Tag Archives: cyclops

March 19, 2026

S.H.Figuarts Marvel Gamerverse Cyclops

By Joe
A new challenger has arrived.

A funny thing happened in 2025 where two companies revealed they were going to be making action figures based on the hit video game series Marvel vs Capcom only for neither company to actually mention the words Marvel vs Capcom. It would seem that neither Hasbro nor Bandai wanted to compensate the Capcom portion of that pairing so instead we’re getting “Gamerverse” figures based on “the popular video game series.” Yes, it was kind of amusing watching the people at Hasbro try to talk around that fact, but to the initiated these action figures are clearly based on that series of games which began way back in 1994 as X-Men: Children of the Atom before morphing into the tag team video game confrontation series it’s most known for today. To see Hasbro mine this franchise for characters was hardly a surprise. They had basically already begun as much with their release of a yellow and blue Cable in 2024 and the Iron Man with proton canon set that came before it. 2025 was just the year they leaned into it more heavily and it so far has produced some pretty nice results. As for Bandai, I’m not sure if anyone saw that coming. It makes more sense for the company since they have had the Street Fighter license in the past and seem to still do though their output has dwindled more recently (which probably has to do with that I.P. getting licensed out to several companies now). Making some Marvel characters to scale with those seems like a natural pivot, but I wasn’t sure if it was something they were allowed to do. Most of the Bandai figures I’ve seen are based on film franchises, but I guess someone at Disney felt that video games was a natural extension of that.

He’s shorter and stockier than his Legends counterpart, though the picture makes it look more apparent than it does in reality.

I’m not sure if either company had advance warning of what the other was up to, but it seemed to work out nicely for Bandai that their first ended up being the leader of the X-Men: Cyclops. Hasbro didn’t touch the character in their own Gamerverse line and even Bandai’s follow-up, Spider-Man, has so far not made an appearance for Hasbro (Wolverine follows who was the star of the Hasbro releases last year). The X-Men are pretty damn popular and it was their video game that got the ball rolling so it makes sense to turn to one of them first, though Cyclops can probably be thought of as a slight surprise. Wolverine will always be the expectation, but even someone like Gambit could have lead the way or even Rogue or Psylocke. Cyclops has been featured rather prominently in marketing materials though so it’s hardly an upset that Slim would get the coveted debut slot. And as a character who fires lasers out of his eyes, he tends to lend himself rather well to action figures. And then there’s the fact that Hasbro has kind of struggled with this design at times. I think most agree the figure based on his look in the animated series has been their best take, but that was a pretty bare bones release that was also a Pulse exclusive. He also has that controversial cel-shading much of the collector community seems to despise. The figure was essentially re-released to general retail as part of the X-Men ’97 wave of figures, but it had a new, and terrible, portrait. Many have taken to swapping the portraits between the ’92 and ’97 versions finding it’s much easier to remove the cel-shading on just a head as opposed to a whole figure.

He still looks down on a standard Wolverine, but perhaps not to the degree most would want.

As for me, my goal with my X-Men collecting is always to assemble that ’92 animated team on my shelf in the most authentic way possible. The Hasbro figure is fine, but it does bother me he has no effect parts and the portrait is pretty off-model for the show. Not terrible, but certainly not perfect. This Gamerverse Cyclops isn’t really going to get me closer to my ideal take on the character, but it did look like a figure that was just a whole lot more fun. There are caveats though. For one, he retails for around $100 for North American buyers. That’s a big price, and even though I was able to get that mark down to $89 that’s still an expensive action figure in this scale. He’s also shorter and there’s a question of scale where the figure is concerned. It wasn’t enough to get me to bail, but now that he’s in-hand it’s time to figure out if this was money well spent.

He’s got enough stuff to duplicate a lot of poses from the games.

The Gamerverse packaging is pretty much like any other SHF release. My box got pretty well mangled in shipping since I got it through Amazon and they decided that $100 figures should just be placed in brown paper bags (meanwhile, my sub $10 manga gets the box treatment). They’re lucky I’m not an in-box collector. Out of the box, Cyclops stands at around 6.125″ to the top of his hair. If Bandai is going for true 1:12 scale then this might be okay. This is video game Cyclops, not comic or cartoon Cyclops. In the game, he’s pretty much average height and if they’re saying he’s a bit over 6′ tall then that seems to conform well enough. Where it will cause issues is for those who just want to slot him in with some Marvel Legends figures. Compared to the VHS series Cyclops referenced earlier, he is indeed shorter as I have that guy at about a quarter of an inch taller. Is that a meaningful distinction? That I can’t really answer as it’s going to be pretty subjective. He’s still taller than the ’92 Wolverine and ever so slightly taller than my ’92 Jean (with a ’97 head). That’s in just a straight up and down stance for all figures. Crouch Wolverine down or put some bend in the knees of Jean and he starts to look taller. For me though, the real thing that stands out is that this is a thick Cyclops. He has a big neck and something of a square head. Cyclops traditionally has a taller, slimmer, head in this costume, but with this design the head is more in-line with the neck. It’s an all-together different silhouette. His torso comes across as more compact, though in reality it’s the same size as the Hasbro figure if not a little taller. It’s the thickness and his unique belt that give off the appearance of a stockier torso. The legs are indeed shorter than usual though while his arms might be a touch longer than average or it’s just his big mitts that make it appear that way. This is the point where I mention that some folks who have this figure have purchased an aftermarket double ball peg for the inner torso that does make the figure taller. I think his issue, if there is one, rests with the legs though so I’m not too keen to fork over the $30 for a piece of plastic to see if I like it better, but it’s out there if that’s your thing.

Cyclops has two blast options plus two additional neck parts to adjust the angle of his blast and provide more stability, though the default neck is pretty good at both.

The other thing that stands out with this figure when grouped with your Legends is the shade of yellow in use. With Hasbro, recent editions of Cyclops have gone very yellow – a bright, lemony, shade. With this figure we’re back to that orange-yellow which Hasbro used to use for Cyclops. It wasn’t super obvious to me in the solicitation shots, but in-hand it most certainly is. I prefer this costume go more yellow as it plays off the darker blues better, but his bodysuit also isn’t the same shade of blue that Hasbro has been using. For that, we get a lighter blue with almost a metallic finish. It’s subtle, but there’s a purposeful shine to it. There’s also shading in the lines for the muscles and around the joints which does look nice in person. It’s just a shame the orange-yellow parts lack the same care. Those parts are basically all bare plastic and some take on a non-purposeful shine that looks cheap. In particular is the crotch area where Bandai is utilizing hard plastic caps to fill gaps like we used to see with the Dragon Ball line. The visor, unfortunately, suffers from the same. The painted yellow at the thighs and wrists looks better as it absorbs more light while the boots, unfortunately are colored plastic though they’re not the same material as those harder pieces. The skin tone is also extremely pale, almost a bone white. The hair is unpainted, but sculpted in a very convincing manner that’s almost too realistic, but otherwise looks nice. I should also point out that this design uses the non-traditional “A” shape for the rear of the harness that’s true to the game (and if you had the classic Toy Biz figure it was the same there) while most illustrations of this costume just have the rear mirror the front without the X logo.

Bandai also threw in this cardboard accessory that’s…interesting.

Those unsure of the overall look of the figure will likely need to be sold on the next two parts: accessories and articulation. At least in the accessory department, this figure is a clear upgrade over most others. Cyclops comes with five sets of hands: fists, two-finger pointing, open, clenching, and chop. The two-finger pose is for when he manually activates his optic blasts at the visor and also his pointing gesture for a victory pose in the games. The chop also comes from the games where he makes an X with his arms before unleashing his super. They’re all good choices, but more exciting are the effects. For optional expressions, we get a teeth-gritting and a yelling head to go with his default neutral expression. The hair swaps to all of the heads while the visors do as well. And for those we get a total of four: standard, power “leaking,” short blast, and long blast. The standard one is just that, it’s a shiny plastic piece with a red line painted on. The “leaking” one has a translucent, red, piece which mimics a lot of the game art for the character and is a pretty fun look for your self. That is, if you can resist using one of the blasting visors. The shorter one is more narrow and kind of like a blade while the longer one mushrooms at the end. Both are done with translucent red plastic sprayed with white for a nice look. Both are pretty great and shelf space may be the driving force over which one you prefer. Or how they fit since that’s a bit of an issue. The optional visors have a hard time sitting flush with the portraits and can leave a tiny gap near the ear. Heating the head you wish to use and softening the plastic can help, as can just plain old elbow grease. I haven’t had any issues getting them to stay on and I even placed Cyclops on my shelf with the heavier of the two blasts for a couple of weeks before getting to this review and his head never drooped and the part never fell out. Still, after my experience with the interchangeable face plats on the recently released Super Saiyan Goku, it’s a bummer to see a similar issue here albeit one that isn’t to the same degree.

This seems like a more relevant size comparison than perhaps one to Legends figures.

Rounding out the package is a cardboard standee of Cyclops’ massive optic blast from the game. It’s two pieces of cardstock and I guess it looks fine, but it’s a pretty cheap presentation no matter the quality of the print. I suppose it didn’t cost them much of anything to include, but I can’t see using this thing. Of more note are the optional neck parts. Of which there are two. They pop in and out very easily and the intent seems to be to provide a more stable base for the heavier effect parts. Both basically remove the ability for the neck to do much where it meats the torso while retaining the head articulation. One piece is more straight on while the other is angled up slightly. It’s a good thought and a bit of a fail safe in case the default neck proved to be too loose, but I haven’t experienced any issues with the standard one. For my two week experiment from before, I kept the standard neck in place just to see what would happen and it held up fine. Would it still after six months? A year? I don’t know, but it certainly doesn’t seem any looser. These extra parts can perhaps get a more natural looking curve to the neck for those blasting poses so they’re not worthless or anything, just interesting. And in case you were wondering, even the longer one doesn’t materially change the profile of the figure. It sits lower in the torso and I still have him at 6 and an eighth with the longest neck in place.

Natural rivals.

The other most likely area for this Cyclops to shine when compared with the cheaper alternatives is with the articulation. It’s what Tamashii Nations has staked its reputation on. With Cyclops, he seems to follow a lot of the same design philosophies as the recently released Scarlet Spider and that’s not exactly welcomed news for me. We do get a mostly typical load-out for a SHF release: double ball head, ball neck, shoulder hinges that peg in, butterfly, bicep, double elbows, wrist ball-hinge joints, diaphragm double ball joint, hips, thighs, double knees, ankle swivel, ankle rocker, ankle hinge, toe hinge. What’s missing? A damn waist joint. Why is Bandai omitting waist articulation from its Marvel figures lately? I don’t understand it. With Scarlet Spider, the culprit is a lower back piece that’s part of the waist sculpt and seems to only exist to prevent gaps from appearing at the waist. The joint itself is a simple ball peg, like most SHF releases, and it’s just this spacer that prevents rotation. With Cyclops, perhaps it has something to do with these straps that go over the shoulders. They connect underneath the abdomen and there’s actually some play here. You can pull them out and push them back in to provide for more articulation in the diaphragm. It’s a sound concept, but practically speaking offers little. That joint is pretty limited as it mostly tilts and barely rotates. There isn’t an obvious spacer like Scarlet Spider, but there is a blue piece that appears to be doing essentially the same thing and that is preventing the figure from rotating. The hips with the old cap system in place at least work well going forward and back as well as out to the side – certainly more than a Cyclops likely needs. I do like the more traditional thigh cut instead of that hideous thing they’ve been giving us in the Dragon Ball line and the ankles work well. There is an exposed, metal, ring on the hinge at the ankles which some may not like to see. They also did the same thing with the shoulders as we saw with Scarlet Spider where the inside of the shoulder is quite flat. If you put him in a standard T-pose he’ll look pretty weird, but I guess that’s a pose you’re probably not likely to do so does it matter? The butterfly joint is okay and doesn’t break up the sculpt much so we’ll call it a plus. Really, it’s just the torso that blows, but that is kind of a big deal since the torso is most of the figure. Nothing is stuck or floppy so the quality control where articulation is concerned is at least a positive.

I have some nits to pick with a lot of the figures here, but I don’t hate how this looks.

At the end of the day, I’m a little conflicted here. This isn’t my ideal interpretation of Cyclops, but I can’t really say it’s off compared with the game it’s drawing inspiration from so I don’t think it’s fair to knock it for that. If you want to get more into it, this figure more embodies the artwork associated with the Capcom games as opposed to the sprite and that’s potentially a conversation worth having for those building out a Marvel vs Capcom collection. His scale is certainly off with Marvel Legends, but again, that’s not really this figure’s problem. Sure, I would have personally preferred him to scale better with Legends, but it’s not an expectation I can put on it either. It needs to scale with the figures Bandai is releasing though in that regard it’s impossible to say since he’s the first. He does seem to scale fine with Storm Arena which may matter more in this case for those building out that MvC display. What truly irritates me though is the articulation in the torso and the lack of paint on the yellow parts. He looks a little too cheap to be a $100 figure. Bandai doesn’t typically occupy that price range save for their more limited offerings, but maybe the Marvel tax is a significant one. If he were more at that mid-tier SHF price point, say $65, I’d feel better about the lack of paint, but at $100 this doesn’t really cut it. I’m left with a figure that I’m happy to have in my collection, but I don’t think he’s really worth the ask. I would not be shocked if this line dies because Marvel is fairly oversaturated at this point and the price is pretty insane. There may be deals in the future. I’m also less inclined to continue down this path despite my positive reaction to the Spider-Man they showed off. I need to think on that one some more and see how he turns out before committing to purchasing it. The same is true for Wolverine and whatever follows. If this line is one that interests you I’d recommend seeking out multiple opinions and going from there. Yeah, this hobby is an expensive one these days and six months from now you probably won’t miss that $100 too much no matter how you feel about this thing, but we probably should expect more for our buck.

There’s a lot of stuff I could list here that is likely of interest, but I can only select three. Maybe check out my Toy Review Archive if you want to know more of my thoughts on all of the figures that could relate tot his one:

S.H.Figuarts Across the Spider-Verse Scarlet Spider

In the two reviews I did of Scarlet Spider action figures I shared the origins of my love for the character’s design. To make it short, I found the appearance of him on a cover of a Spider-Man comic intriguing, but more is as a young artist I much preferred to doodle him in my…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends Gamerverse Wolverine vs Silver Samurai

Video game inspired action figures are quite the hot ticket right now. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but maybe some of that is owed to Jada Toys and how well received their line of Ultra Street Fighter 2 action figures have been received. Hasbro, for their part, has had a “Gamerverse” subline of…

Keep reading
by Joe

Storm Arena Street Fighter Alpha 3 Ken

One of my most anticipated releases of 2025 came out of no where. I was a kid during the early 90s and into video games so I know a thing or two about Street Fighter. Street Fighter II was everywhere and is pretty much the reason why the one-on-one fighting game became a huge genre…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Video Games, toys

November 30, 2025

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Cable

By Joe
Say “Hello,” to the Wild Man of Borneo.

Today we finish our look at wave 3 of X-Men ’97 Marvel Legends action figures and I think I saved the best for last. Cable was one of the non-members of the X-Men to play a pretty substantial role in the original animated series. He showed up in multiple episodes in both the first and second season and was a key player in what was to be the show’s big finale, “Beyond Good and Evil.” It wasn’t a surprise to see him return in X-Men ’97 where he once again was a soldier displaced by time, only this time the show actually showed interest in explaining just who the heck this guy is.

They fed him well in the future.

In the episode “Time Fugitives – Part 2,” there’s basically a blink and you miss it moment where Jean Grey mentally probes the mind of Cable. We see images of Cyclops and Jean when she does, but the show doesn’t bother addressing that at any future moment leaving most of the characters in the dark, save for Jean, apparently. Obviously, if you’re a fan of the comics then you probably knew all that, but he must have been a pretty confusing character for those who were only exposed to the X-Men via the cartoon. In X-Men ’97, we finally find out that Cable is the son of Cyclops and Jean from the future. Only there’s a twist as Cable is actually the son of Cyclops and the clone of Jean, who decided to adopt the alias Madelyne Prior. Cable plays a large role in the back-half of the first season and appears to be set to play a big role in the upcoming season. Might we finally see him form X-Force? I kept waiting for him to do that in the old show so it would be long overdue if he does.

I suspect we’ll see something like this in season two. Only Apocalypse will be much taller.

This depiction of Cable is his traditional look. It mostly conforms to what we saw in the ’92 series as well as the first chunk of X-Men ’97. By the finale, Cable (like everyone else) gets a costume change meaning X-Men ’97 is perhaps the most action figure friendly show we’ve ever had. We’ve already seen one of those finale outfits via Jubilee in this wave while others have been reserved for some two-packs that I didn’t pick up. I’m most interested in figures that fit in with my ’92 display and this Cable accomplishes that.

Cable, like Morph, is an all new sculpt. Initially, I thought he might share some parts with the Bishop from the first wave, but if he does I can’t find them. He’s pretty tall as well standing a little over 7″ making him the tallest in the line thus far. His sculpt is pretty intricate with lots of straps, pouches, and other assorted details pulled from the show. He has that animated look to him via a lot of flat colors, but there’s also a slight touch of realism to the face like Hasbro knew comic collectors would want to add this Cable to their display. Cable has a pretty distinct face in the show and it’s not quite captured here. It’s almost like it’s halfway between the ’92 version of the character and the ’97 one.

This is the “little gun.”

As is the case with most of the wave, there isn’t a lot of paint to be found on Cable. It’s mostly reserved for his face which looks good. Hasbro elected not to go with a glowing eye which is fine. The X-emblem is painted onto the collar as well as the red lines on his suspenders (I guess that’s what they are). Perhaps the best paintwork and nicest little detail is the dark blue piping on his chest and abdomen. A lot of the other colored parts are just plastic. The green straps are bands of plastic and they even run under the chest which is an odd look. The arm band on his left arm is plastic as are the thigh straps. The dark gray on his shoulders pads is paint as are the yellow rectangles on the boots, but they’re not that clean. There’s no slop, but they don’t quite reach the edges of the piece. He looks pretty good, all things considered. Obviously, more paint is best, but this muted color palette works better in plastic than some of the brighter offerings. The only aspect of the presentation that bothers me is the left arm. For that, we get Hasbro’s swirly, twirly, silver plastic. It would look so much better if it had a painted finish and since it’s such a small area it’s disappointing that they didn’t go that extra mile, but not surprising.

And this is the Big Gun.

Cable further blows the budget by having some unique accessories as well. I could be wrong, but I don’t think even his hands are recycled, but I also don’t buy every Marvel Legend release that comes out. He has a trigger hand for each arm plus a right fist and a wide, gripping, left hand. That one is intended to support his big, freakin’, gun. It’s a big hunk of plastic with some nice, sculpted, detail and a little bit of red paint. He also has more of a sidearm which too has that futuristic look to it and a little bit of red paint detail. Both guns can utilize a blast effect and Hasbro so kindly provided two. They’re yellow with some red at the base giving it a nice transition. These are recycled from many releases, but they work just fine here and they’re nice to have.

It too has its own blast effect.

The one area that may leave collectors disappointed with this Cable is the articulation. Big guys don’t always articulate the best, but Hasbro made some curious choices here. He does have a double ball peg at the head and a single joint at the base of the neck. Maybe Hasbro is finally figuring these joints out because his range there is terrific. It goes south pretty fast from there though as the arms feature your basic, Marvel Legends, articulation with no butterfly joint. That’s not the problem though, what is are these shoulder pads. Hasbro made no effort to work them into the articulation. Like Emma Frost’s cape, you just have to deal with it. Only in this case, you can’t remove them if you so desire. Cable can raise his arms out to the side, but he can only raise them out front so far. The shoulder pads are a softer material, but not soft enough to just get out of the way. It makes it hard for Cable to hold either gun out straight. For the big one, he has to hold it across his chest while the smaller one is always going to be pointed out at an angle.

“The name’s Cable, Apocalypse, remember it!” “I shall not forget this IMPUDENCE!”

It’s a shame, because the rest of the articulation is solid. He has a ball-jointed diaphragm that provides some forward and back, tilt, and rotation. The straps don’t get in the way because they’re separate pieces between the chest and the abdomen. There is a waist twist and it’s basically hidden by the belt. The legs are pretty standard with the thigh swivels hidden behind the straps on his legs and the only other shortcoming really is the lack of a boot swivel. You don’t really need it, but since he has such big boots that are clearly a separate piece why not have it there anyway?

Is the poor articulation at the shoulders a deal-breaker? For me, no. I like the look of this Cable and it’s a character I’ve wanted to add to the collection for a long time so I’m mostly content. The sculpt and the accessories are great by Marvel Legends standards and I can finagle the figure into a pose that suits me. More than the shoulder range, I think I’m more disappointed by the lack of weapon storage.. All them pouches, but not a single holster for either gun. I know in the show he wore the big gun on his back most of the time, but I don’t know if he actually had a holster like Bishop or if it just attached via cartoon magic. I couldn’t spy one in any of the screenshots I looked at, but Hasbro could have at least given us a peg hole or something. At any rate, Cable is the standout of X-Men ’97 wave three. If you like the show and you’re collecting the figures, then you probably already have him. If you’re someone more into the comic-based figures then I’d still give this one a look. If Cable is missing from your display I think this one works just fine as more of a classic Cable, but that’s just me.

For more action figure reviews from X-Men ’97 look no further:

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Logan

I knew who the X-Men were when the show premiered in 1992, but I didn’t know much about them. That show really was the proper introduction to the franchise for me and one thing I couldn’t wrap my head around as a kid was that these were heroes who didn’t really have a secret identity.…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Morph

I’m always going to have a soft spot for Morph. It was rare to see a character killed off in a children’s show, but that was the fate of old Morph who didn’t make it out of the show’s second episode. I wouldn’t call it traumatizing, but there was definitely a haunted quality to that…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Emma Frost

If you have seen the first season of X-Men ’97 then you may be wondering why Emma Frost, aka the White Queen, is receiving an action figure in the show’s companion toy line. She didn’t play a big role in the show having a speaking role in just one episode and then what amounted to…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

December 27, 2024

Mondo X-Men ’97 1/6 Scale Cyclops – Limited Edition

By Joe
The leader of the X-Men has arrived.

After putting a real hurting on my wallet in 2023, Mondo decided to take it easy in 2024 with its line of sixth scale action figures based on the animated series X-Men which ran from 1992-1997 on Fox Kids. Two figures ended up getting released this year, Rogue and now the leader of the X-Men Cyclops. With Cyclops though we get a slight change because easily the biggest thing to happen to the X-Men in 2024 was the release of X-Men ’97. Well, some would argue for a movie staring a foul-mouthed merc and an old man as being the biggest business in the X world, but I’m going with the Disney+ series. Since the show turned out to be quite the hit, and because it’s a continuation of the original X-Men series, Mondo decided its figures could use a little rebranding which is why Cyclops is the first release to be billed as hailing from the new show. What does this mean for the figure itself? Not a whole lot.

Yeah, I know, this isn’t a fair comparison.

Cyclops still comes in the same style of window box with artwork from storyboard artist Dan Veesenmeyer. The difference between his release and the others is that the character model definitely resembles the look from X-Men ’97 and not the original show. That’s not a huge change as the costume is the same, but Cyclops has a slightly slimmer profile and the detail work is a dead ringer for the same in the new show. For the figure, there’s really no change and Mondo via its YouTube channel has basically admitted that the figures are going to hew closer to the original series. It’s just now they will be able to toss-in items and accessories pulled directly from the new show where it makes sense.

“To me, my X-Men!”

And we pretty much know this to be true because concept art for Cyclops was shown well before X-Men ’97 debuted. Here we have another sculpt by the awesome Alex Brewer with paint by Tomasz Rozejowski that really harkens back to 1992 and that original Fox series. Cyclops stands a full 12″ and is clad in his yellow and blue Jim Lee outfit which he wore almost exclusively in that show. Like prior figures in this line, there were two editions of Cyclops made available and I opted for the limited version which came with extra stuff which we’ll get to.

You may want to separate these two on your shelf.

The sculpt for Cyclops may not be complex, but it gets the job done. He’s well-muscled and proportioned with a portrait that evokes the original series. The details one would expect are in place like the segmented straps on the belt or the pouches and straps. There’s even a little extra detail where the chest strap attaches to the lower belt that I don’t remember seeing in the show. The hair and the visor are all appropriate and the placement of the thigh straps appears spot-on as well (they’re also floating and slightly annoying as a result). That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for some nitpicks. Cyclops was nicknamed Slim early on, but by the 90s he was a pretty massive dude. This figure depicts him as a big guy, but maybe not quite as big as he could be. The legs look fine and so do the arms, but the chest and abdomen strike me as a bit undersized. It’s almost like Mondo aimed to fit this Cyclops figure in-between the 92 and 97 version. It could also be for a different reason which ties into the extra stuff. This version of Cyclops has removable arms and an optional flight jacket part like the Logan figure. If he were any bigger he might look huge with the jacket. If so, I disagree with the approach as the jacketed look should be a secondary concern, but the feature also seems to play a role with his shoulders being set apart from the body. These are all things mostly noticeable when the figure is just standing straight up and down, pose him and it’s less an issue, but it’s an expensive figure so we have to nitpick where it’s warranted.

He scales well enough with the bad guys too.

What really offers no room for disappointment is the paint. Mondo just slays when it comes to that part of the presentation and Cyclops is no different. The base blue is the perfect royal blue and the lighter blue used to shade it and the blacks all make him pop. The yellow is the right shade with just a hint of red of in it to lessen that lemony look the Hasbro figure of the same has. The different shades of gold used to apply the cel-shading for the yellow looks great and everything is rich and full. There’s an impressive lack of paint slop and issues as well. With such an ambitious paint job some of that is expected, but I’m finding it hard to notice with this one. There’s a visible brush stroke on the chest strap, but apart from that I’m at a loss. This is some really impressive execution so Mondo better hang onto whatever factory put this one together.

Mondo decided it was important Cyclops be able to do stuff like this.

Cyclops comes with new branding, but he also comes with new articulation. Mondo tends to keep things basic with its figures as they prioritize aesthetics over function. And at this scale, I think that’s the right approach. However, there’s no denying that certain characters need to be able to hit certain poses and for Cyclops it’s being able to place a hand on the side of his visor to activate his optic blasts (even though we also see him do so without pressing a button in the show, but lets just go with it). In order to achieve that function, Mondo opted to incorporate double-jointed elbows into this one. And they work great, no problem hitting that pose and he can pretty much put his hand to his X communicator on his chest as well. And the aesthetics trade-off is nil, as far as I’m concerned. We’re all toy collectors and we’re used to double-jointed elbows. They look fine, better than the swivel joint used on Wolverine and Sabretooth that has some miscolored plastic, so I hope they do this more going forward.

This is a team that loves a good, brown, jacket.

Aside from that, the articulation is pretty much the same as other figures. The head is on a double-ball peg and the range is pretty nice. It is a little more gappy than past figures, but I’m guessing they prioritized plus range at the head given his unique skillset. The shoulders are the usual ball-hinges with a bicep swivel past that. Wrists are ball-hinged and they can be tight, but I didn’t experience any issues. The torso is where things get less impressive. Cyclops has the usual ball-jointed diaphragm and waist, but he also has that unique belt that goes around his chest. It’s connected to the belt at his waist so it’s going to get in the way. It has some play and will float when you manipulate the chest, but the range is okay, at best. Hips are ball-sockets with thigh swivels built in, but the rubber trunks will hinder the figure’s ability to kick forward and back. I can get him into one knee poses, but it’s awkward and one must be mindful of paint rub. Knees are double-jointed and the ankles hinge forward and back with an ankle rocker. The ankles are pretty tight, but I didn’t need to heat them up to get them working. Shoulders are really tight too, but again, no heat needed as I just went easy.

Multi-blast!
This is the big one.
It sags a little.

Cyclops has a ton of extra stuff to go through so let’s not waste any time. We’ll do the standard version accessories first which include a stoic head and a yelling head. Both feature interchangeable visors and come with a standard one by default. Getting the visors off and on is pretty painless, and both heads can use all of the visors. The extras are a visor with a lens flare and one with a slot in it for blast effects. And for blast effects we get two by default. The first is a pretty standard Cyclops blast. It’s 4″ long or so with a splash effect at the end. The easiest way to put it on is to slot it through the visor first, then plug it into the head. It can only go in one way so if it doesn’t fit just spin it around. The other blast effect is an arc with four short blasts. It strikes me as a very Marvel vs Capcom effect and it looks pretty cool. Both are done on translucent red plastic which feels appropriate for a Cyclops effect. They’re rigid so hopefully none arrived warp. I love the look of the blast, and the lens flare part is also pretty cool, so settling on a display is actually quite challenging with this guy. You’ll want to swap some stuff from time to time.

“I was raised by a cup of coffee.”

Cyclops also has an assortment of hands to make use of. By default, he comes with a set of fists which are always useful. In addition to that he has two clenching hands, two “finger bang” hands, a set of two-finger hands for his optic blasts, and a single right gripping hand. The gripping hand is for his cup of coffee which is included. This was seen a few times in the first season, most memorably for me in “Deadly Reunions,” and it’s a pink cup with sculpted steam wafting off of it. Even though Mondo included a gripping hand for it, I find the clenching hands work just as well to hold it. Swapping heads and visors is painless with this guy, but the hands are tough. The pegs going into the arms are ribbed when they probably don’t really need to be. The ball hinge also plugs into the hand and each hand is on its own, which is how Mondo always does it. Initially, I felt like the fists were more likely to come off at the hand and not where they’re supposed to in the forearm, so I heated the forearms of my figure with warm water. It’s made easier by the fact that the arms are designed to pop off. I was then able to get the hands out, but it was dicey. I’m reluctant to really jam any of the hands into his forearms as a result, though I haven’t had the same level of difficulty with the other hands.

Sometimes it gets cold out there.

That’s all the stuff that comes with the standard, $220, version. The $240 limited edition has a few more things including the aforementioned jacket. Swapping the arms isn’t too bad and the jacket arms come with bare fists. The fists are actually the exact same as the standard fists just painted flesh colored. They are removable, though I haven’t bothered since they’re in there pretty good. He sometimes wore gloves with the jacket in the show so the other hands work with this look as well. The arms are also double-jointed at the elbows just like the standard ones so there’s no loss of articulation in swapping them. I think he looks great with the jacket and it’s a tough call on how to display him. Right now, I’ve gone without, but I’ll be changing it from time to time for sure. Oh, and I had to try because this look is so close to Morph, but the Morph heads don’t fit. The opening is way too small, which is probably good so that I’m not tempted to attempt a very expensive custom.

The big blast needs a little help.
“Take that, hairball!”

Cyclops would wear the jacket in the field plenty, but sometimes also to look more casual. To that end he has an uncowled head. It looks great and his eyes are painted red, which makes sense. Maybe some would have preferred brown eyes for the few times he was depowered in the show, but many won’t display him like that because he also has his shades. They’re black with the red lenses that have some white shading on them which looks nice. They’re a little brittle feeling, but have held up fine so far. They slot into his temples and look great when in place. He also has yet another visor that’s been removed so he can either hold it or stick it around his neck or something. It’s a nice touch. I will say, this head is the most X-Men ’97 looking part of the package, which could be intentional. This version also comes with another effect part that is one, massive, blast that’s almost 8″ long. It has a large splash effect at the end and it looks cool, but it’s heavy. There’s some drooping with this one so I’m reluctant to leave it in place for long stretches of time. It probably works best in tandem with an enemy getting blasted so there’s some added support for it.

Probably not going to be the preferred look for most collectors.
This head can make use of the blasts though.

Oh, but we’re not done! Mondo likes to toss in a goofy accessory with all of these special editions. We had the elf Jubilee portrait, Gambit as Mystique, and the Morph heads. With Cyclops, it’s a Sentinel head styled to resemble Cyclops. This is taken from the episode “Till Death Do Us Part – Part One” where Wolverine is battling Cyclops robots in the Danger Room. It looks the part and is pretty ridiculous when placed on the head of the figure, but it’s there if you want it. And Mondo went the extra mile and also included a swappable visor piece so he too can make use of the blast effects. It’s a little tighter a fit than the other visor, but it works. I’ll never use it, but it’s funny. Maybe it can be used as a head of a fallen Sentinel with Wolverine or something? Lastly, there’s also the usual Mondo stand. I don’t use them so I didn’t even take it out of the plastic. I wish they’d put an X emblem on it like the Logan one, but it’s fine.

“How do I turn these darn things off?!”

Ultimately, this is another home run by Mondo. Cyclops is a much needed addition to the roster of characters and he turned out pretty great. Did I have issues? Yeah, because nothing is perfect. I’d have liked to see a little more beef in the torso, but that is basically the end of my complaints. I do think the hands could have been made to swap easier and the hands are a longstanding issue with the line (though it’s been better, Magneto was rough). I get why things are tight though because these are big, solid, figures and loose joints would kill them. This figure poses reasonably well and the swappable effect parts and heads are all a ton of fun. This is probably the figure that is the most fun to pick a display, though Gambit and Jubilee are pretty great at that too.

It’s the Blast Squad!

Cyclops is definitely the last figure from this line to see release in 2024, but on-deck is another Wolverine. Alex Brewer has sculpted all of the figures in the line since the original Wolverine so Mondo wanted to get his take on the character and the looks we’ve had are promising. There’s also a retro Cyclops coming based on his look in the season finale of X-Men ’97. I have not gone for the variants in this line and I didn’t go in for that one either. We should also start seeing the first figures from the Spider-Man ’94 line very soon. I don’t plan on going all-in with that one, but expect at least a couple reviews of that line. Beyond that, we don’t know what’s next, but it sure seems like this line is going strong. If I had to guess, I’d say Storm will follow Wolverine, but I hope we get all of the core cast from the ’92 series. Even though it gets harder and harder to find room each time one arrives.

If you liked this review, then check out more from Mondo’s X-Men line:

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Rogue – Limited Edition

The conclusion of X-Men ’97’s first season has left behind a void. For 9 consecutive Wednesdays, we had something awesome to get up for. Now the long wait for a second season has begun, but here to help fill the void while we wait is Mondo. Mondo has been dishing out some very impressive sixth…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale SDCC Exclusive Logan

Mondo has been absolutely killing it with its sixth scale line of action figures based on the now classic animated series X-Men. The company also really ramped up production in 2023 on the line by soliciting five new figures during the year. At over 200 bucks a pop, it was quite the hit to the…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale Gambit

It is my belief that when it comes to X-Men, the animated series which debuted in 1992, the breakout star of the show was Gambit. Wolverine was the closest thing we had to a household name going into the show and was the de-facto pick for favorite character of many. And while the whole roster…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television, toys

April 24, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “Bright Eyes”

By Joe
Written by Charley Feldman and JB Ballard.

When we last saw our beloved X-Men, their world had just been destroyed. An idyllic place set to the soundtrack of the very on-the-nose choice of “Happy Nation” by Ace of Base in Genosha was laid to waste. Mutants of all backgrounds were slaughtered including our beloved Gambit and less beloved Magneto. In the aftermath of the episode’s airing, series creator Beau DeMayo took to social media to explain his reasoning for writing such a destructive story. In his view, the first four episodes were the nostalgia episodes. Things weren’t perfect, but a lot of what the X-Men had fought for in the original series had come to pass. Genosha was now their place where they belonged. It was a safe haven, but it was all so fragile.

DeMayo likened the attack on Genosha to both September 11th and the Pulse nightclub shooting. As a gay man himself, DeMayo designed much of the atmosphere of Genosha to mimic that of a gay club. Both are places where individuals who may normally feel pressured to hide who they really are can be themselves. And who they are is what also makes them a target. The world is not a safe place and we’re reminded of that constantly. In that, the world these characters inhabit is not unlike our own.

Rogue gets to do some ass kicking in this one.

This week’s episode doesn’t just have the events of “Remember It” to dwell on, but also those of last week’s episode, “Lifedeath – Part 2.” In that one, Storm regained her powers and also seemingly rediscovered some classic threads while Xavier had a vision of what transpired on Earth and was compelled to give up his life with the woman he loves. And in the closing moments, we saw who orchestrated the attack on Genosha. Mr. Sinister, with an assist from the DNA of Bolivar Trask, has seemingly assumed the role of catalyst for what could be a war between humans and mutants. It’s not surprising that a man who literally named himself Sinister is the one behind such a thing, but what does it mean for the character? Did he find another way to synthesize his perfect mutant from the DNA of Scott Summers and Jean Grey and is now ready to unleash his creation upon the world? Or is he acting on behalf of another? Perhaps someone who has always desired to bring about the apocalypse itself?

The opening “Previously…” for “Bright Eyes” is delivered by Rogue. In the scenes to follow, we mostly bare witness to what took place in episode 5 with the only piece from last week’s episode being Xavier’s voice over as he received his vision of what transpired. The opening title appears to be completely unchanged from last week. Storm has not been added back in and Nightcrawler gets to go two weeks in a row in a prominent spot. When the episode does begin, it gets right to the aftermath we have been waiting for. It’s Gambit’s funeral, and in attendance aren’t just X-Men, but Gambit’s former allies and would-be wife from the Thieves Guild. They’re just window dressing and it falls on Nightcrawler to lead the service since he’s a man of the cloth. It’s an understandably somber scene, but once absence garners much attention.

Perhaps Nightcrawler’s role will be like a team chaplain going forward?

Rogue, apparently not yet willing to deal with her grief, is on a one woman mission to find the man she believes is responsible for the loss of Gambit and so many others on Genosha: Bolivar Trask. Her mission will take her all over the globe and include in some interesting cameos from the greater Marvel Universe. She’ll eventually be forced to deal with her grief, but there’s a lot of anger in the woman and it’s fun to see Lenore Zann get to play Rogue in a different manner from what we’re used to. Elsewhere, the X-Men have decided their place is on Genosha helping out with the clean-up. Scott and Jean are still in a bad place, but this isn’t an episode with much room for the soapy drama we’re used to. Sunspot is also left to ponder if keeping the fact that he’s a mutant a secret the right way to go about things. After all, what if he was on Genosha that day and his parents found out he’s a mutant by IDing his corpse?

Eventually, anger gives way to sorrow when confronted by a great loss.

The last act of the episode is what pushes the narrative forward. We’ll learn more about how the attack on Genosha came about and the show is clearly setting the stage for the three-part finale that’s to follow. The X-Men will have a new enemy, and if there is a theme to this enemy it’s probably escalation which has been building since the start of the season. Whenever humanity scores a win over bigotry, be it in the real world or a fantasy like this one, the bigots always fine a new way to attach the marginalized. When the Emancipation Proclamation was put in place, the country went to war to actually free those from the bondages of slavery. When the war ended, Jim Crow surfaced followed by segregation, Tulsa, the Voting Rights Act, etc. Victory is often temporary, and the X-Men learned that the hard way. The end of the episode contains a pair of reveals as well. One we, the audience, were already in on and another we technically weren’t, but the show basically telegraphed. As such, I don’t think the final scene lands with the impact the show may have wanted, but people are sure to remember the song for the scene, at least. If you thought Ace of Base was an interesting pull, just wait until you hear this one.

“Bright Eyes” is another slow episode, one that is clearly building towards something. The show is clearly setting up for something spectacular, and now we get to see if it can stick the landing. I’m a bit sad there are only three episodes of X-Men ’97 left before the first season comes to a close, but I am very excited to see how it ends.

Previously…on X-Men ’97:

X-Men ’97 – “Lifedeath – Part 2”

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 ended in spectacular and heartbreaking fashion. If you were hoping to experience the fallout of that one, you’re going to be disappointed by this week’s episode. Like the week before which saw an episode end with Forge and Storm in a precarious situation, this week’s episode is willing to…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Remember It”

Last week’s episode of X-Men ’97 saw the show take a breather with a fairly low stakes plot involving Jubilee and Roberto getting sucked into a video game. The last 7 or 8 minutes of the episode concluded with a more serious tone as Storm and Forge found themselves at odds in the wildlands of…

Keep reading
by Joe

X-Men ’97 – “Motendo/Lifedeath Part 1”

X-Men ’97 continues on into it’s fourth episode with a bit of a change-up. The first three episodes were rather weighty dealing with the fallout of Xavier’s death, Storm losing her powers, and the whole clone situation of the third episode. And that third episode did reveal a few cracks in the foundation of the…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Television

March 22, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “Mutant Liberation Begins”

By Joe

The first episode of X-Men ’97 left me grinning from ear to ear and eager to see what would happen next. I’m happy to say, the show’s second episode left me feeling very much the same. “Mutant Liberation Begins” starts off right where the previous episode ended. Magneto, has revealed that it was the wishes of Charles Xavier that all of his assets be turned over to his longtime friend and often adversary. Magneto now leads the X-Men, and everyone is worried about where his loyalties truly lay.

The episode begins with a familiar refrain: Previously, on X-Men. Before, it was usually delivered by Norm Spencer, the voice of Cyclops. For the second episode it’s delivered by Matthew Waterson, the voice of Magneto. The opening credits are also updated to feature Magneto first reflecting his new status (and new, big M costume) as headmaster of the institute. This was a plot foretold by the official trailer for the show so it comes as no surprise. It’s also a plot from the comics as is another plot from this episode: the trial of Magneto. In addition to his new presence, there are also new shots included in the intro that mostly replace the classic shots we’re used to seeing. These new ones are recreations of scenes from the original series so it would appear that the opening title will be a little different for every episode which is kind of fun.

Magneto has been welcomed to the opening title.

This episode has to confront the issue of how the X-Men will exist with Magneto in charge and how humanity will respond. Magneto is essentially branded a terrorist by most of the world governments, which is why his reveal as being affiliated with the X-Men leads to a confrontation with Valerie Cooper and the federal government. Perhaps to the surprise of everyone present, Magneto surrenders as he views this as the clearest path to gaining the trust of the team. He does make it clear that he does not share Xavier’s world view that peace between mutants and humans can be achieved, but for the sake of his departed friend, it would appear that he’s at least going to try while also doing things his way.

Magneto will be forced to answer for his crimes before the United Nations.

Much of the episode takes place before a United Nations council set to judge Magneto. It also introduces a new villain: X-Cutioner. Pronounced by the character as “Executioner,” the character is voiced by Lawrence Bayne who is known to fans of the original X-Men cartoon as the voice of Cable. Cable will appear at some point in this show, but with a different voice actor. That choice was justified by series creator Beau DeMayo as being a necessity so that they could cast Cable as someone who sounds closer to Cyclops, something the original series likely didn’t take into consideration. Even with that, I was disappointed at the news as Bayne’s Cable was one of my favorite performances in the old show. He’s fine as X-Cutioner who is an enemy allied with the Friends of Humanity packing some serious fire power, but I’m sure I’ll miss him as Cable whenever that character debuts.

X-Cutioner may be just some guy, but he packs a lot of firepower.

The episode does include a B plot which would be unusual for the original show, but may be a sign of things to come. It’s also a humor-based B plot which would also be unusual and concerns Wolverine and Jean. Everyone except them has gone to the UN to watch Magneto’s trial unfold, so naturally this is the time when Jean goes into labor. It’s up to Wolverine to get her to a hospital and he seems far more unnerved doing that than facing down Apocalypse. It’s not something that chews up a ton of screen time and it was kind of nice to see the show willing to embrace a bit more humor. It also leads to some important character moments like what happens when an extremely powerful mutant shows up in labor at a hospital? And how does Wolverine feel about the woman he loves having a baby with another man? It gives us a great moment between Wolverine and Morph too that elaborates on their friendship, something we were told was a thing in the original series, but really didn’t get to see much of.

There is a history between these two and Magneto seems especially interested in rekindling that.

And speaking of everyone’s favorite love triangle from the original show, we’re apparently about to be served up another. When the writers were handed the keys to the mutant kingdom with that first show, it was a group unfamiliar with the X-Men that had existed in print for decades prior. As a result, they seemed to view the show as a new beginning. Some of that would be retconned in later series when it was acknowledged that the team had existed for awhile prior to the events of the show and more of that is being addressed here with Rogue and Magneto. It would appear their prior relationship before Rogue joined the team is now canon and it’s likely going to lead to some uncomfortable moments between they and Gambit. It just wouldn’t be X-Men without a little soap opera drama. I will say, one of my few criticisms of this episode takes place during these Rogue and Magneto scenes, but not because of the character development, but because of Rogue’s forced dialogue. It would seem writer Beau DeMayo could not get her line about looking as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs out his head because Rogue has a lot of cat puns in this one scene. And they’re not very good. Perhaps the show can add an actual southern, female, writer to the staff just for Rogue lines going forward.

I love the little character moments like this one between Morph and Wolverine. I hope for many more.

For a show that stylizes itself as a superhero action drama, an episode about dry court proceedings would have been dreadfully boring. That’s why “Mutant Liberation Begins” includes more wonderful action set pieces and also contains some pretty earth-shattering shakeups to the team. Like the first episode, this is still a show building towards bigger plots and laying the groundwork for how the series will go. It’s at times uncomfortable, but also exciting and I definitely want to see more. The episode also ends on another shocking reveal. Fans of the comics likely have ideas on where this development will lead, but I also wouldn’t expect a 1:1 recreation of any comic book plots. There will likely be some wrinkles thrown in and a change or two or three. As far as plots that could have been sourced from the books, I think it’s one of the top ones and it’s a plot that I’m glad the original series saved for this show because the more lax standards and practices should allow X-Men ’97 to do it justice.

One thing that’s definitely different from the previous show, X-Men ’97 is not afraid to shake-up the active roster.

Episode two of X-Men ’97 is more of the same, which is great. It’s going to be a long wait each week if all of the episodes are structured like the first two. Never mind the wait we’ll be in for when the season ends. I plan to review every episode of this inaugural season, though I don’t know how quickly I’ll be able to post reviews. It could be a Friday thing each week if I can find the time, or maybe it makes more sense to have a Mutant Monday on this blog? I guess we’ll see, but I’m definitely looking forward to taking this journey with all of my fellow X-Men fans around the globe.

Check out the other X-Men coverage we have here:

X-Men ’97 – “To Me, My X-Men”

It used to be that when a show got cancelled that was it. It simply ceased to exist as a new product. If there were enough episodes it could last in syndication on both broadcast and cable for a good while, but rarely was it accessible to the point where a fan could have the…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men ’97 Jean Grey

If you are reading this the day it goes live then Happy X-Men ’97 Day! Today is the day the long-awaited sequel series to X-Men debuts on Disney+. Rather than fast-track a review of the first two episodes to this blog, I decided instead to do what I most often do: review an action figure!…

Keep reading
by Joe

Wolverine and the X-Men

It might seem amusing to folks younger than me who grew up on Marvel’s Avengers, but back in the first decade of the new millennium there wasn’t a hotter team of superheroes than the X-Men. The X-Men had been around since the 60s, but really took off as a comic book property in the 80s.…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

March 21, 2024

X-Men ’97 – “To Me, My X-Men”

By Joe

It used to be that when a show got cancelled that was it. It simply ceased to exist as a new product. If there were enough episodes it could last in syndication on both broadcast and cable for a good while, but rarely was it accessible to the point where a fan could have the entire series at their disposal. Some shows received VHS releases, but often they were sparse. Then home media became more affordable. DVDs were both cheaper to manufacture than VHS and could store more information. We started to see full season releases for shows, both active and cancelled. In some cases, the home media market was so great that previously dead programs were able to come back. Now we’ve entered the streaming age where massive entertainment companies are seeking to profit off of their libraries. Those profits have been a bit hard to come by though so these archives need to be supplemented with original programming. Some of that original programming is entirely original or at least only touched by an existing intellectual property (think The Mandalorian) and then some is either a reboot or continuation of an older show.

X-Men ’97 is a continuation of the now classic X-Men animated series that aired as part of the Fox Kids Network from 1992-1997. The original X-Men cartoon was a massive success and turned Wolverine and Gambit into household names. It attracted eyeballs in the millions, sold a bunch of toys, and made lifelong comic book fans out of a generation. For me personally it quickly became my favorite show on television and I was hooked for the show’s entire run. It put Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the rearview mirror as this was something mature, something that more respected my intelligence, and gave me more to chew on. I still adored playing with my X-Men toys and sporting X-Men t-shirts so it’s not like it turned me into an adult overnight or anything, but it was something I genuinely loved in the moment and I still have a ton of admiration for. Having that show continue from where it left off in 1997 was something that didn’t even seem worth dreaming about as that’s how unlikely I felt it would be. Perhaps Disney, who has yet to fully introduce Marvel’s mutants into its vast Marvel Cinematic Universe, wanted to give folks a little primer on what the X-Men were all about? Whatever the reasoning, I am positively giddy like a kid once again that my favorite superheroes are back in an all new television series.

The intro is basically a shot-for-shot remake of the original.

X-Men ’97 was announced in November of 2021. At the time, my assumption was the series was being ticketed to launch in the fall of 2022 to mark the original show’s 30th anniversary. That obviously didn’t happen and the show was slated for 2023, but then slipped to March 2024. For the revival, Marvel selected Beau DeMayo (Moon Knight, The Witcher) to be the head writer with Jake Castorena as the supervising director. From the old show, Eric and Julia Lewald were brought in as consultants along with Larry Houston. Much of the original cast was returned including Cal Dodd as Wolverine, Alison-Sealy Smith as Storm, George Buza as Beast, and Lenore Zann as Rogue. Father Time unfortunately necessitated recasts for both Cyclops (now Ray Chase) and Magneto (now Matthew Waterson). Other voice actors, like Chris Potter (original voice of Gambit) and Catherine Disher (original voice of Jean Grey) were brought back for other roles rather than their existing ones. Such a choice is puzzling, unless we’re talking about a unique case such as Alyson Court who no longer wished to voice Jubilee since she felt the role should go to an actual Asian-American.

The action sequences are where this show will really be able to separate itself from its predecessor.

The show did premiere under a bit of a dark cloud. It was announced that credited series creator Beau DeMayo was fired the week of the show’s sneak preview and a little more than a week out from the Disney+ premiere. As the days went by, the head of animation at Marvel Studios, Brad Winderbaum, revealed some snippets of what was going on. It doesn’t sound like anyone was upset with the quality of the work DeMayo was turning in, and we’ve only heard rumors that he was “difficult” to work with. The term difficult in such a situation can be a loaded one. How many women and people of color have heard that excuse because certain individuals don’t respond well to confrontation from minorities? DeMayo, a gay, black, adopted man was someone who really identified with what the X-Men stood for and removing that voice from the show is certainly a risky move if the show is deemed a success. Winderbaum doesn’t get into specifics on the situation, but does try to frame it as a parting of ways between the showrunner and Marvel.

The group is probably more reflective of the foes to come than the group from the original.

Based on my viewing of the show’s first episode, “To Me, My X-Men,” it would appear that DeMayo’s exit indeed has little to do with the quality of the show. This first episode is the show getting its feet wet. It’s a way to reintroduce these familiar faces in a fun way that does harken back to the original series. It opens with a new version of the classic intro. The song is remixed slightly and all of the character introductions have been recreated and new characters have been added. It still ends with Professor Xavier and Magneto clashing together, though the villains side has been updated with what are probably better, more reflective choices (so long, Gremlin) given who the X-Men typically clash with.

The mutant who will come to be known as Sunspot is basically the Jubilee of this series, only his official joining of the X-Men will have to wait for a later day.

Similar to the premiere episode of the original series, X-Men ’97 includes a plot in its episode about bringing a new mutant into the fold and makes the Sentinels the big threat. Even though the show is longer now (it’s listed at 34 minutes, the actual episode is closer to 28), the episode still moves at a snappy pace. We find the team dealing with the aftermath of the professor’s passing. Cyclops is now the leader and is perhaps a little too forceful with his approach which rubs some members of the team the wrong way (namely, Wolverine). The Friends of Humanity are up to no good and have even repurposed some Sentinel tech into weapons of their own that basically resemble Mega Man’s Mega Buster. Roberto Da Costa (Gui Augustini), a wealthy teen who has been abducted by the FOH, is the one in the Jubilee role this time around, though his trek through the mansion is quite brief. The show appears confident that its audience is going to be pretty familiar with these characters and a more robust introduction was not needed.

The Friends of Humanity are back and they’re packing heat.

Other elements of the premiere include the addition of Valerie Cooper (Catherine Disher, the original voice of Jean Grey) as a government liaison for Cyclops and his team. DeMayo, when he was doing press for the show, described Cooper as the thesis for the show so it will be interesting to see how she’s utilized going forward. There’s also the plotline of Jean being pregnant and what that means for her and Cyclops’ future. The first episode ends with a pretty seismic change to the status quo, though if you saw the trailer it won’t come as a surprise and it’s likely the end you expected. Even so, I’ll save talk of that for episode two.

Wolverine still isn’t allowed to smoke, but looks like he’s now allowed to drink.

The first episode is a great reintroduction for the X-Men and really seems to setup what we’re looking at. It also establishes the look of the series. I’ve been a little wary about that going in, but after one episode I will say my fears were unfounded. This show looks as good as it can in 2024. It’s digitally hand-drawn by Studio MIR which is the right approach given that celluloid animation just isn’t done anymore. Stylistically, there will be folks who prefer the look of the old show, but objectively speaking this one animates much better. That is on full display during the action sequences which are far more fun and inventive. This feels like a show directed by people who as kids wondered just how far the super powers on display here could be pushed. Storm, considered an Omega level mutant in the comics and now show, really gets to show off what she can do to such a scale that I worry if the writers can keep her consistent.

I should have expected this, but I didn’t.

The episode includes closing credits done in the same style as the original show’s first season with a character model spinning in place and a brief descriptor of their powers below. Before it can cycle through all of the characters though, it cuts to a static image of the mansion for the rest of the credits. Was this a nod to how the first season’s ending credits would never get to Jubilee? That always drove me nuts as a kid. If it is in reference to that it’s a bit of clever humor, though I’d rather just see all of the characters get spotlighted. And that’s the one failing, if you will, of this episode is that most of the characters don’t get to do a whole lot. That’s going to happen with such a large cast, one that has even been increased since we last saw this group in action. I would imagine we’ll get spotlight episodes to come while also maintaining a serialized approach. Yes, what network executives hated for their broadcast channels in 1992 is the preferred method of story-telling in 2024. The only other disappointment for me was no in memoriam for the people we’ve lost since the original show went dark. It would have been nice to at least see a tribute to original Cyclops voice actor Norm Spencer and the original voice of Magneto, David Hemblen.

Storm is allowed to cut loose in this one, but will she be allowed to do so in every episode?

X-Men ’97 in its debut episode manages to strike the right balance between new and nostalgic. The fan service hits right and its reserved for parts of the show where fan service is appropriate. It also establishes a tone for the show which is in-line with the serious, dramatic, original series though it’s also apparent that this one will be allowed to be a little more grown-up (Wolverine and Morph are shown enjoying a couple of cold ones). That makes sense since the target audience is the kids of 1992, but it also likely won’t want to alienate the kids of the kids of ’92. It also left me wanting more which was good since this was a two episode premiere. I’ll get to that episode in another post, but the main takeaway for me is our beloved X-Men have been placed in good hands and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Get on the X-Men ’97 hype train with these posts:

X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series

A few years ago, I talked about my love of X-Men, the animated series, via a book review of Previously…on X-Men by Eric Lewald. That book chronicled the development of the 92 animated series that helped propel the Fox Kids Network to the top of the Saturday morning leaderboards through notes from the author and…

Keep reading
by Joe

Mondo X-Men TAS 1/6 Scale SDCC Exclusive Logan

Mondo has been absolutely killing it with its sixth scale line of action figures based on the now classic animated series X-Men. The company also really ramped up production in 2023 on the line by soliciting five new figures during the year. At over 200 bucks a pop, it was quite the hit to the…

Keep reading
by Joe

Previously on X-Men: The Making of an Animated Series

A lot of cartoons made an impact on me as a child. My first love was The Real Ghostbusters. Its goofy cast of characters and excitement were plenty of fun and there were interesting toys to supplement the series with, which was pretty much the goal of all cartoons in the 80s. The Teenage Mutant…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

December 29, 2022

Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Cyclops

By Joe
The field commander of the X-Men has arrived.

I wasn’t sure he would make it in time, but Hasbro managed to ship Cyclops before the end of the year. Cyclops marks the final figure (for now) in Hasbro’s X-Men animated series subline of Marvel Legends. It has been…a ride. What was once a dream line of mine to see brought to fruition, turned into something less. I won’t go so far as to get overly dramatic and juxtapose dream line with nightmare, but basically nearly every negative thought I had going into it came true. I don’t have a high opinion of Hasbro to begin with, but they are a giant toy maker that is pretty good at getting out a decent product at a good price. It’s just in 2022, most of those things have stopped being true. There’s been a reduction in quality, content, and it’s been paired with a rising price. Initially, I tried to be positive about a line based on the show X-Men. We had those Into the Spider-Verse figures to use as examples of what Hasbro is capable of when it decides to base their design’s on a particular source material, but the company chose not to do that with this line. Instead, we got previously released comic book figures with a dash of cel-shading and little in the way of new tooling or accessories. The line is best qualified as lazy, and I hate to use that word because I know there are people who work at Hasbro who are anything but lazy. The direction of the line has sucked. It’s been inconsistent, underwhelming, and yet, I’m still sad to see it end. To a degree. I want the company to just finish the main cast so I can take a step back and assess what we have, but that’s been put on pause with no guarantee of anything past this figure.

For some reason, Hasbro (and Toy Biz before them) have had trouble with this costume, but I think they finally got it right.

Given all of that, there’s at least a chance that Hasbro saved the best for last. Prior releases of Jean, Storm, Jubilee, Mr. Sinister, and Mystique have basically been of the straight repaint variety with varying results. Mystique and Storm got new hair parts, while Wolverine got a new head and hands. Morph has been the only new figure, though in Marvel Legends fashion, his body is mostly reused from past figures. He did get to debut new legs which were re-tooled to allow for his thigh and boot straps to be keyed in and it’s a part that’s going to be reused quite a bit in the figures to follow. Like this one! Cyclops, like Morph, is a mix of old and new. His costume is based on the show, which was based on the costume Jim Lee designed for the character during his run. It’s been a bit of a challenge to get this costume to look nice in plastic because of the unusual belt. Cyclops has a belt that goes up and over both shoulders, but only attaches to the waist at one spot on the rear and front. It’s sort of like a pair of suspenders, except one side of the belt has been clipped to the other side instead of the waist. It’s pretty goofy, but it’s been around over 30 years now so it seems pretty ordinary as a result. It just stinks for a toy-maker like Hasbro which wants to reuse the main body of its figures and add belts onto it, but past attempts have made the end result look ugly and chunky. Not to mention it can make any articulation in the torso seem pointless.

The chest strap is now keyed into the sculpt so it doesn’t hinder articulation and it’s not as cumbersome.

That’s why, like Morph, Hasbro decided to re-tool some parts to better accommodate the belt. The torso for Cyclops, which I think is the same as Vulcan, has been modified slightly so that the belt can now key-in like the straps on the thighs and boots. This means the belt no longer has to be one continuous piece, it’s actually “broken” at the ab crunch, but when the figure bends it creates the illusion that the belt is sliding around, but really it doesn’t move. The bottom piece of the belt just gets hidden by the ab crunch with no gap visible between the top and bottom piece. Is it totally seamless? No, but it’s an action figure and it needs to articulate and short of just making the belt part of the sculpt, this is probably the best solution. And by keying it in, it sits closer to flush with the rest of the costume. It’s not as chunky and awkward looking, and it’s easy to see why Legends collectors more interested in the comic line are excited for this release because you know Cyclops is likely to get re-released there. Possibly on a retro card or something.

Stay away from my friends, Sinister!

Hasbro did some actual tooling and it’s for the better. Sadly, that’s a pretty major development for this line as standards are pretty low at this point. And it’s not all, as Cyclops has a new head and his gloves might be new as well since they’re a little different from other figures released on this buck thus far. And just taking him at face value, he looks fine. Maybe even good. The head seems a little too big for the body as superheroes (especially from this era and the show) tend to have smaller than normal heads. The shoulders still sit too low and the chest could use more mass. Cyclops is a big dude, and this figure doesn’t really capture that perfectly, but it does so better than before. There’s also an eyesore on this guy on the forearms. Vulcan has long gloves that go up his forearms and Hasbro decided to sculpt in a groove where that glove ends and the paint stops. Cyclops has short gloves and apparently Hasbro blew the budget for tooling on the torso modifications because they didn’t do the same for the forearms. It feels especially cheap because surely there are other figures who would benefit from forearms without that line? It’s so frustrating how Hasbro will go halfway to deliver an accurate product, but stop short of something so simple.

Yup, he’s cel-shaded. Get over it.

The major talking point of this line has and likely always will be the cel-shading. Again, I reiterate that I like cel-shading when it makes sense. I think figures seeking to emulate a specific look benefit from the effect, but only if it’s done well. This line has been an example of how not to do it well. It’s been applied in a cheap and lazy fashion. Cyclops really isn’t any different, but by virtue of much of the figure being cast in a dark blue, it’s not as bad. The darker blue used to shade the main body, arms, and legs looks good. A better figure still would have used three colors for the shading, but here it’s acceptable. The yellow parts still look terrible. They’ve been using this gold, mustard, color for the yellow which matches no source material I’ve ever seen, comic or show, but expecting them to change at this point would be equally stupid. It’s also applied the same as it was on Morph for the boots which includes this goofy, wavy, line on the right foot that makes no sense. The belt on his torso has almost no shading, so it really stands out as just being bare plastic, but the trunks and waist have a little. It’s still not good, but it’s not the worst we’ve seen in the line (that honor rests with Jubilee), but it is as expected so at least they’re consistent?

“You left me to die!” “No, I didn’t.”

If this line has a strength (aside from the very well done box art by Dan Veesenmeyer) it rests in the articulation as it’s been pretty solid. I think at this point that’s the main strength for Marvel Legends given the changes brought this year. Cyclops still uses the ball-hinge head which works fine and his design doesn’t introduce any elements that would hinder the range up there so that is good. The shoulders are hinged and come out to horizontal just fine, rotate, and we get a biceps swivel that does what it does. There’s a butterfly joint in each shoulder that works well enough, though the left one will be hindered a bit by the chest strap. The elbows are pinless and double-jointed and he can bend his arm past 90 degrees. Even though we have that “cut” on the forearm, there’s no articulation there. It only exists to be ugly. The wrists swivel and hinge in typical fashion. In the torso, there’s an ab crunch that’s rather stubborn on my figure, though that seems to be unique to mine. It works, but bending him back makes him look pregnant or like he has a beer belly. The waist rotates as one would expect. At the hips, we have ball and socket joints and he can spread his legs enough, not a full split, but enough for Cyclops. He kicks forward just fine, not really back, and we have the usual thigh cut. A lot of people remain unhappy with the placement of these straps and how high they are, but I couldn’t possibly care less about that. The knees are double-jointed and bend past 90 and we get a boot cut below the straps. It’s ugly, but you don’t have to use it if you don’t want to. The ankles hinge forward and back enough plus they have a rocker. I’ve seen more than one person have issues with the ankle rocker snapping. It does feel a tad gummy, and even though these are the same feet as what we saw with Morph, the ones on Cyclops feel different. Just be careful. This guy is going to do what he needs. It’s disappointing that the ab crunch results in such an ugly look for the figure considering this is a mold Hasbro intends to reuse over and over, but it is what it is.

If you know, you know.

What is not a strong suit for this line has been the accessory count and Cyclops is no different. He doesn’t even get a second head. The only other items in the box are a set of open hands and a two-finger pointing right hand designed to be used with his visor or his X communicator. There’s no effect parts or anything like that which feels pretty damn cheap.They’ve done Cyclops effects in the past, but I guess they wouldn’t work here. For 28 bucks, he really should have a second head that includes a blast. The fact that the Mr. Sinister figure in this wave was a straight re-paint with no accessories should have created enough savings for the entire line to get a decent spread. The open hands are also reused from Morph (and likely from other figures) and, like the gripping hands we saw shoehorned into the Wolverine set, are sculpted to be bare hands so he has sculpted fingernails and it looks rather silly. Again, Hasbro couldn’t see a benefit with multiple figures of creating a gloved, open, hand? We’re moving well beyond “cheap” with some of these shortcuts.

“Next time, I use these!”

Did Hasbro save the best for last? I wouldn’t go that far. I still think, given that this is a line of figures supposed to be based on the animated series, that Wolverine remains the best. He got two new heads which both look like they came from the show plus a fun little toss-in accessory in the form of the picture frame. Cyclops is sort of in a tie with Sinister and Morph. I can see arguments for all 3. Sinister is the most on-model, but also the biggest rip-off in many ways in the line given how little Hasbro had to put into it. Morph gets bonus points for just being Morph, but there was really no imagination put into that figure and the default portrait really looks nothing like the character from the show. As has been the case with most of these, Cyclops is a figure of half-measures. Hasbro did some good, but also did some bad, and the bad is mostly in what they chose not to do. His proportions are still iffy, but that seems to be a problem with Legends in general while the forearm thing is just annoying and it makes it look like Hasbro has zero pride in their product. Cyclops, like basically every release in this line, is a terrible value and I can pull up several other figures from different companies in a similar price-point that actually justify their cost. Nothing from Hasbro of late in the Marvel Legends line does that, but we keep buying it so it’s not likely to change.

This is it for the animated line for now. Despite my issues with it, I would still like for Hasbro to at least finish off the team and hit on a couple of the most important villains.

Given all of that, I actually find myself really drawn to this Cyclops. I’ve always loved this look for him and that combo of a rich, royal, blue with yellow just does it form. There’s a ton of nostalgia at play here which has made this figure hard to put down. Certainly if you’ve been collecting this line you’re not going to stop before you get to Cyclops unless you’re just so dissatisfied that you’re bailing all-together and selling everything off. For what this line has been, he’s good, but overall he’s more fine than good. It’s hard to get enthusiastic about any of these. If you would like to add Cyclops to your shelf he’s available on Pulse and should be available at some point on ShopDisney. He’ll set you back 28 bucks plus shipping, but once he’s gone it’s unclear if he (or any of the figures in this line) will receive another production run. Some have already started to sell out so you may not want to sleep on it. At the same time, this is the last release in the line for now with no, true, assurances that it will continue. Hasbro called it a “pause” so that it could focus on doing figures from the Spider-Man 90s cartoon, but it’s not like they’re obligated to continue it. My guess is that it’s still under consideration, but if the figures sell out then it’s more likely they return to it. This clearly hasn’t been an expensive line to produce, so any hurdle it has to clear performance wise may not be very big. I think they just wanted to space out some of the retro card releases like Rogue, Gambit, and the new Beast a bit more before tackling them for this line. We’ll probably know the fate of this one come this time next year (likely a little earlier as I imagine PulseCon is where we’ll find out), but as always, buyer beware if you feel you need the team to be complete to feel satisfied. I am, for better or worse, all-in with this line so if more come you can be sure I’ll cover them. And if you just want more animated X-Men figures to talk about, I did order the Mondo Magneto so the discussion isn’t over with 2022.

More from the world of X-Men: The Animated Series:

Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Wolverine

The toyline of my dreams was announced last October. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of the television series X-Men, Hasbro is doing a dedicated line of Marvel Legends with figures based on the look of the show. The show was obviously inspired by the designs of Jim Lee, but there are differences in the…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men Animated Series Mr. Sinister

This week, the long wait for an in-person San Diego Comic Con comes to an end. For the first time since 2019, attendees, creators, and the like will be invited back into the city of San Diego for a celebration of all things comics, movies, and general “nerd” culture. One of the many panels this…

Keep reading
by Joe

Marvel Legends X-Men Retro Card Series Apocalypse

It is Halloween and that means it’s time for costumes, candy, and spooky fun. It’s also Halloween 2022, a pretty important date if you grew up loving those mutants who ran around in colorful spandex fighting for a better tomorrow. That’s because 30 years ago on this very night, the animated series X-Men premiered on…

Keep reading
by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Television

October 26, 2020

X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series

By Joe

A few years ago, I talked about my love of X-Men, the animated series, via a book review of Previously…on X-Men by Eric Lewald. That book chronicled the development of the 92 animated series that helped propel the Fox Kids Network to the top of the Saturday morning leaderboards through notes from the author and extensive interviews with the folks that helped bring that series to life. Now, Lewald is back with his wife Julia with a complementary piece all about the artists and artwork that went into creating that series, X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series.

There are probably a few individuals out there who first wrinkled their nose at the thought of an art book based on the animated series starring the X-Men. That’s because the show was somewhat famously underserved by Saban Entertainment who had little interest in sinking much money into the art and animation that went into the show. It’s not that the show was abysmal to look at, it’s more that it was always going to be compared with Batman: The Animated Series. Both shows launched in 92 on Fox, though X-Men only in a sneak preview with the proper launch coming in January of 1993. Batman was on weekday afternoons, while X-Men was allowed to reign over Saturday morning. The other big difference though was Batman had the might of Warner Bros behind it which produced the series and just licensed it out to Fox. X-Men had the backing of Marvel, which wasn’t what it is today. Marvel was a bit touch and go for many years even when it was starting to take over the news stand with a lot of help from the mutants who starred in this series. Rather than self-finance though, Marvel licensed it out to Saban who partnered with Graz Entertainment. The budget was never going to be the same, nor was the confidence. X-Men was unproven outside of the comic book world, and thus received just a one season order initially, followed by a second, before eventually the big order came in.

X-Men on the front, bad guys on the rear. What does it say about me that I think I prefer this to the cover?

Despite all of that, and a legend who had no idea how the property should be presented (::cough:: Stan ::cough::), the show was a smashing success. It’s interesting to look back on because I think many consider Batman to be the superior show. And yet, X-Men was the ratings champ and my favorite of the two. And when it came to my friends, most liked Batman, all loved X-Men. I don’t know why that is, though I have some theories. Batman was a known property and the show reflected the Tim Burton films. Whenever something goes from the big screen to the small one (especially in the 90s), there’s a feeling that the TV version is inferior. The X-Men may have lacked the recognition of Batman, but it also lacked any sort of baggage. Batman was also quite great at being a moody, superhero, show with a lot of style. It was also mostly rooted in that, where as X-Men was an ensemble with more characters to lean on. Batman was almost devoid of personality as a character by choice, while basically every member of the X-Men (well, maybe not Cyclops) was rather colorful able to display a wide range of emotion and even drop a one-liner or two. Or maybe it was just the prestige of being on Saturday morning? Either way, it was a good time to be alive.

It’s an art book, so expect a lot of artwork!

Both shows were part of a gradual maturation taking place in children’s cartoons. We basically had left the wacky and cheap 80s in favor of something that actually had respect for its audience. Shows like The Pirates of Dark Water and my beloved Bucky O’Hare and the Toad Wars were quite different in tone from the likes of Thundercats and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Most of those shows still featured a character that could be turned to for comedic relief, and even Batman has the Joker. X-Men didn’t really feature that though. Morph could have been that character, but he was killed off rather quickly. It’s a drama starring people in bright spandex that captivated me as a kid. The serialized nature and some of the nuance of the show asked something of me, and I was willing to rise to the program as a mere 7 year-old. It’s no surprise to me that when I look back on my youth, X-Men is there and always will be as it was far and away my favorite program.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of the book is getting to read the descriptions that go along with each storyboard panel.

And despite what you may think, a lot of really talented and devoted artists contributed to this show. Knock the animation all you want, but I’ve always been rather insistent that the show looks pretty great in stills. Sure, pick through it and you’ll find some weird stuff or miss-colored limbs and costumes, that’s true of a lot of shows from that era. Where this book is able to shine is with the stuff not broadcast. All of the developmental art that went into the show; costume ideas, height charts, storyboards, are quite rewarding to look at. When Lewald and his team were handed this property, there were decades of material to cherry-pick for the show and a lot of ideas were cast aside. There’s also plenty of production art, like cels and such, that are quite interesting to look at. Especially some of the backgrounds, like the lair of Mr. Sinister, which featured several layers of artwork to make it right.

And it’s not just art! The books is broken out into six chapters, plus an intro and an afterword, with each containing a detailed breakdown of what went into each section. Some of this stuff is lifted from the prior book, so it will be a bit familiar for those who read it, and some of the details are new. Since this book is focused on the art of the series, you’ll hear additional nuggets about what went into a character’s look or a particular background. There’s a lot of ink spent on the various cameos that occurred throughout the series and some of the other details may surprise and amaze. One such nugget came from Director and Storyboard Artist/Supervisor Larry Houston who pointed out how difficult it was to animate a character like Mr. Sinister. His irregular cape basically forced Houston to storyboard the character with as little motion as possible. Basically, the camera was either directly in front or behind him and he was basically never allowed to rotate. It’s fun to go back and watch the series with such information in hand and it gives some newfound appreciation for all of the work Larry and his team had to do before sending an episode off to Korea for animation.

When the X-Men ruled the world!

There’s a lot to unpack in this book and I don’t want to reveal too much since a lot of the enjoyment I had was uncovering things I either didn’t know or really paid little attention to. There’s also some nice additions to this one like a collection of all of the episode logs and a picture to go along with it. Some time is spent on looking back at the X-Men craze, like the Pizza Hut promotion and the action figure line from ToyBiz, which might make you wish for a third book that covers all of that tie-in merch. The book itself is also quite lovely. It’s hardbound with new cover art from Houston, I think. There’s no explicit “Cover” credit, just a case credit to Houston with ink by Rick Hoberg and colors by Laura Martin. It’s a bit confusing as the inside of the front and back cover are storyboards which were definitely done by Houston, so the credit may be referring to that. Regardless, the cover, featuring the main team including Morph and Bishop, and the rear cover featuring the villains of the series look great. Pages are nice and thick and the whole thing totals 288 pages. Since it’s mostly artwork, it’s not a tremendously long read, but it’s hardly brief. I mostly read it while sipping a morning or afternoon coffee (first starting my read, appropriately enough, on a Saturday morning) over the course of a week. It was a wonderful, leisurely, trip back to the 90s and my youth that not only left me wanting more, but also with a desire to go back and revisit the show once again.

One of my favorite inclusions in the book is the visual episode guide with accompanying logs, a tremendous resource to have on-hand.

X-Men: The Art and Making of the Animated Series is a great companion to Previously…on X-Men. It’s a book intended to satiate fans of the show, but would also probably entertain casual fans as well. I had a great time engaging with the art from the property, and while I already had a pretty terrific appreciation of the art that went into the show, I think those who might not have that same level of appreciation will likely leave with a bit more. Eric and Julia Lewald do a great job of recounting their time with the show and the various artists and executives they speak with bring a lot to the table. It’s my assumption that anyone with a love for this old show will be delighted by this book and it’s something I plan to flip through again.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television

October 21, 2019

Take My Money, Hasbro, Give Me X-Men Animated Series Legends!

By Joe

 

x-men animated group shot

Let’s talk some X-Men!

It’s been probably 13 or 14 years since I’ve purchased a Marvel-branded action figure. This is somewhat shocking to me because from the age of 7 to around 25 I spent who knows how much money on Marvel action figures. I was there for the inaugural Toy Biz line of Marvel Superheroes and X-Men action figures and I continued buying Toy Biz figures well past the age of when it was considered “appropriate” by my peers. And even after I stopped actually playing with my toys I still kept them on display in my room. Two pieces of old countertop on milk crates served as my makeshift shelves. Good guys on one side, bad guys on the other. As characters changed allegiance in the comics, so did their placement on my shelf. Aside from that, I didn’t like to mess with them and the dust would grow thicker and thicker and probably contributed to my constant sneezing. I didn’t care though, because I really loved my toys.

When action figures grew up with me I grew extremely excited. There were a few dedicated collector lines, most memorably one based on the Onslaught mini series, but things really changed with Marvel Legends. I was a bit tepid at first with them, mostly due to the absence of X-Men, but eventually I got into it. I started with just a figure here and there, and soon enough I found myself buying entire waves. I also added the occasional Diamond Select figure which at the time prioritized sculpt over articulation making some of the toys little more than glorified statues. I even got into Mini Mates for a period, since they initially focused on the Ultimate X-Men which was a comic I grew attached to pretty quickly.

Eventually, I stopped collecting. Part of that coincided with the dissolving of Toy Biz by Marvel which chose to instead license its properties to Hasbro. Those first few Hasbro waves weren’t very strong, and with the build-a-figure shrinking down to more normal proportions it failed to really motivate me. I think the last wave I bought to completion was whichever one featured The Blob. And even with that, I think I had to buy some figures based on X-Men: The Last Stand which did not sit well with me. That also happened to coincide with me moving out on my own trading the confines of my old bedroom for a small apartment. I didn’t want to have to lug a bunch of toys around with me every time I moved, and once I got settled into my own home that I purchased the itch had passed. I had moved onto other hobbies and comics just didn’t appeal to me like they once did. Sure, there have been a few figures over the years that tempted me, but the rising cost in standard toys makes it pretty easy to just focus on the things that really bring me joy.

That could change though, and if Hasbro wanted me back (and who wouldn’t?) there is one thing the company could do that would guarantee it many of my dollars and it has to do with my favorite show as a child:  X-Men.

xmen three pack

This recent action figure three-pack is what put my brain into this mode. These almost work as animated versions, but they’re different just enough to not be perfect. And I’m not just referring to Wolverine’s bone claws.

Nostalgia currently has me hooked via NECA’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys based on the old cartoon series. That show may not be particularly good, but I loved it as a kid and it’s something I can’t let go of. Similarly, I have a huge amount of affection still for X-Men. That show was my life for a few years and unlike TMNT, the show is still watchable today even if it doesn’t hold up as well as Batman or possibly even Gargoyles. And I know I am not alone. There is a lot of love out there for that show and that has been preyed upon via action figures based on the costume designs of the Jim Lee era X-Men from the comics. There was a recently announced three-pack featuring Wolverine, Jean Grey, and Cyclops which is what really got my juices flowing. Those characters bare a strong resemblance to their animated counterparts, but the figures are also clearly aiming to capture the look of the comics and not a cartoon.

What gives me hope that such a line could work is because animated versions of these characters are not far off what is already out there. Take your standard Wolverine action figure, for instance. To make him better resemble the cartoon, Hasbro basically just needs to reduce detail. No stubble on his face, not much hair on the arms, and less muscle definition. DC has done a great job bringing Batman: The Animated Series to plastic form in terms of aesthetics, so why not do the same, Hasbro?

Because I’m such a generous guy, I’m even going to provide a road map for Hasbro. I envision six figures per wave with a build-a-figure bringing the total to seven. Adhering to modern times, the extra buildable figure is not some titanic character, but something closer to a standard sized figure. It would be a good fit for those figures that would need to be 7 or 8 inches as opposed to 5-6, which is what I imagine most figures would fall into. They could be done, and really should be, in scale with Marvel Legends and I would prioritize characters from the first two seasons. If the line’s a success, then sure go for more. If the series happened and worked out as outlined below, then I would definitely buy every figure and really annoy my wife as I hunted for more space to display them.

Series 1

  • Wolverine
  • Cyclops
  • Rogue
  • Morph
  • Mystique
  • Magneto
  • Build-a-Figure:  Sabretooth

This mix would get some fan-favorite good guys out early and also a few villains to pose them against. Wolverine is an obvious must for the first series as he was the most popular character. He should come in his standard uniform and additional hands, some with claws in and some with claws out. A second, unmasked, head would complete the look. Cyclops should also just have his normal look. If a removable flight jacket could be added without harming the sculpt, then all the better, but not necessary. Similar to modern Cyclops figures, he should have a second head with a blast effect and probably an extra set of hands including one with two fingers extended on his right hand to activate his “X” communicator. Morph, on the other hand, should have his flight jacket since he was most often depicted wearing it. He should also have black hair as he did in seasons one and two and an alternate “evil” head. Mystique would need few additional accessories, making her the likely landing spot for a larger piece of the build-a-figure. Magneto would need a helmeted and un-helmeted head to properly capture his long hair. A nice, heavy, fabric cape would also look great, but soft plastic wouldn’t be bad either. Sabretooth, being featured in episode one, makes for a good choice as the first build-a-figure given his size relative to the other characters.

X-Men (FOX) [1992-1997]Shown from left: Wolverine, Morph, Beast

That’s how I want my Wolverine to look, bub.

Series 2

  • Gambit
  • Bishop
  • Storm
  • Cable
  • Pyro
  • Avalanche
  • BAF:  The Blob

Wave Two would be anchored by the next most popular character after Wolverine, Gambit. He’d just need various hands and his bo staff to be authentic. Storm would be the other character from the team, and in the interest of “keeping them wanting,” would be the only other from the main team. Bishop and Cable both played large roles as guest characters and lend themselves well to action figure form. Cable should probably have his season two look which featured a metallic left arm, a more common look than the season one version. Bishop should also feature a removable time bracelet to go along with his really big gun. Pyro and Avalanche would serve as the villains with the BAF being their comrade Blob. A desire to assemble Mystique’s troop would hopefully help drive sales.

x-men_L48

Everyone can relax, Gambit is in series two.

Series 3

  • Beast
  • Jean Grey
  • Archangel
  • Civilian Wolverine
  • Graydon Creed
  • Mr. Sinister
  • BAF:  Apocalypse

Series 3 would be the one that nearly completes the main team. Beast, unlike most figures based on the character, should have a cheerful disposition as opposed to an angry one. Jean Grey would need her cartoon-accurate costume, something Toy Biz never delivered on when the show was popular, which was blue and orange as opposed to blue and yellow. She should also probably come with a Cerebro helmet. This would also be a good time for a second Wolverine figure. Since he was so often featured in plain clothes (yellow flannel with a brown jacket), a figure based on that look makes sense. He should have two pairs of clawless hands, ones that look like normal fists and ones that have the steel ports on his hands as he was incorrectly portrayed in season one. Diehard fans of the show, such as myself, really appreciate little details like that. Creed was a big player in season two, and he warrants a figure as a result. Of course, Sinister was the main big, bad, guy of that season and series three feels like a good spot for him. Lastly, Archangel should be included (with a masked head and unmasked head) to pair with the BAF Apocalypse who would be depicted in his animated purple and blue color scheme.

apocalypse cartoon

I don’t know why they made him purple, but the toy better follow in the same footsteps!

Series 4

  • Jubilee
  • Colossus
  • Omega Red
  • Forge
  • Civilian Cyclops
  • Professor X
  • BAF: Juggernaut

Series 4 would finish the main squad by including Jubilee and Professor X. Xavier would be the tough one to include as he would need his hover chair. Recently, Hasbro did a Professor X that I think retails for more than a standard Legend. The company could save money by retooling it and if it has to retail for more then so be it. Colossus guested a couple of times and is deserving of a figure himself. He should be clad in his blue pants and white tank top to match his appearance in the show. If a second, non-transformed, upper torso could be done then that would be really neat. Omega Red is a villain with a great, 90s, design, and even though he’s a bit bigger than other characters, I don’t think he’s so large that he would need to be a BAF. Cyclops had enough non-costumed appearances to be the second main cast member worthy of a civilian look. And Forge had multiple appearances as well. He should come with an alternate head so he could be depicted as main timeline Forge and future Forge. The Juggernaut is the last character that serves as an obvious choice for a BAF and would be a sought after one helping to make sure fans buy the entire wave. That only challenge with him is I think he would need two heads as well, one masked and one unmasked, because it’s hard to make a good-looking Juggernaut figure that features a removable helmet.

colossus 92

Colossus proved you didn’t need a real costume to be a hero.

Series 5 and 6

  • Phoenix
  • Gladiator
  • Nightcrawler
  • Dazzler
  • White Queen
  • Sebastian Shaw
  • Henry Gyrich
  • Bolivar Trask
  • Dark Phoenix
  • Banshee
  • Fabian Cortez
  • Empress Lilandra
  • BAF:  Sentinel

I’m grouping these two together because I have a radical idea for the BAF. It would be a sentinel and the pieces spread between both waves. The piece loadout would be like Giant Man from the Toy Biz days which did an oversized wave of Marvel Legends as a Wal-Mart exclusive. This would allow Hasbro to do a bigger figure to do the sentinel justice, because we need a sentinel for such a series since they were so important in that first season. The desire to have a cartoon sentinel would help move some of the less exciting, but still essential, characters contained in this wave. Trask and Gyrich, specifically, would be unsexy figures, but they had such a large presence over the first season that it feels wrong to exclude them. Much of these waves would also be devoted to the Phoenix and Dark Phoenix Sagas. Doing both regular Phoenix and Dark Phoenix would also save Hasbro money since they’d basically be the same figure, different head. For Lilandra, I’d also go with the Empress version of the character as that would just make for a more striking visual. Cortez is the only character from a later season, but I see more opportunity for villains and I just happen to like him more than someone like Erik the Red or D’Ken.

sentinel 92

I don’t see how you could have a toy-line dedicated to the X-Men cartoon and not feature a sentinel somehow.

If the line was a success, it wouldn’t have to end there. I completely ignored Sinister’s Nasty Boys and all of the mutates from the Savage Land. They would really help to bolster the ranks of the villains, but it might be hard to convince people they’re more deserving of plastic than some of the others. An entire Savage Land wave could even be done, though I don’t know if that would be a big seller. Another big bad guy I left out is Mojo who would probably work best as a BAF. If he was done, then he would need to be paired with a Longshot.

As for heroes, there are alternate versions of other characters that could pad things out. Civilian versions of Storm, Rogue, Jean and Jubilee (or her in a flight suit) could be added. Beast and Gambit had other looks as well, but nothing really drastic (though Beast with his Howard the Duck shirt is pretty tempting). Archangel also briefly appeared as Angel in season one and returned in season four sporting his white and blue Angel costume. Wolverine had other looks as well, though my personal favorite would probably be the alternate timeline Wolverine from “One Man’s Worth” which also featured a mohawked Storm. Other guest heroes included Iceman, Psylocke, Alpha Flight and X-Factor so there are certainly more characters to mine from, I’m just not sure any really need a dedicated figure based on their look in the cartoon.

Hasbro missed its chance to honor the cartoon with a line of figures to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary. There’s still time though to recognize the 30th in 2022 and a toy-line near then would be an appropriate way to do so. If 2022 seems too far away right now it could be timed to end that year. The show is also about to gain new exposure via Disney+ where it and other X-Men cartoons will be available day one. And with Disney acquiring 20th Century Fox it stands to reason that the X-Men will soon join Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe bringing even more of a spotlight to the brand. The time is right, Hasbro, make it happen!

 

 

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Comics, Television, toys

December 3, 2018

Dec. 3 – X-Men: Evolution – “On Angel’s Wings”

By Joe

x-men evolution intro

X-Men: Evolution “On Angel’s Wings” originally aired on December 15, 2001.

Long after the X-Men animated series that originated on Fox Kids had ended, along with basically every other Marvel cartoon at that network, X-Men:  Evolution showed up on Kids WB. It’s kind of odd considering WB owned DC and yet they went in on X-Men, but X-Men were still popular and were gearing up for a run on cinema. It also didn’t hurt that a lot of talented people were attached to the show, and today’s episode features the duo of Boyd Kirkland and Frank Paur, both former directors on Batman:  The Animated Series.

snowy nyc

A snowy New York, which may have possibly been edited considering the events of 9/11 two months prior to air date for this one.

X-Men:  Evolution was an attempt at making the X-Men appeal to a younger audience. It fit-in with WB’s programming which also included super heroes like Static Shock and Batman Beyond. Even The New Adventures of Batman had placed an emphasis on the allies of Batman, including the very young Robin and the not quite so young Nightwing and Batgirl. The setup for X-Men:  Evolution was not that radical from other depictions:  young mutants were gathered at the home of Professor Charles Xavier (David Kaye) to learn how to control their mutant powers. Only in this show, basically everyone is in the Kitty Pryde/Jubilee role of being a teen and they include:  Cyclops (Kirby Morrow), Jean  Grey (Venus Terzo), Nightcrawler (Brad Swaile), Spyke (Neil Denis), Rogue (Meghan Black), and Kitty (Maggie Blue O’Hara) herself. The twist comes in that the students do not receive their schooling at Xavier’s mansion and instead attend a normal high school where they are put into conflict with a teenaged version of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Also, Storm (Kirsten Williamson), Beast (Michael Kopsa), and Wolverine (Scott McNeil) are teachers at Xavier’s home. Yes, Wolverine is in kind of a grumpy uncle role in this show, which is definitely an odd place for his character, but probably better than having a teenaged Wolverine. Thankfully, he doesn’t lust after Jean in this one. Honestly, the setup of the show never appealed to me and sounds kind of dumb. I checked out a couple of the first season’s episodes when this show premiered and they were pretty lame. Surprisingly, the show started to find itself in season two. It established some strong conflicts and the young team assembled works well. I was wrong about the show, and it actually turned out quite well in the end.

lonely warren

A lonely, wealthy man, just watching some TV. Note the lack of Christmas decor.

In season two the show rolled the dice on a Christmas episode. “On Angel’s Wings” is predictably about the character Angel (Mark Hildreth), who previously had not appeared in the show. It starts off in New York, where the wealthy Warren Worthington is shown in an isolated state. He’s ignoring his phone calls and watching television. Elsewhere in the city, a fire is ripping through an apartment building and a disabled woman is trapped inside. Her daughter is pleading with firefighters to save her mom, and this mobilizes Worthington. He flies to the sight, enters the building, and removes the woman leaving her safely on a nearby bench. No one witnesses it, but her daughter soon spots her mom and runs over to her. They embrace, and when the daughter asks how she escaped she tells her a real, live, angel carried her to safety.

scotts present

Rogue sheepishly gives Cyclops his Christmas present early. They actually would have made a cute couple.

At Xavier’s mansion, everyone is getting ready for the holidays. The kids will be leaving to head home and they’re having a little party in celebration. Two students will not be leaving:  Cyclops and Rogue. Cyclops, being an orphan, has no home to go to while Rogue is a runaway with a poor home life. There’s nothing for her to return to. As the other kids give gifts and Nightcrawler tries to steal a kiss via mistletoe, Jean looks on with jealous eyes as Rogue gives Cyclops a gift. If I recall correctly (and it’s been many years), Cyclops was one of the few to be nice to Rogue when she first showed up early on so she took a liking to him. Plus, they’re both able to kind of bond over the fact that neither is able to fully control their mutant powers. Rogue’s crush was not reciprocated in a romantic way, and Cyclops may even be oblivious, but Jean notices. And like basically every other version of the X-Men, Jean and Cyclops are romantically linked. As everyone departs, leaving only Xavier, Beast, Cyclops, and Rogue behind, Jean looks on with some sadness and worry as her limo drives away (what a tough life).

angel in action

Angel in action.

In New York, the Angel makes another appearance in Central Park thwarting a mugging. An onlooker is shown and he looks rather menacing. Later, a car gets into an accident on a suspended bridge (maybe the George Washington?) and the Angel, now in a resplendent super hero costume, swoops in to make the save. The car is up against the cables and he first saves a child from the backseat then returns for the parents. As everyone celebrates his heroics, the shadowy man from the park emerges. Summoning powers of his own, he makes one of the broken, steel, cables grab onto Angel. Startled, he flutters his wings and accidentally knocks the little girl he just saved off of the bridge. He dives into the water after her and does return her safely to the bridge, though she’s unconscious. The man, obviously Magneto (Christopher Judge), then shouts that it was the angel who knocked her off. The crowd of onlookers then turns on the hero, declaring he’s not a real angel just some freak, and he’s forced to flee.

cd shopping

I miss CD shopping.

At the mansion, the X-Men have heard the reports of the angel sighting in the city. Feeling kind of restless, Rogue wants to head out and see what they can uncover and she and Cyclops are permitted to go. They have a discussion and it’s revealed that Cyclops kind of wants to believe the person is indeed an angel, while Rogue is dismissive of the concept. She does apologize to Cyclops though, fearing she hurt his feelings, but he assures her he’s fine. They go to a music store and are browsing CDs when they hear about the latest sighting. It’s quite a trip seeing the pair thumbing through music and Cyclops listening to the free previews on a headset – my how the times have changed.

On_Angel's_Wings-_Scott_n_Rogue

The city of New York is alive with Angel Fever!

We’re then whisked away to a hospital room. The little girl Angel saved is in a coma and her parents are understandably worried. Angel drops in on her and seems depressed over what happened. He swipes a doctor’s jacket and heads off into the hallway. There, Rogue and Cyclops are at a nurse’s station asking about the young girl and they’re told they just missed her parents who left to head to church. Angel overhears this and starts heading off. Rogue notices a feather wafting out from underneath the coat and alerts Cyclops that it’s him, rather loudly. This startles Angel and he takes off running. The two X-Men in training give chase, but he escapes out a window.

angel and magneto

I will admit, that’s one bad ass looking Magneto.

At the church, the girl’s parents are shown praying in an otherwise empty building. Angel is looking on from a balcony in the back, shamefully.  The camera pans and a figure lurks in the shadows behind him. It’s Magneto, now in costume, and he confronts Angel. He knows who he is and that he lives an isolated, lonely, life. He points out how quickly the people turned on him at the bridge, despite his best efforts, and uses a lot of the same arguments you’ve probably heard from Magneto before about why humanity can’t be trusted. He offers him a place for people like Angel and he, but Angel turns him down rather angrily not wanting to associate with “freaks and weirdos.” He’s a self-hating mutant.

x-men and angel

Angel meets the X-Men. They discuss tailors.

Magneto is not going to let Angel just walk away. He attacks, and Angel is forced to flee the balcony. The people below see him as Magneto uses a chandelier to wrap Angel in a chain. As he falls from the sky, a red laser beam cuts through the air and blasts Magneto out of the church through a stained-glass window. Cyclops and Rogue, now too in costume, come running in and free Angel. Magneto quickly returns as a confused Angel flees once more. With Magneto baring down on the young X-Men, Angel emerges from behind Magneto and wraps him in a bear hug. Cyclops calls for him to stand down, and pummels Magneto with more optic blasts knocking him from the sky. While on the ground, Rogue is able to get up close and personal with the Master of Magnetism and syphon away some of his energy. Now armed with the powers of magnetism herself, Rogue is able to chase Magneto through the skies of New York City. Magneto though is a pro with these powers and is able to knock her from the sky, but Angel is there once again to make the save causing Rogue to playfully remark, “I’m starting to think you are a real angel.”

gotcha

Of course, Rogue needs to be rescued by an angel since she was a non-believer earlier.

Apparently admitting defeat, Magneto is gone and the trio of heroes are back at the hospital. They’re in the waiting area probably hoping to hear how the young girl is doing. Cyclops explains who they are and gives the X-Men sales pitch to Warren, who questions how they’re any different from Magneto. As they talk, a doctor comes out to tell the parents of the girl that she’s awake and going to be all right. Warren is overjoyed and sneaks over to the girl’s room. As he does, Rogue asks Cyclops if he thinks Warren will join the X-Men and he curtly responds, “No.” They join Warren though as the little girl tells her parents she saw her angel again in her dreams. This puts a smile on Warren’s face while Rogue squirts a few tears. We’re then treated to a little montage of the other X-Men and how they’re enjoying their holiday. Jean with her family, Kitty doing Hanukkah stuff, and Wolverine kind of sadly just playing pool all by himself in a dimly lit dive. Xavier and Beast are shown last toasting a couple of hot beverages in front of a Christmas tree to close this one out.

x-men happy ending

Looks like that little girl is going to have a Merry Christmas after all!

“On Angel’s Wings” is what I consider a quiet Christmas special. It takes place around the holiday, but Christmas just serves as a backdrop for the events in the episode. Tying Angel to the holiday is a smart move, since his obvious biblical appearance lends itself well to the theme. Though despite his presence, this doesn’t go full Hallmark Channel on the Jesus stuff. Beast quotes the Bible at one point, and other than the brief talk of Cyclops possibly believing in angels, the episode chooses not to dive into that subject. There’s also no Santa Claus or anything of that nature. The episode is also very stand-alone as it doesn’t aim to resolve anything like Jean’s jealousy or Wolverine’s loner tendencies or even what Warren Worthington will do next, but it’s still a satisfying little story. The ending is a bit sappy, but the montage was rather tasteful. Also, it should be noted, this show looks terrific and is miles ahead of the old animated series. New York City looks especially authentic and I always enjoy the cool tones of winter in a cartoon.

kitty hanukkah

We need to slide this one in for the Jewish fans.

The voice cast for the show does leave a little something to be desired. Our leads are pretty good, and I think Xavier and Beast sound about right (though Beast is basically a carbon copy of the same character from Fox’s X-Men), but there is also a woodenness to some of the performances. Not every line is crips. The tone of Megneto’s voice is rather intimidating, but the inflections aren’t there (especially when he can’t just be scary, like when he was shown among the mob on the bridge). The character designs are fairly simple and work well. Cyclops has a bit of an X-Factor vibe to his costume, but with the open Jim Lee cowl. Magneto looks rather imposing as his face is often entirely black when in costume, the shape of his helm also reminds me of Age of Apocalypse Magneto. Rogue’s costume is a bit on the bland side though and I never much cared for the design. It has an odd piece of green armor across the chest that’s rather boxy looking. And in general, the female X-Men are drawn rather maturely. It’s a tad creepy how sexy the animators made these children.

X-Men:  Evolution has seen an incomplete home video release. It’s also no longer on television, but good news, no one seems to care about it so it’s easy to find online for free. If you want to spend the holidays with Marvel’s most famous mutants then go for it. It’s better than the other X-Men Christmas episode and it should put you in the Christmas spirit.

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in christmas, Comics, Television