16.08
With no new Marvel releases so far this year Art Asylum teamed up with Marvel Animation, Toys R Us and K-Mart to package 3 different Marvel Minimates in with the release of the Ultimate Avengers 2 DVD.
Ultimate Avengers 2 is a feature-length cartoon movie based on the Ultimate universes’ Avengers. Iron Man or Captain America are the exclusives if you bought the set in Toys R Us. K-Mart got the Hulk. The three Minimates are supposed to be the same molds as their DST-wave counterparts, but it seems as though there are some minor changes.
Many thanks to Donny B (of Minimate Adventures fame) who got me this set, as well as the Iron Man set!
Packaging
The packaging lets you know very easily which Minimate you get. The top of the box is emblazoned with the Marvel Minimates logo and the Minimate sits in a small shelf with a window piece showing the top half of the figure. If this wasn’t enough, the bottom right has a sticker with the name of the exclusive figure on it. As packaging which is designed primarily for the DVD it is the size of a normal DVD case but a bit thicker. A very nice display piece but the box can be a tad fragile.
The picture below shows how the Minimate is held in place in the packaging. Unlike the Iron Man DVD Minimate, the Hulk is wrapped in a baggie, which is unsealed.
The Figure
Hulk
The Hulk was one of the first ever Marvel Minimates, appearing in wave 1 way back in 2003. There have been many changes to the Minimate body since then, let’s see if this Hulk has them.
So what changes does this Hulk have to the previously released one? Not many at all, sadly. Unlike the DVD Iron Man Minimate, this one has no really different paint apps. The eyes on this new one are barely there, but I think that’s a problem with my individual figure, as I can’t understand why they would make the eyes less defined. The muscle definition may be slightly darker, and on the back the definition itself is less crisp and clear than on the original, with thicker lines. Nothing to get excited about.
The copyright notice has been changed on this release from 2003 to 2006, and like Iron Man, the new Hulk has the “V” style torso plug instead of the hexagonal torso plug.
This Hulk comes with no accessories, but then the old Hulk had none originally. Also this would have been a great chance to do a C3-feet Hulk, but here he has the standard longer feet.
Overall, this is the weakest of the three exclusives if you are looking at it from a variant point of view, with the fewest changes to the original release. It’s definitely not a straight reissue as the copyright is different along with aspects of the body construction. If all you have nearby is a K-Mart and can’t get to TRU and you really want the DVD, then it’s an OK purchase, also if you haven’t managed to get hold of the original Hulk Minimate then this one will suffice. And the joints are much more sturdy than the wave 1 version, as the early waves suffered a bit from loose hand and feet sockets. However those of you who want to get just one DVD set with Minimate as a packaging variant, I’d certainly recommend the Iron Man set over this. I should be reviewing the Captain America exclusive set soon.
MMC Score – 4 out of 10
Review and pictures by Danny Mills
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