Captain American Through the Ages TRU Exclusive Pack

[Nessex]

Although i reckon Hugo Weaving will be pretty awesome. Not sure if many people outside Australia will be familiar with him. He Played V in V for Vendetta. He was also Mitsy in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert - so he's capable of handling variety

Ya missed the two Weaving movies we westerners know the best:

He was Lord Elrond in The Lord of the Rings and he was Agent Smith in the Matrix. If I add his roles together I can see his Skull as Smith's menace with V's... bouncy deadliness, Elrond's ruthlessness, and a German accent.

Which is awesome.

Oh - of course! I guess Priscilla stands out in my mind as it's kind of the film that introduced him to overseas audiences. And i loved V. I think i must have pushed Matrix out of mind as the last two films left a bad taste in my mouth. mind you - i was about 18, so maybe i should give them another chance.

Anywho - I think Hugo could make a great RedSkull . . . I wonder what kind of Mini's we'll get come Cap A the movie?

Bakc on track - Vote Ice Cap, Vote Armour, Vote often.

[NorthRaider]

Vote Ice Cap, Vote Armour, Vote often.

In hindsight, is "Vote often" really even a good idea for this poll?

You know how these things usually go: First there's the election fraud, then there's the settlement on the new undiscovered planet, then there's the one year of relative idle peace, and then the Shockini invaders come out of nowhere and hold the whole Minimate Multiverse captive again, leaving only the small resistance movement of Wolverine minimates and space-borne Riot Spideys to clean up the mess while we resume our search for the elusive Planet Kang...

(Yeah, been watching the old Battlestar Galactica episodes again )

[TM2 Dinobot]

Um... what? 4 of those we've got already. That's one crummy pack that has at least 2-4 reissues in it. Seriously, WWII was in Invaders, Civil War was in, well, Civil War. US Agent we already have and how many dozen modern incarnations do we have? Seriously, this is borderline boring, insulting at the lack of promotion, and foolish considering how many SW 4 packs are clogging the shelves. I could understand this next year. Maybe. But now? Bad business decision.

NOW, that being said, allow me to gripe about them being reissued. I'm sick of DST re-releasing old hard-to-find minimates, skirting around the variant issues and generally slapping the collector's market with a fish across the face. I paid good hard money for some of these figures. New fans should have to do the same. release new costumes that no one has, or wait and pump out another inevitable Heroes set. But re-releasing Civil War expecially and US Agent to a lesser extent plays havoc with the markets and makes me mad.

Forgive me, but DST tends to bring out the Kauntian in me. If we've had to pay high prices for years, so should everyone else. The newer fans and fewer minimates necessitates that. But nooo, DST just goes and sticks it back out there.

Rassem frassum stupid kids and their toys...

[lastmaximal]

I'd wager we're getting the Suspended Animation, Armored, Rebirth and a random one from what's left. The first two are the only real new-parts ones [with a big impact for what minimal new parts will be needed] and the last one's a representation of the whole reason this set is being made. Out of the ones that are left to pick from I'd probably opt for a Civil War Cap, since USAgent is already done in pretty much that exact look and there's not enough about the WW2 Cap that interests me.

For Suspended Animation Cap I may put an Iceman in the ice block instead

Either way, between Wolverine and Cap, these "through the ages" sets really haven't measured up to the Iron Man one. I would've vastly preferred a current Steve Rogers costume or those Secret War duds.

Edited May 6, 2010 by lastmaximal

[battlecat]

I think i must have pushed Matrix out of mind as the last two films left a bad taste in my mouth. mind you - i was about 18, so maybe i should give them another chance.

Don't do it!!

[McDurg]

armored cap vote here

moc847

And so the Gods have smiled upon you!

Just wondering...but has ANYONE voted for Civil War Cap?? He's so petty. D:

[Pete]

I'm most impressed with the mask Civil War Cap is holding.

Also, i noticed that after you vote and see the thank you screen, Civil War Cap has a mask on, so i guess he'd come with both.

I can see the "mask in hand" become a regular thing with newer waves now.

I'd hazard a guess to say Spiderman will have one in the new wave Lizard.

[buttheadsmate]

TM2 Dinobot's last comment is typically 'TM2 Dinobot' in that it is unnervingly politically incorrect ....yet spot-on the money. I'm all for new versions of old characters but I really must question whether DST remember or even know what happened with the Invaders set & the Civil War set. The Invaders set is perhaps one of my favourite sets with 4 really impressive characters ...... I'm actually trying to stay neutral by saying 'impressive'....superb..... almost definitive. If you want a set they're ,inexplicably, about the same price they've always been ....see today's ebay. The Civil War set on the other hand sells for daft money & I've never figured out why but I always put it down to supposed rarity because the characters themselves aren't that memorable except for ....Cap. It sells for daft money now but I was personally left with an unwanted mountain of them years ago when I decided to become their UK mule for UK members .....never again! My point is with CW is that they hardly flew off the shelves. US agent is the third mooted re-incarnation . US agent was the PX exclusive that .....like most PX exclusives....sits happily on ebay & online waiting for the day when somebody decides that they're in short supply & buys the lot ....try 'Toymom'!

So.... DST are considering 3 Cap characters that surely everybody, that wanted them, has .... or if still needs them .....needs to get them on the secondary market. I concede that CW isn't the easiest to get hold of & if you're new to 'mates I'm sorry about that but that's the way it is with collecting.

I reckon DST would attract more interest with an 'Angel Through The Ages'......those boys actually sold real well the first time around.

vbpanizzi once said he'd "buy a turdmate" & so would I but the thought behind this set appears to be a tad constipated.

Edited May 6, 2010 by buttheadsmate

[MINI_MYTE]

Let's just all pray that which ever Caps get picked, that all their masks line up properly with their eyes this time around. Are you listenning DST?

[Dio]

Let's just all pray that which ever Caps get picked, that all their masks line up properly with their eyes this time around. Are you listenning DST?

lolno

[drgnrbrn316]

Dinobot did hint at a good point. The Secret Wars box set (the last fan-made box set) is peg warming at the TRUs that it showed up in, and it featured the 4 "most popular" characters from a choice of 10. This set would feature the 4 "most popular" costumes of 1 character from a choice of 6. If we can't sell a box set with 4 different characters, does a box set featuring 4 versions of 1 character (and most of these versions look almost the same) stand much of a chance.

I like the Through the Ages sets, I just don't know if this will do that well outside of a comic shop or as an event exclusive. Especially since we're taking the easy way out here by offering 4 repeats as part of the 6 options.

I'd wager that AA/DST are expecting Suspended Animation Cap and Armored Cap to make the cut, so they're hoping to cut costs by throwing a few reprints in. Makes sense from a business perspective, and it'll give the new fans a chance to snag some of the long lost ones, but it makes for one dull box set from an established collector's standpoint.

[pawcanada]

Unrelated: I'm a bit bummed to hear about the casting for the Cap Movie. Chris Evans doesn't strike me as the Captain! Although i reckon Hugo Weaving will be pretty awesome. Not sure if many people outside Australia will be familiar with him. He Played V in V for Vendetta. He was also Mitsy in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert - so he's capable of handling variety

I agree Chris seems like the worst choice. After his portral of Johnny I'd rather see him as Bucky, and even then he'd be too high spirited.

Personally I want to see Nathan Fillion, aka Mel from Firefly and Captain Hammer from Dr Horrible. Seriously, why has this guy NOT been cast as a hero yet?! I think he'd be perfect as Hal or Steve. Plus whenever Joss directs something, it seems Nathan automatically gets a role. With Joss directing Avenegrs, well, nuff said

[edge2100]

how many times are you allowed to vote?...ahem...multiple computers... oh right only once...building full of computers... vote, and vote often..sounds familiar doesn't it hahah---does anyone remember what point in time that specifically came from?

[Zombieboyfiend]

I've voted 5 times so far on one pc.

[TM2 Dinobot]

TM2 Dinobot's last comment is typically 'TM2 Dinobot' in that it is unnervingly politically incorrect ....yet spot-on the money.

You know, I try to play it cool, and I think I'm usually nice if nothing else, but I'm just not willing to pussy foot around most subjects. :/

The issue that bothers me more than feeling like I, an older fan, am being ignored in lieu of newer fans, is the timing. Cap is popular but has never been a super duper best seller. For him to hold up an entire box set on his own, with no other characters or villains, with at LEAST 1/2 of the set being reissues, they need to wait for his movie. I was at TRU yesterday, and they restocked on the SW set. While that made me happy, that meant there are now 2 dozen of those sets alone clogging the shelves. I know retail is hard to predict sometimes, but this needs some serious re-thinking IMHO.

[Chazwinski]

I already have several Caps that I'm happy with. Another pass for me to go with waves 35, 36 and possibly wave 37.

We need NEW characters or else I'm going to completely focus on the 3.75 " MU line which I also collect.

[stack32]

I paid good hard money for some of these figures. New fans should have to do the same.

Why?

I can understand people not being thrilled with the possible selections here, but every one is either a new costume or has a new feature (ice block, mask in hand, glove with peg hole) that makes it notably different from the 'mate(s) it would be updating. I'll be happy to pick it up whoever wins.

[Ivan]

All you guys that are voting multiple times, don't you realize you are actually hurting your cause more than helping it. Whoever is counting up the votes is certainly going to see 30 consecutive votes for Civil War Cap from the same IP address and suspect something fishy. If it were me, I'd remove all votes from that IP just to prevent you from having a voice in the poll.

Oh but you say, "I released my IP address and voted again with a new one." Well if you are smart enough to do that, certainly you've heard of cookies right? Toys R Us places several cookies on your machine whenever you visit they site. These cookies store your TRUID value which is a long identifier that links to your activity records in their database. They store everything about you in this database, any coupon you use, how long you look at a product, every click you make, what Minimate you voted for. All this data is linked to your unique TRUID. They know you're trying to subvert the system.

I hear you again, "I deleted all my cookies before renewing my IP and re-voting for that spiffy U.S. Agent redeco." Sure you've deleted the basic browser cookies, but did you get the Flash cookies? Any browser with the Flash plugin has the ability to store a different kind of cookie that your browser doesn't know about. You can't see them. You can't open the plugin's property page and simply click them away. TRU knows this and they are storing your TRUID there too. Buried deep within your browser's entrails, they hide. Don't tell me you don't have Flash installed, how can you look at all the kitten videos without it? Hmm?

Yet again you protest, "I voted at separate computers, there's no way those cookies can follow me." Separate computers is a good start, but I'll bet all those computers were on the same network. Little known fact about most network administrators is that they are quite paranoid. They've developed software that can identify people based on their typing patterns. The timings between key presses, the frequencies of word patterns can all be used to link you from one computer to the next. The software is amazingly accurate. Occasionally two people will be matched with the same typing patterns, but it's rare. Amazingly enough I was once matched to Yul Brynner, it was an honor.

Once more you retort, "Gotcha there, I was on a different network for each vote." "Silly voter," I respond. You are voting from computers you do not have control of. It's very easy for administrators of public-access computers to install small webcams in the monitors. These cameras record your eye movements. They can see how long you looked at a particular advertisement or whether your eyes lingered more on the Hollywood starlet in her micro-mini skirt or the lumbering, pretty-boy love interest beside her. This information is then sold to advertising companies and used to figure out how to make their ads more persuasive and targeted. It's very easy to add facial recognition software to keep track of a particular user over time. When this data is sent to the advertising companies they can match you regardless of what computer you used on which network.

Still you counter, "Ah, but I know about facial recognition software. I know that facial hair confuses it. My beard is mighty!" That is true, you have found the only fail point in this technological terror they've created. The scanners cannot reliable match an individual where hair covers more than 10% of their face. You may think you've succeeded, but the mighty corporations have a contingency plan.

There is a theme that is prevalent in current Western popular media that bearded individuals are not to be trusted. Bearded people aren't bad, they're just a little off and you should keep your distance. This is not an invention of Hollywood, it comes directly from the corporations. You are labeled as a subversive.

They will let you think you've won.

They will let you think you've beaten the system.

When the time is right, they will show you what they do to subversives.

[rx78jj]

I voted for the armored Captain America. The others are just rehashes of ones they already made. But the half frozen Cap is cool.

[TM2 Dinobot]

I paid good hard money for some of these figures. New fans should have to do the same.

Why?

I can understand people not being thrilled with the possible selections here, but every one is either a new costume or has a new feature (ice block, mask in hand, glove with peg hole) that makes it notably different from the 'mate(s) it would be updating. I'll be happy to pick it up whoever wins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qb0vquRcys

Same principle. I worked hard to get money to buy these when they first came out. I don't need them, I already have the. But how is it fair for someone else to just be able to waltz into a TRU and snag them when 4 years ago my LCS had never even heard of them?

Look, I'm not seriously pissy over this. I'm more or less playing Devil's Advocate. But there is an underlying tone of bitterness that develops the more DST jacks this fandom around.

[boyd]

They will let you think you've won.

They will let you think you've beaten the system.

When the time is right, they will show you what they do to subversives.

I would like to retract my previous vote and cast it for Ivan now. Partly out of respect for his post, partly out of fear of him thought process.

[Lobsterman]

Same principle. I worked hard to get money to buy these when they first came out. I don't need them, I already have the. But how is it fair for someone else to just be able to waltz into a TRU and snag them when 4 years ago my LCS had never even heard of them?

By that rationale, DST should have only made one wave of Minimates, then turned off the lights. Because it's not fair to the people who happened to stumble upon Minimates when nobody had heard of them to have to share with anyone else, ever.

I seriously don't know if you're just trying to get a rise out of people, or have a truly bizarre perception of "fairness."

[minimadman]

You know, I try to play it cool, and I think I'm usually nice if nothing else, but I'm just not willing to pussy foot around most subjects. :/

The issue that bothers me more than feeling like I, an older fan, am being ignored in lieu of newer fans, is the timing. Cap is popular but has never been a super duper best seller. For him to hold up an entire box set on his own, with no other characters or villains, with at LEAST 1/2 of the set being reissues, they need to wait for his movie. I was at TRU yesterday, and they restocked on the SW set. While that made me happy, that meant there are now 2 dozen of those sets alone clogging the shelves. I know retail is hard to predict sometimes, but this needs some serious re-thinking IMHO.

I hate to have to be the one to tell you this but DST isn't trying to get you into Minimates. They have you so they are doing things to attract newer fans. I think that the failure of the Secret Wars set lies in the fact that it's based on a story that's 20 years old and it was comprised of characters that, with the exception of yet another Spider-Man rehash and possibly DR.Doom, are fairly unrecognizable and unremarkable. The Secret Wars boxset should have been released the LCS route or as a con exclusive of some sort.

I paid good hard money for some of these figures. New fans should have to do the same.

Why?

Yes, Why? You have to understand that if people don't have the chance to get some of the harder to find characters for a reasonable price then they won't start collecting and if they don't start collecting how long do you think that the handful of people here can keep this line going? You act like DST is releasing new versions of every variant that has ever been created. They have release 6 of them out of 36 waves they that we have seen they have rereleased 6 figures, and that includes Movie Stealth Iron Man and Movie WW2 Wolverine which technically shouldn't count because they are based on the movie universe not the comic universe. I like that they are releasing updated versions of older characters. What does it matter if there is more than one version of black costume Spider-Man? Just because you paid more for something or you have had it longer does not entitle you to being the only one worthy of owning it.

[Trekker 42]

maybe i should give them another chance.

No you should not. You should not give Matrix 2 or matrix 3 another chance. Pretend they dropped off the map. Give the first another chance. But hte second and third don't exist. Got it?

[buttheadsmate]

I can only think of one 'hard to find Captain America' & that is the DVD Ultimate version & most people still have to ask "what is the difference etc.etc.". There are a lot of people who are 'precious' about their collections,me included, but I concede we should have upgrades ..................

...as long as you can perceive the upgrade.