infallible

Heh, yeah, Wikipedia's great, but sometimes, you don't need to read 10 pages about Star Sapphire when you just want the basics.

Unless, of course, you put Jack Bauer's head on that uniform. Then he does the slaughtering.

Is it to match up with the DVD release? Or Halloween?

Hmm. I'd like to see modern Avengers from the current runs in New and Mighty. Great excuse to put out a new version of black-suit Spider-Man as well as Ms. Marvel, and Ares. A new-design Iron Man would also fit here as well as a decent Luke Cage (without the "gray hair" and fu-manchu). Round it out with Black Widow. Variant would also be easy as the blonde Widow (not that a "construction worker" Ares would be un-appreciated).

Not a variant. He was always going to come with the robe with the boxing gear underneath. Awesome looking all around. And both are this month, according to the post. Sweeeeet.

I think we all know that it's not going to be re-issued, but, for me, talking about "what if it were" is interesting. It's neat to see how other people come into things, even if I don't agree with their premises. To my fellow collectors, I wish you the best of luck getting a black Spidey. Hopefully, they'll release a modified version of it at some point in the future.

I'm getting them. Part of me thinks that they're kinda cool, even though the movie was pretty bad. The Mates themselves look good, but I can't say that I'm super excited about them. I sort of think of movies as alternate Marvel universes, like the Ultimate universe.

On the clouds of your imagination, just like LOTR wave 3, Street Fighter wave 2, and Buffy PALz season 3. I'm surprised this still comes up. It's been almost 3 years to the day since this movie came out. Now, I know that MiniMates are known for coming out well after a movie's been in theaters, but 3 years?

Aaaah, but there's the flaw in your argument. The reason the price is so high is because they are hard to find. Applying your logic, a gold Spidey is easy to get, if you offer up a cool million dollars for it. Black Spidey is a rare figure, and the prices on eBay demonstrate that because the rarity is reflected in the price. Shortages of supply raise the price. Why is it? Because there's huge demand for black Spidey. I consider myself a completist with superhero MiniMates, but even I have no desire for a gold or silver Spidey. But if I didn't have a black-suited Spider-Man, I'd surely want one bad. Prototypes, gold versions, and silver versions all appeal only to a very small subgroup of collectors. An outfit like the black suit appeals to a much much larger group of general comic fans that buy MiniMates. That's why this discussion only happens with black Spidey. And I have to whole-heartedly disagree with the following from Timbo: I don't find that at all. Personally, I find hunting down hard-to-find things to be annoying and detract from collecting. I enjoy getting new figures, and pre-order right away so I won't have to worry about hunting them down. For me, the owning is the fun part, not the finding. I've been buying these things since series 1, and I consider my collection complete. I've never felt this "wall" that you're talking about. If anything, knowing that I have everything gives me satisfaction, not boredom. It means that there's nothing left to concern myself with. Also, if "the hunt" is so much fun, why do you bother even preordering? But to bring it back around, I ask again: How do lower prices on the secondary market hurt anyone except scalpers? Also, who would a re-release hurt? It's my position that a re-release would not hurt anyone, and here's my reasoning. The entire population can be divided into three groups: If you already have a black Spider-Man, then you are not hurt. You already have it, and more on the market doesn't affect your possessions one way or the other. If you don't have a black Spider-Man, and want one, then you are not hurt. It's now much easier and cheaper to get one. If you don't have a black Spider-man, and don't want one, then you are not hurt. It doesn't matter to you anyway. The argument put forth against is generally the following from those that already have one: 'I'm upset because I paid $X for mine, and it is now available for only $Y." (where Y<X) I can't consider this a valid argument because at the time you purchased it, it was clearly worth $X to you. You voluntarily purchased the figure for $X. By this logic, the price for products should never go down. Though I'm making sure to put this in every post so that it's not overlooked: Because Diamond said that variants would never be re-released, i don't think a direct re-release of black Spidey should happen. That promise ought to be upheld.

Hit in the DPCI last night, and nothing there. This is here in Austin. Hopefully with that coming reset, we'll see these and the new 25 anniversary GI Joes.

I think it's been stated pretty well that buying toys as a long-term investment is not a good idea in today's market. The arguments already put forth are as good as anything I would have said, so I'm only going to say that I've seen the way it works first hand. 12 years ago, when Kenner released the new Star Wars toys, people picked them up like crazy because of how the vintage figures sold. Now, you can get those figures for less than their original retail price. You're never going to see the increase in value of toys like you did for vintage toys again. If you think that buying toys is an investment, you may as well just give that money to charity. At least then someone will benefit. I will, however, say that buyers like myself are not in the minority. How many folks here are hoarding their MiniMates to sell someday? Instead, how many here buy them because they like the property and think the design is unique? People that buy for investments don't rip open the package and start to customize them. They put them in little baggies in dark rooms, not on awesome displays in their bedrooms and living rooms. I have to reiterate, why is it bad for the prices on the secondary market to fall? Yes, it hurts a TINY minority of buyers that buy toys as "investments," but for the vast vast majority of buyers, it's a great boon. Variants are in greater supply and cheaper.

Super cool! I think I'm going to get two sets so I can display them in both of their looks. I love these zombies!

I have to ask why this is so bad. So the value of variants on the secondary market went down. Who cares except the scalpers? And no offense to any scalpers, but since when did we care about them anyway? Aren't lower prices and more availablity both good things? Who buys toys as an investment? Anyone that does needs to re-think their strategy. Frankly, if I were a Marvel Legends buyer, I'd be delighted that they re-released that variant. Even if I did pay $200 for my own unmasked Wolverine, it meant that future variants would now be cheaper. I still win. I purchased a 3.75" Expanded Universe Mara Jade off of eBay about 7 years ago. I had to pay a premium because it was no longer in stores and hard to find when it was. Should I be upset that Hasbro is releasing a new Mara Jade in a few weeks? Of course not. In the time between then and now, a whole new group of toy buyers has come along, and the new demand for Mara Jade is pretty high. Now, as I said before, Diamond made their promise not to re-release variants, so they shouldn't do it. But if they hadn't made that promise, then they absolutely should put it back out there. They could re-design it, or leave it as is, doesn't matter. If Diamond and Art Asylum could make a penny of profit off of a re-release, then they should do it. But I'll finish up by asking again, why is it so bad that the secondary market values of Marvel Legends variants went down?

Hmm...nothing immediately springs to mind for the MAX size. Certainly not like Galactus does for Marvel. I like what Heroclix did with the Sinestro construct, but I'm not sure something like that would be that great in Minimate form. Even when I think of stuff like Atom Smasher (which I'd love), I really think that the 3 inch size would work for that. If there were something between the 3 inch and MAX, then that would be even better. MAX just seems a bit too big even for those giant characters.

HOW FREAKING ADORABLE!!! Sometimes I get used to how cute and prosh MiniMates are, but waves like this remind me how unique and special and awesome they really are. Thanks again, AA, for designing these things and keeping with them! Thanks again, DST, for seeing their initial potential! Thanks again, DCD, for realizing how good these would be for the DCU!

Heh...I was going to post that with this set, I'm just a Black Bolt away from having all the Illuminati (a comic and concept that I just love).

Frak! Now I'll have to get two so I can make an Oracle.

Heh...I was just going to make another general post, but then you threw the debate-tactic gauntlet down of having to respond to everything. (Though I will cut them a bit to make the post shorter.) Well, I'll actually grant you this one. This is why I think it'll never get a direct re-release. And while I think it should for other reasons, because Diamond has said this, to go back on it would be a violation of trust. Believe me, I'm not one to advocate people getting something just because they can't afford it. However, this is different from the sports car analogy. The only reason that this is expensive is because of the limited supply. And unlike diamonds or sports cars, the limited supply isn't because of natural rarity or initial parts. However, I have to take issue with the root of your argument. Saying that saving makes you cherish it more isn't valid. If that were the case, then every MiniMate should be priced at $200. After all, if you have to save for it, then you'll cherish it more. The reason that the argument isn't valid is because the price is disproportionate to the value. No way would anyone pay $200 for a standard MiniMate, and at the same time, I don't think black Spider-Man is worth $50. In a case like this one, spending that money for it actually makes the purchase *less* satisfying. I don't think that we'll agree on this one. No way would I consider stealth Iron Man as popular or important as black Spider-Man. You said that version alwyas sells out, but that's because it's always a variant. So it's not a fair judge of popularity. I think to the more casual fan, the black suit is something that they'd recognize and remember Spider-Man wearing, but I don't think that's the case with stealth Iron Man. (I can include myself in that grouping; the Minimate Stealth IM was the first time I'd seen that outfit.) The reason this popularity matters is because you have a huge portion of potential collectors who will find this figure out of reach. It's one thing not to have black Elektra or unmasked Daredevil, but it's a different category not to have black Spidey. I realize why they did it so early. At the time it seemed like a perfect idea for a variant. However, in light of the success of the line, I think that it would be good to see this figure reach a broader audience. I actually agree with this one as well. I don't think that right now is the time for it to come out. With melee and the various SM3 versions, now's probably not the best time. I'm just talking about re-release in general. The likelihood of such a thing is pretty small, plus, it will only help a small number of people get them. Not nearly the large amount of folks that would like to have them. The argument that I have the biggest problem with is the people that say, "If they re-release it, my black Spidey will be less special." I see that as an irrationally selfish argument. Your Minimates are as special as you make them. Just because someone else has something doesn't mean that your thing is somehow worse. It's almost like saying that your stuff's value is solely based on how other people see it, and that it can only be worth something to you as long as other folks want it. Almost like pleasure from others' suffering. (I know that sounds dramatic, but you get my point.) As much as I like the original figure, because they've said that they won't re-release variants, I don't think they should do a direct re-release. However, I do think they should get some kind of non-BD version of this figure out there.

The likeness suffers because Sutherland has a more long, narrow head, and MiniMates, obviously, are pretty blocky. I think that when you look at the face itself, it matches, but the overall shape of the head doesn't help the likeness. I really think that once they're in hand, they'll look better becuase of the size. Pictures are all pretty close up.

Just to preface: I don't think that Diamond will be re-releasing the black-suit Spidey from wave 2. I just think it would be nice if they did. I mean, you don't have people asking for a re-issue of black Elektra from wave 1 because it doesn't really matter. And that's been the approach with all the chases except black Spidey (and maybe the Spider-Woman variant). Black Spidey is vastly different from all the other chases, and if I were getting in to 'Mates now, I'd feel a bit disillusioned and disappointed about it being so difficult to get that version of Spider-Man. If someone wants the "thrill" of hunting something down, then there are plenty of less-demanded variants out there. You can even get to that level of rarity with things like the Cylon Elf. But keeping that plain black Spider-Man as rare as it is makes it worse for people that weren't around waaay back in Wave 2. It's not about instant gratification, it's about meeting a real need of the market. Now, while I think a direct re-issue would be great (because that original design is so good), a modified release of black Spidey would also be great. Frankly, I'm surprised we haven't gotten that yet. Blue highlights or a modified chest symbol or something, but a non-BD version is something that really needs to get out there.

I have an original black suited Spider-Man. It's a beautiful figure, and I love it. This is exactly why it SHOULD be re-released. I've never understood the argument that limiting something makes it better. How is black suited Spider-Man any better if 2 people have it or 50,000 people have it? The figure itself is still great. If anything, it's better for more people to have it, that way more folks can love MiniMates. I understand that some people get upset because they might have paid a premium on the secondary market. Having said that, I don't think that should influence Diamond one way or the other. Diamond sells a product, and they don't control the secondary market. They can't look at the items that way because it hinders them from meeting the needs of the market and hurts profitability. And for those of you that got it on the secondary market, by paying that premium, you got to own the original one and got to enjoy it for that much longer than everyone else. It's one thing not to re-release DOFP Wolverine. There's no demand for that. But black-suited Spider-Man is hugely in demand. That's the costume currently in the comics. Leaving that out of the hands of most MiniMate customers, I feel, is a greater disservice to the community.

I was reading off the release timeline here on MMMV.

I was wondering this as well. Usually pictures are posted pretty quickly.

The first box set of Rocky 'Mates is scheduled to come out tomorrow. This should begin what's expected to be a pretty insane series of weeks of MiniMate releases. I have mine on preorder from Cornerstorecomics, so I'm really looking forward to getting these in and collapsing in a heap of MiniMate love by the beginning of August.

I'm operating under the assumption that once Transformers comes out, then that section can shrink a bit making room for our MiniMates. Hopefully that'll happen by the end of July. (July 2007: the months our wallets died)