I think we’ve all had some pretty strong opinions about Toys R Us and the Minimate deal. Some good, some bad. And, for the most part, it seems the powers that be are listening, even if it seems to take them a while to acknowledge those opinions.

For instance, the fifth series of Marvel hit retail stores throughout the US over the last month or so, and it looks that our cries over the unbalanced case ratios have been addressed. All sets now seem to come with 2-3 sets per case, as opposed to 4 of some and 1 of others.

Now, the biggest complaint, that Toys R Us won’t carry the Marvel line on their website seems to be in the process of being addressed. Doing a search for Minimates on their site now will yield a few new additions:

• Marvel series 5 – Captain Marvel & Black Bolt
• Marvel series 5 – Cosmic Silver Surfer & Swordsman
• Marvel series 5 – Extremis Iron Man & Titanium Man
• Marvel series 5 – House of M Spider-Man & Scorpion
• Marvel series 5 – Old Man Logan & Hawkeye

Granted, the Silver Surfer & Swordsman set seems to be missing (likely sold out), but for the most part, they are there! If they’re available online, it means they’re available to a wider (though still local) audience. This in turn should lower the secondary market price on these, since they’re more readily available, which in turn should make them easier to access from the foreign markets (theoretically). It’s not perfect, but its a start.

Maybe one day, we’ll all walk into our local retail outlets, be them here in the US or overseas in Canada (Editor’s Note: Canada is not overseas in relation to the US), or even in those imaginary parts of the world like Europe and Australia (Editor’s Note: According to my globe, those locations do in fact exist), pick up that latest Minimate release with little effort at all.

Though we’ll likely still have to brush aside yet another Spider-Man or Wolverine to find them.