Marvel MiniMates X-Force 2-Packs

It's no secret I love 90's comics- last fall I started reading Rob Liefeld's X-Force, and was surprisingly quite entertained. So much so that I hunted down nearly all the first 40 issues, along with several crossover issues, in order to read more about the group. I'd only bought a couple 2-packs of MiniMates to date, but seeing these X-Force sets further cemented my obsession over these tiny action figures.

Cannonball & Shatterstar were perhaps the most important characters from the 90's X-Force, and Diamond Select knocked it out of the park here. The folds/puckers in their headgear and Shatterstar's belt are wonderful, as is the hair sculpt in both these. Though somewhat limited to the overall MiniMates design, the right elements that make these characters unique were executed perfectly within. These guys received color treatment referencing their initial appearance in X-Force, the blond hair, leather headgear, and white in their outfits, making them a great pair visually. There's definitely a 90's influence in the sartorial expression of these two fierce warriors that amuses me  :D

The accessories rock here as well: Shatterstar gets his trademark double-bladed swords with spiked hand guards, which fit into slots on his back when not in use. Very cool! A slave from the planet Mojoworld, one hundred years in the future, Shatterstar was genetically engineered to have the enhanced strength and abilities of an arena gladiator. Sent back in time to Earth in search of the X-Men's assistance in defeating and overthrowing Mojo, he instead found Cable and the New Mutants, and the weirdness began!

Equally cool is Cannonball's blast-off accessory base made of translucent plastic. I mean how do you think he got a name like Cannonball?? Killer! Sam Guthrie was a founding member of the X-Men's junior team the New Mutants and their later incarnation X-Force, serving as first lieutenant) under Cable.

Sam's ski jacket is removable, comprised of a softer plastic with slits down the sides. He has a little paint slop, a yellow dot of paint on the back of his headgear, but at least it's on back.

The Boomer/Rictor 2-pack was no disappointment either, sporting the neon side of the 90's with some really wild coloring. Boomer is particularly outrageous in her pink and yellow outfit acquired in issue #19 of X-Force, when she dressed the whole team to look even more like the Village People!  Hilarious!  :D  The details are great on Boomer, from her detailed shoulder and utility gear to her name printed upside her left leg. She has two translucent orange blast accessories which fit snugly over her fists. What a rocker! If C.C. DeVille lost his job in Poison, Boomer would be perfect- she looks like a freak and can't play guitar either  :D  Tabitha Smith Tabitha develops a relationship with Cannonball while the New Mutants are transitioning into X-Force, rechristening herself as Boomer before battling the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with her teammates. 

Rictor has wild getup to compliment teammate Boomer in this great 2-pack.  With enough bandannas & shoulder pads to rival anything on MTV at the time, Rictor also has hair that Richard Marx would be proud of. And his goalie shin pads fit right in with Cable's dress code, making him a great mate to Boomer! Julio Esteban Richter was introduced in in X-Factor during the late 80s, was later part of the New Mutants, and rejoined them later as X-Force. The team was captured by the X-Men and X-Factor, who sought Cable for the attempted murder of Professor X during the X-Cutioner's Song, a ruse by Cable's evil doppelganger Stryfe, whom young Julio was forced to watch kill his arms merchant father. I sense a little angst!  He's basically a walking earthquake, so I guess an accessory was tough to come up with.

So yeah, I'm totally hooked on MiniMates now, these of particular interest as I only recently first read about them. There are a lot of people outwardly resentful toward this era of comics, but it gives me a certain nostalgia for that period- a more carefree time that was kinda... zany! Bill Clinton, anyone?  :D

More Later- Make It Fun!