Toy Time Plays With Marvel Legends’ New X-Men Build-A-Figure Series

Hasbro’s excellent six-inch Marvel Legends line has relatively X-Men free since 2014’s paltry Toys’R’Us exclusive Jubilee series. Now Marvel’s mutant heroes return with eight figures and the parts to build the Juggernaut, bitch. Sorry, reflex.

The new X-Men line, showing up in stores as we speak, features eight heroes (or anti-heroes) coming together to battle an unstoppable foe. Iceman, Phoenix, Havok, Kitty Pryde, Wolverine and ’90s short-jacket Rogue are joined by no shoulderpads Cable and taco-loving Deadpool in a battle against Charles Xavier’s stepbrother.

Check out the video above for a full accounting of my likes, loves and very mild dislikes. Here’s a brief rundown for those of you who don’t care that I slaved over a hot computer for hours putting the whole thing together, you monsters.

Here are the packages you’ll be looking for in stores. I’ve been around to a couple Walmarts and Targets over the past week, and they have generally got one or two on pegs.

The best figure in the line — and I know this is a matter of opinion — is this guy right here:

As a young adult just beginning to get obsessive about action figures, there was a translucent Ice Man figure in one of the late ’90s X-Men toy lines that I desprately wanted, and could never find. I love clear plastic. I don’t know why. It’s just shiny and gemlike and it makes me happy.

This Bobby Drake makes me happy, with or without the removable shoulder spikes.

You know who else makes me happy?

My favourite Kitty Pryde figure ever. I saw her at Toy Fair earlier this year and thought, “This is just a prototype. She’ll never look that good on shelves.” She looks this good on shelves. With Lockheed perched on her shoulder, this young Kitty Pryde represented every young teenager reading X-Men in the ’80s.

I’m glad she survived the experience. Others were not so lucky.

Or maybe they were. Jean Grey is currently alive in the Marvel comic book universe, though she’s a bit younger than the Phoenix we’ve got here, poised to sacrifice herself for the greater Cyclops angst.

She’s fine, but my retro X-Men crush was always:

’90s jacket Rogue! Why is she wearing a short jacket with no chance of ever fitting over her chest? Why is one sleeve scrunched and the other rolled? What’s with the headband? Who cares. It’s ’90s jacket Rogue!

And the excitement doesn’t stop! Here’s Havok!

He’s kinda boring really, aside from the cool special effect pieces Hasbro included. He gets it from his brother.

Speaking of boring . . .

The Wolverine figure is great. I’m just a bit Wolverine-figured out. I would have rather had another Jubilee at this point. Or a Maggot. When’s Maggot gonna get his due?

Oh right, I’ve got a Maggot segue as well. Which ridiculously popular character looks like maggots have be gnawing on his face?

While Deadpool doesn’t come with any Juggernaut parts, he makes up for it with two guns, two swords, a bazooka, a knife, a spare head and a taco. The taco might be the best Marvel Legends accessory yet.

And finally, we’ve got Cable.

He’s a grizzled old coot who wishes these kids would get off his lawn.

You hear him? Git!

Seven of the eight figures in the Marvel Legends X-Men line come with the parts needed to build this massive fellow right here:

He’s actually a really impressive rendition of the Juggernaut. Note the grin on his face. That’s because Cable comes packaged with his crotch.

In closing, it’s about damn time we got some more X-Men figures from the Marvel Legends line. Disney’s been so busy not releasing movie figures to spite Fox that it forgot to have Hasbro make any comic book figures. That oversight has been taken care of, and heroically so.