Wow, a lot has happened in the world of articulated plastic action figures since I last screamed about Marvel Legends on this site. I unknowingly opened something in the cosmos when I — upon launching this very website — wished an entire list of Marvel Legends figures into existence. Hasbro has spent the last 10 months catching up to my demands, and I am pleased to report that four more entries have been crossed off of that list.
I dunno, y'all, I just like action figures!
Let's start with a little rewind to the summer months, when Hasbro unveiled a slate of action figures at San Diego Comic-Con. Two in particular resonated with me, because they checked off some boxes: Storm in her lightning bolt power suit, and Sunspot — not because he's Sunspot, but because he's wearing the original X-Men team uniform.
This Storm is major for a few reasons. She looks fantastic, first of all.
This is a look that doesn't get enough love, perhaps because it came sandwiched between two more iconic Storm looks (the punk era and Jim Lee's silver design). But this Storm look, designed by Marc Silvestri, is striking in its simplicity ... even if it is, uh, the inverse design of Ms. Marvel's even more iconic Dave Cockrum swimsuit. The arrival of this Storm figure further rounds out or completes a few sub-groups: the Outback era X-Men and, most important to me, it's the last figure from the original 1991 line of Toy Biz X-Men figures to get a Marvel Legends upgrade.
The Sunspot figure is even more exciting, because (pricetag willing) it's a gateway to so many other figures from so many other eras. The OG X-Men uniform has previously, to my knowledge, only been available in modern ML form via the All-New X-Men Toys "R" Us exclusive in 2014. We've been waiting a long time for this buck to get an update, and here it is — at least for the male members of the original X-Men, New Mutants, and Muir Island X-Men teams. Finally, Tom Corsi fans can make the custom of their dreams.
Now let's look at the two most recent reveals, part of the second Mini Comic wave. Have I been waiting my entire life for these two figures? I mean, since I've been collecting Marvel Legends figures for a quarter century, that's not that hyperbolic of a statement!
This Rachel Summers figure is everything.
It completes so many potential displays, from Excalibur to mid '80s X-Men to Days of Future Past, and it just looks great. The alternate Hound head is perfect, as is the the way they rendered her unique riff on the Phoenix firebird motif in plastic. Rachel's worth the wait.
And then Feral — ! Oh my god.
This is not just Feral's first Marvel Legends figure. This is, aside from a ToyFare magazine exclusive repaint of Deathbird's head on Black Cat's body, the first real widely-available Feral figure ever. This character is 35 years old. Thirty-five. And call me a '90s kid or whatever, but Feral is a top-tier X-character ... to me ... a '90s X-Force superfan. If Toy Biz wasn't beholden to the stupid belief that boys wouldn't buy female action figures, we would have gotten Feral (and Siryn and Boom Boom) in the '90s. Quark and Commcast and Slayback got figures before the X-Force ladies. Slayback. So yeah, when I tell you that I gasped during the reveal of all these Feral photos, all these poses, believe me. I felt a spark I haven't felt since first reading those Liefeld comics in elementary school.
To be honest, and to lean in to the headline, the entire Mini Comics wave is a moment for me.
This may be the first wave in a very, very long time where I wouldn't say no to having every single figure in my collection. I have, in fact, pre-ordered Phoenix and Feral (duh), as well as Silver Surfer (an upgrade on the Walgreen's exclusive!), Black Widow and Daredevil (two characters I will pretty much always buy). And I love Beast. That's a much-needed version of the character, the Astonishing uniform. I will probably end up with it, too, as I do low-key want that entire Astonishing X-Men team (even if I have a fairly strict pre-1998 characters/designs only rule with my Legends purchases).
Let's check in on the checklist, now that seven figures are reality.
If I had to place money on the next figures to get made, it feels like Hasbro's been promising Namorita for a little while and the OG X-Men uniform, for women, feels like an obvious choice. Get to work, Hasbro, because I'll be issuing another list of demands in three months!
If you haven't already, consider supporting worker-owned media by subscribing to Pop Heist. We are ad-free and operating outside the algorithm, so all dollars go directly to paying the staff members and writers who make articles like this one possible.
