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Cyclops may not be an Omega-level mutant in the X-Men comics, but he’s unquestionably an Omega-level X-Men merch seller. Scott Summers sells likes wildfire every time Hasbro releases a 6” Marvel Legends figure of him in any of his closet of costumes, so it’s not shocking that Hasbro is revisiting a popular costume they first released over a decade and a half ago. X-Men Legends Astonishing Cyclops is now arriving. Does this new version surpass the one from the Brood Queen series?
Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men run was a landmark moment for the merry mutants—and also one that brought along a set of X-Men costumes that remain popular to this day with fans and collectors. Toybiz began filling in the roster with Astonishing Wolverine in 2006, and Hasbro continued the lineup in 2007 with Emma Frost and Cyclops.
I’ll talk about the old and new Emma Frost releases in her review, but today I’m shining the spotlight on the X-Men’s most iconic leader: Cyclops! 16 years after their first attempt, has Hasbro created a definitive Astonishing Cyclops 6” figure?
Like the rest of the Ch’od series, Cyclops comes in Hasbro’s sustainable plastic-free cardboard box packaging. Good for the planet, but bad for collecting purposes.
If the back of the box looks a lot like the front, that’s because there’s few accessories to show off on it. (More on that in a moment.)
Inside of a paper bag inside of a cardboard insert, we find Christopher Summers’ first-born baby boy with fists clenched and ruby quartz visor smoking.
As the headliner figure in this wave (double-packed in cases), Cyclops isn’t blessed with a Ch’od BAF piece. That’s fine by me, since it saves space and budget for other great accessories.
Unfortunately, there almost are none. Scott gets a pair of alternate hands and, well… that’s it. No interchangeable unmasked or angry head, no optic blast effects attachments, no Build-A-Figure part… nothing.
That’s not to say that the pointing hand and aiming hand options aren’t appreciated (they’re essential to my enjoyment of the figure), but a modern $25 action figure that’s an update of an existing figure could probably use a few more fun add-ons to feel like a fair value. As it is, this feels like Hasbro cutting corners a bit because they know they can without really hurting sales on a Cyclops toy.
I’ve actually always liked the original Brood Queen wave Cyclops figure and think it holds up decently today, though I prefer the ‘smooth’ sculpt of modern Marvel Legends and am infatuated with the pin-less articulation.
Speaking of which, this Cyclops is a full-on upgrade articulation-wise, including pin-free knees and elbows and even butterfly swivel shoulders. Every point of articulation I want is present, including:
—Ball-Hinge Head
—Ball-Hinge Shoulders with Butterfly Swivels
—Upper Torso Ab Crunch
—Swivel Biceps, Waist, Thighs and Boots
—Double-Hinged Knees and Elbows
—Swivel-Hinge Wrists
—Hinged Feet with Ankle Rockers
The 2023 Astonishing X-Men Cyclops Legends figure has great range of motion all-around, with no loose joints or plastic quality issues to be found on mine. As far as flexibility goes, this is an absolute winner.
What does rein in the posing potential (and fun) somewhat is the dearth of accessories. While the frowning face is appropriately inexpressive for him, Cyclops standing around frowning with his visor permanently smoking definitely limits things, and one or even two alternate heads could have legitimately opened up a world of posing possibilities here.
The three add-on costume pieces—the belt and wrist straps—all fit very snugly and don’t fall out of place at all. The lining on the costume is well-painted (not perfect, mind you, but solid enough).
Overall: Base figure-wise, X-Men Legends Astonishing Cyclops is a monumental victory. Extensive and modern articulation, with excellent paint and quality control. The accessories selection is also monumentally disappointing, however. Having only one head that’s forever smoking moment-specifically is very awkward and ends up strongly hindering the scenes you can logically achieve with the figure. It also makes an otherwise terrific figure feel like a bad value at the current $25 MSRP.