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Way back in my 2017 review, I thought the X-Men Legends Cyclops figure in the Warlock Series was acceptable, despite its flaws, because we were in the middle of a Jim Lee Cyclops famine. In 2024, not so much. We’ve seen numerous representations of Cyke in this costume in the interim, but as far as Hasbro 6” figures go, the newly-released X-Men 97 Marvel Legends Cyclops easily takes the crown as the best Jim Lee Cyclops figure ever made…
When I reviewed the previous Hasbro single-packed 90s Cyclops ML figure back in 2017, I strived to look past the fundamental shortcomings of that action figure since it was the only recent Jim Lee costume Cyclops at that time.
For lack of competition, his mis-colored straps, cuffs that were oversized and constantly sliding down,l and omission of extra heads, hands and effects were all things I managed to get past (with a lot of mental gymnastics). Thankfully, those fans still using that figure as their default marvel Legends Jim Lee Cyclops can permanently retire it now that Hasbro has released this new iteration.
Even though this is an animated style figure, it fixes everything I disliked about the 7-year-old comics-based Cyclops Legends figure, and still looks comic book-y enough to add to a comics-based display. The face isn’t overly “soft”, and there’s no cel-shading deco or anything like that to single this out as a cartoon toy.
The aggro head with removable optic blast effects Piece adds tons of fun and potential to this release, as Cyclops can now be angrily blasting into the air or methodically firing strategic blasts at the enemy. A “plug” for the visor for when the effects piece isn’t in use might have been nice, but I’m not sure I’ll ever display this without the optic blast anyway.
Aesthetics and articulation have both been brought up to modern standards for Hasbro’s X-Men ‘97 Cyclops. He’s fully pin-less, and features all of the fan-favorite articulation points like butterfly shoulder swivels, ankle rockers and double-hinged knees and elbows. Cyclops is not a character I need MAFEX-level articulation on—everything I need is here.
For those who bought the awesome Goblin Queen Madelyne Pryor figure I reviewed last month, Cyclops even has hands that work well to cradle the baby Nathan accessory that figure came with.
The paint and plastic on the costume colors all match here, the joints move freely and hold well and the costume overlay bits are firmly and permanently in place. Hasbro completely nailed this.
Overall: The X-Men ‘97 Cyclops Legends figure supplants the Warlock wave iteration by so much that it’s downright unbelievable. From properly coloring all the straps and belts to making sure every cuff actually fit properly and stays in place to the extra angry head with optic blast to the addition of 3 more hands, this 2024 Marvel Legends Cyclops downright embarrasses his predecessor. With great quality control, pin-less joints and updated modern articulation including butterfly swivels, this Scott Summers stands supreme. This is an omega-level Marvel Legends figure that I don’t expect Hasbro to top any time soon. Get this Cyclops for MSRP while you can–this is another Hasbro figure that’s destined to get expensive on the aftermarket as soon as it’s sold out.