Action Figure Review: Jean Grey from Marvel Legends Series: X-Men '97 by Hasbro

 

   

   It's time for another spoiler free review of a Hasbro Marvel Legends Series: X-Men '97 figure and this time it's Jean Grey! I remember being utterly baffled as a kid watching the original X-Men cartoon series that there weren't figures of the main team from the cartoon. In 1992, the year the cartoon premiered, You could eventually find Gambit and the tiger stripe Wolverine, and Cyclops and Storm in costumes fairly different from the show, but no Rogue, Beast, Morph, Jubilee, Professor X, or Jean Grey. While I was actively collecting the toys Beast, Morph, and Professor X were released, as was Rogue, but I never found her as a kid. Jean didn't get released until late 1994 or 1995, but that was as the Phoenix, and by that time I wasn't actively collecting the line (the latest figure I remember purchasing from the line until Marvel Legends came along was Bonebreaker). Well, now we're living in a golden age of X-Men toys and I have at least half a dozen Jean Grey figures. What a time to be alive, eh? I haven't yet watched X-Men '97 (I'm about halfway done with the fifth and final season of the original series) so anything I say is conjecture on my part. No spoilers! Let's take a look at jean Grey after the break...

Action Figure Review: Franklin "Airborne" Talltree from G.I. Joe: Classified Series by Hasbro

 Last week I reviewed Big Boa from the newest series of G.I. Joe figures and now I'm checking out another figure, and this time it's a member of the G.I. Joe team: Franklin "Airborne" Talltree. Airborne never seemed to get a lot of attention in most Joe media but he definitely is memorable because he was from the second year of the line (1983) and because he was a pretty strong figure. Airborne is another figure that gets his fie name used because of some trademark issue. During the Spy Troops, Valor Vs. Venom, 25th Anniversary, and Retaliation eras he was called Sgt. Airborne and during the Rise of Cobra era he was called Air Raid. Oddly enough, there is actually another G.I. Joe codenamed Airborne (he was part of Sky Patrol) and another codenamed Air Raid (a different Sky Patrol member from the 2016 GIJCC convention). Franklin Talltree is the original, though: a Navajo airborne infantryman who passed the Bar exams but decided jumping out of plane was just more fun. Ready to check this guy out? Then join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Goblin Queen from Marvel Legends Series: X-Men '97 by Hasbro

 

   I'm now on the 5th season of my X-Men watch through which I'm trying to complete before starting X-Men '97 and I'm trying really, really hard to avoid spoilers. One of the biggest surprises for me happened when I first saw the X-Men '97 Goblin Queen POP! vinyl at GameStop back in December or January. My first thought when I saw it was that I hoped Hasbro would release her in the X-Men '97 Marvel Legend Series as they've made kind of a big deal that the Goblin Queen was a figure they weren't allowed to make previously. They did show off a comic version of the Goblin Queen as a stretch goal for the ill-fated Ghost Rider: Engine of Vengeance HasLab, but by that point I was pretty much just collecting X-Men related stuff and didn't have much interest in anything except her and Mephisto. Wow this isn't her most famous look, it's not a bad new look for the character and it does work pretty well as both a comic and cartoon based figure. Madelyne Pyor has a long history with the X-Men and it's nice to finally have her in Marvel Legends. I don't know how her character will be utilized in X-Men '97 but that's not stopping me from reviewing her! Let's check out Madelyne Pryor as the Goblin Queen after the break...

Action Figure Review: Rokkon from Masters of the Universe Origins by Mattel

 

   I actually missed Rokkon when he went up for sale on Mattel Creations a couple months ago but I managed to grab one from Ebay for a pretty decent price (honestly not much more than the retail price with the Mattel shipping cost), so I jumped on it. I still have my vintage Comet Warriors from when I was a kid, as well as my Meterobs, and while they've never been my favorites I do have an affinity for them. I have to admit, though, that I feel like I always mix the names for Rokkon and Stonedar up. They just don't stick with me for some reason. Anyways, let's hop in and take a look at Rokkon, the "Young Heroic Battling Boulder." Join me after the break...

Action Figure Review: Evil Jack-O-Lantern Bone Brawler from Icons: The Yokai Series by Fwoosh Toys

 

  Today I'm reviewing something kind of fun and unique: The Evil Jack-O-Lantern Bone Brawler from Fwoosh Toys' Icons: The Yokai Series. This is the first figure from Fwoosh Toys that I've purchased and I'm glad to say that it's a pretty nifty figure. This guy was a Fwoosh Store preorder exclusive, though they did have some listed for sale again a week or so ago (though they're now sold out). I actually preordered this guy in October of 2022 and he arrived to my door in late February, so he's been a long time coming. I'm familiar with the Fwoosh's Articulated Icons line but I've never owned any. This guy spoke to me, though. Spooky skeleton. Yokai. Jack-O-Lantern head? Yup. All things I like. I didn't want to wait until October to review him, although he'd make an awfully good addition to 31 Days of Toy Terror, wouldn't he? Let's take a look at the Evil Jack-O-Lantern Bone Brawler after the break...

Action Figure review: Cyclops from Marvel Legends Series: X-Men '97 by Hasbro

 

   I haven't started watching X-Men '97 yet, so don't expect any spoilers here! I actually decided to watch through all of the original series before diving into X-Men '97 and I'm currently in the middle of season 4 (which might be the best season yet). I'm really anticipating the show and I'm loving the tie in action figures. Thus far I've purchased all of the X-Men '97 Marvel Legends Series figures except for Wolverine (who I stupidly passed up previously but now have a preorder for from the second run), which adheres to my current Marvel Legends focus of just X-Men related characters. I actually stumbled across everyone except X-Cutioner in a GameStop one in February, so I got the chance to use my discount plus some points I had accumulated. Hasbro went with a stylized appearance on these that I really like. The style is subtler than the figures from the What If? and Spider-Man: Spider-Verse lines, and they don't have any cel-shading like the Pulse exclusive X-Men VHS figures. They do a nice job of matching the animation while also fitting fairly seamlessly into a comic based collection. I'm really hoping these continue as I'd love to build a full roster of the animated team in this style. I'm starting things off with Cyclops. I have a few Cyclops figures in my collection already, but this one is pretty much my ideal Cyclops and he's an improvement over the 2017 Warlock BAF series version of Scott. Ready to check out Cyclops? Then open your eyes and read on...

Action Figure Review: Egon Spengler & Soar Throat Ghost from Ghostbusters Kenner Classics from Hasbro

 

   See? I told you I wasn't going to wait until may to review the Fright Features Egon Spengler! Egon was the last of the Fright Features figures I found from Hasbro's Ghostbusters Kenner Classics series and I found him while on a short vacation to Gatlinburg, TN in February. You know why I was thrilled to get this guy? Because when I was a kid the tie on my Fright Features Egon broke and I'm excited to have one with an unbroken tie. It turns out, though, that the tie on pretty much every vintage Fright Features Egon figure released broke by 1990. have you ever seen one with an unbroken tie in the last 34 years? Me neither. I also seem to recall having lost the included Soar Throat ghost as a kid. No idea why. Maybe he got mixed in with something else? Let's take a look at Dr. Egon Spengler and see if bustin' still makes him feel good...