17.07
Marvel Minimates waves 17 and 18 feature characters from 2007’s summer blockbuster Spider-Man 3, sadly these Minimates were released too late to cash in on the hoopla from either the movie or DVD release. Here we have a pack containing the red and blue-outfitted Spider-Man and the New Goblin.
Packaging
All the Spider-Man 3 Minimates in both waves 17 and 18 share a common design theme. A warped, blue tinted New York Skyline with the figures superimposed in front. The side flaps feature larger pictures of the Minimates while the back has a nice big ‘family’ portrait along with a whole slew of trademark logos and legal indicia.
The Figures
Spider-Man (Spider-Man 3)
Well here he is again. Only this time in his movie duds. We first saw the movie version of Spidey in last years Wizard World LA teaser pack which featured movie versions of Spidey in both his red/blue costume and new black costume. That ‘mate absolutely wowed the fans. Unfortunately with the regular release DST appear to have tried to cut costs by not going with so much detail.
The weblines on the head are as neat as they were on the preview release. The eyepieces look a little bit asymmetric against the webbing though. It’s as if the eyes were applied just slightly too far to the right. It’s not really noticeable except under close inspection and it may well be that I just have a bit of a shonky ‘mate (again).
The costume is quite well done. The chainmail effect is present on the blue sections of the costume, though the red spider emblem on the black doesn’t appear to stand out too well against it. The webbing lines are nice and tidy on the chest and arms but are not so good on the legs. There’s a very noticeable area of blue inside the webbing lines on the back of the right foot and the same where the webbing meets the knees. There are no webbing lines on the feet however, and on the whole costume the weblines themselves appear to lack the ‘weight’ of the print on the preview Spider-Man ‘mate. A bit of a kick in the teeth for minimate fans that have stuck with DST through thick and thin.
Spider-Man has no accessories, not even a bit of web to swing on.
In conclusion, this Minimate is the teaser pack red Spidey’s poor country cousin.
MMC Score – 7 out of 10
New Goblin (Spider-Man 3)
Prior to the new film we knew that both Venom and Sandman were going to be featuring. Some fans complained that more than one villain would spoil the movie. This fan in particular was even more dismayed when he discovered that there was going to be three villains in Spider-Man 3. Funny then that the least heralded was probably the most interesting character.
New Goblin’s mask isn’t all that inspiring. Even an updated version of the Willem Dafoe Goblin’s mask would have been preferable to this drab tinted windscreen. Thankfully the mask/hairpiece (all in one) is removable and there’s a very recognisable likeness of James Franco lurking underneath. Bonus points to DST for including a spare hairpiece so we can have a Harry Osborn Minimate too.
New Goblin is tricked out with some nice pieces of costume design. He wears a thick all-in-one shoulder pad with an integral sword holster on the back. The left arm has what looks like a padded wriststrap while the right wrist sports three jagged blades (I’m sure all these weapons and things have proper names but I’m not a weapons geek.) Gobby’s left hand has an integral pumpkin bomb much like the Green Goblin and Hobgoblin sport but this is a new piece and reflects the movie styling. It’s a nod to good design that has worked in the past. The costume itself is very dark and drab green. There is some detailing of musculature to the chest but it kind of gets lost in all the business of the shoulder pads, double belts and other accoutrements . On the right leg there’s an attachment that looks as though it’s some kind of equipment pouch. At first I’d thought it was a holster for Gobby’s knife but sadly that’s not the case, it’s just there for decoration.
New Goblin accessory pieces include a sword, a short knife and an updated Goblin Glider. The glider has a very hand peg on it that’s designed for a C3 style foot to snap on to. Unfortunately the fit isn’t very snug and Gobby’s quite unstable on it. Nice idea, lousy execution.
In Conclusion: The WINNAH! My favourite of the two waves. It’s a great likeness of the actor and a good translation of the character.
MMC Score – 9 out of 10
Review and pictures by Rad Kerrigan
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