AGENT COULSON, FROST GIANT, & JANE FOSTER
MARVEL MINIMATES
I have to be honest, I’m totally running out of ways to start the Minimates reviews. I mean, how many ways can I say “this is my favorite line, there’s a lot of them, yes I’m reviewing them again,” without it getting boring. Not too many I suppose. Sorry if these intros get a bit repetitive. Anyway, I’m looking at another set of Marvel Minimates. This time around, it’s everyone’s favorite SHIELD Agent, Phil Coulson, Thor’s astrophysicist girlfriend, Jane Foster, and a generic Frost Giant. Yay!
THE FIGURES THEMSELVES
These figures were released as part of series 39 of the Marvel Minimates line. The wave was based on 2011’s Thor film. Coulson was the regular release, with Jane Foster as the one per case variant, with each packed with the Frost Giant.
AGENT COULSON
Coulson played a key role in the first Thor, so his inclusion here makes sense. This figure depicts him back before we know him as Phil. His first name was Agent! The figure is built on the standard Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation and stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He features sculpted hair and jacket add-ons. Both of these pieces are re-use, but they work, so no complaints there. The paint work is pretty basic, with detailing only on his face, torso and pelvis. All of it is applied nice and cleanly, although the jacket is molded in a slightly different color than the rest of his body, which is quite distracting. Coulson included a handgun, and a megaphone, both of which he can easily hold. I think the megaphone in particular is quite cool.
FROST GIANT
The Frost Giants provided some neat generic foes for Thor to face off against in his first screen adventure, and the Minimates provided them for about the same purpose. Sadly, they aren’t really all that giant, being built on the standard Minimate body, with no real extensions. The Frost Giant seems to be an amalgamation of several of the Frost Giants we see over the course of the movie, which works pretty well. The figure features four sculpted add-ons: Helmet, two wrist guards, and a bulked up torso piece with a built in shoulder pad and belt/loincloth thing. All of these are new to the figure, and they look pretty nice. The Frost Giant features some pretty cool painted detail work, with lots of scarring and a really nasty, angry face. They’ve also added a white frosting to all of his armor, giving him the proper icy look. It’s a great touch. The Frost Giant included no accessories, which is a shame, but I suppose he does have a decent selection of sculpted parts to make up for it.
JANE FOSTER
Jane Foster is a very pivotal character in the film, being a large part of Thor’s character development and all. That being the case, I was a bit surprised that Diamond chose to release her as the one per case variant instead of Coulson, who was comparatively more minor. Coulson’s probably the more popular character now, but at the time it was a bit…odd. Oh well. Jane had a few looks in the movie, but I believe this one’s meant to be based on her look when Thor first appears at the beginning. Jane is built on the standard Minimate body, and features hair and lower jacket add-ons. I know the waist piece is a re-use, but I do believe this was the first use of this particular hair. They’re both perfectly fine pieces, if not the most exciting. The paint work on Jane is passable, though there are a few fuzzy lines, especially around her boots. Her feet also fall off a lot. Jane included no accessories, which was a bit of a let-down.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
I picked up the whole set of Series 39 from my local comicbook store (Cosmic Comix, for those of you in the Catonsville area!). I recall really being excited for them at the time. I have to say, they don’t really hold up that well, which is kind of a first for Minimates. Coulson and Jane aren’t the most exciting figures, and most notably, they seem to be made of lower quality plastic than the typical Minimate release. I actually do kind of like the Frost Giant, and these are the only available versions of Coulson and Jane, but I can’t help but feel a bit “meh” about these figures.
The Figure In Question 