Two Marvel topics guaranteed to get me warm and fuzzy are Marvel mini busts and the various 90s animated cartoon series (headlined by the X-Men and Spider-Man cartoons). I never thought those two facets would come together—but thanks to Diamond Select Toys, now they have! The low-priced Jim Lee Cyclops bust kicking off the line just shipped out, with guaranteed hits like Wolverine and Magneto coming up fast. And at Toy Fair, DST expanded their offerings further by debuting Spider-Man, Deadpool, Mysterio and more! And Skottie Young fans also haven’t been forgotten—Logan is on the way!

In a day and age when we’re seeing Sideshow selling out of quarter-scale statues like the Juggernaut for over 1300 bucks, I don’t think I need to tell anyone that limited edition, 1/6 scale resin mini busts for 50-ish dollars are basically a legit minor miracle.

I’m amazed that Diamond Select has managed to get the prices on their 90s X-Men Animated busts line as low as they have, but Cyclops is now shipping out (and already discounted to $44 shipped on Amazon!), and the buzz I’ve heard from those who received him already has been positive. So with that in mind: Who’s next?

Well, at New York Toy Fair 2020 last month we got a good idea of DST’s roadmap for the animated busts series for the rest of the year. We already knew Gambit and Rogue were in the works from their appearance at NYCC 2019, but four unexpected peer joined them at Toy Fair!

The most surprising new busts by a huge margin are the start of a whole new series based on the 90s Spider-Man cartoon series! I didn’t anticipate DST expanding into offerings from the Spidey animated series so quickly (or maybe ever), so seeing this was a grand surprise.

As proof positive that Diamond Select isn’t stopping cold at Spider-Man himself, they had a Mysterio mini bust displayed at Toy Fair as well! Mysterio merch has sold like gangbusters the last few years, so this was a solid choice. Looks nice.

Back in the mutant realm, a DST Sabretooth bust made its debut at Toy Fair! Wolverine is certain to be the fastest sellout in the bust line that’s been solicited to-date, so releasing a Sabretooth to pair him against was a smart move. The colors and sculpting really rock on this piece—one of the best mini busts so far by DST.

Finally, we’ve got my surprise favorite bust premiere from the event: a 90s Animated Deadpool that was quickly put up for pre-order! Deadpool actually made a couple of quick cameos in the 90s X-Men cartoon (including as a shape-shifted Morph), so while this might feel like an odd choice for the line, it’s totally a legitimate one. And I gotta say—I think this art style suits Deadpool really well.

But wait—! While the Skottie Young Marvel Animated statues line had a rather lackluster showing at NY Toy Fair, that’s not to say that the long-running series went utterly unrepresented by announcements there!

A Skottie Young Logan statue debuted at Toy Fair, and it is all kinds of fun and awesome. The first Wolverine turned out to be a dark horse hot seller and has sold out everywhere and become shockingly difficult to find, so it seems reasonable to deliver a second version of the most popular mutant ever for fans who missed out.

The Animated Deadpool is the latest bust to go up for order, with the remaining unsolicited busts shown at Toy Fair (plus the Logan mini-statue) expected to launch later this year. Given the surprising sell-out nature and scarcity of some of the recent Skottie Young statues like Wolverine and Venom, fans may want to keep a sharp eye on these low-priced items selling out swiftly.

Anyone out there collecting these budget-priced animated lines from DST? What other characters from the 90s cartoons would you like to see get the mini bust treatment in the future, and would you like to see the series expand to other cartoons like Fantastic Four and Iron Man?