19.08
Toys R Us have supported Minimates a lot throughout the last couple of years, and there was much fanfare around the Secret Wars boxset, mainly due to it being the subject of a couple of fan-polls for which 4 characters should be represented in it.
Packaging
This is the usual Marvel Minimates 4-pack packaging. The Secret Wars logo is on the bottom, leaving plenty of room for the windows to show off the Minimates. The Toys R Us exclusive seal is smack bang in the middle.
Each side of the box has the normal concept art faces, and the back has a Minimate-ised version of the Secret Wars #1 comic cover. Those covers are always a lovely touch, going back all the way to the Giant-Sized X-Men set. Bios for all 4 Minimates are also featured, very useful for a 25-year old storyline!
The Figures
Spider-Man (Symbiote Bond)
In comic terms, during the Secret Wars Spidey got his swanky new alien costume that hadn’t yet turned into Venom. We have plenty of Minimates that depict Spidey in his classic red and blue, and also several with him in the black suit. What was left for DST to shoe-horn in somewhere? That’s right, a Minimate where the red and blue outfit is being overtaken by the black costume of the symbiote.
As much as it pains me to say it, the work on this Minimate is actually very good. First, though, a complaint. The webbing is thick and black on the face and actually shows through the whites of the eyes on both sides of the face. Not a good look, which is a shame as the way the black suit is enveloping the side of the face is quite sinister.
The detailing on this Minimate is similar to the much reviled Peter Parker/Spider-Man Minimate from way back in series 2, in that there are two distinct halves. Here though, with the latest tampo technology, it’s handled so much better. The red and blue side is scuffed up, with tearing on it that’s more akin to the original Battle Damaged Spidey than the awful Riot Attack Spidey, and the way the black suit is coming across the chest is really cool.
The left arm is fully encased in the black suit but the left leg still has a red foot. Overall the way the bond is working is delightfully asymmetric and works to push this Minimate above the mundane.
Spidey comes with a slip-on mask, sadly it is all black rather than being enveloped.
In conclusion, this Minimate could have been absolutely horrible but the execution of it means it is merely non-essential.
MMC Score – 5 out of 10
Dr. Doom
Doctor Doom was a major player in the Secret Wars. This is the fourth version of him in Minimate form. He was in wave 5 (and also was the chase variant in that wave) as well as being released in the Marvel Villains boxset last year.
This is a more streamlined Doctor Doom than previous efforts. His big, bulky “cape and hood” combo has gone, leaving his head with a smaller hood. This one is good because it can move at the neck, not obscuring side-to-side head movement as with the previous versions. Doctor Doom has always been blessed with fantastic facial detailing and this Minimate is no different. This is another winner, especially as there’s just a sense of Victor being really cheesed off behind the mask.
Doom has a powerhouse chest piece which sadly eliminates any up and down motion in the head. It’s got some technoloical detailing on it, even on the back, which is sometimes left out. Remove this piece and the chest block remains green but has more detail on it, again, front and back. He also has a big crotch piece (is that what we’re calling them, it sounds off somehow) and a silver, uh, box thing strapped to his leg. I keep seeing it as a holster, but it’s not. Could be where he keeps his lunch money, I dunno.
Doctor Doom has no accessories.
In conclusion, this is a good update to the previous Doctor Doom figures, removing some of their flaws and adding a nice level of detail.
MMC Score – 7 out of 10
Beyonder
The Beyonder was the big bad for the Secret Wars series, a being so powerful that he could only be seen as energy. This is his look from Secret Wars 2: Electric Boogaloo. I kid, I kid. Secret Wars 2 wasn’t really called that, but this Minimate is disco-incarnate.
Not having read any of the original comic or its sequel means I have to judge the characters I don’t know on their merits as Minimates rather than anything else. I agree that the Beyonder should have been in the boxset as his status as the main villain demands it, but, really, this guy wouldn’t look out of place in a Saturday Night Fever boxset!
His black, shaggy hair is a reuse of one of the cowboys in the “Dollars” boxset, and his blank white eyes and stern expression give him a mean look. Sadly, this evaporates when you look at his costume. I know superheroes and villains aren’t always the snappiest dressers, but it must be hard to be taken seriously in a white jumpsuit. The jumpsuit is removable from the chest block, revealing a taut, defined physique, there is no detailing on the back though.
The Beyonder comes with 2 yellow energy (disco) balls which fit over his hands. Thse are reused from Dark Phoenix I believe.
In conclusion, wow. He may be a main character in the set but he’s just absolutely ridiculous to look at.
MMC Score – 5 out of 10
Photon
Photon, better known as Captain Marvel, was part of the Secret Wars but also helps fill out the ranks of the Avengers.
Photon’s face is well done, the white mask contrasting with the skin colour (and the afro hairpiece). There is just the right amount of detail for a female Minimate face. With an enigmatic smile on her lips and a glint in her eyes, she has an appealing expression.
The costume is pretty “old school”, being a monochrome white and black with a cape. The detailing on the chest block is quite simple and doesn’t have the layers seen on some of the later Minimates. The cape attaches over the neck peg and down her back, and flares out towards her hands. This can sometimes overbalance her though. This is not helped by the boots; done in the buccaneer style, they make her very easy to knock over. You have to get her “just right” or she’ll fall.
Photon comes with no accessories.
In conclusion, the character is OK but the execution of the cape, along with the boots, means she has trouble standing. A disappointment.
Overall Thoughts: Although I am not a completist now (it was a lot easier when there wasn’t the volume of stuff coming out) there are not many Minimate boxsets I regret picking up. However, this is one of them. With no real connection to the characters and only one of the four Minimates impressing me to any degree, I’d have to say this one is a pass, unless you’re a major fan of any of the characters.
MMC Score – 6 out of 10
Review and pictures by Danny Mills
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