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Note: This review mentions the 2021 series, “The Falcon and Winter Soldier,” but no spoilers for the show are written within.

In the second “The Falcon and Winter Soldier” set, we have some film adapted figures sporting some very comic book inspired looks. Yet again, we have a titular character paired with an antagonist, something that I’ve always found to be important. If a set were to give me two heroes, or possibly, two versions of the same character, I would have to go and find another set to give them a sparring partner. Fortunately, these FAWS sets give us a full conflict within each set.

The Packaging

The packaging is pretty standard for MCU related figures and is exactly the same as the other FAWS set besides the fact that Falcon and Zemo are on this one instead of Cap and the Winter Soldier. There’s still the large “A” on the front along with the new series’ logo featuring some blocky cut-outs of Cap’s shield. The Disney Plus symbol also resides on these sets exclusively for now. One oddity with the recent film based Minimates is the flat drawings of the figures on the back that boasts you should “collect them all” as opposed to the photos they previously used. This set can be found on the database here.

The Figures

Falcon

Sam Wilson has had three other MCU Minimate figures prior to this one but none have been as colorful or as sleek as this. The Falcon finally shows his classic colors in this costume as he has a vibrant red and white costume with black accents and silver blades on the wings. The white on his chest and shoulders is reminiscent of his comic book costumes and is something that’s been missing from his previous suits. The rest of the suit is also very realistic and similar to his other suits while still carrying some classic tones. The black additions within the red give a stealth tone to the figure as a whole.

The wings and pack are what make him the Falcon and they definitely make this figure as well. Both have incredible detailing and paint apps that fit with the figure’s aesthetic and are still sleek despite seeming bulky. The harness doesn’t affect mobility much and the wings are far back enough that they don’t either. The wings are static pieces that fit into slots on the sides of the pack, making for a single pose that is supposed to be possible. Fortunately, the space provided in these slots allow for some mobility. In Picture #1 at the top of this post, the wings are posed as they are intended, being fully inserted into the slots. In Picture #2, the first of the Falcon photos, they are inserted at a lower angle, giving more of a gliding look. In Picture #3, the photo directly above this text, the wings are actually upside down, giving yet another look for posing. These other display poses are somewhat delicate since the wings are not fully inserted into the slots, but for displaying purposes, it adds a whole new element to this figure.

The goggles are a great addition and have clear red lenses as usual. The face detailing works but there are better Anthony Mackie faces from the previous releases that could be swapped onto this figure. It’s wild to see his evolution from the clunky, grey suit in the 2014 release up to now but I’m glad we finally got to this point. Overall, he looks the part both as an adapted figure and as the Falcon from either the films or comics.

MMC Score — 8 out of 10

Baron Zemo

Despite being a primary villain in 2016’s “Captain America: Civil War,” Helmut Zemo never had a Minimate release of his MCU design. Fortunately, with his inclusion to FAWS, we not only got him, but we did so with an homage to his classic comic book getup. Zemo sports his classic purple mask, something that was missing desperately from Civil War. He also has a long trench coat with white furs on the collars, a matching purple undercoat and plain black pants. The figure is definitely a standout from the rest of the FAWS series being more civilian than the rest of them, that is, without the mask. The pants are not much to write home about since they are mostly black other than some minor belt detailing. The purple undershirt matches well with the mask and color scheme and adds another layer of detail under the trench coat. The coat affects mobility but I give that a pass since Zemo is more of an intellectual MCU villain, so there’s not much kicking or running for him to do. His head does have some decent mobility with it, even with the mask on. His face detailing depicts Daniel Brühl well along with a relatively new hairpiece.

I was glad to see that the mask wasn’t printed on as were the majority of previous Zemo figures so that we could kit bash a Civil War Zemo from this head and hairpiece. As for the mask, I couldn’t ask for more. Zemo has always been one of my favorite Marvel villains and this mask just couldn’t be better. On top of being a great depiction of the show’s mask, it also serves well as a comic book Zemo mask. The previous Zemo figure with a separate mask piece that wasn’t printed suffered from having a thick piece for the mask. Due to this and the eyeholes being so small, it was nigh impossible to see his eyes through the mask. This newer piece has no such issues as it’s a thinner piece with wide eye holes that looks just fantastic as a whole. Overall, I am glad we finally got this character and these accessories in such a great release.

MMC Score —  9 out of 10

Conclusion

This is just a fantastic set overall. Whether you collect comic book styled or film styled Marvel Minimates, these are for you. The slew of great accessories make these figures shine and make for great adaptations of both characters, however, I think a gun or two thrown in wouldn’t have hurt. There’s many great looks for characters in the FAWS series, but even though a few are missing from this wave, I’m glad that we ended up with these two specifically. They both, in their own ways, have been a long time coming.

Agree? Disagree? Why not vote for yourself below, or comment further over at the Minimate Multiverse MMC Review Forum.

Review and pictures by Dash Hauenstein.

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