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New York Comic Con is not the mecca for toy reveals that it once was, but we haven’t reached a day where collectibles companies are just ignoring it either. And so, while Hasbro didn’t exactly bring out the big guns for their Marvel Legends showing at NYCC 2024, they did bring a solitary BIG gun. Many collectors have been lamenting missing out on the Haslab Sentinel since its 2021 campaign, but now they’ll get another chance at a fresh version of the mutant-hunting machines: the X-Men 97 Marvel Legends Sentinel is now up for order! Will you assemble any of these raucous robots on your shelves?
It was -heavily- rumored and teased that a new Sentinel would be bursting onto the scene as part of the 2024 New York Comic Con festivities, so virtually no one was taken aback when it was officially announced at the show’s Hasbro toy brands panel. Even so, any humongous Sentinel figure—whether fans are expecting it or not—will always make headlines.
Such was the case with the all-new X-Men ‘97 Legends Sentinel that premiered in New York City last weekend.
Let’s get this out of the way first: this is NOT a reissue of the crowd-funded Haslab Sentinel in any way. This one is a bit smaller (22” tall vs. 26” tall), a different style (cartoon-inspired vs. comics-based) and half the price ($175 vs. $350). This is an all-different, fully unique Sentinel that fills a different niche in a collection than the (amazing) Haslab version.
With the explosive price increases across the collecting sphere since the pandemic, it’s a bit stunning to see this Sentinel that’s just a tad smaller than the Haslab one ring in at about half the price. There’s less accessories, no packed-in figures and less details on the new X-Men 97 iteration, but this still feels like a terrific value, enabling fans to buy a couple if they so choose.
I actually really enjoyed the $20ish 14” Titan Hero Sentinel that Hasbro released last year, but that version truly was as basic as can be with a single digit number of articulation points. In comparison, the new Hasbro Pulse Exclusive is nearly twice the scale and exponentially more poseable, with over 80 (yes, 80!) points of articulation. The difference between the two toys is like night and day.
There’s no interchangeable hands for this new Sentinel, but no such appendages are really necessary when each hand has a mighty 25 points of articulation built in.
There also aren’t swap-out heads this time, but there are some interchangeable parts: battle damaged versions of the helmet, face plate and chest reactor. It’s nog a huge amount of parts, but it will help add some variability to lineups with multiple Sentinels. In addition, a pair of removable energy blast effects for the hands is included. There’s no tentacle coil inserts this time around, but according to Hasbro, the coils from the Haslab will be compatible here.
Frankly, I love the clean, animated look of this huge robot. The price is right in my eyes, and even being slightly shorter than the Haslab, it’s still plenty big to absolutely tower over the X-Men. To me, this is a full-on winner for Hasbro.
The Sentinel Marvel Legends X-Men 97 figure is available to pre-order exclusively on the Hasbro Pulse website until November 26 2024, and is expected to ship in October 2025. Hasbro Pulse won’t charge until it’s ready to ship, so if you’re on the fence it’s better to pre-order than not (provided that you’re the type to remember to actually cancel if you change your mind).
Will you be ordering one or more of these killer robots, Marvel collectors? How do you think it compares to the Haslab Sentinel?