{"id":15446,"date":"2014-05-10T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2014-05-10T04:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/?p=15446"},"modified":"2025-05-04T02:37:54","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T06:37:54","slug":"minimate-mini-review-151-marvel-minimates-tru-series-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.oafe.net\/blog\/2014\/05\/minimate-mini-review-151-marvel-minimates-tru-series-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Minimate Mini-Review #151 - Marvel Minimates TRU Series 13"},"content":{"rendered":"

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#151 - Mirage\/Magma<\/h3>\n

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We've already reviewed this set once, on Twitter<\/a>. Now it's time to expand upon that.<\/p>\n

Recruited to the New Mutants by Professor X<\/a>, Dani Moonstar used her psychic powers to create illusions from people's memories, and later focused them into energy arrows.<\/i><\/p>\n

We may still be waiting for Hasbro to get their Mirage figure<\/a> out, but Art Asylum got this one into TRU two years ago. She's wearing the standard New Mutants uniform<\/a>, but has personalized it with buckskin boots and a shiny blue belt<\/a> (though she does also include a plain red belt, if you want her to look more like a member of the team. She gets a new hair piece, with two long braids<\/a>, and is armed with a bow and arrow<\/a> and, cleverly, an Asgardian spear<\/a> (since, in the comics, she eventually became a full-fledged valkyrie, with the winged horse and everything).<\/p>\n

New Mutant Amara Aquilla grew up in Nova Roma, a lost Roman city, and she discovered her ability to control molten rock and generate intense heat when she was thrown into a pit of lava.<\/i><\/p>\n

It's honestly a bit daft that this is the only action figure Magma has ever had. She's a nude girl made of fire - how is that not in every<\/b> X-Men<\/i> toyline ever made? The Minimate is cast from translucent yellow, and has thin orange lines painted all over her torso and limbs (which matches the way her powers were shown in the comics). She also comes with the \"flight hair\" originally seen with Nova<\/a>, but it doesn't plug into her anywhere; presumably, it's meant to represent an eruption she's caused. She also gets two \"energy fist\" pieces, to really flame her on.<\/p>\n

Between this set, the previous TRU exclusive<\/a>, and the box set<\/a>, Art Asylum has managed to give us the entire classic lineup of the New Mutants, and that's pretty impressive - especially since they're all designed so well!<\/p>\n

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#152 - Rictor\/Boomer<\/h3>\n

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We've already reviewed this set once, on Twitter<\/a>. Now it's time to expand upon that.<\/p>\n

Original X-Force and current X-Factor member Julio Richter possesses the mutant ability to unleash seismic energy, causing violent vibration and even earthquakes.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is Rictor's '90s costume, so he looks like a 1980s rock musician. His long brown hair is a new piece, and it effectively keeps his head from turning. He has a green headband painted on, and a green scarf that's part of his giant shoulder pads. Then there are short blue sleeves with green fringe, fingerless green gloves (with rolled cuffs), a black shirt with a big red X on the chest, a needlessly complex green belt, black pants with weird blue panels on the front of the thighs, and huge brown boots. What a mess!<\/p>\n

With the ability to create time bombs of exploding energy, Tabitha Smith has been recruited to several superhero teams, most prominently the mutant strike team X-Force.<\/i><\/p>\n

Boomer - whose first supranym was \"Boom-Boom,\" so this was a lateral move at best - is basically a white trash Jubilee. Not \"a white trash jubilee\" like the Gathering of the Juggalos, but like Jubilation Lee<\/a> from a trailer park. Except Boom-Boom's powers work better. Anyway, she's wearing a ghastly pink and yellow outfit with \"BOOMER\" down her left leg, huge shoulder pads, fancy gloves, and the same ornate belt Rictor was wearing. Her hair is new, with built-in goggles hiding her eyes<\/a> and \"explosion\" earrings. She gets two orange energy balls for her fists.<\/p>\n

While it may seem that this set adds two more mutants to the X-Force<\/a> team<\/a>, that's not quite true. These two are wearing their Greg Capullo-designed costumes, which means the only one who really goes with them is this Cable<\/a> - everyone else is in their Liefeld<\/a> outfits.<\/div>\n
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#153 - Spider-Sense Spider-Man\/First Appearance Punisher<\/h3>\n

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We've already reviewed this set once, on Twitter<\/a>. Now it's time to expand upon that.<\/p>\n

Of all the powers Peter Parker received from a radioactive spider bite, arguably the most useful is his spider-sense, which warns him of impending danger.<\/i><\/p>\n

Of all the costume changes Spider-Man has undergone over the years, arguably the most logical is removing the webs from his armpits. They were just stupid. This Minimate gets new upper arms with the webs molded on the back. But that's not what makes him worthwhile: like the \"Spider-Sense\" name would suggest, this Spidey has a piece that plugs into his head-hole to simulate the wavy lines artists always drew to show his spidey senses tingling. It's translucent yellow and sits horizontally over the top of the head. The blue sections of his body are painted with muscles, and he includes a webline.<\/p>\n

Dispensing his own brand of vigilante justice, Frank Castle is often at odds with costumed heroes, and even tried to eliminate Spider-Man in the early days of his career.<\/i><\/p>\n

There have been a few Punisher Minimates, but the \"old\" look sets him apart. He has the slick, '70s-style hair and the deep cheeks seen in his first appearance. His costume back then didn't look quite like we think of it, either: the skull was less stylized and covered his entire chest, and his boots and gloves (inside the book, at least), were blue. Or \"black,\" if that's what the colorist was going for. He's got a knife in the sheath on his left boot, a pistol with a silencer in the holster on his belt, and a rifle that's similar to the one he used in ASM<\/i> #129 - except that one had a flat magazine, not a round drum, and it was red instead of silver. Still, the idea is clear and the execution is good.<\/div>\n
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#154 - Daredevil\/Kingpin<\/h3>\n

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We've already reviewed this set once, on Twitter<\/a>. Now it's time to expand upon that.<\/p>\n

Young Matt Murdock was blinded as a child, but the substance that did it also enhanced his remaining senses. Now he practices law by day and fights crime by night.<\/i><\/p>\n

This figure is identical to the Series 43 Daredevil<\/a>. Not \"functionally identical,\" not \"mostly identical,\" really truly 100% identical. It's not often that Art Asylum does straight re-releases like this, but when they do, it's annoying<\/a>. I mean, this is a very nice Daredevil, with complex apps on the chest and legs, a nice unmasked Matt Murdock head<\/a>, and both his batons and his cane grappling hook as accessories, but I love Daredevil, and even I don't need two identical ones.<\/p>\n

At the height of his power, Wilson Fisk ran all the organized crime in New York City, a fact that often put him in the sights of several of the city's superheroes, including Daredevil.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is the first Kingpin Minimate we've had since Series 1, making him a much-needed update. This one adequately shows us his size, too, using not just a large chest cap, but also coverings on his upper arms and legs, \"boot\" pieces that extend his legs and put pantlegs wrinkling against his dress shoes, and \"gloves\" that give him bare hands and the sleeves of his jacket. He's bald, so his head doesn't have a hole in the top, and his face is painted to look fat. The tampo varies quite a bit in its up-down placement on the head, so you'll want to look before you buy to make sure you like the way it looks. He's armed with his diamond-headed cane, because that's all he needs.<\/div>\n
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