Marvel Gear + Goods January 2018: Jet Set (Review, Spoilers)

Loot Crate’s January installment of Marvel Gear + Goods was Jet Set, and included items decorated with The Black Panther, The Ultimates, Doctor Strange, and the cool mad science vehicles of the mad, mad world of the Marvel Universe.

My favorite item in Jet Set, by far, was the exclusive Eye of Agamotto pocket watch. If you’ve been subscribing to Marvel Gear + Goods since its inception, you can now round out your Doctor Strange cosplay, as it complements your Cloak of Levitation pajama wear. Though this is not the first pocket watch to be included in a Loot Crate subscription, it is at least as awesome as the Deathly Hallows pocket watch, so those people that have both now have the very cool problem of not knowing which pocket watch to use, as if you were a 19th century gentleman that had the good graces to be friends not only with The Ancient One, but Albus Dumbledore, in their London college years. You can, of course, use this not as a pocket watch, but neck wear, as it is an excellent replica of the Eye of Agamotto. There are few comic book devices as instantly recognizable as the Eye of Agamotto, and anyone who has read Marvel Comics in the last fifty years should know at once what it is, even if they’re not nerdy enough to call it by name.

My second favorite item is the superb Loot Crate Edition of the Marvel Vehicles: Owner’s Workshop Manual by Alex Irvine, a fantastic piece of literature written in-universe, and even looking like a vehicle owner’s manual on the outside, as if Reed Richards might find it in the glove compartment of the Fantasti-Car. Well, as the Fantasti-Car has at least four glove compartments, there might be four of these in there. As well-written in-universe fandom reading material is as interesting to me as real world fantastic literature, I’m enjoying the thought of reading this.

Possibly my favorite and most-used item from the Marvel Gear + Goods subscription is the Black Panther apron from Super Science, and I was looking forward to more Black Panther. Though the earliest spoiler of the exclusive Black Panther carry-on bag was exciting, on receiving it, and the Black Panther dopp kit that has the same patch, I was a little underwhelmed; any item dedicated to a Jack Kirby creation should be fabulous. Black Panther isn’t merely a comic book hero, he’s a super-fictional Kirby creation that has the spark of life in his best appearances. The carry-on bag and dopp bag don’t have any Kirbycrackle. That said, this is a perfectly practical carry-on that won’t attract attention at the airport, and convention travelers might be happy to have a comic-themed carry-on that doesn’t look like it was made for a toddler.

The Ultimates were represented not only by this month’s pin, but a digital edition of The Ultimates #1 which subscribers received by e-mail.

Overall, Jet Set was an exciting installment of Marvel Gear + Goods. Though I was disappointed with the visuals on the Black Panther inclusions, they are good, usable items, and the Eye of Agamotto pocket watch and Marvel Vehicles: Owner’s Workshop Manual were, like the best Marvel Gear + Goods items, not only outstanding but unforeseen, and happiness-producing.

Jet Set has departed, but until March 15th, you can subscribe to Danger Room, which contains goodies for fans of the X-Men:

Training season has begun! The DANGER ROOM #MarvelGear & Goods crate features Magneto, Shadowcat, Mystique & more! Sign up by 3/15: https://t.co/BzJYMzDhWg pic.twitter.com/ujD9rx2kR5

— Loot Crate (@lootcrate) January 28, 2018

Loot Crate sent the review copy.