I’m doubling up on the X-Men because they are too good to split up. Today, Cyclops and Colossus, two long-time X-Men who have their quirks but you associate them with Xavier’s school more than most of the rest of the wave.
But to tell you the truth, these were my least anticipated, at least orginally. Yeah, let that soak in. Cyclops, who you can’t help but think of as the leader of the X-Men. Colossus, who was the rock of the team for so many years. Hear me out though.
By the time Jim Lee came along I was graduating high school and moving on to “adult” things. Mostly trying not to starve and finding a place to sleep night to night. Plus it was a huge shake-up, breaking the team into Blue and Gold and changing up the costumes. And pouches. So many pouches. I had grown up on Classic and Outback and Excalibur and the original X-Factor, which were shake-ups themselves so at this point I think I can safely say that the loss of interest was probably due to being homeless more than some costume and roster changes. I was off the radar for several years until life settled down and I could focus on and afford comics again, around the time of New. So I don’t have the same nostalgia for the Lee years that a lot of others do. A LOT of others. The power of a cartoon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a whole episode all the way through.
And then Colossus. That costume. That’s it. Nope, wasn’t excited.
But these two are a testament to what a good action figure can do. Even before release Cyclops grew on me, and it helped that an excellent Lee era Rogue set the scene. Because of how good Rogue was and how good Cyclops looked to be, I suddenly found myself needing a Lee display. Insane. But then Colossus was solicited with a bearded head and something snapped. I still hate the costume but the base body itself is solid and the alternate head is amazing. I still want a classic Colossus but this one will do me for now.
For now.
The bands on Cyclops’ legs tend to fall when posing and the classic style Colossus head sits too high on the neck, but neither of those are a huge problem. Little glue. A dremel. Boom. From least anticipated to favorite of the wave. So far. I still need to open Sunfire and Polaris.
Video:
Package:
Cyclops:
Colossus:
Alternate Colossus head (aka toughest beard ever)
Comparisons:
Action:
