Warming up to Minimates

Minimates.  I'm normally stoked to see Alpha Flight included in any type of merchandise release, but I hated these on sight.  They just struck me as being brutally ugly.

As a result of adding the Guardian minimate on the Collectibles page, I looked into them a little more and I admit that they are winning me over. If you also heard of these 2" inch toys but dismissed them as I did, here's some cause to reconsider.

There is a degree of detail involved that I didn't appreciate at first.  The accessories are interesting.  Whomever designed these toys (this set, the first of two, includes Northstar, Marrina and Puck) knew his or her stuff or, at the very least, did the necessary research.

The helmet is removable, which I did not realize at first.  But not only can you reveal a rather surly looking Mac...

...you can also substitute the head of that evil metal bitch, Delphine Courtney, that impersonated him shortly after his death (huh...the first one) in the original series from the early 80's.

Neat!  Not that I would use that feature a whole lot, frankly, but the salute to history is appreciated.

The last-but-not-necessarily-least piece is the flight base (or whatever name it goes by) shown at left; a clear stand to give your minimate the illusion of flight.  The first thing that occurred to me when I saw it is that it may have worked better with a yellow tint to simulate the trail from Guardian's suit, but it's still a cool idea and handy for display purposes.

So I may find myself getting my hands of these after all. They offer more than the initial glance revealed.  And of course, it would be tough to get only half of Alpha Flight, so you'd be compelled to get the second set which includes Aurora, Shaman, Snowbird and Sasquatch.

What, no Heather?  Sure, she is in a separate set with Box.  Throw that in the cart too!

Note: Some of the pictures used for this post are cropped versions of images displayed on this Luke's Toy Store page.

The Guardian Fury Files

Does this happen to you?

You look for information on the internet and are unable to find it.  You give up.  Weeks later, you try again for the hell of it and find it within two minutes. I don't know how that can be.

It happened to me again a couple of nights ago.  My original failure took place while I was looking for  info on the action figure below while creating the Collectibles page.

I bought this guy on ebay and when I received it, the packaging looked like it might have been tampered with.

As indicated at the bottom left of the box, the figure came with a S.H.I.E.L.D. file and a "secret code".  It seemed as though someone had tried to slip the file out of the package then reseal it.  It wouldn't matter a whole lot, as the Fury Files website is no longer active, but nonetheless.  I had paid for the whole package and wanted the whole package.  So I went looking for what I might have been missing and crapped out until just a couple of days ago.

If you're already a fan of Alpha Flight in general or Guardian in particular, you are likely aware of the information below.  For those who refuse to take an action figure out of its packaging and who may have similarly struggled in a search to know what you're missing, I'll share my findings.

The images below are from the Cool Toy Review website.  I include them in case the page is taken down at some point (the toy is from almost four years ago now), but as long as it's active, you should visit it for a much greater variety of photography and scans.

The first is a fact card of dubious accuracy...

Wormholes?

The next is a communication between S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Maria Hill and some guy called Anthony Stark.

Apparently, based on a comment I've seen on a message board, entering the secret code into the furyfiles.com website would reveal a response to the message above.

I wonder if Stark took Hill to task for her terrible grammar and spelling?  This has the feel of something that was written in another language and translated to English.

I don't buy action figures often, but when I do I always find myself debating whether to take them out of the package.  The accessory ideas are neat for this one, but the execution is rather poor, so in this case I'm glad I left it as it.

Guardian subs for Iron Man for Alter Ego #71

The magazine below is described on the "essential reading" page of They Stand On Guard.  However, it is not particularly prominent, and I seldom see it referred to in terms of rare Alpha Flight sightings, so let's shine a bit of a spotlight on it.

Alter Ego, for those who may be unfamiliar with the publication, is a magazine devoted to the golden and silver ages of comics.  This particular issue was mostly devoted to Canadian comics (obviously) from the mid-40's.

Long time comic readers will find the poses somewhat familiar; the image pays homage to Jack Kirby's cover for What if? #9 with Guardian taking the place of Iron Man, appropriately enough.

If you have the slightest interest in the history of Canadian comics, use the link above to order that issue.  It is an excellent source of information.