Tag Archives: TRU Exclusive

#0311: Marvel’s Cyclops

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

MARVEL’S CYCLOPS

MARVEL LEGENDS INFINITE SERIES

CyclopsNow1

Ever since I first got into the marvelous mutants of the X-Men, I’ve been a pretty big fan of Cyclops. Well, the idea of Cyclops, I suppose. His powers are cool, and he’s been graced with some of the cooler costume designs in comics. In the 90s, every X-Man got a figure, and Cyclops even got several. They were of varying quality, but I had just about all of them, and I loved them all. When Marvel figures moved to the 6-inch scale with Marvel Legends, I patiently awaited that awesome figure that would live up to my expectations of good ol’ one-eye. Sadly, while Toybiz did eventually produce a Cyclops, it was far from what I’d hoped. Cyclops made a few more appearances in the Marvel Legends style, but none of them did much for me. I recently picked up my first Cyclops figure in what feels like forever, courtesy of Hasbro’s Marvel Legends Infinite Series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

CyclopsNowWilsonThis version of Cyclops was released in the recent X-Men themed series of Marvel Legends Infinite Series. The series is done to loosely tie-in with Days of Future Past, and it is exclusive to Toys R Us. Cyclops stands a little over 6 inches tall and features 32 points of articulation. He’s based on the character’s “Marvel Now!” look. Well, one of them anyway. There are currently two versions of Scott Summers running around the Marvel universe. This one’s the older one. He’s all surly. According to the back of the box, Scott has lost control of his powers. Well, more so than before, I guess. What that means design-wise is that instead of the traditional visor we’ve all grown accustomed to, Scott now has a big red “X” on his face. Yay comics! Cyclops is built on Hasbro’s new standard male buck, used on figures such as Boomerang and Zemo. It’s a pretty decent, medium-build type body that works for a lot of characters, so that’s cool. Scott also has a pair of fists stolen from the recent Nova figure, as well as an all-new head sculpt and belt add-on. The head is actually a very nice sculpt. The X-visor has been etched in place, and Scott’s been given a facial expression that befits his older, surlier self. The belt is a basic belt with pouches, but it’s well sculpted, so that’s cool. It’s generic enough that I could see Hasbro putting it to use elsewhere. The rest of Scott’s details are handled via paint. The figure is CyclopsNow2molded in black, with red, orange, and flesh-tone paint providing the various details. The paint is fairly cleanly applied, but it’s not perfect. The red lines on his costume are pretty good, but his visor’s a bit of a mess. It seems like the paint didn’t want to stay in the lines. In addition, the “x” on Scott’s belt is off center, once again failing to follow the sculpted line work. Still, this isn’t as bad as some Hasbro efforts, and the figure does end up looking better as a whole. Cyclops’s only accessory is the arm to this Series’ Build-A-Figure, Jubilee. I don’t know why, but for some reason this BaF figure piece seems more morbid tan previous ones.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In all honesty, I was not a fan of this Cyclops design when it was first revealed. But, as other artists (read: NOT Joe Quesada) started to draw it, I actually kind of warmed up to it a bit. It’s one of those rare modern costumes that doesn’t suffer from being too over-designed. So, when this series of Marvel Legends was announced, I was a little bit interested in the figure, but I wasn’t 100% sold.

The other day, I had a rough day at work, and decided to stop by my local TRU, just to see what they had. I found the remnants of a case of this series. All that was left were two Wolverines and this guy. In person, I was even more impressed with the costume’s design, and so I decided, what the heck, I’ll go for it. To be honest, he’s probably the best Marvel Legends version of Scott produced. Also, now I kinda want to finish Jubilee, but that means I’ll have to buy a Stryfe figure. I’m not sure I’m ready for that…

CyclopsNow3ALT

#0305: Yondu & Sakaar Trooper

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

YONDU & SAKAAR TROOPER

MARVEL MINIMATES

Sakaaran&Yondu1

Guardians of the Galaxy was an awesome movie. Minimates are one of the greatest toylines of all time. These are indisputable facts. Sorry if you disagree, but that’s just how it is. So, the combination of these two things can be nothing if not amazing!

The Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates are a subset of Diamond Select Toys’ flagship Marvel Minimates line. Their just starting to hit stores, starting with the Toys R Us assortment. Today, I’ll be looking at Yondu and the Sakaar Trooper.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Yondu and the Sakaar Trooper are the exclusive set from the TRU assortment of Guardians of the Galaxy Minimates. The Sakaar Trooper will also be packed with Nebula in Marvel Minimates Series 57, making Yondu the only true TRU exclusive.

YONDU

Sakaaran&YonduWilson2Yondu holds the honor of being the only of the original Guardians of the Galaxy to appear in the film. He also ended up being the character that had perhaps the most changes made to him. I guess the world just wasn’t ready for a blue-skined 30th century archer who sports a 2 foot red mohawk and spandex. And that’s a shame. The Minimate is of course based on the film version of the character. The figure is about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. He uses the standard Minimate body, with all new pieces for Yondu’s “mohawk” and scavenger jacket. Both pieces are well sculpted and look accurate to the source material. Perhaps the details on the jacket could be a bit sharper, but that feels a bit nit-picky. The painted details on Yondu are top-notch. Even with blue skin and red eyes, that’s definitely Michael Rooker’s face. Yondu’s uniform is also quite impressive. There’s tons of folds, straps, pouches and zippers present, which really helps the figure convey the “scavenger” look. The Mohawk piece is red, which isn’t quite right to the movie, where it was a silver piece that glowed red, but I actually prefer the red. Yondu’s only accessory is a clear display stand. It’s a little disappointing that he didn’t get any of his little console doodads, or at the very least his golden arrow, but I suppose the line has to be drawn somewhere.

SAKAAR TROOPER

Sakaaran&YonduWilson1The Sakaar are yet another alien race elevated to movie-dom thanks to Marvel Studios not having the rights to all the top-notch aliens.  They and the Chitari must just laugh it up every time the Skrulls and the Baddoon stop by! The Sakaar Trooper stands 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation. The Sakaar Trooper is built on the base Minimate body, with the addition of a newly sculpted helmet. The helmet is a decent piece. It has the look of a rough sculpt, but that’s pretty accurate to the look of the Sakaar from the movie. The rest of the figure’s details are handled via painted details. They’ve done a pretty great job of boiling down the rather complex Sakaar design into a basic set of painted details. Like Groot, the Sakaar Trooper features some rather extensive texture detailing that wraps around many of the surfaces. The Sakaar Trooper includes a blaster and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I purchased this set at the same time as yesterday’s Drax, Groot & Rocket. This being the exclusive set, it was the one I was actually looking for at TRU. Yondu’s a pretty cool ‘mate of a pretty cool character, so I’m glad to have gotten a hold of him. The Sakaar Trooper isn’t the most exciting Minimate, but he could be worse. Maybe he’ll be cooler when I have two of him…

#0204: New Mutants Magik & Warlock

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

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK & WARLOCK

MARVEL MINIMATES

Warlock&MagikWarlock&MagikAlt

Marvel! Minimates! Marvel! Minimates! Marvel Minimates! Yep, another Marvel Minimates review today. This time around, I’ll be taking a look at two of the New Mutants (well, technically three), an offshoot of the X-Men. The characters are Magik (or, “New Mutants Magik,” because branding) and a combo figure of Warlock and Cypher. If you’d like to know a little bit more about them, check out Magik’s backstory here, and Warlock and Cypher’s here.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This set was released as part of the 9th Toys R Us exclusive series of Marvel Minimates, and was released to coincide with Diamond’s New Mutants boxed set.

NEW MUTANTS MAGIK

Magik was one of the more prominent members of the team, and ended up being one of the few to move to the X-Men proper. She’s depicted here in her New Mutants uniform, so she fits in with the others. Magik is built on the standard Minimate body, which means she sports 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. She has a sculpted hairpiece and a shoulder pad. Both pieces are new to this figure and look spot on to her comicbook counterpart. The shoulder pad is a bit loose, but it looks good when it sits properly. She also features gloved right hand, which is a re-use. The paint work is a bit mixed. The detail lines are nice and clean, and I quite like her sly expression, but the base paint is a bit sloppy. Magik has two accessories: a fiery sword and a stand that replicates her teleportation abilities. They are both new pieces, and they are great additions to the figure.

WARLOCK

Now, the figure that is actually two figures in one. This figure not only represents shape-shifter Warlock, but also the team’s resident brainiac Cypher. It’s a nice idea, given the closeness of the characters and the fact that Cypher might not be the most exciting figure on his own.  Warlock/Cypher is built on the basic body, just like Magik. He features five newly sculpted add-ons: head/mask, gun arm, claw arm, torso, and left foot. Warlock had an always changing look in the comics, but these seem to do the job well enough. He also features a torso extender, which is reused from a modern Battlestar Galactica Cylon. The paint is similar to Magik, in that the detail lines are nice and clean, but some of the more base paint is a bit fuzzy around the edges. Still, the detail work is impressive, especially at this scale. Warlock includes a hairpiece, hands and feet to allow you to display the figure as Cypher, which is a really cool option.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set is actually one of the few TRU exclusives I didn’t have any trouble tracking down. Just found it in my local store one day. If I recall correctly, I was even asked what Minimates were by the woman standing behind me in line, which was cool. I really like this set, especially because it features my three favorite members of the New Mutants, especially Warlock. In a sad twist of fate, Warlock is actually one of the few Minimates I’ve ever lost, misplaced somewhere between my dorm room and home. I ended up having to get a replacement (for quite a mark-up) from Amazon. But, it was definitely worth it. I really like this set, even more than the boxed set it was meant to augment.

#0149: Winter Soldier – Agent of SHIELD & Hydra Elite

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

WINTER SOLDIER –AGENT OF SHIELD & HYDRA ELITE

MARVEL MINIMATES

Okay, so I may have lied about “new Minimates” reviews being done for a while.  Yeah, I was kinda at Toys R Us, and found the one set of figures from TRU wave 18 that I hadn’t found yet.  So, I’m reviewing those today.  It should be a quick review, as I already reviewed one, and the other is only a slight tweak on a figure I already looked at.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Winter Soldier and the Hydra Elite were released as part of the 18th Toys R Us exclusive wave of Marvel Minimates.

WINTER SOLDIER

So, after being turned into a Russian-Assassin, Bucky got better, and became an Agent of SHIELD.  So, he got a haircut and stuck a new bumper sticker on his robot arm.  Now he’s a hero!  Yay!  He’s pretty much the same figure as the last Winter Soldier I looked at.  The difference is that he’s got a different hairpiece, his uniform is a brighter blue, and instead of having a red star on the robot arm, he’s got a white star in a blue circle.  Everything, including the accessories and the detail lines is the same.  I can’t blame Diamond for taking advantage of the near identical looks.  They’re close enough to share parts, but just different enough to require separate figures, and there was demand for both versions.  I still prefer the other version a bit more, though I may swap the robot arms.

HYRDA ELITE

This figure is exactly the same as the Wave 54 Hydra Elite.  Exactly the same.  No minor differences or anything.  However, it is an army builder, so I doubt anyone will complain about it being more plentiful.  I certainly was glad to get another one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

So, this isn’t the most thrilling set if you’ve already got wave 54, but it’s a decent accent.  Plus, I got it for $3.98, so I’m pretty much just buying it to get another Hydra Elite.  Now I have 4!

#0139: Thor & Absorbing Man

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

THOR – MARVEL NOW & ABSORBING MAN

MARVEL MINIMATES

Okay, this should be the last of my “new Minimates” reviews for a little while.  I’m certain some of the older stuff will pop up on the random list of figures, but that’s different.  Anyway, it’s the other half of my review of the latest Toys R Us exclusive Marvel Minimates wave, this time featuring Thor and one of his old foes, the Absorbing Man.  For those of you who don’t know who that is: He’s a man who absorbs things.  There, you’re up to speed.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

These two were released as part of the 18th Toys R Us exclusive wave of the Marvel Minimates line.

THOR

First up, it’s Thor, the God of Thunder!  Thor is depicted here in his “Marvel Now!” look from the more recent selection of Marvel comics.  It’s not a big deviation from his usual looks, but it’s different enough to warrant a release.  Thor is built on the basic Minimate body, so he stands about 2 ½ inches tall and features 14 points of articulation.  Thor features 7 sculpted add-ons: helmet/hair, spiky bracelets, cape, belt/skirt, and boots.  The boots and cape are reused from the Marvel Vs Capcom 3 version of Thor and the bracelets come from that line’s version of Chun Li.  The helmet and belt/skirt are new to this figure and they appear to be accurate to Thor’s most recent design.  The belt has some really great texturing, and the helmet has some very cool etched lines.  The paint on Thor is pretty good.  There’s a little bit of slop here and there, particularly on his helmet, but all of the detail lines are nice and clean.  One area that does really bug me is the spikes on the bracelets.  The sliver is just haphazardly applied, and it makes him look rather sloppy.  Thor includes a spare set of arms detailed with chainmail sleves that match his legs, his trust hammer Mjolnir, and a clear display stand.

ABSORBING MAN

Absorbing Man is next up.  Absorbing man is often grouped as a Hulk villain, but he began his life as a Thor villain, so he makes sense here.  Curiously, his last Minimate was packed with Captain America, so I guess the Avengers just pass him around.  Absorbing Man’s been released in the Marvel Minimates line once before, but that was way back in wave 5 of the main line (Which just hit 54!), so the update is much appreciated.  The figure is built on the typical Minimate body, so he has the usual stats, though the sculpted add-ons can potentially bring his height up and his articulation down.  In the bulked up form (which I’m going with as default, since that’s how he’s packaged), he features 11 sculpted add-ons:  torso cover, two different sculpted hands, two different sculpted upper arm covers, a pelvis cover, a torso extender, thigh covers, and bulked up feet.  Let’s start with the reuse: the torso, pelvis, and upper leg covers are generic bulked-up pieces that have been used numerous times before; the feet originally appeared on Wave 44’s Smart Hulk; the right hand and upper arm came from the most recently released version of the Thing.  The left upper-arm is an all new piece, and isn’t a slip over, and the hand has been sculpted to match.  I think the idea is for them to look like tree bark, but I’m not 100% sure.  The paint is overall well applied, though the prison stripes can be a bit fuzzy in a few places, and there is the issue of the right arm still obviously being of a rocky texture even though it’s painted flesh tone.  I feel that a special mention needs to go to the head which really just looks like ol’ Crusher Creel to me.  Absorbing Man includes a spare set of arms, hands and feet to transform him back to normal, plus his old ball and chain, and a clear display stand.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

These two came from the same TRU trip as the last set, which means that I also scored them for $3.98.  Even at full price, I feel this set is a worthy purchase.  It’s not my favorite Thor, but it does round out the main Avengers in their Marvel Now! looks, and Absorbing Man is an amazing update on the previous figure.  At full price, I would have been content; at $4, these were a steal!

#0059: Rescue & Robot Hulk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

#0051: Wolverine & Yukio

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

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!