.

In order to rush out an easy exclusive, and to build on the Spider-Mania hitting around the world with the release of Spider-Man 3, DST decided to offer a Debut set of Spider-Man 3 Minimates. This set, which contains two figures due in this summer’s Spider-Man 3 waves (Marvel waves 17 and 18), was available at Wizard World events and also from DST’s online store. This set was very kindly sent to me by Amazing.JL. Thanks as always my friend.

Packaging

  The packaging is the usual Marvel Minimates box, in blue and black, reflecting the look of the multitude of Spider-Man 3 merchandise now available. The photos of the two Spider-Man figures are protos, as such they feature more detail than what is actually contained within, so if you were expecting black lines on the costume webbing then you may be disappointed. Each Spider-Man gets his own pic on the side of the box, and the back of the packaging lets people know that more Spidey 3 Minimates are on the way. Would have been nice to get some photos of these upcoming Minimates too.

The Figures

Spider-Man The first Minimate in this set is Spider-Man. Finally we get a Minimate of the fantastic movie costume! This is his iconic red and blue look from all 3 movies. DST have obviously listened to some of the complaints about recent Minimates releases. The one thing I have tended to highlight in the last few Marvel waves has been reduced detailing, usually on the sides of the Minimate, to reduce costs. On this release it seems as though DST have stopped that cost-cutting measure and loaded these figures up with detail! The costume is incredibly well done. The level of detail is incredible. The webbing goes all around the body of the figure, along the sides, and even on the hands and feet. This is truly a step up from recent releases and it’s so nice to see this figure being done right. The blue parts of the costume are detailed too, with a kind of chain-link effect which represents the texture of the costume from the movies. Again, this detailing is present wherever the blue sections are, making this Minimate really stand out from all the other versions of Spider-Man we have had. To my mind, it’s even better than the first Spider-Man way back in wave 2, which has remained one of my favourites for years.

Spidey doesn’t get any accessories. Some people may bemoan the lack of a webline, but I’d say that the level of detail is enough to cope with any disappointment in this area. Spidey does get C3 feet though, making him one of the few Spidey’s to do so in the Marvel waves. Overall, the detailing on this Minimate is superb, and with the Spider-Man 3 movie doing huge box office numbers it makes a fantastic teaser for the upcoming Spider-man 3 Minimates waves.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

Black-Suited Spider-Man No spoilers from me in this review, but by now most of you will know that Peter Parker wears a black version of his suit during Spider-Man 3. The last time the black suit was seen in Minimate form, it was very unwisely picked to be the chase figure in wave 2, meaning it became very highly sought-after. The costume is the same as the red and blue movie Spider-Man, with the same webbing and chainmail detailing. The main difference is, of course, the base colour, which is a very dark grey rather than black, compare the previous Black Spidey with this one. That’s black, this one… less so. The Spider logo is a bit bigger, with more pointed, longer legs on the spider. It’s also easier to see, especially on the back logo, which really pops due to the contrast.

Like the red and blue Spidey, Black Suited Spider-Man comes with no accessories, but does have C3 feet. Overall, this makes the previous Black Spidey look very dull indeed, but obviously the movie costume will always be more detailed than one inspired from the comics. Still, it’s great to see the black suit back, and certainly nice to see it again in Minimate form. This is a very good looking Minimate, packed with detail. I can’t decide which of the two I like better. Sometimes I’m all “that black suit is awesome!”, but we’ve had 2 other movies with the red and blue suit so it’s more familiar to me at the moment. I’ll just have to give it the same high score.

MMC Score – 9 out of 10

This set is a preview set for people who cannot wait to get movie versions of Spidey in their grubby little mitts. Both of these figures will be released exactly as they are here in Marvel Minimates waves 17 and 18, due in the summer. Annoyingly they won’t be packaged together either. All this set is is a taster for these waves and a great way to spread the Spidey 3 hype. Although I have given the individual Minimates high marks (because they are indeed excellently detailed and well worth adding to your collection) this set is skippable if you intend to buy the waves later. But hey, if you’re this far in to the Minimate addiction, I’m betting you have a few duplicate Spidey’s around the place already, and 2 more of this quality won’t hurt!

[starratingmulti id=”1″]

[starratingmulti id=”2″]