The Marvel Legends exclusive train continues to run at Walgreens. I have said it before, and I will reiterate: I think they have the best ML exclusives out there. Their latest offering, Emma Frost, is a new take on an old character, but she probably would not appreciate it being worded that way.
The past year or so, we have been jumping back and forth between the X-Men and Fantastic Four characters at Walgreens and that has been a huge help in diversifying our ML shelves. Before the completion of Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, those characters were handled a bit differently, and really, Walgreens was the only spot to get our F4 guys. They have done a really great job with their exclusives, and now with those “Fox characters” looking to be freeing up a bit, I am thinking this will be a good opportunity to diversify the exclusives going forward. For now though, the X-Family is still up for this release (and the next), and I have no complaints about that.
Emma Frost is a character with a complicated history in comics, and in Legends. We could talk for hours about the former, but when it comes to ML, her past can be summed up as rather infamous. I mean, I don’t think I am surprising anyone when I say her first Legends figure (waaaaaaay back in Hasbro’s initial series) is, quite possibly, one of the worst ML releases ever, right? Aside from the cape, I have completely stricken that figure from my collection. Heck, even the second attempt that I have had on my shelf for several years was pretty “okay-ish” in terms of design and production, is terribly outdated at this point, and was REALLY hard to find. So, Emma has been due for a while now.
I will say that, despite the fact that those two previous figures left quite a bit to be desired, the Astonishing X-Men look is my favorite for Emma. Yes, I have much more history with her as the villainous White Queen, but there is no denying that AXM was a great look from a great run. So, I have been primed for an update on that costume, or the White Queen version as well. However, this figure represents a newer look for Em, and one that I am not overly familiar with, if I am being honest. Obviously, this is an “X-Men” costume, and if she is trying to break off her affiliation to the White Queen of the Hellfire Club, at least she has gone to the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to color choice. It is an interesting look, that is for sure. Sure, it still helps her highlight the “best body money can buy,” but I don’t think anyone ever expects Emma to charge into battle wearing a heather grey jumpsuit.
So, naturally, this outfit is just as impractical as you might guess, but it is certainly an interesting look. Many of the details, like the boot lines and the entire bodice are accomplished via paint, there are some add-on pieces, like the jacket, cuffs, belt, and boot tops that help sell the full effect. I think most of these are successful, and keep to methods that are generally applied to Marvel Legends. That is to say, it doesn’t seem like anything was sacrificed for this figure simply because it is an exclusive. Walgreens has a good track record with this, I mean, the Thing was a 100% newly tooled figure for Aunt Petuna’s sake, so I am not surprised they did what needed to be done in terms of tooling dollars to do this figure justice. Also, I was a bit surprised by the return of the high heel boot for this figure, and also because Emma stands a lot better in these than past figures, so while I still generally support the flat sole for figures, this one is better than before.
For me though, the real highlight of this figure comes in the extras. I don’t have anything against this costume, but without history, the base figure is not as important to me as the new heads. FINALLY Emma has treated well in terms of likeness, and twice over in that regard. Both of the heads are really, really nice, and even though I am not a fan of that skinny-legged body from the old Puck Series Emma, the long hair head from this set is going right on that body to stand in for an AXM version until we get a proper update. Additionally, the shoulder-length hair head is just waiting for a White Queen edition of Emma to be released. Both of these heads look great on the actual figure they are included with, but since new heads are generally the single most expensive new parts, maybe some of the cost of future figures has been mitigated here. Oh, and she also has swappable open hands and fists, but we have seen those all before. A figure can be instantly elevated by a good likeness/portrait, and since this figure has two, I am really enjoying the final product.
Thanks to Walgreens, Emma Frost is back in Marvel Legends. This black costume version is certainly interesting and stark departure from her normal looks, but it is pretty much perfect for an exclusive. As I said, I hope that new Astonishing and White Queen versions of Emma are still in the plans, but if you are a fan of the character, this release certainly gives you some variety in the collection. Ms. Frost is hitting Walgreens locations now, so be on the lookout!
*Thanks to my awesome buddy Mario for looking out for me and sending this figure my way. You are the best, dude!
