.

The packaging is the now standard window box with control art below the windows which allow you to see the Minimates themselves. They also have mini-bios on the back which tells you a little about each character, something I always find useful. The silver “TRU exclusive” foil mark is also present.

Warren Worthington III, the Angel, was one of the founding members of the X-Men team lead by Charles Xavier. Angel quit when Magneto was running the show, starting the X-Factor team, a band of supposed mutant hunters who were secretly helping other mutants. Angel has appeared in Minimate form before, in wave 19, as Death Archangel and as that wave’s variant, Archangel. This figure is a repaint of the Angel Minimate who appeared in the SDCC 2009 exclusive boxset of the Champions.

Angel has a determined look on his face, the mouth open in an expression of concentration. He has a red headband thing that covers his head but lets his blonde hair peek out.

The costume is dominated by the big white “X” on the front of the torso, a style shared by the other members of X-Factor which unifies their outfits. I like the fact it continues onto the tops of his shoulders and down onto the pelvis piece. I also really appreciate the attention to detail with the lower part of the wing harness, as it’s painted in the same areas as the torso and pelvis to maintain the look. The paint overall is very crisp and clean, which is not always the case with white detailing. Another great touch is that when the wing harness is removed, the back of the torso block also features the “X”.

Of course, the real draw are the wings. These are more like angel’s wings, feathered rather than the harsh metal of Archangel’s wings. They look great, and attach in the same way as that figure. A harness clips on between the chest block, held on via the neck peg and the torso peg, and the wings attach to ball sockets, giving them plenty of movement and posability. Obviously the tooling for the wings is pretty unique to Angel, so they have squeezed out as many versions of him as they can – the Champions one, this one, and two in Marvel wave 32.

X-Factor Angel has no accessories.

In conclusion, this is a great addition to display with your X-Factor boxset, but there are other Angels out there with very similar looks. Technically though, this is a very well done Minimate.

MMC Score – 8 out of 10

Warpath is James Proudstar, brother to ill-fated X-Men member Thunderbird. Originally an X-Men enemy as part of Emma Frost’s Hellions, Proudstar eventually joined the X-Men as part of X-Force. As a lot of the earlier Minimates are getting newer versions done in the more modern Minimate style, I’m assuming we are getting Warpath in part to update the original Thunderbird.

Warpath has a large domino mask on his face. Combine that with his dark hair, and he gives off a bit of a Nightwing vibe. The grim, determined expression with its furrowed brow and harsh cheekbones does little to dispel this idea.

The detailing on this figure is OK, nothing too complex. The primary colours are maroon and dark blue and they are applied well with no areas for concern. Warpath has some solid muscular detail but it’s in keeping with the character. No detailing at all on his back though, which is a shame. That’s the kind of thing that separates the average Minimates from the good ones. The gold belt with the X symbol on is actually a separate piece, this surprised me at first as it’s incorporated so well into the costume.

Warpath comes with two knives. It’s nice for a Minimate like this to get something extra, especially as they look good for posing options.

In conclusion, Warpath isn’t a bad Minimate but doesn’t really stand out at all, he’s all a bit too plain. Much like the original Thunderbird, his inclusion in an exclusive set is probably for the best, as he isn’t a big enough name to get in a wave proper. 

Review and pictures by Danny Mills

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