AGENT JASPER SITWELL & BATROC
MARVEL MINIMATES
Today marks the final entry in my reviews of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Minimates. It’s okay. We can get through this together. I started off a bit rocky with Classic Cap & Winter Soldier, regained some of my momentum with Black Widow & Falcon, and was more than pleased with Stealth Cap & Rumlow, but the excitement I have for this series has remained with me throughout all of my reviews. I’m a little sad that there aren’t a never ending supply of these figures to review, but I think I’ve saved the best for last here. Today, I’ll be looking at Agent Jasper Sitwell & Batroc. Due to the nature of this set, I’ll be getting into some SPOILERS for the movie, so if you haven’t seen it yet, you’ve been warned.
THE FIGURES THEMSELVES
Agent Sitwell and Batroc were released in Marvel Minimates Series 55, which was a tie-in to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This set was released one per case, so it’s a little harder to come by than the other three.
AGENT JASPER SITWELL
In the comics, Jasper Sitwell was the SHIELD agent assigned to Tony Stark, he drove a flying car, and he was meant to be that “normal” guy amongst the crazy. Sound familiar? Yeah, Jasper was the proto-Coulson. When Coulson took his place in the movie-verse, I just assumed he’d be replacing Jasper outright. But, Marvel decided to put Jasper in the mix anyway, and he served as a supporting character in Thor and the first three Marvel One-Shots, before showing up on Agents of SHIELD, and eventually in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which proved to be his end, after he was revealed to be a covert Hydra agent. But, hey maybe he’s actually working for SHIELD…. and he could have totally survived being thrown in front of an oncoming tractor trailer. Yeah, I’m sure he’s fine. Jasper was built on the standard Minimate body, so he has 14 points of articulation, and he stands about 2 ½ inches tall. He’s a mostly vanilla figure, with just a sculpted coat piece and tie, which have been seen on numerous suited figures before him. They do their job well enough, and look appropriate for a standard issue SHIELD suit. Paint is also pretty basic, with some paint for his tie and belt buckle, which look pretty decent, though there is some slop on the shirt collar from the tie. The best part of the figure is the detailing on the face, which is a spot on likeness of Maximiliano Hernàndez. Truly amazing work. Jasper includes a hand gun, a briefcase, and a clear display stand.
BATROC
Georges Batroc, or as he’s known in the comics “Batroc the Leaper” (Batroc ze Leper if you go heavy on the French accent), is a character I never thought I’d see on the big screen. Even when I heard he was in the movie, I assumed he’d just be some generic thug who dressed in black. There was no way he’d actually leap around, right? Or wear even a semblance of his comic book costume, right? Well, I was wrong, and I’ve never been happier to be so. Batroc’s fight with Cap near the beginning is one of my favorite parts of the movie, hands down. Batroc is presented here in his look from that portion of the movie. He’s built on the standard Minimate body, with sculpted vest, belt, and holster add-ons. The holster is a re-use from Series 45’s Maria Hill, but the vest and belt look to be all-new. They look great, and are very accurate to Batroc’s gear from the film. Batroc features some superb paint work, with nearly every surface covered in detail. Most impressive is his head, which features his five-o-clock shadow and his buzz cut, both depicted through some excellent use of pointillism (every once in a while, my former art major kicks in). I also love the fact that the yellow and purple detailing of the uniform continues under the vest, giving you a decent start to a comic styled Batroc if you want one. Batroc includes a hand gun, and a clear display stand.
THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION
Sadly, due to their one per case nature coupled with my being out of town, I was unable to get Jasper and Batroc with the rest of Series 55 from my local comicbook store (It’s okay, I’m fairly certain I know who got the set, and I know it went to a good home.) Fortunately, I was able to get ahold of one from Luke’s Toystore, my favorite Minimates retailer. I’m glad I was able to get this set because it’s the highlight of the series for me. Sure, the others are all solid sets, and I wouldn’t want to have missed any of them, but this set just makes me smile. Diamond could have easily phoned it in on these two, but they really brought their A-game, and this set is total win because of it.
I just wrote over 800 words about a Jasper Sitwell & Batroc the Leaper two-pack. Based on their appearance in a multi-million dollar film, no less! I cannot begin to tell you how much that thrills me.
The Figure In Question 