Last week I discussed the upcoming Disney Vinylmation Marvel Series #1 lineup of Avengers Marvel vinyl figures–but Disney isn’t the only toy company looking to cash in on Marvel vinyls in 2013! Coming up later this summer, Kidrobot will take their own crack at Marvel designer vinyls, when they release their first wave of Kidrobot Marvel MUNNY vinyl figures in various sizes and even keychains!

Coming in August 2013, Kid Robot will release their first assortment of Marvel MUNNY vinyl figures. There will be four types of products in the Kid Robot Marvel MUNNY line: regular 7″ Marvel MUNNY figures, 4″ Marvel Mini MUNNY figures, 2.5″ Marvel Micro MUNNY blind boxes, and 1″ Marvel Munny Keychains Zipper Pull Vinyl Figures.

The characters chosen for the 7″ Marvel MUNNY and 4″ Marvel Mini MUNNY figures are Venom, Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man. No big surprises here–in fact, this lineup might sound just a little bit familiar to Marvel collectors!

These are the exact four Marvel characters that Hasbro picked to begin the beloved Marvel Mighty Muggs line years ago! Great minds think alike, huh?

The blind box series of 2.5″ Marvel Micro MUNNY figures includes Thor, Doctor Octopus, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Venom and Spider-Man. Finally, the Kidrobot Marvel MUNNY Zipper Pulls Keychains figures will include blind-boxed Thor, The Thing, Doctor Octopus, Captain America, Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Venom, Spider-Man and Deadpool. Yes, Deadpool. I think we all know who the most popular character in the Marvel MUNNY Keychains series is going to be.

Okay, so–for people who aren’t Kidrobot fans, their products can be a little confusing. There’s an important distinction between Kid Robot “Dunny” and Kid Robot “Munny” figures. The Kidrobot Dunny vinyl figures are completed figures, featuring artwork designed by popular urban artists. The Kidrobot Munny line consists of blank vinyls that are completed with a design by the buyer. You’ll notice that all of the Kidrobot x Marvel figures are part of the “Munny” line.

So how is this going to work, exactly? Well, Kid Robot is “cheating” just a little bit for the Kid Robot x Marvel Munny vinyl figures line. Every Munny figure–even the smallest ones–will come pre-packed as blank, solid colored figures. Every Marvel MUNNY will include stickers to customize the figure into the character that it’s meant to be.

Personally, I think this particular Kidrobot Marvel MUNNY line is just a little bit lame. Now, I’m a pretty big designer vinyl figure fan, but to me, packing a blank vinyl with a sheet of stickers to customize it makes for a pretty weak Do-It-Yourself vinyl figure. And frankly, the MUNNY Thor and Doctor Octopus figures are a bit on the bizarre (do not want) side. I think that there’s definitely a market out there for these figures, but they just don’t appeal to me in the same way the Disney Vinylmation Marvel figures do.

The Kid Robot x Marvel MUNNY line of vinyl figures is scheduled to be released in August 2013. Pre-orders are now open for the various window-boxed Marvel MUNNY figures, Micro blind boxes, and Keychains. I’ll pick up a couple of the Marvel MUNNY figures and post full reviews and photo galleries of them when they’re released later this summer.