Marvel Legends X-Men Mystique, Beast, Nightcrawler

 I don't even remember how long I've been holding onto these Marvel Legends X-Men figures, but I got them as soon as they all dropped some time ago. I've been meaning to post some Marvel Legends dumps like this, and plow through some I still have boxed... Mystique, Beast, and Nightcrawler were on top of that list.

While underwhelmed with Mystique's weapons, including a humongous assault rifle she can barely grip, her head sculpt is perfect. The rest of her is a somewhat plain female buck, dressed up with her signature skull belt/loincloth. She serves her purpose fine visually, but is the least of these three figures. Mystique is a fan favorite though, and this Walgreens exclusive filled an important hole in the Marvel Legends X-Men lineup adequately.

Mystique came with a partially transformed Rogue head sculpt, and a Lilandra head sculpt as well, which fits nicely on the Marvel Legends Joe Fixit BAF Wave Jocasta... all I need now is a blue cape and a scepter.

Beast includes some great articulation for an oversized figure, including butterfly joints at the shoulders that were a debut feature at the time of his release. He came with plenty of hands, and while I love the head sculpt, a more neutral option would have been a nice inclusion. This is a fantastic release I preordered upon solicitation, determined not to miss out on.

Below, Beast with a couple other larger Marvel Legends figures, Thing and Hulk...

Nightcrawler may be the star of these three figures, with three head sculpts included, and amazing articulation. It's easy to be wowed by Beast, and rightly so, but Nightcrawler is a fantastic figure, obviously designed with care by the Marvel Legends team. Fantastic!

Nightcrawler shares the same saber as the Marvel Legends Pirate Deadpool I got last year-

Below, Marvel Legends Nightcrawler with my 9" ToyBiz Famous Covers Nightcrawler, and Marvel Legends Beast with my 10" ToyBiz Beast. I acquired both of these '90s ToyBiz figures early in my action figure collecting years as an adult, and still love them. 

My Marvel Legends X-Men Wolverine is finally in the company of two of his most classic teammates! I loved this "Tiger Stripe" Wolvie, and Hasbro has certainly got some mileage on his buck- I'm sure I have at least four different Wolverines that share it.

All three of these figures have become prized, sought after Marvel Legends since their release, and while Mystique may be slightly over-valued, Beast and Nightcrawler are amazing. Beast has been released again in the Marvel Legends Vintage line, repainted in gray with a neutral head, and I can't imagine Nightcrawler not seeing another release in the future- perhaps the X-Force or Age of Apocalypse versions.

Follow the Super-DuperToyBox on Instagram!

More Later- Make It FUN!

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.

More Later- Make It FUN!