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X-Men ‘97 is a smash hit, and Hasbro’s excellent tie-in toy line is enjoying massive success as well. As such, I’m continuing along with my series of 6” Marvel legends X-Men 97 figures with a key member of the team. We’ve had several previous Hasbro action figures of her in 90s Jim Lee costume, but is the new X-Men 97 Legends Jean Grey figure the definitive version of the character?
For some reason I will never in my life understand, Toybiz refused to ever produce cartoon-costumed Jean Grey (or Jubilee) in their 5” X-Men figures toy line. Toybiz didn’t shy away from producing ultra-obscure niche X-Force characters from Grizzly to Krule to Commcast to Killspree, but for some inconceivable reason, they were too terrified to make the iconic versions of two of the most well-known members of the actual X-Men team.
We eventually got 5” Phoenix figures and an Onslaught series 6” Jean Grey, but Toybiz never delivered on a proper X-Men Animated Jean Grey figure (in X-Men costume) scaled to the rest of her teammates.
But Hasbro prioritized this version of Jean and has released comic book and animated iterations of her several times in the modern era (starting with the 2013 Rocket Raccoon series figure shown above), and now she’s back with the team as a core 6” figure in X-Men 97 Legends Wave 2. Is this the be-all, end-all action figure that fans are hoping for?
Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I think this Jean Grey is pretty good. If nothing else, it’s gratifying to finally see this version of Jean on a quasi Toybiz-styled X-Men animated cardback (even if Hasbro’s packaging is still quite different from vintage Toybiz).
At a glance, this is a very aesthetically pleasing cartoon Jean Grey figure. She’s a modern figure with modern articulation, so Jean has the much-loved pin-less double-hinge knees and elbows that have Revolutionized female Marvel Legends figures. Swivel biceps, swivel thighs and ankle rockers are all present as well.
All isn’t totally well in articulation-world, though. The long-haired head sculpt is extremely difficult to pop fully into place—and if you do manage to get it fully on the ball, the hair is so inhibiting that it renders Jean’s head virtually immobile.
I think this could have been fixed with some tweaks to the head/hair mold, but as it is, the poorly-engineered long-haired head is very little fun to have on the toy. I much prefer Jean with long hair, so this is a real bummer.
In addition, the underside of Jean’s hands are marred by disruptive blue hinges glaringly in the middle of her wrists. The blue plastic hinges are fine for the upper-side’s forearm guards, but look horrible on the bottom-side. A Penny of paint would have prevented this shortcoming, which is a real shame.
Furthermore, this figure is just kind of, well… boring. Tooling exists for numerous effects pieces that could have been packed in here, but we get a semi-useless fist for Jean instead. All she can really do is gesture with her hands, which is not as exciting in a display as you might hope.
It might sound like I hate this toy, but I’m actually just nitpicking so much because Hasbro made such a strong effort that just barely stumbles. The short-haired head has a full range of motion and a fun articulated ponytail, but just isn’t my preferred hairstyle for Jean.
And the costume itself is spot-on with all the colors, details and designs, despite my complaints about hinge colors and lack of effects. Even with its vices, I think this is Hasbro’s best Jim Lee costume Jean Grey to-date—I just think they’ll upgrade and perfect it soon enough.
Overall: I’m not utterly in love with the X-Men 97 Legends Jean Grey figure, but I am glad to have it and think it’s a very solid (if not quite perfect) release. The lack of psychic effects pieces, wonky articulation on the long-haired head and blue hinges on the bottoms of the hands all hold back an otherwise very good figure. The seamless knee and elbow articulation looks great, the portraits are a strong likeness and the articulated ponytail is appreciated. I don’t think Hasbro -quite- nailed this Jean Grey action figure in the way they did most of the others in this line, but I do think it’s a well-done release fans will be glad to have to celebrate the ongoing X-Men 97 animated series on Disney+.