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X-Men ‘97 is kind of a big deal (as far as streaming superhero cartoons go), and so Hasbro is planning a fairly big rollout of toys to coincide with the eventual release of the series (which is still undated). As such, there’s more on the way than just the 4” series that includes the Rogue I reviewed yesterday—Hasbro unveiled the first wave of a whole new 6” Marvel Legends X-Men 97 series at SDCC 2023, including a half-dozen updated iconic mutants. Let’s take a look…
Since What If…? got a multitude of 6” Marvel Legends action figures , I had little doubt that the hotly-anticipated X-Men 97 would get the hero’s treatment from Hasbro as well—and I’m not disappointed.
Even without a release date for the show itself, two ranges of X-Men 97 tie-in toys have been announced. And while the Epic Hero series is a bit too kid-targeted for my tastes, the X-Men 97 Marvel Legends 6” figures are basically exactly what I wanted.
Although the series will carry the usual modern Marvel Legends price-tag of $24.99 per figure, this first X-Men ‘97 series will not have a Build-A-Figure. That’s a bit of a bummer, as all six figures in the wave are all-stars with a lot of appeal, and I can see most fans wanting to buy the whole wave:
Wolverine
Storm
Rogue
Gambit
Bishop
Magneto
Obviously we’ve had six inch Legends of all these characters released previously—in these costumes for the most part—but don’t be fooled into thinking this is a simple repack scheme by Hasbro. From new heads to updated pin-less joints, there’s actually quite a bit of new to love about these refreshed favorites.
Marvel legends Bishop was previously only available in the Deadpool Sauron Series years back, so I think his X-Men 97 figure will be in particularly high demand.
It’s really a bit weird to see Bishop with short hair, as I’m so acclimated to seeing him either bald or with flowing long hair, but I’m sure I’ll want this portrait for him once I see it in the new animated series.
Gambit ought to be extremely popular as well, as Remy hasn’t had an individual mass retail release since the Caliban Series in 2019. My main complaint about the 2019 Marvel Legends Gambit was the cartoony head, so I’m glad to see there’s (ironically) a more neutral-face expression on this animation inspired version.
I’m a bit disappointed to see that there’s still some pins on X-Men 97 Gambit, as the figure is otherwise close to perfect. Can’t have everything, I guess!
You can’t have the Rajun Cajun without his Southern Belle, so Jim Lee styled Rogue also flies back in as part of this wave.
Rogue’s colors and articulation have been upgraded since the 2016 iteration, and frankly, her face is a lot prettier on this update as well. She gets “pulled off a glove” hands, which are some of the few accessories I’d ever want with a Rogue figure.
Like Bishop, I’m a little thrown by the new hairdo on the Storm figure. It’s not quite the usual Mohawk, nor her classic long hair, so it’s a tad hard to reconcile with how I visualize Ororo in my mind.
The pin-less white costume really is quite beautiful, as is the figure as a whole. It is sort of frustrating to see zero effects pieces included with Storm, though, when we know Hasbro has a variety of lightning effects that could be included here.
Tiger Stripe Wolverine makes a return appearance here, including both masked and unmasked heads for Logan. This time, Wolverine is also pin-free and looking fine.
This is the most iconic costume for the most iconic X-Men character, so Hasbro could release it every year and have it sell well. Zero doubt this figure will be popular and in demand, as usual.
Finally, we have the “villainous” figure of the wave: Marvel Legends Magneto. This looks highly similar to prior Magneto figures at a glance, but Erik has been upgraded to all pin-less joints as well, thankfully.
The most notable thing here is the very animated-style shading on Magneto’s head, which is instantly recognizable as different from every past Magnus. It is very irritating to see that this is another figure whose past accessories such as magnetic energy effects or an unhelmeted head have been fully stripped out, though. Regardless, there will always be a market for merch of Magneto in his signature costume.
The X-Men 97 Marvel Legends 6” figures are expected to go up for pre-order in August and ship out soon after in fall 2023. I’ll update with the individual ordering links as soon as they go live.
What are your thoughts on this wave of new releases of old favorites, Marvel collectors? What characters would you like to see in the next lineup for this series?