.

No change in the shape of the packaging since the last wave but it’s a lot brighter. Wave 19’s packaging shares the same dark blue/light blue colour scheme and features character art work behind the photographs of the Minimates. It seems a bit odd to me that the villain is featured first (on the left) of the packaging but at least Spidey is in the foreground.

The back of the box has a group shot of the characters in this wave as well as a nice big Minimates logo above them. My guess is a stab at fostering brand awareness, I’m all for it. The back also features the (by now) regular character bio’s so the casual punter who’s never heard of Mysterio at least has an idea that he’s a bad guy.

It’s always nice to see another character from Spidey’s rogues gallery captured in Minimate form and Mysterio is no exception. He’s one of Spidey’s earliest villains and while he’s never perhaps lived up to his potential he’s certainly given the wallcrawler a run for his money on occasion.

Can’t complain about the head, it looks just like Mysterio, though the mold line that runs around the head’s ‘equator’ is a bit irritating. This head is another one for the Minimate purists to complain about I suppose, seeing as it is a unique piece, but really, how else could Mysterio be done as a ‘mate? His fishbowl head is his most recognisable feature.

The cloak is an extremely nice piece. I’m very impressed with the many folds of fabric around Mysterio’s neck and shoulders and the gold clasps (at least I think they’re clasps?) stand out very well against the purple. Even more impressive is the pattern on the inside of the cloak, a very intricate motif of expanding circles that continue on the turned-in sections of the cloak, though sadly not on the out-turned section of the cloak at the figure’s right hand.

Mysterio’s costume is a simple green bodysuit with black gridlines. Once again I’m pleased to see a more simplified hint of chest musculature, though even what’s present does in my opinion spoil the chest as there’s just too much black line work going on. Mysterio’s costume is completed by grey gloves and boots. There’s some nice line work on the boots, and the cuffs on the gloves also deserve a mention as there’s a lot of detail been worked into them.

Mysterio has no accessories.

In conclusion: Excellent translation of a classic Spider-Man villain though not a standout visually.

MMC Score – 7 out of 10

Another wave, another Spidey… but wait, this one is actually quite cool, seeing as it’s based on ol’ Webhead’s initial appearance in the pages of Amazing Fantasy #15.

Probably the most noticeable difference between this and the modern Spider-Man can be found on the head. Check out the eyes. They’re actually of sensible proportions and while the shape of the eyes is broadly similar they’re nothing like the hyper-exaggerated lenses of, say, Ultimate Spider-Man or Todd Macfarlane’s version of the character. The weblines on the mask appear to be a brand new print. They’re tighter and the gridlines are more numerous than on wave 3 Spidey.

The spidey suit is very similar to its modern counterpart but again the weblines are tighter. It’s interesting to note the difference in the Spider symbol, it’s much higher up on the chest and the shape while obviously a stylised spider is very different to the current costume, it’s much wider and the legs are shorter. This difference in the symbols is repeated around the back of the costume, the red spider is smaller and has a head, as opposed to the simplified oval of the current costume, also the legs are shorter and have a much finer line. The other major difference between this and regular Spidey is the much darker colour scheme. The red on the body seems much darker while the blue areas are practically black. There are also slight highlights on the chest to hint at definition, and again on the upper legs. I’m really pleased DST took this direction as the hyper detailed musculature we’ve been seeing on some of our Minimate superheroes just wouldn’t suit this Spider-Man from a simpler age.

My one complaint about this Spidey is that the red hands, feet, and head, don’t match the red of the suit. Minor gripe, but one I wish DST would sort.

In conclusion: An extremely worthy Spider-Man variant.

Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan

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