One of the biggest comic events of 2011 — one whose effects are still rippling through the Marvel Universe — was “Fear Itself.” The massive Marvel Comics crossover, which saw eight mystical hammers fall into the hands of the world’s worst villains (and some of its greatest heroes, as well), gave us some amazing battles… as well as some sweet new costumes! To commemorate the Earth-shattering storyline, Diamond Select Toys is releasing two box sets of Marvel Minimates: The Worthy and The Mighty!

The Worthy box set includes Cul, The Serpent (the Asgardian god of fear); his herald Skadi (a.k.a Sin, the Red Skull’s daughter); Mokk, Breaker of Faith (formerly the Grey Gargoyle); and Angrir, Breaker of Souls (formerly the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing). The Mighty box set includes Asgardian All-Father (and Cul’s brother) Odin, as well as Spider-Man, Hawkeye and Iron Man in their final battle costumes, with their dwarf-forged uru-metal weapons. (Iron Man not shown.) Look for these to arrive this summer at comic shops and specialty stores near you! Pre-order today!

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Diamond Select Toys has released over 60 figures in their Marvel Select line, all in a consistent 7-inch scale, and the year 2012 marks the line’s tenth anniversary. To celebrate, DST has several great figures planned, including figures based on the movies Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man, but the first figure to hit stores during our anniversary year is Colossus! The X-Men mainstay who transforms into solid steel checks in at a towering 8.25 inches tall, and his 16 points of articulation give him a wide range of movement. To see how he stands up against another Marvel Select figure, we sent him and Gambit to the Danger Room, to get in some practice sparring. We even tested him against the giant spiked panel that he comes with! Check out the photographs in our gallery, and look for Colossus to hit stores in mid-February, followed by the Green Goblin. (Gambit available now!)

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Has the MAX Tech Stealth Jet flown under your radar? Well, maybe this will set off some alarms — a video showing all of the possible combinations if you were to buy two (or three) of them and take advantage of their fully interchangeable parts system! They’re the most fun vehicles we’ve ever made, and they look pretty sweet, as well. Plus, they each come with a pilot figure and plenty of sweet MAX decals for decoration purposes. The blue one shown is a specialty and comic shop exclusive, but a black version is at Toys “R” Us now. Somebody get these on the Pentagon’s line plan for 2013!

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Today, a bunch of classic Marvel Select figures make their triumphant returns to comic shops! If you missed out on Iron Man, Spider-Woman, First Avenger Captain America, the Red Skull or Loki, they’re back in stock with Diamond Select, and available for order from your local store or your favorite online retailer! Each comes with a distinctive display base. Pick up Cap and Skull together to form a set from the movie, and snag a Thor to go with your Loki to recreate Heimdall’s chamber!

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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!

Love Star Trek? We do too! That’s why DSTChuck is answering all your Trek questions this time in the Q&A!

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Everyone has ALL of the cloth-costume Star Trek Retro figures from DST and EMCE Toys, right? And you’re all Mego collectors from back in the day, right? So you’ve all seen how we’ve managed to preserve the essence of the old 8-inch toys both by remaking characters you have AND introducing new ones, right? Okay, so what’s the next logical step? You got it – Star Trek: The Next Generation. This year is the 25th anniversary of the series that revitalized the Trek franchise, and who better to kick off the line than Captain Jean-Luc Picard and a fearsome Borg drone? No one, that’s who. Now, go out and order them. You know you want to. Resistance is futile. Beam them into your collections this summer!

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Today sees a new fleet of Minimate vehicles sailing (and driving) into comic and specialty shops everywhere, as well as a new set of Femme Fatales!

Minimates Vehicles Series 3 (comic and specialty assortment)
- Knight Rider KARR with Garthe Knight
- Pirate Raiders Vendetta with Undercover Anne Bonny
- Knight Rider Super Pursuit Mode KITT with Michael Knight

Femme Fatales Set 2
- Alice
- Little Red
- Anne Bonny
- Medusa

And this spring, be on the lookout for the Toys “R” Us assortment of Minimates Vehicles, featuring KITT with Michael Knight and the HMS Albion ship with a British Marine! Coming in May!

Check out a gallery of the ships and cars in action here!

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The arrival time for Minimates Vehicles Series 3 is almost here, and we can hardly wait to see the first Knight Rider Minimates hanging on the pegs! Because we couldn’t wait, we took the three cars — the Toys “R” Us exclusive KITT with Michael Knight, the comic-and-specialty-shop exclusive KARR with Garthe Knight and the Previews-exclusive Super Pursuit Mode KITT with Michael — out on the streets to see what they could do. And they handled like a dream! (Our two newest Pirate Raiders pirate ships, the Vendetta and the Albion, also did pretty well.) Check out our gallery of pictures here, and look for KARR and SPM KITT to hit comic stores tomorrow, with regular KITT following at TRU this spring!

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With Minimates Vehicles Series 3 scheduled to sail into comic shops and specialty stores this week, we thought we’d take the two new Pirate Raiders ships out to take some photos of them in action! Robert Deal’s ship The Vendetta comes festooned in red and black, with plenty of skulls, and she comes with an exclusive figure of Undercover Anne Bonny. The British Navy’s HMS Albion is decked out in blue and gold, and comes with an exclusive red-coated Colonial Marine. The Vendetta will be available at comic shops and specialty stores on Wednesday, while the Albion is a Toys “R” Us exclusive, and should be in stores this spring. Check out our gallery of photos here, and don’t forget about our still-available Ranger ship (only at TRU now) and glow-in-the-dark ghost ship (at specialty)!