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Tick. Tick. Boom! The clock is ticking down on 2019 and time is running out for me to review as many Marvel Legends 2019 figures as I can, which makes this the ideal moment to turn to the mutant master of the time bomb herself: Boom Boom! Despite having been around for over three decades now and having been a member of the New Mutants, X-Terminators, Fallen Angels, X-Force, Nextwave and more, we’ve never gotten a mass release Tabitha Smith figure—until now! Thanks to Hasbro’s commitment to giving us the classic X-Force roster, Marvel Legends Boom Boom has finally arrived—and is already discounted! Should you add this 90s styled babe to your collection…?
When Hasbro shocked everyone by including Shatterstar in their second wave of X-Men Legends figures a few years back (the Warlock Series), I was immediately suspicious that they had long-term plans to roll out the entire iconic 90s X-Force team. So when Sunspot and Warpath debuted at NYCC 2019 last month, the first question out of my mouth to Hasbro regraded whether or not they had completing the X-Force roster in mind.
While it’s not exactly a confirmation (Hasbro doesn’t play that game), they did list off the characters they were aware were still missing from the team: Rictor, Feral, Siryn and 90s Domino. That response still has me psyched up about likely completing X-Force in action figure form, which is why I’ve decided to circle back and review the Boom Boom Legends figure now!
While Toybiz did some expansive ranges of X-Men and X-Force figures for a decade, giving us niche characters like Tusk, Quark, Killspree and Krule, they somehow managed to totally avoid producing key characters like Siryn, Boom Boom and a proper Jim Lee Jubilee. Hasbro rectified our lack of Jubes a few months back with an awesome figure, and now it’s Boom Boom’s turn!
Boom Boom has had a lot of costumes and a lot of code names (including Boomer, Meltdown, Time Bomb, Firecracker) over the years, but I think Hasbro unquestionably picked the iconic costume for this character. Tabitha is most recognizable as a product of the 90s, and nothing says 90s like a neon pink costume similar to the one was sporting on the cover of X-Force #1!
That said, let’s talk about this costume: I am legit not sure exactly what the source material is that this costume is based off of, as the original X-Force costume was hot pink and red, and later hot pink and yellow (with awesome yellow shoulder pads). I thought this costume was super-faithful to the X-Force #1 cover until I went back and looked, but this pink and brown costume is definitely from a different era (if it’s in the comics at all—anyone?).
Even so, the fact that it looks close enough to what I remember from the classic comics to trick my mind into being convinced it’s authentic says that Hasbro must have done something very right here. I still wish they’d gone with red as a secondary color instead of the toned-down brown, though.
There are seven add-on costume pieces overlaid onto the underlying body mold: her wrist and boot cuffs, jacket, belt and thigh band. All of these add-ons look nice and fit well except the belt, which wobbles uncontrollably unless you force it low onto her hips (where it doesn’t look quite right). The loose belt makes me nuts, but anyone who reads my reviews regularly has heard plenty of complaining about that topic already, so I’ll let it lie there.
Along with the left leg of the Wendigo Build-A-Figure, we get three awesome accessories for X-Force Legends Boom Boom: an extra bubble gum blowing head, an alternate left hand with time bomb effects piece attached, and a loose time bomb accessory. Every one of these extras is valuable and gives new display options of possibilities for the figure. Nice job rockin’ it in the accessories department, Hasbro!
If you prefer the default expressionless portrait, that’s an option too, but let’s face it: the bubble gum blowing head is just too much fun and is going to be the chosen head sculpt for most displays. It really does a swell job of encapsulating Tabitha’s personality and attitude.
I do think it’s a little odd to not either include a third head without glasses or make the glasses on one of the heads removable, but I suppose not many would display as “unmasked” Boom Boom figure, so it might have been an unnecessary extra expense.
The effects hand with time bomb attached rocks my world. I love the color gradient running from the hand through the time bomb, and I am ecstatic to have a way to permanently display Boomer’s powers without having to balance a separate chunk of plastic.
I appreciate that the separate chunk of plastic is also an option, mind you, but it’s awkward to get Tabitha to hold it when posing and I personally much prefer the permanently attached version.
There is very little on this figure that Hasbro had to actually add paint deco to, but the paint apps that are present are spot-on and expertly done (gotta love those retro giant asterisk-shaped earrings!). Zero complaints paint-wise.
The articulation scheme is solid, but still slightly disappointing—as is the case with most Legends female figures released these days. There’s no swivel biceps, no swivel boots, no swivel waist and only one elbow hinge. In addition, my elbows were stuck and I had to heat them to move them or else I guarantee they were going to snap if forced (which I can say with certainty given how many brittle Marvel Legends elbow joints I’ve broken over the years).
Complete articulation is as follows:
- Ball-Hinge Neck, Elbows and Shoulders
- Ball-Jointed Upper Torso and Hips
- Swivel-Hinge Wrists
- Swivel Thighs
- Double-Hinged Knees
- Hinged Ankles with Rockers
You can still achieve some cool poses, but I am anxiously awaiting the day that Hasbro upgrades the articulation schemes for most of their women figures.
Overall: At a glance I thought I’d giving the Marvel Legends X-Force Boom-Boom figure top marks, but as I reviewed her I realized there were too many minor issues for that. The questionable accuracy of the classic costume and color scheme, the paint-stuck elbows, wobbly belt, lacking upper body articulation, and omission of an unmasked head are all little snafus that keep this figure from reaching its fullest potential.
I still think this figure is great fun and an absolutely essential buy for anyone building a 1990s X-Force roster on their shelf, and cool details like the bubble gum-blowing head and time bomb effects hand really do enhance this figure. It’s just not quite at the level of greatness of many other ML figures we’ve seen Hasbro release in recent years.