Diamond Select got the American rights for the Battle Beasts name a few years ago, and released a few repaints of a single alligator Minimate figure at a few cons (see our article about the version we have), but beyond that the news was mostly dark. Until this past week, when suddenly a countdown and a new announcement rumbled to life on the official site!

And now we got another different figure, promises of many more, and a comic book announcement

Ancient words are spoken. A deadly weapon is activated. And from across the galaxy comes a race of beings who are at once familiar and unlike anything the Earth has seen. Why have they come to Earth? What do they seek? Why do they fight? The answers lie in the hands of one of the only people on Earth who understands them, a low-level government linguist named Bliss, and if she doesn’t survive this onslaught, all hope may be lost.

Three characters:
Vorin
Species: Ram
Raised in the way of all Battle Beasts, Vorin was taught combat from a young age. But after a lifetime of violence, he seeks out a different way for his people, and will battle to make his vision of the future a reality. On his journey, he has found allies who share his vision, and they, too, are no strangers to the ways of the sword, knife and axe.

Gruntos
Species: Walrus
Although sometimes jovial and frequently hungry, Gruntos is a fiercely loyal warrior, and will defend his comrades as vigorously as he defends his plate.

Merk
Species: Falcon
A natural predator, Merk clashed with Vorin many times before they became allies. But Merk studies his friends as closely as he does his enemies.

The characters look more like warrior animals than the classic Battle Beasts.

A clear red version of Vorin will be released at C2E2 2012. Sadly, the fact it is clear red makes it hard to see the figure, though the Facebook page did release a picture of the figure out of the bag, unlike the official site.

So I snagged on of the new Minimates Battle Beasts. This is similar to the single announce Gator beast, except they have been making alternate colors to give away at various toy shows and cons this year. The first was a month or so ago and I couldn’t find it for anywhere near reasonable on eBay, but there was a second alternate color gator released this past month at some place called E2X2 or C2E2 or R2D2 or something. In any event, I snagged on off of eBay for a mere $25 including shipping, so that was a good score. It is the first chance for me to get a handle on the new Battle Beast, so here are some pics:

The alternate color Gator came complete with a crappy gun. His color scheme is the best one so far, so props for the color scheme!

My Beast came with a special bonus: a hair from a paintbrush!

The gator can barely hold the crappy gun, and when he does it is crooked. Boo to that! The previous premium gator had a sword.

Size-wise, you can see how the new Beasts are slightly taller than the old ones (please forgive the fact the Battle Beast shown is a bootleg, that was the only other one I had bought recently)

And more size comparisons with some Gormiti figures.

Overall, I am less than impressed by the hair and the crappy gun, but the color scheme of this one was the best so far. I am still not excited about the new line, and will continue to look at it with trepidation. There is one more alternate color of the gator going to get released, but besides that, there are currently no announced plans for the line.