The Avengers movie is almost upon us, and Diamond Select Toys is building up the team in their Marvel Select action figure line! First up is the Avengers’ newest recruit and the world’s greatest marksman, Hawkeye! Based on the likeness of actor Jeremy Renner, this 7-inch-scale Marvel Select figure comes with his trademark bow and arrows, and will look perfect alongside your other Select Avengers. Plus, he features 16 points of articulation, for a variety of action poses! Not shown is Hawkeye’s detailed display base — it combines with the base of our mystery movie villain figure to create a scene from the movie — and everything comes in oversized collector packaging, so you can show off the figure without opening it. But Hawkeye is only available on the specialty market, so pre-order him today through your local comic shop or favorite online retailer, and expect him to hit stores sometime in May. Avengers Movie Hulk and the movie’s mystery villain are also available for pre-order now, and Thor, Loki, WWII Captain America and the Red Skull are in stores now! Info about Avengers Movie Iron Man coming soon!

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It’s now 2012, the year of the threatened apocalypse, but for this installment of the AAA, we’re gonna skip right to the post-apocalypse. Ten years ago, at New York Toy Fair 2002, Art Asylum showed off figures based on the dystopic world of James Cameron’s Dark Angel. The cyberpunk TV series was in the midst of its second year, and its depiction of a future America devastated by an electromagnetic pulse was must-see TV for genre fans — as well as fans of the show’s star, a young Jessica Alba in her first lead role. Figures released in the 6-inch line were Max Guevara (Alba) in her Jam Pony bike messenger clothes, Max in her all-leather mission gear, and a boxed set of Max in her protective biker gear with her motorcycle. (There was also a lone, 3-inch Minimate produced.)

While the motorcycle set only came with extra hands and sunglasses (well, and a motorcycle), the individual figures came with a full complement of mission gear, including alternate hands, Max’s tool kit, a backpack, a leg harness for her kit, and a grappling hook with rope. The likeness and paint details (like her back-of-the-neck bar code) on all the figures were top-notch, and the figure itself was pretty darn poseable, with the hip joints hidden by AA’s then-trademark rubber sheathing, which preserved the sculpt with minimal restrictions to mobility. And the packaging was a feast for the eyes, with a transparency of Alba’s face placed behind the sculpted blister, and windows down the side of the card to show off the accessories — as well as the onmnipresent AA coin, this one featuring a bar code.

More figures were shown at Toy Fair, but the series was cancelled that spring, and without a TV presence, he line was shelved. But the three figures (and one Minimate) that came out are still great collectibles, and quality toys.

Next time on the AAA: Tony Hawk!

As 2011 winds to a close, we thought kick off a new feature called Art Asylum Archives. In it, we show off a toy from the design studio’s fabled history, and for the first entry we thought we’d go back a full decade to the release of the first (and only) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon figures.

At the 2001 New York Toy Fair, Art Asylum showed off a series of figures based on the recently released Ang Lee film, and the overall quality of the line (paired with elaborate bases and some great packaging design) was a sign of what was to come from the company in subsequent years. The 7-inch scale figures were available with and without their elaborate bases, and most were highly poseable, although the line offered a more statuesque take on the bandit Lo. Soft rubber costume pieces allowed for a wide range of movement, a necessity when paired with the interchangeable hands that gave the characters various martial arts moves, as well as Green Destiny-holding options. Ten years later, no other toy company has tackled the film that revived Asian cinema in America, but fans who loved the movie can still track down the Art Asylum figures online, along with their cute Minimate counterparts, which debuted the following year. Happy hunting!

Next time on the AAA: Dark Angel!