Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series VHS Cyclops & Jean Grey

While I'm somewhat indifferent about the cel shading on these Marvel Legends Animated figures, I like the overall designs of these two figures, who were underrepresented in my collection. They were way overpriced at $27.99 on Hasbro Pulse, but I will say that the box art is really fun. Take a look at the figures on the turntable in my video:

Hasbro's redesign of this Cylops is fantastic- the straps on his legs and shoulder harness are all built in to prevent sliding while posing, a problem the previous "Jim Lee" Cyclops had. Choosing between Jean's two head sculpts is difficult, though I lean toward the fuller hairstyle, which didn't weigh the figure down in back as much as I'd feared. She is mostly a reissue of the previous "love triangle" boxed set that also came with Cyclops and Wolverine.

Below, Scott & Jean with some other X-Men in my Marvel Legends Collection: Nightcrawler and Beast, Jubilee, and Wolverine. I have several more Marvel Legends X-Men that have been on ice for some time that I need to bust out. Stay Tuned!

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Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" Figures

Last year I preordered three of the Hasbro Pulse exclusive Marvel Legends Retro 3.75" figure 2-packs, which I still haven't opened! I love the card art so much that I'm kind of just enjoying them that way for now. Yes, I sold off most all of my 3.75" Marvel Universe collection to make room for other things, but the retro style of these simpler figures really appeal to me.

Below, 3.75" Spider-Man and Electro with Marvel Legends 6" Retro Series Spider-Man and Electro- I have that entire wave of 6" Spider-Man Retro Series figures I've not opened either...

There was another 2-pack available of Iron Man and Black Panther, with metallic deco in limited edition foil packaging, but I opted for the Iron Man/Cyclops and Black Panther/Capt. America 2-packs...

This past March I bumped into Daredevil and Elektra, two characters that seemed to be unconventional choices so early in the line, giving me hope as to who might be coming in future waves. I really appreciate the inclusion of accessories for these two great looking figures...

And finally, I found Magneto and Human Torch this past weekend, just a couple weeks after finding Carol Danvers in her Ms. Marvel outfit. There is an Iceman and Hulk out there as well, the latter of which I'm particularly interested in. I have no idea how far this line will go, but there are a lot more characters I'd like to have in this style.

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Toybiz 10in. Bishop, Forge & Cyclops

These 10" ToyBiz figures have appeared on this blog several times, all the way from the outset 10 years ago. I've sold several in my collect, but had hung onto a few, including Bishop, Forge, and Cyclops. ToyBiz must have made millions of these oversized toys in the '90s; they seem plentiful to this day. Some are more desirable, fetching more than others, though I've noticed asking prices for most increasing the last 10 years. They are expensive to ship boxed! The oversized boxes were branded to specific character properties of the time, X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron, Man, Fantastic Four; other characters were often branded Marvel Universe, in a box with a more narrow back and blank yellow interior. The X-Men box Bishop came in is fantastic, and great for display, but I've hung onto these so long, I thought it was time to bust them open!

Each of these surprised me in one aspect or another; Bishop has a waist swivel where I though he was fixed. Due to his hair sculpt, the neck is fixed- they may have been making up for this with the waist. Some of the 10" ToyBiz figures have ankle articulation as well, but these all have solid ankles. The color on this figure is eye-poppingly vivid, reminiscent of it's time. I went back in the past ten years  and caught up with this X-Man of the future in Uncanny X-Men #282, Age of Apocalypse, and later, very powerful Messiah Complex. Great character! Bishop was packed with the obligatory, giant '90s rifle, and looks a lot like his appearance in the X-Men animated show of that era. 

I became more aware of Forge around the same time I did Bishop, reading stray issues of Uncanny X-Men twenty years after their release, getting back into comics as an adult; they were fun, and I enjoyed Whilce Portacio's art. Forge was created seven years earlier than Bishop however, by John Romita Jr. and Chris Claremont in 1984. Forge is a strait-up repaint of the 10" ToyBiz Spider-Man Series Punisher, but surprised me with his real cloth headband, a feature I was unaware of until opening him all these years later. His boot knife is not removable, but adds some visual interest.

Below, ToyBiz Bishop and Forge with their recent Hasbro Marvel Legends Series counterparts...

My 10" ToyBiz Polaris came with the same gun Bishop did, cast in translucent green ...!

What surprised me about this 10" ToyBiz Cyclops was his translucent blue plastic, undetected by me until only recently. This unexpected surprise made him even more fun to me. Honestly, I've sold every Cyclops figure I've had, but this one kind of makes up for it. Like Bishop, there were variants of this figure, including a metallic finish version, but I am thrilled with this odd, translucent Cyclops.

Below, Cyclops with future son, Nathan Summers, A.K.A. Cable, and fellow X-Man, Gambit ...

These are just big, dumb toys, some of them downright ugly, but some have a retro charm about them I really enjoy. Bishop, Forge and Cyclops fall into the latter category, but together are another level of fun together. But isn't that true about most action figures? Did you play with these 10" ToyBiz figures as a child, or do you have any in your adult collection?

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A Vs X MiniMates

I haven't yet read the A Vs X saga, but not out of lack of interest, rather lack of time. I passed on the TRU exclusive A Vs X MiniMates box set, which also included a Cyclops figure, my only regret having missed out on that Phoenix Killer Iron Man. Though I don't care much about Colossus as Juggernaut, this 2012 SDCC set had Hope Summers, and a nice Emma Frost. I also paid less for it and got free combined shipping with some other MiniMates on Amazon. Even if you didn't need another Cyclops MiniMate, this set has a lot going for it.

From what I understand, Colossus gained Cain Marko's Juggernaut powers during the Fear Itself story arc, where the majority of this character mash-up is played out. But the resolution of Piotr's new power is supposedly played out in A Vs. X, and so here we are, in spite of my marginal enthusiasm.

 I will say the helmet is spectacular, the colors vibrant, and I like the beefed-up MiniMates. He pairs really well with my Robot Hulk!

Like Wolverine, stick with any major action figure line of Marvel characters and you'll end up with a few Cyclops figures, but this one's special for his optic-blast visor accessory cast in translucent red. Mine is  hilariously bent like a limp bar of taffy, but it's a wonderful accessory!

Cyclops also comes with a regular visor and Scott Summers toupee. Admittedly, I like most all of the character's different outfits, probably because they are so similar and simple, so this modern version suits me fine. Diamond thoughtfully painted his gauntlets and boot tops underneath his accessory parts, so you can trim him down in size if you please. Nice.

A Vs X Cyclops with X-Factor and 90's Cyclops...

Emma Frost is somewhat of a vanilla MiniMate, but a deceptively great one. the cape clasp is simple but perfectly placed, a bustier strap molded onto overlay piece. Her oversized mane of blonde hair is appropriately glam, and lips understatedly lavender. I'm surprised delighted by this tiny temptress! Emma had shady beginnings as the White Queen of Sebastian Shaw's Hellfire Club, then starting a psychic love affair with Cyclops, who seems to have run amuck lately himself- it must be love!

Emma contrasts nicely with Crimson Viper, a character from the Capcom Street Fighter game, don't you think?  

Though the other figures in this set were nice enough, Hope Summers was the the motivation for this purchase. I read those Messiah War Cable books recently, and really enjoyed them. Hope is of interest to me due to her savior, Cable, but more well known for her status as first born mutant after the House of M event, whereafter the mutant population on Earth-616 was nearly wiped out.

Hope comes with a pistol that can be holstered, an oversized rifle Cable would be proud to carry, and a magnificent blast-off jet pack display that rocks hard. Behold...

The three-part assembly of this base is a little on the delicate side possessing more pieces to come apart when handling, but it stands up well enough, and plainly clever. Bravo!

Hope pairs nicely with X-Factor Jean Grey, their orange hair and green/yellow outfits- cute!

Hope Summers with Pepper Potts in her Rescue Armor...

This was a fun set I'd recommend to any Marvel MiniMates fan! All the parts worked well, and Diamond's attention to detail was superb. I was a fan of their Marvel Select figures first, but soon after won over by their MiniMates in a BIG way   :)  Be sure to visit the MiniMate Database!

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