Gillbob316

I keep praying Channing Tatum's Gambit never sees the light of day, but Fox seems hellbent on pushing it out.

I could see where we might get Franken-Castle or Danger someday. Honestly, my list would be most of what's in my signature... but... I truly believe... if this line lasts long enough... we could conceivably get them all... packed with another Wolverine (lol?) Tertiary X-Men are admittedly a slow trickle... but 1 or 2 continue to drop out every year or two...

So I don't normally read Spidey books, but my best friend is a huge Spidey fan, so I still absorb a lot of secondhand information from him, and I'm usually sort-of up on what's happening with Spidey through that absorption. That said, I'm no expert. That said I'm trying to learn more about the Black Iron Spider Armor, and I'm so freaking confused... because its history is closely tied to Miles... who... frankly creates confusion... Is this armor a 616 thing, or an Ultimate thing? The Marvel wiki says the Black Armor was donned villainously by Aaron Davis as a means of getting to Miles. Aaron Davis, I gather, is Miles' uncle, and the Ultimate Universe equivalent of The Prowler (who in 616, is Hobie Brown, who for all intents and purposes, is unrelated to this discussion)... every bit of info I can find on Aaron seems to indicate he's an Ultimate Universe created villain, and his point of origin is in the Ultimate Universe... and The Prowler is still Hobie in the main canon (and only ever was) Except for the fact that the Black Iron Spider stuff all seems to happen in the 616 canon? Aaron seems to acquire the armor from 616 characters, and it seems to allegedly be the same 616 Iron Spider Armor Peter once wore, modified by Ceres. Then as this evil black incarnation of Iron Spider, Aaron reformed the Sinister Six... but it seems the other 5 members of Aaron's Sinister 6 are the 616 versions of those characters, which makes me assume this also happened in the main canon... which makes me ASSUME this ALL must have happened in the main canon, and Aaron must be in the 616 reality now too (though his marvel wiki page doesn't make that at all clear, and tells his history as one narrative, with no mention at all of Secret Wars supplanting him in a new reality). The various wiki's I'm reading don't make it clear when all these things happened, and in which reality. I just assume... based on context clues... that the story of Miles and Aaron started in the ultimate universe, and at some point made the leap to the main universe... and... the wiki's gloss over that fact because it's confusing. From Miles' wiki, I gather that after Secret Wars, Miles and his friends and family were merged into the 616 canon as though they had been there all along. I assume that must also include Aaron (even though he doesn't seem to be a friend, or a welcome part of Miles' life, so I don't know why he should have been supplanted with him) As mentioned, Aaron's wiki doesn't make it at all clear that he started in the Ultimate Universe but is now seemingly in the main universe (if indeed that's the case), and just tells his history as one story. Which I think is what's leading to my confusion. It makes me totally unclear on which reality his history takes place at any given point. BUT I THINK... IF I'M PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER CORRECTLY... after Miles was supplanted into 616... Aaron (and various other secondary characters relevant only to Miles) came with... and their backstory is now treated as though it all took place in 616 canon (even though it started in the Ultimate canon)... and the Black Iron Spider Armor... is still the same 616 Iron Spider Armor... which was modified by Ceres and sold to Aaron AFTER he joined the main canon. And Aaron now operates in 616 as the evil Iron Spider. Conveniently allowing Hobie to continue to be The 616 Prowler unimpeded. Do I have all that right? Because it took a lot of doing. PS. Nevermind all that crap about Tony making more Iron Spider Armors and forming the Scarlet Spiders, because that makes things even more confusing. PS2. So which characters are AWARE they're in a new Reality? Does Miles know? (His wiki makes it sound like he knows). Do his family and friends know? Does Aaron know? Or do they all think they've been in 616 all along?

Getting a Maximum Carnage wave has made me want a Separation Anxiety wave all the more. Because the one Video Game was a sequel to the other Video game... the two share an unbreakable bond in the nostalgia center of my mind. (Even if Separation Anxiety had far less acclaim as a comic book story) I mean you could basically keep Venom, Spidey & Carnage the anchors, and just fill in the gaps with the 5 life foundation Symbiotes. Even if most of them are obscure, I can't imagine multi-colored Symbiotes are a hard sell with main characters supporting them. Very Toyetic. Spider-Man & Phage Venom & Agony Carnage & Lasher Riot & Scream Donezo! I put Phage with Spidey, because Phage is the ugliest, so I think he needs the biggest headliner. Agony's bright pink is a nice contrast to Venom's black (wheras it would clash with Carnage or Spidey's Red). Lasher got paired w/ Carnage by default. I think Riot & Scream would make for the best non-headliner pairing... because Riot can pass for a poor man's Venom, and Scream easily has the most exposure of the life foundation symbiotes, as the only one who survived. Not to mention being featured in a ride at Universal Studios. Mind you I don't WANT another Spidey, Venom & Carnage, but I accept them as a necessary evil. Alright Jambi. Grant my wish. Please.

Crap... now I wish I'd bought both sets in Northlake (Also my home town pjl80, small world). I could go back now... but I worry I'd just encounter the same. Still, might be worth a shot... If nothing else, glad I at least got myself a set. UPDATE: Just went back to Northlake. All four packs were still on the shelf. Tried to buy them. Rang up no-sale. (Mind you, this is the exact same store I bought a set at less than 24 hours ago). I brought out my receipt from last night, said I bought one identical set last night, and regretted not getting both, so I came back. Cashier called out a manager. Their theory was that maybe they'd been recalled for safety/choking issues (to explain why I'd been able to buy them last night, but couldn't now). I knew that wasn't the real explanation, but didn't say as much and played dumb. In any case, they wouldn't sell them to me. (Which is fair, they don't know the answer, for all they know I could be a corporate spy trying to get them to sell me a known choking hazard) They offered to take back the set I bought (again, thinking choking or saftety issue) and I thought "OH HELL NO!" but... just politely declined, haha. IN ANY EVENT... yep, this was definitely a mistake, and they have definitely caught it and fixed it. ZACH! YOU RATTED US OUT DIDN'T YOU!? (Only kidding, only kidding) I'm kicking the crap out of myself for not buying both sets.

As I've oft said... I'm one of the bigger X-Men fans around here (though I know we have a few)... and honest to god... I could care less about the Hellions. They kinda came and went before my time, and they're not an area I've ever really explored through back issues. Furthermore the bright pink unitard costumes aren't the most unique or striking thing I've ever seen. The ones I've heard of, I know better as members of New Mutants or X-Force and the like (most of whom have minimates)... the ones I haven't heard of are mostly obscure and/or dead characters I don't really want or need. I don't really know why we'd need New Mutants uniforms with swappable heads at this point either. Didn't we mostly already get those? I think a non-techno Cypher was about the only one we didn't get already. Now Generation X... interests me in a lot of ways. But I don't think they're one of the more particularly well remembered X-Teams. They were there for a while... they were never the most popular, or enduring X-Team... some of them have been killed off since, some have stuck around as secondary characters playing backup roles to bigger X-Teams. I don't see where they'd make a particularly exciting wave, and I don't figure they'll ever realistically get a wave, but as an X-Geek... I'd be happy to get them. Truth be told, I'd be more happy to get the surviving members in more current looks, than I would to get them in their original Red Uniforms. I'd rather have a Modern Chamber, a Modern Husk and a Modern M, that I could display amongst my other evergreen X-Men. I'd take Skin, Synch or Penance happily, but they'd be a secondary priority for me over the living members. I never had much use for Mondo, but I got into the book after he had already been revealed as an imposter/betrayer... so even though I then later read back issues... I've always sort of disconnected him from the team, in my mind. In any event, I don't think Gen X has the star power to ever support its own wave. When Emma Frost is your most noteworthy character in a wave, that's probably a problem. When Jubilee and Banshee are your second most noteworthy, that's an even bigger problem. The best I think we could ever hope for is to get the occasional intermittent Gen X'er packed in with a more popular X-Man. Which is why I hold out more hope for getting Chamber, Husk and M someday than I do the whole team.

Hey, I'm pretty sure at least... 3 of those Spider-Man Minimates were necessary, lol.

Was surprised to find upon opening her that Proxima's head is an entirely new sculpted piece. I was assuming it was a slipcover. You know... if you had told me a year ago that I'd own two Proxima Midnight minimates going into 2018... I'd have said, "Who the hell is Proxima Midnight?"

You know what, ya'll are right, my brain was... breaking these sets down incorrectly. For some reason I was forgetting that there were 2 Walgreens exclusives in both Black Panther and Ragnarok, and thinking there had only been one... but it's the other way around... TRU is the one who usually only has one. So in a backward way I was thinking only one of these would be Walgreens exclusive (Which isn't the case)

Found 2 full sets at the Northlake IL Walgreens. They weren't on the shelf, but an employee was wheeling out a cart full of unopened boxes to shelve in the easter aisle... low and behold, I gave it a once over glance and there it was in the middle, little brown box, "Marvel Minimates Infinity War" Bought one set and left the other. Go get'm Chicago locals. PS. Yes, they do ring up w/ the Buy 1 Get 1 50% off deal, as others have reported. Whole set was about $28 total (tax included) PS2. Considering Dr. Strange and Thor are labeled Walgreens Exclusive, but not listed as such on the insert, I'm guessing they're actually the shared exclusive between Walgreens and Toys R Us, per the last couple movies. And the Walgreens sticker will just change to a TRU sticker at the other store.

The fact that I've personally never seen Tony's drinking come up much in comics probably stems from the fact I don't really read Tony Specific comics. I read the big crossovers, and occasionally dabble in Avengers ensemble books, but I imagine his drinking probably comes up more in his own solo books, which deal with him personally (and his own personal issues). As I said, I know those comics exist, but I don't think I've personally ever encountered one in my reading, and it's not something that often seems to be a huge facet in those big crossover books featuring him which I do read. (Nor was it even a big enough facet to make the leap to the big screen in a meaningful way, beyond that one drunk party scene in Iron Man 2)

Yeah really. Hellpop, now I'm only teasing you... but I feel the need to point out... your entire first paragraph was to state that Hydro Man didn't need an update because he's a tertiary Spider-Man character who doesn't need an update because his biggest problem is a dated hairpiece, and then your entire second paragraph was to defend the idea of replacing Silver Sable, an arguably equally tertiary Spider-Man character whose biggest problem (by your own admission) is a dated hairpiece. Though I admittedly don't know where Hydro Man stands on the peg vs. no peg dilemma. I assume he has no peg though, because his hairpiece is one of the most prone to easily falling off in the history of this line, which is one of my biggest problems with it. It's second only to the original Unmasked Spider-Man's hair, imo Both of them are under-detailed by today's standards. I'd argue Sable's minimate even has more detailing overall than Hydromans, making her hold up better, but then, her costume merits more detailing overall than his, wheras Hydroman's is admittedly very simple. That said, that very simple nature also plays against him, as his legs look very plain, with no texture at all. He's borderline a blank minimate from the waist down. It's a weird thing, but older mates who use plain plastic somehow look cheaper to me than newer mates who use painted plastic. Couldn't tell you why. I went and looked at a few Marty McFly mates for a modern "Blue Jean" comparison, to try to figure it out, and it's not as if Marty's jeans have much more detail, they're also plain solid colors for the most part... other than being painted blue, rather than blue plastic... but somehow they still look better than Hydro Man's to me? I dunno. It's weird. Some of Marty's jeans do have cuffs painted on the ankles, I note. i think full painted mates somehow bring the decals out more... they look cleaner and brighter. Wheras details printed directly onto plastic get lost more (look fuzzier and darker). And this apply's to both Hydro Man's legs and torso. ANYWAY... quibbling over details aside... There's no denying at all Hydro Man, could benefit HUGELY from some new FX parts. Wheras Sable could easily be supplemented with the 1000's of guns we already have. He originally came with clear arms... and 2 of Ryu's Hadoukens for crap's sake (which he can't even stand up with)... one need only look to a newer Sandman minimate to see how vastly he could be improved. I'd argue the two are on even footing at the absolute least. Personal preference taken into account, I'd still rather have Hydro Man updated (though personal preference is personal preference) Don't get me wrong though, at the end of the day, I think they could both use the update. I'm not denying Sable looks dated, I'm just arguing that Hydro Man doesn't hold up to today's standards nearly as well as implied.

I'm fairly certain most other Male Marvel Heroes (If not all of them) have hit women at least once in their careers, most of the time in a Superheroic context, so we completely ignore it, but even some in entirely Non-Superheroic contexts. I have no specific examples to cite, but I’m 99% certain it’s happened in the last 60 years or so, at least a few times. The reason it sticks out with Hank as a defining character trait is because they MADE it stick out as a defining character trait. People remember it BECAUSE it was something he regretted and BECAUSE it was something he tried to atone for and BECAUSE it was something they continued to address after it happened. It wasn’t just an instance of “Spider-Man goes nutty, socks MJ and the story moves on without acknowledging it further” … the story deliberately acknowledged it further. And so it became a relatable instance of domestic abuse for a lot of readers, and thus, marred him for a lot of readers forever. Much like Tony Stark being a drunk… Fun Fact: I don’t think I’ve ever actually read a comic where Tony picked up a drink or had a drunk moment. I know they exist, but it’s certainly not an everyday part of his character most of the time. Yet it became one of those defining things that people associated with him forever. Because it was a real life, relatable issue that Marvel chose his character to draw a spotlight onto. Much like Pym and Domestic Abuse. Even though plenty of heroes have done just as bad, if not worse, in their time, it’s the fact that Marvel sets them up to be “The example” that… makes them continue to endure in people’s minds as “The example”

I won’t deny… that entry points are a thing. Because they are. What made it easier for me, in my late teens, to jump back into X-Men, was the “Black Leather” overhaul where Morrison & Casey took over (and meanwhile Claremont branched off into Xtreme X-Men, which was mostly unrelated, but functioned concurrently on its own.) I read all 3 and continued reading most X-Titles from there. It was a new relaunch for the line, and a good jumping on point. I will also acknowledge that lack of a proper entry point, could and did kill my interest when I was a kid. I remember trying to get into X-Men comics as a kid (being a big fan of the cartoon and all). The 90s. I bought an issue. Couldn’t tell you which one. That issue mostly featured Jean Grey walking around in civilian clothes, having long stints of dialogue with non-dynamic characters I didn’t recognize, about topics I wasn’t familiar with and couldn’t follow. I hated that comic book. It was completely inaccessible to me, as a kid, and I never should have bought it. I remember so few specifics about it because I absorbed that little of it. It was over my head, and not a good entry point at all. CONVERSELY… what was GREAT for me as a kid, was I found a reprint of Giant-Size X-Men #1. GREAT entry point. Colorful characters. Dynamic. Easy to follow. Easy to understand. Action packed. New story, new team. Introductions (not that I wasn’t familiar with most of these characters from the cartoon already, but still). Now the trouble here is, it was an entry point that predated present day by a few decades. But I did enjoy the hell out of it, and it encouraged me to read a lot of back issues and historical comics as a kid. Because they admittedly WERE easier to follow than… the mess that was modern day 90s comics. ANYWAY… those are some experiences I had getting INTO paper comics at various points in my life. What got me off paper comics, and I’m far from the first person to make this complaint, but it’s true nonetheless… was the never-ending torrent of big crossover events. Your House of M’s, Your Decimations, Your Sieges, Your World War Hulks, Your Planet Hulks, Your Civil Wars, etc. One after another. I love the X-Men. That said, they are an ensemble, a rather LARGE ensemble, and to know what’s going on with every X-Man you CAN NOT read just one book. As such I usually want to follow what’s going on with every given X-Man at any given time, and have to read about ½ a dozen titles, which is already a lot. THEN… Wolverine joins the Avengers. THEN they fight the Avengers. THEN Scarlet Witch wipes out the whole Universe. So I have to pick up a book here, a book there, that I originally had no interest in. Suddenly I’m following new Avengers, and even after the event is over, I want to keep reading it (despite the fact I don’t want to keep buying it)… not to mention all the tie-in limited and 1-Shots. Eventually I’m trying to juggle so many titles I’m buying more than I even CAN read, but I don’t realize it ‘til it’s too late. I’m spending $45 a week for a stack of books and only keeping up w/ 3 of them. Eventually it got too overwhelming and I just… stopped. *Shrug* It was too much. I realize Marvel WANTS to entice us to read and buy more books w/ crossovers… but… eventually they pushed too far and I was just done. It wasn’t a conscious decision. I didn’t do it in protest or to “vote with my dollar” … I just stopped caring. Stopped going to pickup my books on Wednesday. Stopped keeping up. It was too much work. What got me reading again… truthfully. Was Marvel Unlimited. I NEVER thought I’d be interested in a subscription based comic service, because once you stop paying, you own nothing. So. It felt like a ripoff. BUT… I eventually justified it by saying, “So you can do that for TV w/ Netflix, but you can’t w/ comics for this?” … and I’m glad I did, because I really do love it. So I don’t own anything. Big whoop. It’s WAY easier to keep up with titles. It’s still less money per month, than when I was paying for $45 worth of books per week. The database is huge, I’ve never not been able to find a book or story I wanted to read. You can sort titles by publication date, which makes them very easy to read “in order” even if you’re reading 10 titles simaeltaneously. And if I ever feel the urge to branch away from X-Men, off into Avengers or Spidey for a crossover, I don’t feel guilty or upset over it, because it costs me nothing extra. It’s just there. ALSO part of the subscription. And frankly, swiping a tablet to read is just way easier than fumbling with actual pages, I’ve come to learn. I’ve lost track of whatever my point was, haha. I DUNNO… I get entry points. I do think entry points are a good thing. However, I also think… consistency is a good thing, and Marvel at times goes too nuts with the rebrands, the rehashes, the crossovers, and the overhauls. To the point where it can get out of hand and overwhelm longtime readers, if they suddenly feel they have to... buy 5 new titles, just to follow the characters they were previously reading in 2 titles. I agree with the creation of entry points. I agree with occasional shaekups. But they don’t need to restart numbering every time they create a new entry point. Nor launch a torrent of new titles. They don’t need to relaunch the whole brand with a big event either. It’s… a fine line. I guess is my point.

I actually found a buttload of them at the Golf Mill toys r us yesterday. And didn't buy any (I'm not much for army building). Looks like they got a few cases of Black Panther in. And Marvel toys are buy 1 get 1 50% off this week. I kinda wish they had matching outfits... as for the moment... if you're a stickler for detail (and I am) you can really only army build with Nakia, leaving you... lots of excess Okoye. (But if you're not a stickler for detail, both work). That said, not that I blame Diamond or anything, it just is what it is. I might buy another 2, since they're on sale this week, but I can't see myself going beyond that. 3 Dora is plenty for me, haha.

Good idea right there. I'd honestly love to see some funky portal parts with half limbs sticking out of them to display him in lots of weird ways, but I'm guessing lots of custom one-off sculpting for him is unlikely. That said, the puck hand at least isn't a new piece.

Eh? The feel I get from the news/blurbs (as well as the artwork) is that it won't be a reboot, just a shakeup/relaunch. Less akin to "Ultimate Marvel" more akin to "Heroic Age" from a decade or so back. Which they've done before, to some extent. Some big shakeup event/rebranding that changes up teams and reshuffles titles. I can't think of a major marvel title that hasn't re-started its numbering at least once. The stupid thing is, once they get back to a major milestone like 500 issues or something, they usually switch back to the original numbering, which annoys the hell out of me. I don't hate that they switch back, I hate that they restart in the first place needlessly. To try to give people an entry point. but in the long run, it's stupid that there are... 20-40 issue blocks in the run of some titles where it's a different title, with different numbering, until eventually it isn't again. ANYWAY, I suspect that's all this is. Marvel (yet again) trying to give new readers an entry point. There will probably be lots of new #1's, some creative teams shuffled around, and Marvel well sell the idea hard that this is a good place to begin reading if you aren't already, to try to draw in casual readers who see Infinity War. But for mainstay readers... the stories will just... shift gears a bit and keep going as they always do. ANYWAY... Big shakeups usually means lots of new costumes for old mainstays, which is always good for minimates, lol. Beats getting old mainstays in the same costumes for the 18th time, haha...

It's my understanding that clear plastic can often be more brittle than opaque/solid colors. My Hydro Man is still fine, but I admittedly don't handle him with great frequency. The first Marvel Legends Iceman is also one I've heard is prone to frequent breakage (he has an infamous exploding crotch piece, that seems to come apart for lots of people eventually) I just want to say, as long as we're criticizing Hercules' Skirt, I have the same problem with the upcoming Uncanny Avengers Rogue we just saw the first pics of over the weekend. I don't like when they print belt details onto skirts, rather than sculpt them. Ends up looking cheap.

Speaking personally, from my point of view when I posted: All the most direly in need of an upgrade characters were listed within like... the first 10 posts. As I mentioned earlier, basically anyone from the first 20 waves who hasn't already had a re-do could verymuch use a re-do. I listed a few later figures who I freely admitted weren't desperately in need of an upgrade, but who could benefit from one all the same, for the sake of not being redundant and keeping the conversation interesting with new contributions. Sure, Polaris, Cloak and Dagger still hold up better than some mates, but ffs, do we need a thread where 35 people post "Firestar" in a row? Why do we need to pitch a fit? And for the record, no, I'm not posting characters I don't have, because I own this line in its entirety. There are no characters I don't have. So rest assured if it makes you feel better that every character I'd like to see upgraded is a character I'd like to see upgraded.

I wouldn't mind getting a costumed Hydro-Man, per say. And honestly, I could probably figure out how to quick-custom a Shirt and Jeans one fairly easily if I put my mind to it, since it's basically the easiest costume ever. That said, a big part of the motivation for me is I want to re-create the Sinister Syndicate team from the Spider-Man ride at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. As I mentioned in the Symbiote Thread, this is the same reason i really want a Scream Minimate, if we start dipping into tertiary Symbiote characters. And that said, the Hydro Man in the ride is the T-Shirt and Jeans version. So... *Shrug* I'd be happy to get a redo of that version. Either way, he's a minimate who could hugely benefit from some new effect parts, no matter which costume you put him in. You could cast half of Sandman's parts in clear blue plastic and use them for Hydro Man to great effect (as has been done in other toylines) I'm sure I could make the T-Shirt torso easily, but it's not having a "water legs" base that's the real trouble.

Sounds like Black Tom to me. Debuted in the 70's. Classic X-Men Villain. Never been a minimate. Related to Banshee. No movie appearances to my knowledge.

Honestly, I'd like a Panther Ritual Fight version of M'Baku more than both. Mostly just because I want the Ape Mask... to make him just a LITTLE bit closer to a comic book version. (Not that I wouldn't take T'Challa and Killmonger too)

I'm not complaining at all about Cloak and Dagger, as they were two characters I'd only just mentioned over in the "characters most in need of an update" thread as being fairly out of date and lacking in detail. And being that they've been X-Men for at least some tenure of their comic book lives, they feel A LITTLE bit like getting X-Men updates to me, which I always like. Haha. I honestly never read Maximum Carnage, but I did see all the tie-in merch, and play the genesis game, like every kid in the 90s, so I'm fairly familiar with this cast of characters in that respect alone. I don't know a whole hell of a lot about Shriek, Doppelganger and Demogoblin at the end of the day... but I do recognize them as the supporting Maximum Carnage cast, haha. And I'm happy to get 3 new Spidey Villains in one quick swoop. As re-releases go, I'm A-Okay with that Black Cat. We all know the first Black Cat minimate had problems, and I'm frankly not a fan of her modern costume, so the new one, while a decent minimate in and of itself, wasn't doing much for me. THIS is the Black Cat I've always wanted. That Venom is looking really weird at a glance, but we have enough decent Venom Minimates that they can afford to be weird with him once. Spidey & Carnage seem like nothing to write home about, comparable to past releases for the same characters, but at least with some new accessories to appreciate. But... then again, they're the anchors for this wave, and kinda needed to be in it. So. As per usual in the world of collecting minimates, alright, I get it. However... CHRIST does this make me want the Life Foundation Symbiotes. I know they're not part of Maximum Carnage, but being that the Separation Anxiety video game was a sequel to the Maximum Carnage videogame, they've been cemented together in the same legacy of Childhood Nostalgia, in my mind. Furthermore Marvel Legends has recently unveiled prototypes for upcoming Lasher and Scream figures, which has me salivating all the more. I have a lot of love for those five random throwaway Symbiotes, haha.

See... I know it's a silly bit of mental conditioning, and I fully admit its sillyness... But getting comic book Madame Masque confirmed has taken all the sting out of getting Animated Madame Masque for me... and only NOW can I appreciate animated Madame Masque for what she is and be okay with her. Now I've gone from being angry about her, to appreciating her for being a completely unique and different look for a character we now also have a classic minimate for. I've gone from, "This one Madame Masque sucks and I'm angry about it!" to "WOW! We're getting two very unique and different Madame Masques! Awesome!" It's a weird putting the cart before the horse bit of mental gymnastics... as a collector. It's like Animated Madame Masque was the Syrup, and Comic Madame Masque is the pancake. Syrup is fine, and we all like it... but if someone serves you a big bowl of syrup you're like, "I'm not eating this bowl of syrup, that's disgusting, what the hell's the matter with you?" and you're angry because you're left wanting for breakfast. But if someone gives you the pancake, suddenly you're happy to have the syrup, and you go, "Wow, syrup actually isn't bad at all when you serve it to me on top of a pancake." When we get Movie Blob years before we get Comic Blob. When we get "Fear Itself" Grey Gargoyle, but never get regular Grey Gargoyle. When Animated characters are released before comic book versions of those same characters, and they can't ever in 100 years ever pass for the comic book versions. It's a total bowl of Syrup scenario. It could be very good syrup... but sometimes you can't ever appreciate the syrup without the pancake.

Joyous News! (For Me, Not You)... I was under the impression one of my local go-to Toys R Us stores was closing in their upcoming purge, but it turns out it's not the one I thought it was, it's actually the nearby Babies R Us down the street that's closing. The Toys R Us is remaining. My friend just mistook the address, because they're literally right down the street from one another. So I'll continue to be able to search for Minimates on my way home from work. Praise Magneto!