lemonfreshviper22

Truly the Baroness is the character design that launched a thousand comic characters wearing "sexy" librarian glasses. I thought the game Black Cat looked more like Victoria Hand but since Hand's basically Baroness with highlights... As for the video game Scorpion, Gargan did have issues with his genetic alterations getting out of control in the 90's cartoon. I don't like the super mutated bit either (part of why I've ALWAYS hated the Man-Spider and basically never liked the 90's toon by extension) but I guess it's an quick way to get the character out there without having to involve JJJ going to Farley Stillwell. It does look a lot like an Arkham Asylum design but considering how crazy popular those games are, I can't really blame them. The toys of the Asylum/City designs have basically been keeping DC Direct afloat for the past year once they finally finished with the Blackest Night stuff. There are times watching Spider-Man 3 where I really believe that Raimi made a bad movie because they forced him to have Venom in it. I don't think he phoned it in, but instead made a decision to make the most actively bizarre and out-of-place film he could. It's a film with a budget of $258 million where the main character boogies down a city sidewalk while glaring at people and half the action in the climax is unseen so it can be described to us by an inexplicably British TV reporter. A reporter with incredible camera coverage as most of that action's in the dark. It's got it's good points, like Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen, but the whole thing ends up not being good enough to be a decent movie but not bad enough to be a truly awful one. Really, it's all over the place. That said, I like Spider-Man 2 the most even if they went back to the well of "MJ: KIDNAPPED!" by the end of it. Admittedly, Tobey did take off his mask a ton but that was back when studio execs thought that a character wearing a mask reduced the actor's viability as a star (they still kind of think that sometimes though I think they're turning around on it) and it does take me out of the movie sometimes. It got really redundant in the Raimi films, even if it was meant to fulfill a thematic point for the character; I know I ended up thinking "maybe Mary Jane would be kidnapped less if you weren't such a goof about your secret identity getting out by removing your mask every 3 minutes". I hope with Amazing Spider-Man they do the whole "love interest in peril" thing here and then move past it for the rest of the reboot. As for it being a reboot, I'm fine with starting over though nothing I've seen advertising ASM has really sold me on it yet. I hope this costume redesign is a one time thing though as it just seems unnecessarily complicated though I get it if they're doing it to try and establish this is a new set of movies. To be on topic, I picked up Captain Stacy/Vigilante Spidey and Gwen/Doc Connors earlier today; I'm very impressed with both sets especially from a QC standpoint. Comic Doc Connors is one new head and a generic lab coat away from happening plus, as a bonus, his chest block with the faint purple shirt might make for a decent Ruffalo Bruce Banner. Gwen needs some sort of award as she's finally surpassed MJ (after a years long tie) as the Spidey supporting cast member with most minimates; this one is especially nice with the extra outfit pieces making for great new civilian parts. The possibilities with Captain Stacy are great too and I've got my eye on movie Uncle Ben as a possible source for either comic Ben or George Stacy depending on how I divvy up his hairpiece and coat. Vigilante Spidey makes for an easy enough generic thug and his head block could make for one crazy abstract 7-up "Cool Spot" minimate. I'm loving the heavy dose of civilian and police parts we're getting here as, even if I don't end up liking the movie, I'll have some fun with this set. Stacy and the police officers are outstanding by themselves and the number of new jackets etc. used here makes this whole wave a winner in my mind.

Psylocke has the greatest agent of all time as I really can't think of a single standard 616 look she's had that's gone unmade. She's technically beating Rogue at the moment depending on how you want to count the original Rogue 'mate, Legacy and AoA versions for canon looks. Either way, she's outdoing Gambit no matter how you choose to count him, though he's basically only had one look ever. This was the easiest first choice I've ever had; I've been waiting 50 waves for Zemo and here he is at last so there was no way I'd not pick him. Make it happen guys. My second pick took some thinking as I was torn between what'd make a unique minimate and which ones were characters I actually really want more than the others. I'm happy for the people who want Vengeance, as there's a dearth of Ghost Rider related characters, but I've never read anything with him in it to endear me to a design I kind of find a little too 90's. Still, good for GR villains being on the table, somehow, somewhere. Admittedly I'm bamboozled how people could call Songbird obscure when Vengeance probably has half the appearances she's had though. Apocalypse having a redo seems like a decent idea though I'm fine with the one we've got right now. I wouldn't protest if this happened in a later wave, possibly with a more modern Cable, but not at the expense of other X baddies who haven't gotten their shot yet. Onslaught would make for a cool minimate and I'm glad that we're looking at the phase I version and not the Onslaught: Marvel Universe look that made it into Marvel Legends. People may hate the story but it's not beyond terrible in the way some other crossovers I know of that are actually liked. As for relevance creeping away from him, Nimrod was made and I can't remember if he's appeared anywhere since becoming Bastion. It's cool to see that DST is ready to tackle Mojo if he makes it but I'm more interested in seeing how he'd be done than I am invested in actually getting the character. I really think if you're an X-villain that appeared on the 90's cartoon or at least featured in a short storyline centered around fighting just you, than you're probably in at some point; because of that, I'm in no rush as Mojo seems more likely than Gladiator even though the latter's probably appeared more overall. Strucker's a big want for me but something was holding me back. I'm not sure what but I hope he gets represented enough that he isn't swept under the rug quite yet. He'd be a natural fit for a possible SHIELD based wave if that happens to celebrate the possibly-in-the-works Nick Fury movie. Hulk needs bad guys and Abomination could use a second pass since the previous version is officially dinky next to the recent Hulk's we've gotten. I don't want him at the expense of an unmade character though and Hulk's reignited popularity from The Avengers makes a possible wave based around him likely in the next year or two that could easily include Abomination (even if he's a variant). If he does make it in though: an extra melty head would be fun. I eventually ended up picking Wrecker since it's time to get that ball rolling already. He may be a little basic, and there's no promise we'll get the rest of the crew anytime soon, but even if he doesn't make it I want DST to know there's interest in him and his cohorts. Besides, Wrecker was around for almost a decade before the rest of the crew popped up and we're sadly lacking in Thor villains, even the more recognizable ones. I hope that a new Absorbing Man with interchangeable pieces is on the table soon since I think he's more in need of a second pass than Apocalypse. The old one still holds up though his non-pegged feet kind of date him and he'd be a fun character to experiment with multiple parts. Besides all that, he fills in a valuable qualifier for both Hulk and Thor villains... Another great week from a great poll! Honestly, I hope the army builders can catch my attention enough to make me want to forget about a 2nd (or 3rd) choice from the supporting/villain categories. As much as I'd like a Mandroid and whatnot, I'm more patient for troops than I am for unique characters.

I was a little crestfallen heraing it was an AvX set but once I actually heard who was in it, and saw them, I felt much better. I've wanted updates on both modern and Claremont era Cylcops for a while and Emma's always welcome since she hasn't had a comic based version in at least 3 years. I don't know how I feel about Colossonaut from a story standpoint but the minimate looks great! I trust in Kieron Gillen that it's at least a decent story (he's been doing some great stuff in Journey into Mystery) so It's cool to see it here, especially since this also works as a set for the current team in Uncanny. I don't know how different Magik is in the current title but take MvC Storm and Magneto then we're only a X-Namor and Danger away from it. Hope looks great and both her and Emma's capes look like standout new pieces. Can't wait for the tray pics! I'm glad for the Battlebeast pack as it gives a chance to grab Vorin without paying crazy prices for him. Zik looks a little odd but I blame that on the photoshopping of the pic and the fact I'm only seeing this on my iPad. He's definitely unique though and I think he'll probably improve greatly in my mind when I actually have one. I wasn't a huge fan of the Theater Ghost until I had one either. The ASM pack is ok but it's a good chance to get casual eyes on the line while still having a unique look. Plus, you can have sewer hands and feet for any minimate now! I'm still not sure the movie won't be a hot mess but the minimates for it have been a bonanza of new parts and looks so I've got no problem with it. I actually like the Walking Dead pack the most next to AvX; Rick looks great and the zombie has a fun look, particuarly the sandals. I don't mind the zombies lacking really extreme looks every time as I'll probably display them as a big horde where most of the lower leg details and such are obscured. I had forgotten Rick had to crossdraw for a while and it's cool this mate reflects. Any idea on if it'll include accessories, even if it's just an extra unmangled arm?

Yeah, about that: And that right there is why I voted for her the instant this went up. This could be one of the (very?) few teams actually completed outside of FF and GSXM. I never noticed how they shunted Songbird to the background, as if to say "yeah, she's still in the book... We needed SOME connection to keep the old readers on". That said, Songbird completes my desire to have Songbird as well! What do the characters in Winter Soldier call Bucky anyway? I'm sure Fury and Natasha use "James" but since the rest of the MU thinks he's dead, I'm not sure. What's Doom call him? I know he's been in the book

I think everyone's torn on this poll in some way but that didn't stop me from voting for Songbird the instant I saw her. The only thing I'm really confused about is all this talk about "completing the Thunderbolts"... sure Songbird would finish off the Ellis-Bolts, the post-Civil War shakeup that got me to drop a book that'd been on my pull list for years, but there's still plenty to draw from. I don't think we're going to be seeing Troll from the current title anytime soon, but there's always Mr. Hyde, right? For all the people lamenting the lack of people for Gladiator to hang out with, you can always put him with Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill to form part of the Annihilators! Honestly, I think I'd be more depressed if they made more of the Imperial Guard to go with him as it'd be a reminder that every incarnation of the Legion in toy form has never stuck to one scale and there's no minimates for them coming soon. All that aside, he got my vote just because Gladiator's awesome and I'm hoping Vulcan shows up in the villains poll. I dig all these choices except Commander Rogers who really is a prominent character masquerading as a support hero. Still, we got Ironman 2020 in the last poll who was an obscure villain masquerading as an A-list variant so I think Zach's been more than fair (and definitely clever) on our behalf. That said, I like the Super Soldier costume OK but have always been puzzled at comments like it being the best designed superhero costume of the past 20 years and whatnot It was tough picking among the other characters but Gladiator edged out Dane as, by the time this wave is released, there'll have been a substantial gap in any cosmic characters (unless some pop up in wave 48 or whatever). I think Dane's a strong contender for a future Avengers wave (I, as always, recommend one based Under Siege the way that wave 43 was based on The Death of Jean DeWolff) though if the variant was the Nathanial Garrett Black Knight, I'd be there in a heartbeat, lack of Aragorn or Atomic Steed aside. Breaks my heart not picking Banshee either but I hold out hope that we'll get Cockrum/Byne X-men as a wave in the future that'll get us Sunfire and updates for Thunderbird and 1st App Storm. Though if Black Tom's on the villains list I'll feel like a total schmuck. Falcon would have been a tough choice for me had it not been the modern look. That made it an easier choice and not just because it reminds me of the disaster of the switched parts between the classic and modern versions of the Marvel Legends Falcon. Fun fact: Zemo's in the villain poll next week, and he MUST be as he's the one horse I HAVE to see win in this race, that'll be 3 characters from Marvel Legends wave 14! I'm not much of a Luke Cage guy but I can respect him for possibly being the one time Bendis pushed a character and had it not be wearisome. Plus, he does need an update something fierce. This isn't my preferred look for him, but it is the closest he's had a real costume/uniform in ages. If it's the look his voters want though, that's awesome. Really the only thing that puzzles me on this part of the poll is Winter Soldier as I wonder "Winter Soldier" is almost a better known name for Bucky than... Bucky. The clerk in a manga shop I visited in Paris today certainly knew him more by that name when he asked me about Brubaker comics. I guess it's kind of how people know Phoenix mostly as the Dark Phoenix because that's the name of the best known arc with the character. Maybe I'm crazy though. Great choices though Zach! The fact that it was so hard to choose is the sign of a great poll and I'm glad so many of everyone's choice have appeared. That said, don't listen to anyone about the Thunderbolts being "complete" if you only make Songbird

For sure! I don't know why Larsen likes cyborgs so much but they're fine by me. I'm a big fan of Gru and of his run on Cap but man oh man... Cap-Wolf is something else. Part of why I dislike that story is I know Gru was capable of much better (even if he did write that crazy story with Superia where Paladin and Cap were almost "feminized" One of my first Cap comics ever was Captain America #397 with Blackwing and Jack 'O Lantern hunting Cap underneath Skull House which was my first introduction to how the Scourge showed up across multiple titles! Having the Bloodstone Hunt in TPB really made me think there was no way the same guy could have written Cap-Wolf but this was long before I knew anything about the Gru's overall work at Marvel. Those Summertime bi-weekly six parters were fun but uneven, to be sure. The 90's are way in from a comic standpoint! I never thought there'd be nostalgia for some stuff around that era but things surprise me all the time what with stuff like X-Cutioner's Song getting an omnibus release...

Glad I'm not alone in enjoying Revenge of the Sinister Six, Slipstream! Since half of the Marvel Universe seems to have guest starred in it by the last issue it'd be a great way to get characters like Sleepwalker, Ghost Rider, Solo and even the way obscure originally-intended-to-set-up-an-X-Factor-storyline Cyborg X! If he ever makes it out, than DST deserves a medal in supreme obscurity. I think we'd see just about every other character suggested on this board before they'd make him. We can dream, right? Jatta Pake, I'm going to raise you Songbird in the support just for fun. We're a ways from it yet but I'll say Annihilus for the villains side too. Personally, if I get at least one character I'm passionate about, I will consider this a wild, runaway success. I'm not crazy about Team X Wolverine, as the X-comics of that period did more to turn me away from the property as a kid than anything else. But, if he makes it through someone's going to be happy and I won't begrudge them that, especially if he has some cool gear that I use for other characters. Cap-Wolf is a story so ridiculously awful and dumb I can't even appreciate it from the standpoint of ironic 90's excess but you can't deny that it's unique even if it's something I'd like to pretend never happened. None of these were picked at random to offend people and I remain positive that there'll be plenty of Thor and Deadpool minimates to come in the future since the former has a movie presence and the latter is a mainstay of merchandising. That being said, while I want the Wrecking Crew I'd be paranoid the others would take their time coming out if we got the Wrecker first. Same for the Warriors Three in that I think they're very likely possibilities in the future but I don't know how splitting them up would affect things. That being said, I'd be thrilled if any of these characters from the poll listing Battlecat posted made it in as an option. As an aside on what qualifies for A-list, I'd say if you've starred in a movie you're there. Deadpool has gotten about as popular as he could ever be but I think Marvel's cooled off with putting him everywhere (like they did a few years ago) until anything actually happens with the movie they've wanted to make. Until then, he'll be the guy who gets made in every toyline not directly aimed at kids because he's got fans who make many casual purchases. I'm still surprised the Deadpool Corps set didn't light the world on fire but maybe it's because people didn't really like the actual story very much? Also, if Winter Soldier's in the poll, don't forget to give him an interchangeable arm Zach! You're guaranteed to get at least double purchases from most of us here that way I'm having great fun with this, letting friends know to go vote and generally just enjoying the speculating. I hope this is a big enough success for DST to consider a second round for wave 75!

The "need for parts" argument for Thing makes as little sense to me as the "need for shuriken" argument. Who would you be building with said parts, besides Rocky Thing? Krakoa? A crazy Iceman? ...Never mind, I guess that would be cool. That's because you're not a customizer. Figuring out what you can do with new parts is half the fun of Minimate reveals for us; I can't tell you how excited I was when MAX first debuted and I realized I could use the gasmask to finish my Sandman Mystery Theater Wes Dodds. I almost voted for Ghost Rider so that I could have a new flame head for my Firestorm (and didn't because it's a blue flame head). I don't know what he's planning to make with the Thing, but I can understand the logic behind the vote. I don't customize as much nowadays, and I never did much Minimate customization, but I made a ton of Mego customs in the Twisted ToyFare days, and several of my childhood G.I. Joes are still painted to look like members of WildC.A.T.s. So I certainly get why someone might need a gas mask or a flame hair piece. I just didn't see how Rocky Thing parts -- granted, I haven't seen the parts yet -- could be used for anyone else. But then I corrected myself. Krakoa, Iceman, an Inhumanoid, a Crystar villain, yadda yadda yadda... Could be cool. I just love that version of Thing, so whatever gets it more votes. Apologies for not recognizing your customizing background; no offense intended (and I don't think you took offense, mind you... oh, never mind). I should have said "Minimate customizer". I'm very curious to see your G.I.C.A.T.S. :biggrin: I'm not much of a customizer either but when I see those spiky parts I think 2 things: Chaos King and the Regenerators/Iron Maidens from RE4. Also, painting him green and making an X-mas ornament. Now that it was mentioned that Hydro Iron Man could help make the Scorcher... like Shamrock, I regret my vooooooooote!

I won't lie: I voted for Iron Man 2020 exactly for the fact that he's a bad guy though I do wonder if he's likely to make it in later. There's more Arno Stark merchandise than I'd ever have thought would be made over the years but I think it's time. Other choice was based on the need for parts so I picked extra rocky Thing. These are all surprisingly cool choices and I'm surprised how much I like them. I don't want Cap-Wolf but can appreciate how he might be used for Man-Wolf or Jack Russell... is it a guarantee that he'd have a fully sculpted head? I love Cyborg Spidey but it's not a different enough look for me to actually vote on in a poll; though, if we can't get Deathlok with him, Doc Ock in his white suit would be an excellent second choice! Honestly, Revenge of the Sinister 6 could easily hold a whole wave though you'd have to bring in an army builder from somewhere else. That being said, if I had a third choice, I'd probably vote for GR since it's been ages since he's had a release and the character only has 3 past minimates.

My name was inspired by the truly awful pun that comes out of the 'The Viper is coming' story that was adapted for an episode of GI Joe at one point. My avatar is a sketch of Spider-Man that Mark Bagley drew for me at C2E2 one year!

Welcome to the boards! It's been a while since we've had a pure X-men wave so I'm glad you're looking forward to 47. 6 years ago I'd never have believed anyone that we'd have so many recent Avengers waves

Welcome! That's a bummer about no local direct market access but I'm glad that TRU has helped you out some. Hope you're enjoying Brubaker's Winter Soldier solo book!

That's the way to do it; you can get most of the BND era Hardcovers for $5 at a lot of conventions, something I've been thinking about doing for a while now. I'm hoping Slott has plans for Roderick somehow as it seemed so weird to bring him back out of nowhere and ice 4 pages later (other than possible shock value I guess). Maybe it'll turn out that the new Crime Master is Kingsley and not Ned Leeds like I suspect? http://fearlessreadersonline.com/ My favorite place for cheap comics and trades. Right now, they've got about 1,600 tpbs and hcs in stock. I've never heard of this store and I'm intrigued... very, very intrigued... As a recipient of the same Goblin formula that prevented Norman or Harry from actually dying, I can only assume Roderick is over in Europe recovering. That's what dead Goblin's do afterall. And Phil as the anti-Spidey is actually an interesting story so far. It is interesting how Slott's set him up that way though it was bizarre to bring back Roderick literally just to bump him off. I figured he was being brought back in for much the same reason that Stern created him: the Green Goblin is off the table. Previously it was because he was dead, now it's because every writer at Marvel seems to want to borrow Norman to be a major villain in their book. So funny sometimes. When Phil chopped his head off it was more than a little surprising, mostly because I'm surprised that level of violence showed up in ASM which is still sort of a book read by kids. But that's neither here nor there; even if I don't agree with everything he's done, I'm happy for Dan's success and I hope it leads to many more opportunities for him. Slott and Christos N. Gage are Marvel's secret weapons as far as being able to write almost any character and even taking lame/poorly conceived ones and making them great. Bendis wishes he could have pulled the Sentry off in 5 years what does with characters like like Devil-Slayer in 2 issues. We're approaching the poll quick now, but it'll be hilarious if no Spidey is an option for it now. Honestly, I wonder if Iron Man or Thor will be in there because of recent "different look" saturation. I think Cap's likely to show up though I'm not sure if The Captain or Nomad would technically be considered for this...

My favorite stories came after that, the ones where he was "swingin'" kinda guy and did things like sleep with his roommate's sister. Simple stuff like that, with no drama! :biggrin: Still, it's a nice cover for a What If? amirite? That's the way to do it; you can get most of the BND era Hardcovers for $5 at a lot of conventions, something I've been thinking about doing for a while now. I'm hoping Slott has plans for Roderick somehow as it seemed so weird to bring him back out of nowhere and ice 4 pages later (other than possible shock value I guess). Maybe it'll turn out that the new Crime Master is Kingsley and not Ned Leeds like I suspect? Neat! I hadn't heard much about this series but that's some slick looking work. MvC Arthur really opened up a lot of possible customs, didn't he?

Those were just covers but it's an interesting way to cheat other characters in there! I haven't read Spider-Island but it was universally the most acclaimed event story/book of last summer; I saw a lot more positive press about it then I did Fear Itself and Flashpoint, both of which I did read and wished that people weren't so polite about them being not-so-great. I love Slott but still feel weird about him killing Roderick Kingsley in such a weird way in his first issue of doing ASM solo. On top of that, I hate the very idea of the Man-Spider and in a way, the story kind of becomes 'City of the Man-Spiders'; doesn't help that they bring in the Queen, the villain from the Avengers Disassembled Spider-Man tie-in which is in the running for least favorite Spidey story ever for me. Humberto Ramos is a great guy but wow, that arc is terrible in ways I still hate even thinking about. To make this on topic, I'd be down for both Bag-Man and Doppelganger. The Slingers would be awesome as they'd be taking care of other characters who've hung out in plenty of other books, but if we got one, then I'd want all four; that said, if they're in the poll, everyone vote for Hornet as he's the one that would need the greatest number of new parts The new 'Big Time' era is a goldmine for new looks so I think we'll see at least one of them in there! I really like the Fantastic Spidey though it really didn't appear very long before the Future Foundation suit showed up. The variations on some of the newer costumes are also really cool as well (especially the FF one)! I know no one's probably a fan of the story it's from (I'm not) but this Spider-tux number by Paolo Rivera might make for a classy anniversary type minimate in the future. Sure it only appeared on a cover but it looks snazzy.

Welcome! I'm glad to see that Battle Beasts are catching the attention of new fans and it's great to see your enthusiasm. I have no Gators to offer of my own but I'm sure an opportunity will present itself with time! Good luck with those and I hope you can resist the other licenses as much as you wish!

Put me down for Ultimatum goons; they haven't done much lately but they've got a cool look. Then again, if we got them, they'd need a Flag Smasher to go with them... Also as suggestions: Secret Empire Goons, Black Spectre agents and Agence Byzantine thugs. The Byzantine guys are new (to me anyway) and Black Spectre hasn't had much of real role in years but both of them look unique. All 3 of them have been in Waid's Daredevil recently though I admit there are Secret Empire thugs who have more distinct looks than what's shown above.

With all the options out there, on top of a TRU set, I'm sure there'll be one minimate produced I'm dying to have; anything else is icing on the cake! Thanks Zach for making this happen for us (and especially for noting that the villain could possibly be the variant)!

That's... an excellent idea! I was thinking Flash had red hair but then I checked out the set again and that's definitely a blondeish hairpiece he's got. Funnily enough, Flash's official hair color is "reddish blonde" Aye verily! Truly it doth take many parts to create the whole that is the mighty Thor when he giveth the gift of battle! Seriously though, that's impressive. Makes me wish we got to see the 'ghost trap' effect piece more often! Excellent! I always love seeing secret identity minimates; 'mates are one of the few places where they're practical, either as releases or customs. Whose legs are those? I hadn't realized how the search and rescue MAX turtleneck looks like it'd go great with some short sleeved bare arms to make a QC Max Lord!

This isn't bad at all! Fan polls are always fun and this is a good chance to do something like Ben Reilly Spidey or Scarlet Spider again for the people who missed him the first time around. Besides, anything that appears in this poll that we don't get at least means it's on the radar for the future!

Skeets! Yes, just like that. That's what I'd like to see. And I know Ant-Man's getting all the love, but personally I always liked YJ better. Aside from tiny Avengers #1 costumes Hank and Jan, what would make me happiest would be if any other tiny bug people came with... a full sized version of the same costume. And I'll say this about Secret Wars: For all it's flaws, and there were many, it has provided me with a mental framework for every Marvel action figure collection that has come after it. Let me explain. No matter which Marvel collection you name, it's a very eclectic bunch when the first sets come out. Even a year in you rarely have any whole teams, and a smattering of A list villains. Thus in my head it's always a Secret Wars type situation except more people keep arriving on both sides. Even as a kid I knew about the corporate aspect of Secret Wars as I didn't get to read it until years after the fact. For the longest time, I only knew it as the intro page to my 'Saga of the Alien Costume' TPB and the references Peter made to it when him and Doc Connors are jumping out of the gate in Central Park. It's been fun filling in the blanks the years since as the story came right in the middle of some great runs on Spidey, Thor and the FF. Was there ever an explanation as to why Thor was in his standard look on Battleworld, or am I remembering SW's place in the Simonson Thor run wrong? Yeah, she was there when Spidey thrashed the X-Men. He caught her in a web, and she wasn't able to break free. And I hate to break it to ya, but She-Hulk and Captain Marvel were also there. That's right! I'd totally forgotten about them but I think the whole 'Wasp and Magneto' thing was a result of Shooter not really knowing what to with Janet in the story. One thing's obvious out of this though: I need to read Secret Wars again as my memory's really fuzzy... I will say that the X-men/Spidey confrontation always felt weirder to me than the whole Wasp characterization but I've read less late 70's and early 80's Avengers than I'd like, while the Essential X-men volumes were being published right around when I read Secret Wars. I love Spidey but for the longest time I really wondered if Shooter was secretly giving the X characters a beatdown because he resented them being neck-and-neck in sales with Legion for a long time or something. I think going forward we should get smaller versions of characters who can shrink; Galactus may have spoiled us with the small Surfer but I think it'd have given GiAnt Man some extra 'oomph' if he'd come with a tiny Janet.

Molten Man's one of my favorite Spidey villains. I'd love a Minimate of him. Heck yeah! I dig him too! I've a secret desire to get all the classic villains that Spidey faced from his original run with Steve Ditko on the book as minimates. That means Molten Man and the Crime Master for starters! Good point with Molten Man! I'll raise you a Big Man and the Enforcers as well though they're less likely than everyone except the Living Brain. The new Crime Master in Venom dresses almost exactly the same as the original, right down to the light brown suit, so I wouldn't say he's as unlikely as he used to be. I'd be on board for all of these but I'd raise you another supplemental boxset "Frightful Four" - Wizard - Trapster - Medusa - Titania (not on the team the same time as the others but she joined with Klaw and Hydro-Man so...) - Alternate: Sandman if you want the original team, think the other 'mates are lacking, or want that costume he had in the 70's with the buttons on it and the headband I was organizing my collection into boxes the other day and was surprised to find we have fewer X-villains than I originally thought unless you count Magneto. Weird.

I agree about Fun Hulk as that's going to be the best way to sell the character as a 'hero' to audiences (and especially kids). Hulk's always been in kind of a weird place, like Wonder Woman, where people heavily recognize the character but his book has never been a titanic seller in the way you'd associate with someone who had a popular TV show in the 70's. I think Hulk's the breakout character with audiences because they're so used to the "tortured man controlling the terrible beast" idea that something like Hulk's biggest line seems so refreshing. Hulk's a versatile character with a lot of different ways to use him, but I think the version we see in Avengers is what would work best for a movie, especially if they're trying to sell him as a popular character to kids in the way that Spidey and Wolverine have always been, and Iron Man has just recently become. Wait, are you being serious? Or are you just kidding? That would be disappointing if he WERE Annihilus and limited to such small role, and not even credited as such. As far as I know, the Other is just some random prime minister guy that was meant to be different looking enough from the generic Chitauri for us to remember him, while not being specific enough to give away what the big reveal in the credits was. I don't think they can use Annihilus anyway since he's probably contained in the Fantastic Four rights the way the Skrulls are.

There was a LOT messed up with that story. The Wendigo curse being passed around like instantly activating werewolfism, producing relatively wimpy Wendigos. And they were in Vegas of all places, well away from the North Woods that spawns the curse. But then if it's all contribed so they can fight Mr. Fixit, I guess that's all okay. And I'd rather have a nice, "normal" Rick Jones and a bulked up original Abomniation before I'd want A-Bomb. Just sayin'. I love Jeph Loeb when he's telling a story in the past and not writing new stuff. He actually used to be ne of my favorite writers until Ultimates 3. His run on Hulk was good in some ways (the mystery of the Red Hulk was very well done), but awful in others (the Wendigos being a great example). I would just love an army of Wendigos whether it's accurate or not. And I'm not a fan of Rick as A-Bomb so much, but I can kitbash a regular Rick together pretty easily if I wanted to whereas his bulked up form would be harder. How about a Doc Samson instead of either? Yeah, I like Loeb's past stuff but since he had the high profile return on Ultimates 3, he's been all over the place. I really think the whole Hulk mega-arc was a mess and that the eventual Red Hulk ID reveal came long after everyone had lost interest while still managing to feel like a cheat because of the LMD thing. I haven't read the "Wendigo's in Vegas" but it sounds like the kind of nutty thing that Loeb would do that other people would have to actually make work. 'World War Hulks' was the absolute peak of it as it's one of those stories where anyone can go Hulk-out and, while I'm sure that sounds like fun on paper, it does serve to make Bruce that much less special as a character. I always think that's a basic level cartoon plot anyway, which is why when EMH did it, I wasn't a fan either. At least She-Hulk is of the same bloodline so there's a little more precedent for it. Anyway, I'd be up for Rick Jones though as a bonus to getting A-Bomb, another Loeb idea I'm not really enthralled with. FF Shulkie is also something I've wanted for a while though did she ever wear the black gloves and boots? I can't remember but we've never gotten the white detailed Byrne era looks for the FF yet; nice idea for a boxset, especially if you include an extra Johnny head/hair to go on an extra Reed body... I'd dig a War of Kings wave as the brief bouts with Annihilation era story stuff we got basically consists of Nova, Gamora, Black Bolt, and Lockjaw. A lot of characters from every corner of the MU could be done from the recent Cosmic stories; I'm glad there's at least one other person out there who wants to have Vulcan as a minimate! As for the last slot in that Squadron Supreme wave, how about the Scarlet Centurion? He's got ties to Kang...

Heck, I'm still kind of wondering why Rogue and Ultron were there myself; if memory serves neither did very much, though Ultron was reprogrammed by Doom pretty early on. I remember Rogue having a line about wondering if she should join Doom's forces but otherwise I'm drawing a blank. I can't even remember if she's there when Spidey makes the X-men look like chumps before Xavier mindwipes him. As for Wasp, her interacting with Magneto always felt kind of funny to me until I realized that she was the only female there that wasn't an X-character and therefore was the only one who would logically confront Magneto alone about an alliance or whatever. Put me down for the original Dane Black Knight look as well; the 90's-ified versions aren't quite as terrible as some other designs from that era, but I don't think there's ever been a piece of merchandise with Dane's classic costume. Besides, with an extra Wave 42 Cap's jacket, you can QC one of the 90's looks! I think the biggest Avengers characters we're missing currently are: - Black Knight (he's part of a lot of different iterations over the years) - Jocasta (I don't think she's appeared in more than 30 times in a book that doesn't have "Avengers" in the title) - Mockingbird (she had a high profile return during Secret Invasion and serves on... some Avengers team now) - Crystal (works with so many different rosters) - Quasar (a fan favorite who could provide parts for a QC Marvel Boy/Uranian from Atlas) - Moondragon (helps fill out 70's characters and belongs to a bunch of different casts like Crystal) - Hellcat (Simple but long overdue) - an updated Luke Cage (not my favorite but he's pretty important at this point) - Shang-Chi I'll cop to cheating a little with Shang-Chi but he did join recently since if you're a marvel hero who lives in New York City for more than a week your Avengers membership card is automatically mailed to you. Remember when they had reserve members? Man, those days are way in the past!