Diamond Select Toys can be pretty hit or miss with releasing movie Marvel Minimates in time for a new flick’s theatrical release, as corresponding Minimates sometimes hit months after a film’s release. But the first set of Avengers Age of Ultron Minimates was right on schedule and is currently on store shelves–and now we can look forward to Avengers Age of Ultron Minimates Wave 2 arriving late this summer, including Vision, Bruce Banner, Hulk and Hulkbuster Iron Man!

It wasn’t kept a secret by Diamond Select Toys that there would be more Avengers: Age of Ultron Minimates figures released beyond Wave 1, so I wasn’t at all surprised to see (most of) the second series proudly displayed at the 2015 New York Toy Fair.

What I hadn’t been expecting was that Disney would be keeping the series under wraps at that time, so none of the Minimates Age of Ultron figures were allowed to be photographed during my appointment. But finally, a short two months later, (most of) the Wave 2 Age of Ultron Minimates are approved and ready for the world to see!

As is oft to happen, there will be two different assortments for this AOU Minimates series–one for comic book and specialty stores, and the other for Toys R Us stores.

Minimates Avengers Age of Ultron Wave 2 (Specialty Stores):

• Minimates Vision & Hydra Soldier (Specialty Store Exclusive Set)
• Minimates Phasing Vision & Hydra Soldier (Variant — Specialty Store Exclusive Set)
• Minimates Hulk vs. TOP SECRET Character
• Minimates Hulkbuster Iron Man vs. TOP SECRET Character

Minimates Avengers Age of Ultron Wave 2 (Toys R Us):

• Minimates War Machine & Bruce Banner (Toys R Us Exclusive Set)
• Minimates Hulk vs. TOP SECRET Character
• Minimates Hulkbuster Iron Man vs. TOP SECRET Character

I can’t remember any instance of there ever being a secret character that cannot be revealed in a Minimates series before–and in this set, there’s two of them! According to DST, both characters have been created as comic-based Marvel Minimates before, but one has never been done for the MCU. Hmmmmm. Thanos? Klaw? Ant-Man and Yellowjacket? Or someone else…?

For the known figures themselves–I’m lukewarm on the Hydra Soldier, but I’ll end up army-building it anyway to get Vision and Fading Vision (who is partially translucent). The War Machine and Banner exclusive Minimates look nice as well, and you gotta love Hulk’s hairy chest!

As for Hulkbuster Iron Man, well… trying to recreate the Iron Man Hulkbuster armor in the form of a standard Marvel Minimates figure seemed like it would be nearly impossible to pull off and have it look good–and unfortunately, it does not. Of the figures in this series, Hulkbuster is the only one who looks like a disappointment to me, but I really don’t know how Diamond Select could have maintained the standard Minimates body and had this one come out looking better.

The Marvel Minimates Avengers Age of Ultron Series 2 packs are now available for pre-order, and are scheduled for release in Q3 2015. I was surprised by how quickly the first wave of AOU Minimates sold out at some retailers (which doesn’t usually happen until well after a series is released), so if you don’t typically reserve your Minimates, this might be a set to consider doing so for.

What do you think of the second set of Marvel Minimates Avengers Age of Ultron figures, Marvel collectors? And who do you think the secret characters are: new versions of Quicksilver or Scarlet Witch, surprise inclusions like Nick Fury and Loki… or total surprise characters we can’t even begin to guess!?