storm 1:08

Wave 35 will be a normal wave you can get at comic shops or wherever you get them. We don't know what the TRU wave will be yet. But based upon the TRU Wolverine Movie wave, it'll most likely be a mix of wave 35 with exclusives.

I wonder if DST thought of rereleasing that Gauntlet Tony Stark and Stealth Iron Man pack from the original wave and insert it into the upcoming TRU movie wave. That'd be nice! http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3191425 Boyd, TRU added 4 exclusive sets, not 2, in the Wolverine wave so there's possibly upwards of 23! Silverfox/Wolv, Agent Zero/Wolv, Final Battle Deadpool/Wolv, Gambit/Wolv The first Iron Man had 13 figures total, I think, but about 20 figures for the second movie? Even Spider-Man 3 waves had 14 figures. Heck will this even satisfy TBT's Iron Man armor love? Okay, probably not.

Dio, in the spirit of your post being in the "TRU sucks" thread, I edited it to be more appropriate. The one per case numbers may be greater than variants, but I have to say that the recent TRU one per casers are more interesting figures (Bullseye, Angel) than some of the recent regular wave variants (Ult. Spiderella, WWII Wolvie, 1st App Sabe, WWII Ult Cap, Spec Ops Sabe) . I’m not saying those are bad figures, but I would personally take the Bullseye and Angel over any two recent variants. Numbers-wise, it makes sense but nobody could accurately predict how hot those figures were. Chuck and Matt at SDCC recognized the one per case Bullseye situation but I can accept that maybe, just maybe, Angel was short-packed before DST fully realized the feedback/backlash from the community to alleviate it. I'm interested to see if there will be a one per case in the next wave. And not to point the pitchforks back to DST, but, as Chuck told me, they determine the case ratios, not TRU. Although I can imagine TRU could make some requests. I won’t envy DST’s short-packing decision to either make higher profile characters that will be sought after or a not so high profile characters (like UJ/WM) that might pegwarm. Now to add my personal “TRU sucks”, it’s basically that they aren’t ordering enough from DST to supply our multiverse-wide demand!

I think a lot of the points have already been mentioned. Those 5 bundled games you mentioned sounds like the Black Friday bundles (Mario and the Brain Teaser bundles) and those are from the DSi Store library which the DSlite can’t access. It is like the iTunes store (but much smaller) where you can buy casual games and apps that typically run from $2-$8. Currently, Amazon has those bundles cheaper than the price you listed, if we’re talking about the same thing. I vote for the DSi. My coworker has a daughter and he is planning to get her a DSlite, but one of the daughter’s friends just got a DSi and now she wants one too. Kids want the latest and greatest and it’ll save you hassle later if she bugs you for a DSi. And if this is your daughter’s first handheld, she probably won’t care too much about GBA games. I personally don't have a DSi since I don't see the price worth it for me to upgrade right now, but I can see the upgrades being fun for others. Either choice, I'm sure she will love the gift!

Well, it really isn't anything new to see. The design on the back of Spider-Girl is the same as the front of Spider-Girl. The only difference is that all the black lines are thinner in the back (well, on my figure). So you can have the chest piece backwards and not notice a thing. I'm guessing there was a slip during the final design submission or something and someone didn't notice that the black webs should be straighter. Or is her back not supposed to mirror her front design? I don't know the character's costume well enough...

Solid new upper arm sculpts on 90s Storm. And if you have Moonstone, then imagine the Moonstone shine on Storm. Absolutely beautiful. Well, I now have a reason to open Spider-Girl, to see if mine has been genetically altered too...

I'm glad I impulse bought this set now. This was going to be opened after I finished playing with the Marvel stuff, but now that plan is scrapped!

I wish my Black Panther had it's face painted on straight (or ears molded straight)... HoM Spidey has no peg on it's head so that may do okay instead. It's color is just a little more muted and not as bright as Insulated Spidey. And has anybody else figured out what "090918KK" stands for? It's been branded on every single minimate butt on these two waves. TRU waves didn't have them. Is this another crack the code game that DST is playing? (see GLantern's post of images earlier in the thread for the cow brandings)

Well, the *blank*-hole apparently was lucky and hasn't been hit by that bus yet since he struck again. Same TRU, but this time the victims were Molecule Man and Spider-Woman. All that was left was the empty box hanging on the peg. What a *blank*-hole.

I believe that the 4 per case slot should only belong to the exclusive sets and that should belong to all the Spider-Man/Wolverine/Iron Man/flavor of the month characters that sells. I'd accept the 3x slot too as an exclusive. The rest should be repacks/packaging variants. Something like: 4x HoM Spidey/updated Rhino (exclusive) 3x Iron Man/Swordsman (exclusive) 2x Armored Daredevil/Moon Knight (repack) 2x Deadpool/Old Man Logan (packaging variant) 1x Thanos/Captain Marvel (packaging variant)

As much as I love jumping through the hoops, I personally don't want these released until after Christmas. I'm sure DST and TRU want to hit the holiday buying season, but, me being selfish, I don't want to deal with that holiday insanity.

Thanks for the tips! I'm just hesitant to do any surgery yet. Maybe I'll try a test operation on a spare mate. Where's that Riot Spidey when you need it?

Anybody got the other X-Factor Angel that has two right arms? I got the one with two left arms. Looking to trade if anyone else is in a similar situation. DST can't help since it's a TRU exclusive and they don't have any spares.

I blame the Ultimatum Wave for the MIA minimates! There's no other logical explanation, right?

CSC not having wave 27, I can believe since it seems the west coast comic shops still seemingly haven't got them yet. I visited their physical store in the OC a little while ago and was rather surprised to not see too much minimate presence there as I thought it would have. A decent selection of only box sets of the past couple of years (Civil War, Invaders, Dark Avengers #2, BTTF, etc.) hanging on their pegs. Sorry to detract this thread into CSC commentary, but I also thought it was interesting that the store was voted best comic shop in 2008 in the area. http://myfoxla.cityvoter.com/winners/best-.../comics?place=1

Seems like there’s a lot of cautious groans towards this piece of news, but I am excited about the possibilities. Not really about all the obvious blatant crossovers, but of the exposure and financial backing that Marvel will now get. I do believe that Disney respects Marvel and this will be a synergy of two groups, much like Pixar. Of course, it's fun thinking up all the crazy meetings between different franchises. But the one crossover I am wishing for is Spidey & Mickey vs. Bats and Bugs (Batman & Bugs Bunny). The second wishful crossover I’m curious about is teenage Peter Parker in High School Musical. These team-ups are going to be fun!

Articulated Galactus and Sentinel. I don't care if it isn't in the correct size with respect to the others, I still want them. And don't forget the Spidey variant, the Amazing Bag-Man!

My comic shop called the Diamond rep (not DST but DCD, well not DC Direct but Diamond Comic Distributors) about not getting wave 27 and apparently the rep doesn't think that it shipped out to anybody at all, even though 28 is already out. Of course we all know that the eastern (and then some) folks of the US got them. So something happened out here in the western states but nobody knows what yet. Or those who do know are still trying to cover their tracks. My LCS will keep me posted on this minimates soap opera. Either way, I'll probably get it faster from Luke's Toy Store (shameless plug ). I was planning to get a 2nd full set anyway. If only there was some merc who happens to have a mouth that I could hire to get to the bottom of this...

My comic shop hasn't gotten wave 27 yet and is still not getting it this week. It is getting wave 28, though. Weird... Other than maxcarnage and I, any others having the same problem?

You are in the West Coast too, huh? So far, it doesn't seem like anyone here on the ol' Left Side of the US got any. I'm very perplexed how this happened. I'm not being impatient but more surprised. Either way, glad you guys are getting them and great pics so far! A very exciting wave!

Bizarro world. My LCS isn't getting them in this week either even though it's listed in Diamond's shipping list. Maybe this is an East Coast gets them first thing? Oh well. Hopefully next week.

A couple of more tidbits: Chuck did mention that he got a reaction earlier to the amount of minimates this year. The person said something like the best thing about minimates this year is that there are a lot of them. The worst thing about minimates this year is that there are a lot of them. Chuck didn’t know how to respond. He knows there are a lot and he did mention something interesting. Normally, the specialty market gets 2 waves at once. He was considering making it 1 wave at a time to help ease up on this flood. Not directly minimate related but I heard rumors that SDCC next year will have limited Preview Night passes. First 1300 or whatever to sign up for 4-day passes get into preview night. When I pre-registered, there were two 4-day options: one with preview night, one without preview night. Oh, and the 4-day prices were $100 at the show. Last year I paid $65 for the early price and it was, I think, $85 for the standard price. Chuck does like Spider-Man. He just is in favor of only comic book variants. That took me off guard until he pointed the rationale of Scuba Spidey. If Scuba Spidey appreared in a comic, it's a possibility. But the Scuba Spidey's we have seen in other action figure lines, well, we assume they aren't. Minimates still seem to be a small thing for TRU, from what I gather from Chuck. Yes, that rationale seems correct. The first part was mentioned by both Chuck and Matt. Second part wasn’t directly mentioned so I assume that is the case. Again, we don’t know the official numbers from the specialty market or TRUs order numbers so we don’t know how low below a common pack it is. Could be 90% of the specialty market common pack for all we know. Also, when wave 3 came out, there was also some wave 2 stuff restocked too. So my observation is that TRU is spreading them out and not putting them out all at once. AFX advertised as having 5 giveaways per day with 100 handouts each time. If they saved any, it probably wasn’t for the general population... I don't normally pay attention to release dates as things may change, but I don't remember anything off the top of my head that wasn't late 2009. I actually was surprised that DSTMatt was able to recite all the release dates for all the Marvel stuff in under 3 seconds.

Just read all posts in this thread and trying to help answer any outstanding questions. Plus some tidbits from my conversations with DSTMatt and DSTChuck. Sorry if my mind is a little foggy. Enjoy! That is the Black Panther's unmasked head. Though you all probably know by some of the images online now. Mohawk Storm was on/near the top of the DST poll, but it ranked pretty low on the TRU poll. Don't mean she won't be made. DST never said they won't be made if not in the box set. It literally was just who you want in the box set. I wasn't at the Minimates panel but when I was talking with Chuck earlier today, I could tell he was tired as hell. But I saw sudden bursts of energy here and there during our, I don't know how long, conversation. So I interpreted your statement as that he'd rather be in bed. Conversation tidbits: Matt is considering putting that First Appearance Angel as the regular figure in that series and the other Blue Angel as the chase instead. His reasoning is that First Appearance Angel will complete the AFX First Appearance (or whatever it's called) X-Men box set. Let DST know which Angel you want and why! When I was talking with Matt about the playset, he mentioned that the croc was from Battle Beasts, which flew right over my head since I had no idea what Battle Beasts are. I think he was looking at me closely to see my reaction to him saying that... Matt did mention the MSRP for the playset, but I hesistate to state it as fact since it was told to me on Wed and a lot of time has passed... Either $30 or $40, and includes the 2 exclusive figures. Please correct me if I am wrong. Please. The two new Wolverine Origins sets (Weapon XI/Wolverine, Gambit/Wolverine) will be joined by the 3 of the wave 1 figures. I only remembered the Sabretooth pack mentioned, but I doubt that the reissues matter much to most of us. TRU simply wanted a Wolverine Origins wave 2. And Gambit and Deadpool had to be made. Wolverine movie minimates won't take up precious pegs of the regular TRU waves since they technically should be placed in the Wolverine movie section. Still trying to get dedicated space for minimates in all TRUs so things could also get organized. Minimates are sometimes just placed wherever. TRU views minimates as an in-and-out product. They buy a certain amount, they sell out, they move on to the next wave. They could potentially reorder a previous wave, but that is very unlikely since they would have to order a certain amount again and that they probably won't sell as much the second time around. TRU could do a best of minimates wave if they wanted to where DST would cherry pick some of the best figures, but it didn't seem likely. The Heroes/Villains packs were to help fill that void. The reason for 5 different packs per TRU wave is to help move product. If minimates are to stay in TRU, they need to sell a certain percentage within a certain time to stay on the shelves. Yes, Chuck believes 5 packs per wave is a lot. But this was a business decision. There are 4 planned TRU waves this year. 4 locked for next year. However, TRU is asking for an additional 5th wave for this year. The TRU deal this time around has nothing to do with previous arrangements. The original 5 packs with mystery figure, the 4 packs with Astonishing X-Men, etc. The current people at TRU seem to favor 2-packs over 4-packs. Chuck thought the idea of the mystery figure in the original 5 packs were stupid. Same figure for all and it takes one person to post what it is online. And parents like to know what they are buying for their kids. Molecule Man had to be made just because he was a huge part of Secret Wars. The Molecule Man/Spider-Woman will join Angel/Thunderbird(or Warpath, I actually don't know) in a single TRU wave. And they will each be one per box. Straight from Matt's mouth. No kidding. He said that. Because we all love one per case! Yeah, he was joking the entire time. Bullseye/Moonstone. I think we all know the story by now, whether we like it or not. Still more made than the variants of the normal minimates waves. For the most part, TRU packs from now on will at least be 2 per case. (I think they may have noticed the quiet reaction to the 1 per case of Bullseye/Moonstone.) I thought it was funny that Chuck did acknowledge that we do sometimes have to contend with TRU employees and one time he asked for an employee to grab a case in the back so he could put it out on the pegs. I would love to meet Chuck at a TRU! Chuck confirmed that orders for the specialty market are falling. One of the probable causes is due to the recession. I mentioned those infamous translucent blue/red Spider-Man figures just because I don't want the idea to die. But Chuck came back saying that it was Digger's idea and he wanted Spider-Man to be in every wave. In every wave in the sense you'd get nonsensical Spider-Man variations like the Scuba Spidey. Chuck is against that idea and wants everything to be based on comics. In regards to Spider-Man, it doesn't seem like Chuck is in favor of the slip-on mask though another person in DST is. Same with the full-on slip-on mask (think original Bullseye mask with holes for eyes and the current Thunderbolts full-on slip-on Bullseye mask). However, slip-on masks allow them to redo certain figures (black Spidey). Glow-In-The-Dark Stay Puft/Venkman SDCC exclusive set was the surprise hit. Sold out again today. Chuck still not sure exactly why since minimates generally don't sell out like this. They still had lots of the Dark Avengers #2 set (Ares, etc.) and he thought those would do better than the GB 2-pack. I am not sure if this does mean the set is really sold out from DST or just sold out of whatever they brought in. A bloody minimate (ie bloody Moon Knight) would be a little hard to do because minimates are geared for kids. Battle-damaged is fine, but explicit blood is not. They only did it once with the Dead Six single pack chase. If done, will only be for the specialty market. Giant Stay Puft coin bank was the expected hit due to price point and recognition. Those are all the major points I remember right now. It was a pleasure talking with Chuck and Matt and is always one of my highlights every year. I would highly recommend chatting with them for a little bit about anything if any of you get the chance.

Thanks for the update & pics Ivan. I barely saw the new stuff on display yesterday before being swept away by security at the end of the night. And I guess I can hold off on AFX today.

Warning: The Entertainment Earth booth at SDCC will most likely have a horrible line if you just want the Dark Avengers #1 set. I heard from DSTMatt that they capped the line during preview night. I'm considering ordering it online or see if someone in front of the line will buy a few for me...