from DestinationVinylmation.com
This is part of a series of articles spotlighting the Vinylmation that were previewed at this year’s annual Walt Disney World Pin and Vinylmation trading and merchandise event, “The Imagination Gala.” The event was held at Epcot’s World Showplace from September 5-9, 2014. Today we look at the Marvel themed releases we will see over the coming months.
The “Next Marvel Series”
When announcing this series, Disney Design Group artist Thomas Scott was very careful with the words he chose. He said that this is series is NOT Marvel Series #3, but is in fact a “smaller set” of figures that will be based on the upcoming Age of Ultron movie. This means that this is going to be the first series that is not based on comic books, and will instead focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe vision of these characters. While this is a really cool idea, with the immense history and an insane roster of characters that Marvel boasts, this feels like a lost opportunity to me. We have already gotten almost every figure that this series can have in the first Marvel series that came out. Having said that, I really do like the idea of getting these versions of the characters on the platform. Let’s take a look at who might make the cut for this series:
Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)
This one is already a given, since he is insanely popular (and not to mention, is on the box). But with how much Iron Man is more Tony Stark than he is the suit, I think were going to need Robert Downey, Jr. to make an appearance somewhere, either as an unmasked variant or as a chaser.
Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans)
Marvel Studios keeps making this character look cooler in every movie, and a large part of that is the continued updates they keep bringing to his suit. I’d love to see what details Thomas Scott would put into this character in this set.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth)
Like Captain America, Thor continues to have amazing costume enhancements with each Marvel iteration that is released. Would love to see his lightning powers reflected in the figure, as they didn’t really have a place in the first figure we got.
Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)
As awesome as the Hulk is, I think I would actually prefer a Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner vinyl more.
Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)
As the veteran female of the group, you think she HAS to pop up somewhere in this set. Would love to see her electric bracelets somehow utilized.
Clint Barton / Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)
While I’m not the biggest Hawkeye fan, Thomas Scott loves this character, so chances are he’ll be making an appearance in this set.
Pietro Maximoff / Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) (and by default The Vision (Paul Bettany)
Two newcomers to the MCU are Quicksilver and The Vision, who happen to cameos in this picture. While I would LOVE to see Quicksilver represented in this set, since we have never had him, I think Thomas Scott already made about as perfect a Vision as you can with the variant from the first series, and would hate to see this cool character get overkilled.
Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen)
The twin sister of Quicksilver, I would also really like to see her make an appearance in this series, since she was a character we didn’t get in the first set. I think she has the potential to look really cool.
Ultron (James Spader)
The chaser from series 1, and the major villain in the upcoming movie. He would look absolutely bananas if done right.
Of course we could also get Nick Fury, Maria Hill, etc. But with being deemed a “smaller set” and so many design choices for the characters listed above, I think its safe to say these will be the majority. Can’t wait to see what Thomas Scott has in store for us with this series!!
Iron Patriot / War Machine Limited Edition Two Pack
December 2014
LE 1500
$29.95
Wow, I cannot wait to get my hands on this two-pack. This is a release that makes complete sense, and looks absolutely fantastic. Both of these characters are featured in the Iron Man movies, with Don Cheadle getting behind the armor to represent them. However, in the comics (which is what these look to be based off of), Norman Osborn was the original Iron Patriot, so if you get your hands on the Green Goblin variant from the Spider-Man series, you can recreate this menacing character.
I must say, I absolutely LOVE the detail on these two. I think they blow the Iron Man from series 1 out of the water. Thomas Scott really outdid himself with this two-pack.
Ant-Man Eachez
December 2014
Hank Pym 9/10 odds (LE 2250)
Scott Lang 1/10 odds (LE 250)
$16.95
I love that we’re getting this as an Eachez release. It makes complete sense, and both designs look AMAZING. Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, will be the common, while Scott Lang, who is the second Ant-Man (and the centerpiece for the upcoming movie, played by Paul Rudd). It’s interesting that Scott Lang was chosen to be the variant, since people will be more familiar with his version of Ant-Man once the movies come out. But I love that we’re getting two completely different characters with this eachez release. That alone is going to make me want to hunt down both of these. Plus, they will go great with the Yellowjacket / Wasp two-pack that we got with series 1. The mask on Hank Pym looks amazing too (tell me that that does not look drawn on). These figures are both based on the comic book versions, and here is a look at how well they have been represented:
And a preview from the upcoming movie:
Peter Parker Eachez
January 2015
Spider Sense 9/10 odds (LE 2250)
Peter Parker 1/10 odds (LE 250)
$16.95
The final preview we got for Marvel, and the one that I’m most excited about, is the Peter Parker eachez. A lot of people, including myself, were curious as to why Peter Parker was noticeably omitted from Marvel Series 2 that just came out. Well, it looks like we got our answer! The common version of this figure is Peter Parker looking considered while his “Spider Sense is tingling”. Throughout his run in the comics and animated TV shows, his face normally flashes to half his Spider-Man mask, while yellow rays encircle his head when this event happens. Thomas Scott did an amazing job bringing this to life on the platform.
The variant figure is the happy-go-lucky Peter Parker that we all know and love. The yellow flashes have been replaced with spider webs in his ears, and he is sporting a much less concerned look. If you have the Mary Jane Watson variant figure from series 2, this is a great opportunity to recreate their iconic first scene together:
Well, this wraps up all of the previews we got for Marvel from the Imagination Gala! Let us know what you think about these upcoming Marvel vinyls!