This should be a relatively quick review because today we’re looking at what I was hoping would be an upgrade over a prior release. Mystique was one of 8 characters released in the Marvel Legends X-Men – The Animated Series subline and she was just one of two villains for the line (3 if you count Evil Morph). She was an interesting pick for the line, but in thinking over the major villains in the show, not unworthy. It was just a surprise to see her take a slot over someone like Magneto (Apocalypse was released on a retro card in cartoon colors as a sort of companion figure to the line) who is is thought of as the main rival to the heroes. Mystique did make numerous appearances and she had her hand in some stories, though she did mostly fall by the wayside post Season Two with the exception of the Nightcrawler return episode. All that is to say I had no problem with the character selection, but I did have a problem with the figure.
Things got off to a bad start for Mystique when Hasbro advertised her using a render that was not accurate to the figure. There was a mix-up somewhere and the digital artist basically used the wrong base body for the render making collectors think they were getting a true upgrade on an old release. They did not. Instead we got the same old figure on the tubular body with a new, animated series inspired head. It had all of the problems of a lot of the female figures of the era where the knees basically bowed and the figure was limited with its posing. Now, we have a new Mystique and this time she’s exclusive to Target. The previous comic book version of the character was a Walgreens exclusive, if I’m not mistaken, so some fans had a hard time tracking her down. This time figures to be easier as she appears to be getting stocked in ample supply. It was my hope to bring one of these home and do a head swap, but once I got home I realized I had an issue.
One of these things is not like the other. The cartoon version of Mystique had a grayish, blue-green skin tone while this comic book one is more of a royal blue. Oops. Still, maybe it’s an upgrade since this is on a newer body. Kind of. The arms are double-jointed now and the legs pin-less, but the torso appears to be the same with its narrow proportions. Mystique isn’t built like She-Hulk or anything, but I feel like she needs bigger shoulders. The original render is perfect in that her shoulders sit higher, or maybe the angle is just better. A lot of Legends females end up being too slight for my taste. They have the opposite issues of the men where head-on their proportions look fine, but from the side they’re lacking in bulk. Mystique has plenty of curves from a side view, but not the front. Anyway, she has sleeves up past her elbows and her boots are different so the costume isn’t exactly the same either, but it’s close enough that it wouldn’t have bothered me if the skins matched. They did a really odd thing where they painted some blue onto the butt area of the torso. Apparently someone took one look at this figure and decided she wasn’t showing enough ass and demanded a little stripe of blue be added. The same skull belt with skirt is still being utilized only now there’s a gold finish to the skulls which looks nice. The face appears to be the same, but the hair is entirely different. It’s a very late 90s look, almost like a Rachel haircut, and it’s okay. Funny enough, the back of the box once again has an incorrect render. There she has the animated portrait and the torso might even be different as there’s a sculpted belly button. Once again, we’re sold a Mystique that looks better on the box than in-hand.
The double-jointed elbows are a marked improvement over the prior figure, but they don’t offer much more in a practical sense. With no butterfly joint and an ample bosom to deal with, she just doesn’t get really any clearance across her chest which would have been nice since she has a pair of firearms to utilize. They are new to me, but I’d guess they’ve been released before, and include a pistol and an assault rifle. They’re done in black plastic and seem fine while she also has a set of trigger finger hands and a set of open hands. She also has a very odd accessory in the form of Jean Grey as the Black Queen’s head. I think this was something that was locked away in a convention exclusive before or something, but I don’t like it. There’s nothing wrong with the head itself, but I’d much prefer another Mystique portrait. And you could say “Well, she’s a shapeshifter,” but what good is one head that’s a completely different color from the rest of her body? Yeah, I had fun with my Morph Toy Biz figure back in ’94 too, but that sort of gimmick does nothing for me now. If there was a surplus of White Queen figures out there then maybe I’d be tempted to buy one and paint it up, but as it stands this is just wasted plastic.
Articulation is the same as the previous Mystique which was mediocre. The only change is now we get bicep swivels and double-jointed elbows. The knees aren’t bowed so she stands much easier and is an overall better release, I just wish that old head worked or we got the head that’s on the back of the card. I was tempted to try and heat and pry the hair pieces off of each, but I don’t want to risk ruining them in the process. That mediocre Mystique is now gone so replacing it if I messed up would be costly. I think I’ll just return it to her box and make this my display figure from now on. Maybe I’ll even add some shading to the dress – I don’t know. This is a figure only for those Legends collectors who must have a slightly better Mystique in their collection or for those who missed out on her. There’s nothing special about the figure itself and there’s a very good chance she hits clearance six weeks from now as most of the Target exclusives tend to do. If you’re on the fence then you probably shouldn’t pay full price. If I had been smart enough to actually compare my two figures before I opened this one I probably would have returned it. Oh well.
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