on.  The paint detailing is all well done.  The face looks to be set a slight bit too high in the head, but it looks to be a pretty good interpretation of Scott Bakula.  If I had one complaint, it would be that he looks a bit stern for Archer, who tended to be more jovial.  Archer includes a communicator, a tri-corder, a phase pistol, and a clear display stand.

DOLIM

Next, it’s Dolim.  He’s one of the great…umm…wait…no, he’s, hmmm.  Yeah, I don’t actually know who Dolim is.  According to the box, he’s “A reptilian commander in the Xindi alliance…”  So, there’s that I guess.  I honestly wasn’t watching Enterprise when this guy showed up, so I know nothing about him.  Nor do I have any kind of attachment to him, but he was in the box with Archer, so here he is.  He’s on the usual Minimate body, so he’s got the 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  In place of the basic head and hands, Dolim has uniquely sculpted pieces.  He also has a sculpted robe thingy, which covers most of the body.  The paint is up to the usual standards of a Minimate, though there’s a bit of slop on the robe.  Dolim’s only accessory is a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, another controversial opinion of mine:  I actually don’t mind Star Trek: Enterprise.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was my favorite Trek after the original.  I’ve never been able to get into DS9 or Voyager, and Next Gen was just too stretched out for me, and I tend to like Scott Bakula’s work.  Anyway, I was rather excited to see Captain Archer get a release in the line, even if I did have to buy a villain I didn’t really want.   I kind of wish Archer had come with his pet beagle, but I guess this is Archer after Scotty lost it in a transporter accident.  That would explain the stern expression…

#0059: Rescue & Robot Hulk

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RESCUE ARMOR IRON MAN & ROBOT HULK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today marks the final entry from the most recent Toys R Us exclusive series of Diamond’s quite expansive Marvel Minimates line.  For the last review, I’ll be looking at not quite Iron Man, and not quite the Hulk.  So, maybe it’s not quite a review…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

RESCUE ARMOR IRON MAN

First up, it’s Iron Man…according to the box anyway.  In actuality, it’s Pepper, Tony’s on-again-off-again-love-interest.  She recently (okay, in the last five years or so) got her own suit of armor and took up heroing under the name “Rescue.”  I guess Toys R Us wasn’t interested in a figure just called Rescue, but add Iron Man to the end, and their on board!  That ends up being a little awkward for Pepper, who really doesn’t qualify as Iron MAN, but if anyone can bend gender stereotypes, it’s Pepper Potts!  The figue is built on the basic Minimate body, with a few sculpted add-ons, so she’s got 12 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  She’s got sculpted boots and gloves, as well as a slip over mask.  All these pieces have been used before, but are put to a good effect.  The paint on Rescue is quite well done, with no noticeable slop, smudges or fuzziness, and lots of fine detail work.  The metallic red and silver are also nice and consistent.  Rescue includes a blast off stand, a clear display stand and a spare hair piece to display Pepper unmasked.  That last accessory is great because, Pepper’s unmasked face is one of the highlights of the figure.

ROBOT HULK

Next, it’s Robot Hulk, the robot approximation of Hulk.  Yeah, it’s a complicated concept.  He’s based on…the minds of toy makers everywhere.  Robo Hulk is based on the basic Minimate body with sculpted parts, so he’s got 12 points of articulation and stands a little over 2 ½ inches tall.  He’s got sculpted hair, torso cover, hands, thigh covers and feet.  All but the hair were previously used on the Marvel vs Capcom Sentinel, and the hair is taken from one of the recent Colossuses.  The reuse is warranted and gives him a nice angular, robotic look.  The paint work is all nice and sharp.  Like yesterday’s Venom, Robot Hulk also has a whole nother Minimate underneath all of his sculpted parts.  This time around, it depicts a terminator like rob-suit, piloted by long-time Hulk and Iron Man foe the Gremlin.  It’s a great touch and really adds a lot to the figure.  Robot Hulk is topped off by a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

As with the rest of this series, the two were ordered from TRU’s online store, with a shocking amount of ease.  Rescue gives us a great comic styled Pepper, which has been a long time coming.  Robot Hulk is kind of filler, but he’s really cool filler, and his importance is helped by the little image of Gremlin piloting, kind of making this a new character.

#0058: Nova & Alien Symbiote Venom

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NOVA & ALIEN SYMBIOTE VENOM

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, it’s another entry from the Marvel Minimates line.  Like the last two reviews, this set comes from the most recent Toys R Us Exclusive series.  This time around, it’s the latest incarnation of the character Marvel really wants to take off Nova, and villainous Spider-Man knock-off Venom.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

NOVA

First up, it’s everyone’s favorite Galactic Law enforcer!  No, it’s not Ryan Reynolds, it’s actually Nova, specifically of the All New variety.  It’s Sam Alexander, the most recent incarnation of Nova.  He’s built on the usual Minimate body, so he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  He’s got a sculpted helmet, shoulder pads, and gloves.  The shoulder pads are reused from Wolverine, but the helmet and gloves are new pieces.  They look to be accurate to the source material, which is good.  The paint isn’t terrible, though there is some noticeable slop and a few fuzzy lines.  It’s not terrible, but it keeps the figure from being “great”.   Nova also includes an extra golden helmet to replace his regular one, an extra head w/ hair to make the figure into Sam’s dad, a clear blue blast off base, and the usual clear display stand.

VENOM

Next, it’s everyone’s favorite Topher Grace role!  …okay, not really…look, it’s Venom, okay?  Happy?  Venom is based on the look that Venom’s pretty consistently had since his introduction.  If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess.  The characters size has varied over the years, and this figure’s meant to show him all ‘roided out like he was towards the end of the 90s.  The figure’s built on the basic Minimate body, with some sculpted parts which bring his articulation to 12 points and his height to a little over 2 ½ inches.  Venom’s got a sculpted mask, torso cover, pelvis cover, thigh covers, feet, upper arm covers and clawed hands.  The bulked up pieces have been used on several of the larger Marvel characters before, and the Venom specific parts have been used before in the Venom: Through the Ages set.  Venom is usually depicted in black and white, but for this figure, Diamond’s replaced the usual black with a dark, semi-metallic blue.  It’s not a huge difference, but it makes the figure different from previous releases I guess.  The paint is pretty good overall, with less of the slop that’s present on Nova.  As a cool bonus, if you remove all the added on parts, and give him the included normal hands and feet, you can assemble a black-costume Spider-Man.   Venom also includes a tendril that can be swapped out for one of his hands, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the rest of this series, I got these two from TRU’s online store, with no real issues for a change.  This set is a perfectly fine addition to my collection, even if it isn’t necessarily.  The ability to use Venom as a Symbiote Spider-Man adds a whole lot to the set, as I think it might be my favorite take on that particular version of the character yet.

#0057: Hawkeye & Black Widow

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HAWKEYE & BLACK WIDOW

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, it’s another entry from the Marvel Minimates line.  The two are once again from the recently acquired Toys R Us Exclusive series.  This time around, its Hawkeye and Black Widow, two characters who received a lot of notoriety from last year’s film The Avengers.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

HAWKEYE

First up, it’s nobody’s favorite Avenger, Hawkeye (okay, that’s not true.  He’s actually one of my favorites)!  Hawkeye is depicted here in his most recent costume, prominently featured in his current solo series.  I follows the tradition of changing a character’s look to be more in line with their movie look of which Marvel’s grown so fond.  It’s not a terrible look, and it translated well, so no complaints here.  Hawkeye’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He’s got a fair deal of sculpted bits, including:  hair, gloves, utility harness with a quiver, a belt, and leg bands.  The hair, belt, leg bands and harness are reused from previous figures, but they are chosen well, so no issues there.  The quiver and gloves appear to be new.  The quiver looks appropriate to the character, and the gloves are a might in the bulky side, but not too bad.  The paint on the figure is a bit hit and miss, the face looks perfect for the version of the character they’re going for, and the change in finish to designate the boots looks cool, but places like the edges of his sleeves are rather fuzzy.  It’s not enough to ruin the figure, but it’s annoying.  Hawkeye is topped off by a bow, three arrows, and the now standard clear display stand.  These pieces are all reused, but if it works, it works.

BLACK WIDOW

Second, it’s the best former Soviet spy turned kick-ass Avenger Marvel’s got: Black Widow!  Widow’s rocked the black skintight catsuit quite a few times over the years, but this figure is based on the look she has currently in particular.  It’s a look that’s lasted for so many years for a good reason, so its use here sees no complaining from me.  Like Hawkeye, she’s on the typical Minimate body, so she has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  She features sculpted hair, wrist bands, and leg holsters.  The pieces are all reused, but they all work appropriately for the desired look.  The paint on Widow is a bit better than Hawkeye, though there is a tiny bit of slop on her neckline.  Widow includes two silver handguns and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Like the rest of this series, these two were gotten off of TRU’s website, with no real issues this time around.  I’m really glad because these two are definitely the set from the series I was looking forward to the most.  These two definitely didn’t disappoint.  Widow is a grate update to her traditional look, and while Hawkeye’s not my favorite of his looks, the Minimate is really well done.

#0056: Superior Spider-Man & Ultimate Electro

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SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN & ULTIMATE ELECTRO

MARVEL MINIMATES

Hey look!  More Minimates!  Yes, it’s Ethan’s favorite line to review, up for review once again.  Unsurprisingly these are from the Marvel Minimates line.  I just recently acquired the latest Toys R Us exclusive wave from the ever stubborn Toys R Us website, so I’ll be taking a look at them over the next few days.  First up, it’s the flagship set of the wave:  Spider-Man and Electro.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 17th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates.

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN

First up, it’s the man himself:  Spider-Man.  Okay, actually that’s a lie, and I’ll get into that in a second.  Spider-Man is built on the typical Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  So, why isn’t he the man himself?  Because this figure is based on his most recent look from the current Superior Spider-Man series, where Peter Parker’s mind has been over-written by longtime foe Doctor Octopus.  So, that happened.  Anyway, good or bad, it’s made for some interesting designs, so here we are.  This look in particular is SpOck’s second look, which is somewhat based on Alex Ross’s proposed design for Sam Rami’s first Spider-Man movie.  SpOck’s look is completely conveyed via paint.  All the paint work is pretty good, although some of the red areas are a bit thin, but nothing too bad.  There have been reports of the eyes being misaligned with the web pattern of the mask, but mine doesn’t seem to have that problem.  SpOck also includes an extra unmasked head, a strand of web, and a clear display stand.  The unmasked head conveys the smugness of the new “Peter Parker” well.

ULTIMATE ELECTRO

Second, it’s one of Spidey’s foes, Electro.  Like SpOck, Electro is built on the usual body, so he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall.  Electro is based on his look from the Ultimate line of comics*.  Like Spider-Man, he’s just the basic minimate body with no additional sculpted details.  He’s got a few details, and a really great evil grin, all on a really neat clear blue body.  I love me some clear plastic.  Electro is packed with two clip on electricity parts for his arms, a power base, 2 electricity “whips”, and a clear display stand.  Everything but the “whips” is reuse, but it all works well for the character, so no complaints here.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, like most of the Toys R Us exclusive Minimates, I got these from the TRU website.  Fortunately everything went smoothly this time, so yay!  As far as the set itself, it’s a really cool set of Minimates, but not of looks that are my favorites.  But well-made toys are always really cool.

*The Ultimate universe was Marvel’s attempt in the early 2000s to create a more realistic, and easily accessible line of comics to lure in new readers.  It was a success for a few years, but has recently gotten incredibly bogged down in continuity and has more recently become Marvel’s place to do more “daring” things that they don’t want to do in their regular universe.

#0053: Invincible Minimates

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INVINCIBLE, ATOM EVE, ALLEN THE ALIEN & OMNI-MAN

INVINCIBLE MINIMATES

It’s another venture into the world of Minimates, and while it’s still superheroes, it’s not your typical superheroes.  These guys are based on Robert Kirkman’s Invincible, a superhero comic released by Image.  It’s the story of a young guy with super-powers that make him…wait for it… Invincible.  Diamond Select Toys got the license to a bunch of Kirkman’s stuff a little while ago, and decided to do some Minimates.  Yay for me!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These guys were all released as part of the first (and currently only) boxed set in the Invincible Minimates line.

INVINCIBLE

First up, it’s our lead character: Mark Grayson, Invincible.  Mark’s had a few looks over the course of the series, but Diamond went with his original look.  It’s a good look with nice bold colors.  Mark is built on the basic Minimate body, so he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands around 2 ½ inches tall.  He has a newly sculpted mask, and boots that may be a new sculpt, but I don’t know for sure.  The pieces are sculpted well, though the mask might be a bit soft, details-wise.   The paint is okay.  The detailing on the body and face is nice and sharp, but there’s some significant misaligned paint on the mask.  Mark is topped off with a flight stand, a clear display stand and a spare hairpiece to display Mark unmasked.

ATOM EVE

Next is Mark’s girlfriend: Atom Eve.  Eve’s only really had the one look, so that’s the look they went with.  Like Mark, Eve is built on the basic Minimate body, so she’s got 14 points of articulation and stands around 2 ½ inches tall.  She has a newly sculpted hairpiece and cape.  Her hairpiece is a bit better here than on Mark, with some really nice fine detail lines.  The paint on Eve is really well done.  The face detailing looks great, almost like it was pulled straight from the comic.  The costume is also well done.  The two shades of pink could’ve gone really badly, but Diamond pulled them off.  Eve also includes a flight stand and a clear display stand.

ALLEN THE ALIEN

Next is one of Mark’s fighting companions, Allen the Alien.  Like Eve, Allen’s only really got the one look.  Like the others, Allen is built on the basic body, but with a bunch of sculpted parts that bring his height up to a bit taller than the others in the set and 12 points of articulation due to the feet blocking his ankle articulation.  Allen has a sculpted head cover, coat, hands and feet.  That’s quite a few sculpted pieces!  The sculpts are all handled well, and are accurate to the source material.  Even with all those sculpted pieces, Allen still has a fair deal of painted details.  The face detailing is just as good here as it is on Eve.  If I had one complaint, it’d be that Allen’s skin seems a bit too dark.  Allen includes a clear display stand.

OMNI-MAN

Last, it’s Mark’s father: Nolan Grayson, Omni-Man.  Like his son, Nolan’s had a few looks in the series, but this one’s based on his look from early in the series.  Like all the others in the set, he’s on the base body, so he’s got 14 points of articulation and stands around 2 ½ inches tall.  Nolan’s got a sculpted hairpiece and cape.  The hair is new, but the cape is a reuse from Superman, which is fitting given Omni-Man’s place as a riff on Superman.  The hair looks pretty good, and accurate to the source.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a pretty avid reader of Invincible a few years ago, so when I saw this set at my local comic book store I excitedly picked it up.  It’s a pretty rad set, and the designs really translate well to the Minimate aesthetic.

#0051: Wolverine & Yukio

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WOLVERINE (YUKON) & NINJA YUKIO

MARVEL MINIMATES

Today, I’ll be taking a look at yet another set of Minimates.  Like the last Minimates review I did.  These also come from the tie-in line from this year’s The Wolverine.  Once again, it features a variant of the title character, this time packed with his trusty companion Yukio.

THE FIGURE THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the Toys R Us tie-in series for The Wolverine.

WOLVERINE (YUKON)

First up, it’s our hero Wolverine.  He’s depicted in his “Yukon” look, from early in the film.  This is the look that Logan sports for the first half an hour or so of the movie.  It’s a very different look for the character, and is important to the character’s story in the film.  It’s also really unique, which makes it stand out pretty well on the shelf.  He’s built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and has 14 points of articulation.  He has sculpted pieces for his hair, jacket and claws.  The claws are the same as those used on the rest of the Wolverines in the wave.  The hair and jacket are new pieces.  They are sculpted well, and accurately depict his look from this point in the movie.  The paint is well done on the figure.  In spite of it not being a default look, I think that the likeness on this Wolverine may be the best Jackman likeness so far.  The paint on the coat could possibly be a little better, with so noticeable slop on the edges, but nothing too bad.  There’s some great detail work on the pants, with the wrinkles and such all being present.  And underneath the jacket piece, there’s also chest detailing, showing Logan in a brown turtle-neck.  I don’t recall him wearing it in the movie, but I could be wrong.  Regardless, it’s a nice touch.  Yukon Wolvie is rounded out with a pair of spare normal hands and a clear display stand.

NINJA YUKIO

Next up is Yukio, who fills a role that would conventionally be referred to as the “sidekick”,   but that doesn’t seem quite right for Yukio.  Were it not for the fact that the title of the film was “The Wolverine”  I feel like she’d fall more into the hero role.  Anyway, she’s depicted here in her “ninja” look, at least according to the package.  I’d personally describe it more as a formal look, since it’s what she wears during the funeral sequence.  It’s one of her two main looks from the movie, so it makes sense to see it here.  Like Wolverine, she’s built on the base Minimate body, and has the standard 2 ½ inces of height and 14 points of articulation.  As far as sculpted pieces, there’s her hair, her forearms, her skirt, and here boots.  The forearms are shared with Mariko from the specialty wave, the hair was previously used on the Amazing Spiderman Gwen Stacy, and the boots have seen numerous previous uses, including the Urban Yukio from the specialty wave.  Near as I can tell, the skirt is a new piece.  The paint is all fairly well done, though there is a bit of slop on the hair.  The likeness is better here than on the Urban Yukio I feel, but still a bit off.  Rila Fukushima, who plays Yukio in the film, has a very uniquely shaped face, which seems to be difficult to translate to the cylindrical Minimate head, so I think Diamond did a pretty good job.  Yukio is accessorized with a sword and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set was ordered online via tru.com.  Unlike Wolverine & Harada, I had no real issues acquiring this one, so that’s good.

I really like this set, it has a really unique Wolverine, and a very well done version of Yukio, who is one of the best characters in the movie.  While I don’t think either figure is going to be the definitive version of the character for me, it’s a really fun little set!