Plastic Crack : Minimates by Art Asylum
by J. Brent Stewart

The Fantastically Tiny Four.

I can’t recall where I first happened upon the phrase (likely on some toy geek message board at the dark end of the internet), but when I first heard Minimates described as “little, plastic crack,” I knew that gold had been struck.

Cheap. Small. Addictive.

Plastic crack.

I’ve been a fan of the super-deformed trend of Japanese toy makers for quite some time, as they began offering up shrunken, dwarf-like, “cute” versions of several popular cartoon and toy stars. As Japan is rather overcrowded, the effort to conserve space has lead to the increased micro sizing of toys and collectibles. You can fit an entire collection of mini-figures on a shelf that would normally only hold three or four larger figures.

The culmination of this effort came in the form of Medicom’s “Kubrick” series, which offered small (around 3 inches or less), semi-articulated and highly stylized figures of product lines as diverse as Planet of the Apes, Kamen Rider, Blair Witch Project, Reservoir Dogs, etc. The figures seemed to be the slightly larger and infinitely cooler siblings of Lego minifigs.

For years, the only way you could track this stuff down was at genre conventions. Then came the advent of the Internet, which brought with it the import toyshops, and of course, eBay.

For comparison: A shiny quarter, Silver Surfer mini-mate, Boba Fett mini-fig, Reservoir Dogs Kubrick, and LOTR Boromir Large Mini-mate

The influx of Japanese toys, and the Japanese stylization of American toys, has been building slowly since the early 80’s, much like in the realm of television animation. And when the dam in that world broke in the mid/late 90’s, (thanks largely to the success of “Pokemon”) the dam similarly broke in the world of toys.

It was only a matter of time before American companies started their own form of “cute” figures, to capitalize on the demand for imported Kubrick-style figures. Soon, licenses were being nailed down left and right.

Art Asylum threw its hat into the ring with “Minimates”. The figures were about 3 inches tall, but packed in an amazing amount of articulation (generally 14 points), as well as fun accessories.

However, their early licenses (Star Trek, Crouching Tiger, rock stars, KISS) were not enough to make me bite.

Then came the Marvel License.

Anatomy of a Marvel Mini-mate

In the beginning I was put off by the character selection. I’m not a current reader of Marvel comics, and wasn’t a fan of the costume designs used in the “Ultimate” line. And at the time, the “Daredevil” flick was leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

The first few waves of Marvel Minimates were composed largely of “Daredevil” characters, and, blech, Ultimate X-Men.

So it was that I passed on many of these figures time and again. I can distinctly remember going to a local Meijers and seeing the “variant” Black Elektra, Visor-less Cyclops, and Black Spider-Man figures hanging on the pegs…and I passed on them. At the time it didn’t seem like much, but now, of course, I’d like to kick myself in the ass with both legs at the same time.

Over the years I’ve collected many lines, but as I get older, and poorer, I’ve been scaling back, to the point where I really only collect two lines, DC Direct and Marvel Legends. (And trust me, that’s more than enough to keep me broke.)

So what was it that made me open up my heart and wallet to these little monsters?

Last summer while I was out of town on a trip to “the country”, I decided to stop by the Toys R Us in the nearest city, on the off chance that I might find something cool.

In the action figure aisle I found a TRU exclusive 4-packs of Minimates, priced attractively at $8.99!

One of the things that had kept me away from the MM’s was the fact that 2-packs, at most shops, ran around $7.

But four figures for $9? I could do that.

And the figure that sold me on the set? Green Goblin!

I took the pack back to the little place by the river, and opened it up. The tiny figures were so colorful, so poseable, and had such fun accessories and expressions…I found myself making the 45 minute drive back to that nearest town to get the other four packs.

And so, not even a year later, I’ve become a full-time, fully hooked, completely unapologetic Minimate addict.

My collection now numbers nearly 100, and I’m only missing a few of the variants.

Ah, yes, the variants.

As if these tiny creatures weren’t compulsively collectible enough, Art Asylum has upped the ante by including a “variant” chaser at one per case.

For the most part, I’ve lucked out at finding the variants on the racks. Maskless Daredevil, Chameleon as J. Jonah Jameson, etc.

But the others…the others have been a pain in the ass.

UNMASKED DAREDEVIL & J. JONAH JAMESON/CHAMELEON VARIANT CHASE FIGURES

And let’s not forget the other twist in the MM’s tale: Exclusives!

Yes, in the past year, Art Asylum has worked with partners as diverse as Wizard, Action Figure Express, and Tower Records to bring us several great exclusive figures…at varying prices.

EXCLUSIVES: AFX EXCL. SILVER CENTURION IRON MAN & ORIGINAL IRON MAN, WIZARD TOYFARE EXCL. POWER-MAN AND IRON FIST, TOWER RECORDS EXCL. SUPER SKRULL & CLASSIC THING

And yet, I MUST HAVE THEM.

So now, I present a needlessly obsessive checklist of the Marvel Minimates!

Take note, I myself am an “opener”, and give not two shits about “mint on card”, but I will include notes on the various carded variations of the figures. When the line began, they were issued in bubble-carded two packs and single cards, but later switched to the cardboard boxes with trays that they’re still using today, which take up much less space.

I personally don’t collect the different packaging variations. Once I have one version of the figure, loose, to display, that’s all I need. However, many people do keep them MOC (and are really missing out, considering how playable these things are) so I’m including the whole list.

Series 1
- Daredevil Red & Kingpin
- Daredevil Yellow & Elektra Red
- Hulk Green & Bruce Banner
- CHASE: Elektra (Black)

I’m assuming that this initial lineup was meant to coincide with the crappy Affleck “Daredevil” flick, though no Bullseye is included.

Daredevil is a nice figure, including his billy club. Elektra comes with her Sais, which can be difficult to keep in her hands. Hulk is, well, Hulk. And Bruce Banner, initially my pick for “Why Would They Make a Toy of This Guy?”, is now a favorite.

One of the hallmarks of the MM line is the fact that they make so many “civilian” figures, like Banner, Mariko, Mary Jane, etc. It adds depth to the line that you’re unlikely to ever see in any other series of superhero action figures. I can’t imagine we’ll be seeing a Marvel Legends Aunt May anytime soon, but it doesn’t seem so out of the question for MM’s.

The chase in this series was Elektra in a black outfit. I remember a white outfit, but when did she ever wear black? Don’t answer that. I don’t actually care.

Series 2
- Spider-Man/Peter Parker & Green Goblin
- Spider-Man & Carnage
- Battle-Damaged Spider-Man & Venom
- CHASE: Spider-Man (Black)

With this wave we saw the beginning of MM’s obsession with Spider-Man. At this point I think I’ve got 10 or more variations on the character, AND THEY JUST KEEP COMING! I mean, sure, Spidey is popular and all, but Jesus!

The Spidey/PP split-body MM is one of my favorites, just for sheer strangeness. It perfectly captures those Ditko/Romita “Spidey Sense” panels…in cute plastic form.
Green Goblin is awesome, the only drawback being the lack of Goblin Glider, which I actually believe has something to do with Marvel’s Contract with AA. They’re not allowed to make “vehicles” for the figures. Marvel, as always, can eat a dick.
Carnage and Venom suffer from the fact that they are Carnage and Venom, and as such, are doomed to suck. Venom comes with a “long tongue” variation that is pretty hilarious in its own right.

The chaser here was a cool Mike Zeck black costume Spidey.

THE MANY SPIDER-MEN OF MARVEL MINIMATES.

Stay tuned for the next two installments of Plastic Crack, which will complete the Marvel Minimate checklist, as well as contain a few other treats!