Damn, what a mouthful, eh?
What we have here is a weird convergence of sub-series – first of all it’s a Hot Wheels Real Riders set. Secondly it’s part of newish endeavor by Marvel Studios to celebrate their first 10 years, ergo Marvel Studios: The first Ten Years. And to add one final layer of specificity, it wasn’t just “stuff” from the first 10 years of the MCU, it was concept art from the time period! The art on each vehicle is inspired by a film in the MCU and like all Real Riders, the graphics are highly detailed and of the utmost quality.
- 1 / 5 – Iron Man – Volkswagen Deluxe Station Wagon
- 2 /5 – Thor – Combat Medic
- 3 / 5 – Avengers – 3D-Livery
- 4 / 5 – Avengers: Age of Ultron – Super Van
- 5 / 5 – Captain America: Civil War – ’66 Dodge A100
This set seems fairly new. I spotted some of these in passing on eBay, and then last weekend I found most of them out at a Target in Knightdale. It was kinda weird, I found 1, 2, 4, and 5, and there was an additional 1, 2, 4, and 5 on the shelf plus a third 5. No number 3 though. I didn’t see the set anywhere else over the next week, but I decided to scoot back over to that same Target just a couple of days ago and they had plenty of number 3’s on hand. Go figure.
Before digging into the cars I want to quickly draw attention to the cards themselves. Generally speaking the Real Riders make use of amazing artwork for the backing cards and this series is no different. Like so many others, the cards hold some artistic value of their own and I kinda hate to open ’em. But we must!
The first vehicle comes to us all the way back from Iron Man where it all began in 2008. These earlier released tended to be lighter fare than the more built up pieces we’re used to now, but they did – in general – mark a significant upgrade in quality from the previous generation of superhero flicks that proliferated the early 2000’s. Although Iron Man on its own will probably be remembered as more significant than it actual was, it will rightly represent a fundamental change in the way that cinema and by extension the public approached the comic book medium. And it couldn’t be more ironic: in an era where comic book sales are at their lowest, adaptations of comic book material are ubiquitous in the mainstream. Hell, apart from Star Wars, they are the mainstream!
The Volkswagen is decorated simply, with one side showcasing Iron Man’s modern, familiar suit, and the other featuring the clunky, clandestine, almost medieval-inspired suit that he fashioned in an Afghani cave. (Afghani, right? I know it was retconned from the original setting in like a Vietnam POW camp.)
Oh me on my, the good ol’ Combat Medic. Hot Wheels can hardly get through a Real Riders series without one…but I guess I get it. It’s shape allows for lots of graphics-friendly space. This version is covered with a dark, metal-flake teal, a color I’m not too familiar with on Hot Wheels. It does a great job of capturing the essence and otherwordliness of Thor and his mischievous brother, and thus we have this vehicle’s inspiration, Thor from 2011 and the fourth film of the MCU. I appreciate the visuals and setting of the film, but tonally I thought it was confusing and I found the characters forgettable but at least it wasn’t a flat out bad movie.
The artwork centers on Thor and Loki as does the film itself. At first their interactions felt…stilted, to say the least, but I think the on-screen chemistry between the two has grown and matured over the years, and it also plays out a bit better when it isn’t taking center stage. The graphics illustrate them in all their Asgardian weirdness; they almost look like aliens.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a 3D-Livery before. Is this new at all? Or just wildly uncommon? It’s got a bit of a Southeast Asian flare to it with the whole “bike” towing a covered “buggy” behind…although this is obviously an updated and modernized concept with a motorcycle at the front and what we can assume is pretty nice cabin/carriage to relax in. (We don’t get to see inside, so we’re just gonna have to use our imaginations.) I love the little details like the Avengers logo on the top and on the bike. I thought it was an odd choice for the first Avengers film at first, but when I saw how the artist had planned it out, it kinda made sense. You’ve got Hulk and Hawkeye on the left, Iron Man and Cap on the back, and then Thor and Black Widow on the right.
And I guess a crazy vehicle like the 3D-Livery is appropriate for such a watershed event in both film and the comic book industry. Avengers represented something that just a few short years prior would’ve been deemed inconceivable, laughable even. I was weary of watching yet another group of folks get to know each other but the payoff was decent if not a tad overhyped. (I think it’s the origin story that I’m getting bogged down with and tired of more than the actual superhero story.) I don’t wanna knock it too much though. It was a major gamble and in the end it succeeded.
Nearly 3 years later to the day we got the sequel to the big ensemble flick that already needed 5 films to happen, and that was Avengers: Age of Ultron. Overall I felt like this was an improvement, but maybe that’s just because I don’t like Hiddleston’s interpretation of Loki…I dunno, maybe I just don’t like Loki as a main character in any context. Ultron wasn’t a great villain but the film was as slick and as polished as one could ask for.
Age of Ultron is commemorated rather oddly in this series, by an olive-green Super Van celebrating Iron Man’s submission of the Hulk via the impressive yet under-utilized Hulkbuster armor. “Hulkbuster” was probably the coolest thing in the whole damn movie, so I’m cool with it, it just seems strange to choose that confrontation as indicative of Age of Ultron. But again, I’m totally a-ok with it personally.
Finally we get to Captain America: Civil War, what I would consider the largest scale MCU flick up until Infinity War. In a lot of ways the inclusion of Civil War as a Captain America movie is a near misnomer. I mean it could’ve just as easily been spun as “Iron Man 4” or, how I like to thing of it, “Avengers 2.5”. They do throw a good deal of focus to Cap and..ugh…Winter…fughdhg…Solider…but Iron Man carries just as much weight if you ask me. And ultimately it is a film about the Avengers being the Avengers: who are the Avengers? What do they stand for? What is their agenda? What are their motives? I tend to like movies with villains that are just as memorable as heroes – a skill which the MCU has failed to master time and time again, possibly intentionally judging from some of what’s been said – but Civil War was a unique glimpse into what made these heroes tick and their existence as actual people first and foremost with their role as heroes being somewhat secondary.
All that being said, I wish we’d gotten a slightly more elaborate offering from Hot Wheels. One side hones in on the final confrontation between Iron Man and Cap (and Winter Soldier, who isn’t in the graphic) which is probably one of the best fights of the MCU so far. The other side features the same graphic but smaller, flanked by Black Widow and Hawkeye on the left and a clash between Winter Soldier and Black Panther on the right. Nothing wrong with it really, I just think it falls short of capturing the immense scale of Civil War, but of course anything short of depicting the scene at the airport would probably be considered “falling short;” that’s just being honest. I would like to draw attention to the aerial skirmish on the card between Falcon and War Machine, which curiously doesn’t make its way onto the vehicle…would’ve been a cool touch to stick it on the roof, right?
So that’s it, right? Well yeah, sort of, I guess. One thing I’m struggling with though is where is the concept art!? All this stuff looks like it was sourced straight from the respective movie. If were talking “concept art” we ought to see lots of stuff that’s recognizable as but not identical to what we were shown in the films. And I’m not seeing it! Iron Man looks like Iron Man should look, Hulk is the right color, Cap’s shield is what we’d expect, Thor and Loki are wearing the same weird outfits…I can’t figure out why such a label was given to this set.
Am I missing something? Is it flying right over my head? Please, drop a comment and set me straight on this issue…
Site Title 