Marvel wave 44

[dj87]

Just so you know Zach, minimates are the only toy line line I've collected since being an 'adult' and bought my own syuff. I love these guys and have been buying since i first heard of the line ( aroung wave 12).

Any criticism is intended tongue in cheek, and while it doesnt't come across too well online, me being very Britiah makes it near impossible!

I still love theae little bastards, and appreciate your input xxx

[Punisher]

Yikes. Is there a thread for people who are looking FORWARD to Wave 44? Maybe I'll start one.

I am VERY excited for Antman. That's probably one of my favorite costume's ever, but besides that pack, this wave is just too hard to get excited about. The Ironman armor is alright, but I can see a lot of people skipping him due to the same old Cap we are basically drowning in now. Smart Hulk is pretty nice, but that costume isn't anything anyone clamors over I don't think (of course that's not your guys'es fault), and again he's packed with a thor variant that no one needs or wants.

BUT, as dj said, don't take us to heart. Just let us dictate the entire minimate line and there will never be problems!

[Mirymate]

Any figures in this wave you WOULD like to see more pics of?

Giant Man, Thor, Iron Man... oh and Hulk and Cap.

Yikes. Is there a thread for people who are looking FORWARD to Wave 44? Maybe I'll start one.

If you do, I'll meet you there, man. I think I'm the only guy who's 100% pumped for this wave. This is a surprise to 0% of the board.

[Turtle]

I'm really looking forward to this wave, mostly for Antman, who looks great, and Giant Man. I know a lot of folks don't like so many rehashed characters, but I don't mind useful variants, and that's what I think all of these are. So, I'll hang in that other thread.

[buttheadsmate]

There's a trio of nice characters in this wave which added to the other four will sit happily with the other 1255* different Minimates that reside with me . Whether I'll be a stalwart in the 'looking forward to....' is unlikely but I need to say that I sleep soundly knowing that any criticism I have for Minimates.... & 'the way forward'.....is meant to be constructive & based on observation rather than a banal "meh" . I moan like f*&k about just about anything I'm not happy with but I'm still buying,still hunting,still loving Minimates.

Everything is fine & dandy ?

Nope.

*stat. Minimate Database

[Valo487]

I prefer old Ghost to new Ghost, but any Ghost is good Ghost.

[Onyx_6]

All this talk about Ghost makes me think we need a Thunderbolts wave:

Songbird/Beetle or Mach V

Yelena Black Widow/Paladin

Modern Ghost/Female 616 SHIELD Agent or Hammer Agent

Variant Clear Classic Ghost

Fill a lot of holes that wave would.

Edited January 29, 2012 by Onyx_6

[Valo487]

Hell Yes. Thunderbolts wave FTW!!

[murderofcrows]

Zach did you mention more pics? I want to see some of that iron man.

[Gillbob316]

Wow. Nope. Instant Pass.

EDIT: This is like how the non-X-men fans don't want the Age of X set; this is pretty much my version of that disdain.

Just for the record, I am a HUGE RAGING BIG WHOPPER of an X-Men fan. Just check my most wanted list in my sig. 9 times out of 10, I'd take new X-Men minimates over anything...

But even I don't really want the Age of X set. A partial collection, of an alternate reality team, who were used in a one-off story... all four of whom have pretty definative versions of themselves as minimates already... yeah... that's like the epitome of X-Men I didn't need to have... lol.

I prefer 616 anything, even characters I don't care about, over obscure rehashes of characters I love. I love new characters... and I don't even mind re-hashes if they're a nice improvement over an old version (Which btw, is why I love this new Ant-Man) ...And I'm even okay with obscure rehashes of Marvels big names, because I accept them as a given. Wolverine, Iron Man, Spidey, etc... But yeah... the Age of X box set is just about all the things I don't like to see in re-released characters. Incomplete team, non-definative looks, no new characters, Alternate reality (I'm kinda anal about displaying things from different realities together... My shelves like to maintain canon... lol)

I'm gonna be buying it... but mainly because I'm a Marvel Minimate completionist more than anything else. Bought every Marvel figure since the first wave. But it isn't very high on my list of boxed sets I feel needed to happen...

Edited January 29, 2012 by Gillbob316

[Valo487]

I do want the Scott Lang Ant-Man Zach, the Iron Man and Hulk look good too. It's not that these are bad 'mates at all, I think a lot of us just didn't expect to see no new Avengers in an Avengers wave. But we don't want to bum you out.

You survived the Headless Horseman's attack, love each day Zach!!

[DSTZach]

You survived the Headless Horseman's attack, love each day Zach!!

I also survived that haircut. The follies of my youth.

[DSTZach]

I do want the Scott Lang Ant-Man Zach, the Iron Man and Hulk look good too. It's not that these are bad 'mates at all, I think a lot of us just didn't expect to see no new Avengers in an Avengers wave. But we don't want to bum you out.

Coming to any forum where people are free to talk about what they love and hate about a line I am becoming increasingly protective of is always gonna bum me out 50% of the time, but then I think about the fact that this site even exists, and I get happy again. "Meh" away, you princes of 'Mates. I promise not to let it get to me.

But even if you don't count Lang as a new Avenger, or Sentry because he's a new Avengers villain, I think the reason we went with this line-up is pretty clear, given the movie Avengers line-up. These are the characters people are gonna be excited about this summer. Nobody's gonna walk out of the movie craving a Dr. Druid.

Plus, there'll be some other Avengers stuff this summer, too, with a couple more new characters we haven't done yet. I'll let you know about those as soon as I can.

[Valo487]

That was my first issue of Toyfare, I bought for years after that. Wasn't that your first issue? I seem to remember you introducing yourself to the readers when the Horseman came for you...

[DSTZach]

That was my first issue of Toyfare, I bought for years after that. Wasn't that your first issue? I seem to remember you introducing yourself to the readers when the Horseman came for you...

Yes, that's my first appearance. Probably worth a mint. Or at least a Junior Mint.

[Valo487]

I look forward to the new reveals, and I don't want to sound negative about the wave, they're not poorly done by any stretch of the imagination. The big question mark to me is stubble Thor and Captain America, because it seems like there's nothing about them that stands out. I guess part of it is me, I've wanted to see Captain America's supporting cast fleshed out for some time now, because I think a lot of his characters are both interesting in their own right as well as in the overall scheme of the Marvel Universe. I thought maybe they'd get a wave for both Thor and Cap, but they had to share one instead, and that's on top of the movie waves, and since now we're already gearing up for the Avengers which will see more movie and comic versions of the same characters, it just creates a lot of fatigue.

I understand why they were chosen, but it's just a bummer sometimes because it feels like it's been a while since there was a wave we could truly get excited about. The TRU exclusives, like the Galactus box set, have been the items I'm most excited about recently. It's just strange to see LCS waves featuring characters that are geared towards the mainstream, while the mainstream store gets the new, unique characters.

But don't get me wrong, I've been buying 'mates since I grabbed Daredevil and Kingpin off the pegs at Suncoast. As long as they exist, I'll never stop buying them.

[DSTZach]

I look forward to the new reveals, and I don't want to sound negative about the wave, they're not poorly done by any stretch of the imagination. The big question mark to me is stubble Thor and Captain America, because it seems like there's nothing about them that stands out. I guess part of it is me, I've wanted to see Captain America's supporting cast fleshed out for some time now, because I think a lot of his characters are both interesting in their own right as well as in the overall scheme of the Marvel Universe. I thought maybe they'd get a wave for both Thor and Cap, but they had to share one instead, and that's on top of the movie waves, and since now we're already gearing up for the Avengers which will see more movie and comic versions of the same characters, it just creates a lot of fatigue.

Oh, I understand. And I understand that a completist who buys every single one, no exceptions, is going to be resentful. But Avengers is SO high-profile that we have an opportunity to get a lot more eyes on Minimates this summer, and that means we need to cover the movie's stars in all markets. If we use too many slots for 2nd or 3rd tier characters, we're losing new buyers to keep the relatively small group of completists happy. Lines (and companies) have gotten in trouble that way. But here's good news for completists, assuming completists just want more unique characters:

- Outside of the movie waves, TRU waves no longer duplicate half of the LCS wave. So besides Daredevil, TRU 13 has three more slots that would normally have been taken up by half of Wave 43, and Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

- Besides Fear Itself, there will be Previews-exclusive box sets this year that are at least half new characters, and convention-exclusive box sets that are ENTIRELY new characters.

So while there won't be more to buy, the duplication in Avengers is made up for with a lot more uniques earlier in the year, as well as later.

I understand why they were chosen, but it's just a bummer sometimes because it feels like it's been a while since there was a wave we could truly get excited about. The TRU exclusives, like the Galactus box set, have been the items I'm most excited about recently. It's just strange to see LCS waves featuring characters that are geared towards the mainstream, while the mainstream store gets the new, unique characters.

LCS retailers want A-list characters as much as TRU does -- the LCS is not an automatic sale for us any more, so they need to know that they're getting something people will know and want. But that doesn't mean we won't try something like the Jean DeWolff wave -- which has 5 new, unique characters out of 7 slots. (I count JJJ as new.) That said, TRU has been very cool about offering a variety, and has ordered some cool box sets from us for this year, while the waves will continue to be awesome.

[buttheadsmate]

.............here's good news for completists, assuming completists just want more unique characters:

- Outside of the movie waves, TRU waves no longer duplicate half of the LCS wave. So besides Daredevil, TRU 13 has three more slots that would normally have been taken up by half of Wave 43, and Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

That's good news for everybody .

Thanks for the update Zach .

[Gillbob316]

All this talk of toyfair has made me sad... because I miss enjoying that magazine. And that company.

Does the magazine even exist anymore? I honestly don't think it does, but I could be wrong.

Wizard (the company, not the magazine) seems to have gone all to hell the past 3-5 years or so... I think someone bought them out and basically cut out everything they did that wasn't cons? If I'm not mistaken? All their website is anymore is con ticket sales...

Sucky part is, they also changed Wizard sponsored cons quite drastically, so now those suck too... no major companies show up anymore. Where once I'd go to Wizard World Chicago and see Marvel, DC, Diamond, Hasbro, Mattel, and a host of other important nerd companies... none of them have attended the past few years. Now the biggest companies to setup booths are Suicidegirls... and the local art college from which I graduated. Where one of my former teachers is hocking his crappy self-published comic book he handed out free surpluses of in class...

Where once big name celebrities would freely sign autographs and give insight through panels... Any celebrities that show up now are mostly B-List TV stars who want $50 to give you the time of day. Panels of any sort of interest are basically non-existent. Con exclusives likewise are virtually extinct.

C2E2 is trying to fill the con void in Chicago, by providing a rough facsimile of the type of con Wizard USED TO provide... but I have a set of completely different problems with them... I keep hoping they're on their way to improvement... but they don't seem to be.

Here's a hint...

Wizard World Chicago: Easy Travel. Uncrowded Chicago suburb. Airport Adjacent. 15 minute drive. Parking between free and less than $10 (depending on location) Cheap and Easy.

C2E2: Middle of Chicago. Crowded City Streets. Bad Traffic. Nowhere near airport. Hour long train ride into city, followed by 20 minute trek deeper into city or hour long car ride with parking between $15 and $20. Expensive and Exhausting.

And frankly the only motivation I see behind it is the novelty of saying con is actually IN Chicago sounds good on paper. Joe Quesada seems to love being in the city... because he can afford a damn hotel right across the street. But every average Joe I ask thinks it blows in practice. Net result is I attend Wizard World 4 days and C2E2 1 day, because it's just not worth the damn hassle. Even if it is the better con.

Wizard World is on a downslope. C2E2, I HOPE is on an upslope, but still isn't where Wizard World used to be yet. The state of Chicago cons depresses me.

Zach, I hope some of those exclusives you have this year are for C2E2... because while you guys attended last year (which is more than I can say for Wizard World) you didn't bring anything I didn't already own... which was a bummer.

Oh, that brings another huge problem to mind. Wizard World was AFTER San Diego... so when Diamond came to Wizard World... I could get ALL the leftover San Diego exclusives right from the source. It was like having con exclusives... even if they weren't made for that con, lol. Wheras C2E2 is BEFORE San Diego... so when Diamond shows up at C2E2 they have NONE of the San Diego exclusives! Because San Diego hasn't happened yet!

So I went from easily getting con exclusives each year in August, to not getting them at all in March!

Which blows.

We used to have the second biggest con after San Diego... and I loved it. Now we have two mediocre cons in a damn power struggle... neither of which can hold a candle to the shows we had 5-10 years ago... and just leave me wondering "Why do I keep coming to these" the past few years...

I hate what's happened to Chicago cons.

Zach, PLEASE tell me you have something to make C2E2 worth coming to this year! (I'd ask for something to make Wizard World worth coming to too... but since Diamond hasn't even been there the past two years, I assume they won't be this year... lol...)

[murderofcrows]

for the record I. want a Dr. Druid.

[Mirymate]

.............here's good news for completists, assuming completists just want more unique characters:

- Outside of the movie waves, TRU waves no longer duplicate half of the LCS wave. So besides Daredevil, TRU 13 has three more slots that would normally have been taken up by half of Wave 43, and Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

Good news indeed! Airwalker and Firelord on the way! (now if there was just more hope for Energy Form Cap'n Monica and Ben Grim from the SW voting)

for the record I. want a Dr. Druid.

That makes two of us.

[Nessex]

Wave 14 has NOTHING from Wave 44.

Damn exciting news! are you able to confirm that we will be seeing TRU14 @ SDCC this year, if not before?

- Besides Fear Itself, there will be Previews-exclusive box sets this year that are at least half new characters, and convention-exclusive box sets that are ENTIRELY new characters.

Again - more exciting news! The Heralds set has been my box-set of the year. In part because it was so bright and colourful & had great accessories, but also because we were getting 4 brand new characters. I know you guys can't always deliver new characters, but we really do appreciate it when you can!

Knowing that we'll be seeing con exclusives with some new characters is awesome. Knowing that one set will be all new characters is freaking brilliant

[TM2 Dinobot]

*snip*

I know how you feel. I'm sad Dallas is gone too.

But shut up and go to C2E2 this year.

[boyd]

for the record I. want a Dr. Druid.

I, too, would take a Dr. Druid.

[Valo487]

Thanks for all the updates Zach, it sounds like the upcoming reveals will definitely get us all pumped up in a big bad way. Can't wait to see who made the cut!

If you could create your own wave or box set Zach, who would you want to see?