First Class Magneto & Mystique MiniMates

I got these on clearance for about five bucks, and looking at this particular series, I can understand why. There is a sameness about them that may not excite like the aesthetic variety throughout the regular Marvel MiniMates series. But I loved the flightsuits worn by the fledgling X-Men team in the 2011 X-Men: First Class movie, which was one of the best superhero movies I'd seen in awhile. If I'd seen the Beast/Azazel set, I would have picked them up too, but I'm not surprised there were none left. Magneto & Mystique are the other interesting set in this series, for his accessory, and her coloring.

Young Raven Darkholme (later known as Mystique) felt rejected by childhood friend Charles Xavier, but Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) told her she was perfect the way she was- a magnificent specimen. "If I looked like you, I wouldn't change a thing." This psychological foreshadowing was well played in the movie, uniquely reimagining her roots in the Brotherhood of Mutants under the leadership of Magneto. Mystique's dark blue skin and red hair make her visually interesting, and her long history at odds with the X-Men make her an interesting character.

Michael Fassbender did some excellent acting as Magneto- a wonderful performance! Diamond Select did a good job in his angular chin and clean-cut looks within the MiniMates style. He has a slightly different paint scheme on the arms and torso. But it's the helmet that makes this figure rock! It protects him against psionic attacks by telepaths such as Xavier- made by the Soviet Union for Sebastian Shaw, Erik took the helmet after killing him in revenge of his mother's murder in a Nazi concentration camp. Xavier and Lehnsherr's complex relationship, at odds with the those who misunderstand them, was dramatically told in the movie. Weaved within the Cuban Missile Crisis and their fight against Sebastian Shaw, the fellow mutants are ultimately estranged on grounds of their tolerance toward the human race.

I love these two MiniMates, but the other other 2-packs in the X-Men: First Class series available on the pegs didn't reach out & grab me- even at $5. Check out Lemonjuice McGee's review on this set at MTV Geek!

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