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 House of X Marvel Girl, Moira MacTaggert

 I liked most all the figures from this Marvel Legends House of X line, though am unfamiliar with the two 2019 Jonathan Hickman House of X and Powers of X books. While I like all the other figures in this wave, the main attraction to these two figures for me were a classic Marvel Girl portrait and a female in both civilian dress and lab coat. The sheer volume and expense of what Hasbro is putting out in the Marvel Legends wave prevents me from buying entire waves often, but these two are popular among the line for good reason.

Below, Marvel Girl with fellow X-Men, my Marvel Legends Nightcrawler and Beast...

Jean's Flower of Krakoa has powers to extend human life, cure disease, and create self-sustaining biome. In House of X, the X-Men use them to leverage diplomacy with mankind into their acceptance of Krakoa's sovereignty. This is just a fun, futuristic accessory I enjoy on it's own aesthetic merit.

In House of X,  it is revealed Moira is a mutant with the power of reincarnation, having lived many lives connected to Charles Xavier and Magneto, sometimes at odds with their place among mutantkind across timelines. Regardless of Hickman's thick history of Moira's ten lives, I just liked having both a scientist and female in civilian dress.

Below, Moira with my Marvel Legends Jubilee and Dazzler...

I'm unsure if I'll pick up any of the other House of X figures, but these two were unique among the wave in my eyes. Their skirts prevent great leg articulation, but they look fantastic. There's a ton of great X-Men stuff I've not read, but these figures have me curious about House of X/Powers of X by Hickman.

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90's X-Men MiniMates

It's probably as good a time to photograph these fun MiniMates, having read so much 90's X-Men in the last year. There seems to have been a nostalgia for 90's comics lately, and finding them in the dollar bins is easy since the market was flooded back then. I had lost most of my interest in comics as that decade progressed, and was too busy to even notice the comics crash of 90's, so it's interesting time in industry that's fun to read for me.

Starting with the X-Men's fearless leader, Scott Summers, seems appropriate. While I've liked all the variations on Cyclops' outfit, this pouched/strapped-out verion seems to appeal to a lot of fans. It's a little more outrageous looking than other versions, and I suspect that and the boom in the X-men's popularity during this period are reasons why. Scott comes with an extra hair piece that reveals his ruby shades hidden by the visor on the other.

 

 

 Scott's longtime lover, Jean Grey (Marvel Girl), has quite the red mane- a nice contrast against the blue and yellow costume. Like Cyclops, this was a popular era for Jean for the same reasons as her beau, I suspect.

 

90's Jean Grey and Cyclops with their X-Factor counterparts. It would be hard for me to choose a favorite pairing of these two- I'm recently keen on the X-Factor outfits, but was always liked the 90's X-Men costumes.

 

 

No 90's X-Men team could save the day without Rogue and Beast- sassy and smart, two valuable teammates!

 

 

It's easy to forget our Southern girl was raisedon the wrong side of the tracks. A runaway, Rogue was adopted by Mystique and grew up as a villain. After Rogue permanently absorbed Ms. Marvel's psyche and Kree powers, she reformed and turned to the X-Men. This was unknown to myself, having read a little about her strange bond with Carol Danvers only in the last year or so. I just didn't read much X-Men as a kid- didn't realize the wierdness I was missing  :D

 

 

Who could not love this? I love everything about this impossibly cute Beast MiniMate. His little paws and oversized feet are great! Like a lot of the chunkier characters in this line of Diamond Select toys, He has a slip-over torso piece to beef him up. The shade of blue is perfect!

 

 

 

Like my X-Factor Beast, 90's Beast came with an extra set of standard sized feet and hands, for what reason I am unsure. Who would pose these guys with out their beastly appenagages? That's why they are fun! Hank McCoy, brilliant scientist and medical doctor for the X-Men, actually had his first appearance in blue fur back in 1972- he briefly regained to his more human appearance on an early X-Factor mission, but is soon returned to his beloved blue.

 These make a fun group! I had to hunt them down on the internet, and paid too much more for them getting into MiniMates so late, but were too cool to pass up. I have more MiniMates to show, including some Marvel mutants, so stay tuned and remember to PLAY WITH TOYS AND HAVE FUN WITH YOUR LIFE  :D

X-Factor MiniMates 4-pack

I've been reading a bunch of X-Factor I found in the dollar comics bin lately, so it's a good time to bust out this killer X-Factor MiniMates 4-pack! Having read a lot of X-Force and Uncanny X-Men from this era, it's only natural for me to have wandered over to this title starring the original X-Men. This unusual spinoff from the X-Men titles finds the original X-Men estranged from the current team due to their old nemesis Magneto taking Professor X's place as its leader. The five set up a business in New York posing as as mutant-hunters for hire, capturing and secretly training mutants to control their powers and blend into society. Realizing the error of this ruse and it's resulting escalation of mutant discrimination, the group came out to the public with it's true intentions. Wierd idea, but it ends up turning into another X-Men book ultimately, eventually introducing new characters/mutants, and pushing previously "B" characters to the front.

Not everyone's favorite costumes, I kinda like the crossed chest emblem stretching over the member's torsos in different colors, Cyclops done appropriately in blue and yellow for the beginning of this title back in 1986. I'd be willing to bet this is the least favorite and lesser known Cyclops outfit and the 90's outfit is the most popular. I'd also bet most people don't notice as much because the basic elements remain: yellow & blue/or black, some bandolier/chest emblem, and optic blast visor.

Original field commander of the X-Men, Scott Summers was the first young mutant recruited by Professor Xavier for tutelage of his special powers, away from growing persecution of the general public. The unknown "X-Gene" that caused Scott's mutant evolution is extremely dangerous, revealing itself in the form of powerful concussive beams that shoot from his eyes. This "optic blast" can only be controlled by ruby quartz, fused into either his special visor or sunglasses, revealed when removing this MiniMate's visor/mask. He also come with a hairpiece pictured below, Cyclops sporting the extra set of flesh tone hands included in this set.

Jean Grey, the original Marvel Girl, was killed during the seminal Dark Phoenix Saga in the late 70's, yet retconned in a sort of wishy-washy fashion (just sayin'!). It was decided that Jean Grey had never actually been the Phoenix, kept in a cocoon on the ocean floor while the Phoenix entity performed it's evil machinations under her guise. Marvel had to do away with Cyclops' wife in the process so the pair could fall in love again! All is fair in love & comics  :D

Jean kinda goes well with fellow mutants Polaris and Boomer, sharing the same yellow as Boomer, and green with Polaris... all color coordinated n' stuff. Girl Power!

I think a lot of fans were bummed about Beast returning to his more human features in the early X-Factor books, but I love this! Don't get me wrong: I'm a huge fan of the furry, blue version of Hank McCoy, but I loved those early Jack Kirby issues of X-Men. Beast's costume changes color later in the series, but it's not long before Marvel brought back Hank's blue fur. Marvel more recently started an X-Men reboot in the First Class title, Hank as a "more human" Beast like this, as Jack Kirby created him in 1963. I like this  :)

Like most all toy collectors, I am mysteriously drawn to translucent plastic. It just looks cool, and what better material to render Iceman from? The original version of the character looked like a snowman, shortly thereafter revamped as the icy, angular hero we know today. It seems odd he wears that metal inhibitor belt while the rest of his outfit takes on his icy form, but that's how Bobby Drake looked in in X-Factor, a result of Loki's trickery in attempt to overpower the Frost Giants. Iceman came with an ice structure arm accessory that looks good, but does not fit well over his arm with the hand removed or not. He looks perfect on the flight stand I got with mu Magneto/Zero MiniMate 2-pack!

I love this set! It would have been nice to have Archangel in the set, or the coveted X-Force Angel that has a large white on red X pattern on his chest matching the rest of the X-Factor costumes (included in a 2-pack with Warpath).  These may seem somewhat plain individually, but make a nice grouping of a somewhat odd, but ambitious period in X-Men history. I've enjoyed reading some of the earlier issues of X-Factor, and look forward to reading some more, including the 90's Version with Polaris, Havok, and Multiple Man.

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Marvel Universe: First Class Marvel Girl/Cyclops 2 pk Vs. 90's Jean Grey/Cyclops

I thought I'd review the First Class Marvel Girl/Cyclops Comic 2 pack & the individually carded Cyclops & Jean Grey at the same time- I have a pile of these Marvel Universe 3 3/4" figures I've been buying the last couple months that I've yet to open & photograph. I couldn't decide which pair to buy, so I just got them both. There is also a Secret Wars Cyclops/Dark Phoenix Comic 2 pack I keep looking at, but I tried to show some restraint   :D

I committed to the 90's era Scott & Jean first. This Cyclops is relatively new to the line, and I had not seen him while out & about until just recently. I read very little of the X-Men, and while this is not my favorite outfit, they did an admirable job capturing it. He loses two or three stars instantly however for the fact that his left leg popped off the peg immediately upon removal of the packaging. I believe JTrain997 had this issue with his MU Scarlet Spider, and I've had one of these with a limb issue in the past... was it World War Hulk? I forget...   Of course I popped it right back on, but it popped off because it wasn't a good fit. Those holes have to be small enough to hold the ball at the end of the peg, but big enough for the initial fitting- I'd have to imagine it's a fine line, and for that, all of these should have the superior ball hinge joint where the thigh meets the pelvis. This issue seems particularly shameful in that the rest of  Cyclops' body has some amazing articulation. I have never seen the freaky little ball joints at his ankles on a 3 3/4" figure in my life- Wow! And Cyclops enjoys cut joints at the upper thigh AND upper shin, in addition to his double jointed knees- pretty amazing. He also has a cut joint at the waist in addition to his upper abdominal joint, and a very expressive ball/hinge joint under his head. The rubber bandolier strap across his chest connecting to his belt and matching utility straps around his thighs are also nice details.

The 90's Jean Grey was released at the tail end of 2009 from what I understand, and her articulation is acceptable for this size of action figure. Jean has the same swivel peg/hinge combination joint my Silver Samurai Wolverine has as opposed to a bicep swivel, which works very well. Her massive mane hinders any neck movement, and she looks somewhat hunched over due to this. Her shoulder armor pieces accentuate this as well, and further hinder any head movement, while competing for space on her shoulder with her big hair. What's a girl gonna do? ...it was the 90's, right? I like the metallic blue paint and highlights in her hair... did that sound funny?  :D   No, seriously I really like this one -even better than 90's Cyclops.  Jean came with "Top Secret" H.A.M.M.E.R. file- at one time a code could be entered at furyfiles.com to receive special instructions (Buy More Hasbro), but the web address just takes you to Hasbro's site.

 A couple days later found me in Toys 'R Us while going to visit a friend, and fondling the First Class Marvel Girl/Cyclops 2 pack for, like, the tenth time, so I just bought it. I like the matching outfits, the design & colors an homage to the classic X-Men.They came with a reprint of  X-Men: First Class #1, first printed in 2006. The series detailed untold stories of the original team, updated for a modern audience. I liked the art, particularly the cover.  The characters & story in this issue are told from Bobby Drake's (Iceman) point of view, narrated though a letter home to his mother, as Professor X won't allow e-mail. I guess they felt the need to modernize with cell phones & personal computer references in order to appeal to the younger reader, inexperienced in life before such technology, but... whatever.

First Class Marvel Girl doesn't have the same swivel peg/hinge combination joint above the elbow that 90's Jean Grey has, but she does have a cut joint at the waist in addition to her upper abdominal joint. She's very simple yet solid, and I dig her retro-looking outfit with the face mask. 90's Jean Grey came with a base, as did the individually carded Cyclops, and was also given a translucent flame accessory- two bonuses I appreciated. Additionally, her sculpted belt buckle & paint apps make her seem more deluxe than First Class Marvel Girl, who sports a slight bit of slop on an outfit design that shows inaccuracies easily. 

First Class Cyclops doesn't have the extra cut joints in his legs that 90's Cyclops has, but at least they aren't falling off! He's also notably shorter.  I prefer the retro look with a covered scalp in the end, but wish he came with a stand like 90's Cyclops. I really like the Cyclops included in the comic 2 pack with Dark Phoenix, but I'm not sure I need a third set...

Group Shot!

 *See the Marvel Universe visual checklist at ItsAllTrue.Net