You know, I love Jean Grey, but she can be a bit finicky to say the least. I mean, Cher has nothing on her in terms costume changes over the years, and frankly, we could probably spend a few series of Marvel Legends featuring only her to get through all of them. Not that I am complaining or anything.
The X-Men continue to enjoy the spotlight in this line, and the Hasbro team is doing a good job of celebrating looks and runs from various periods of the comics, and this new House of X theme, while modern, brings some classics characters and looks to the fore. I am always keen on getting a new comic character in the line, but meaningful looks are right behind those unique characters in terms of importance to me.
I will admit that I have not read the House of X comic run, but fortunately for me, this Marvel Girl outfit for Jean hits pretty spot-on for the classic look, too. I have gotten a little bit more choosey about my Marvel Legends pick-ups as of late. It is not that I am enjoying the line any less, it is just I have wanted to put my focus back on the characters and costumes I have a history with (or just find cool), so Jean and Moira were the only two I picked up from this series. After the Phoenix costume, this is probably the most memorable Jean look for me, so it is nice to finally get a good ML figure.
The go-go boots, skirt, and pointed mask are all quite unique in terms of costume for Jean, and they are are represented well. This figure highlights the “girl” aspect of Marvel Girl, too, as this figure is much smaller and slighter in terms of stature than previous Jean figure. I am not sure how the time frame/age pieces of House of X work, but as classic Marvel Girl, this build works well for Jean.
This figure is fairly well-articulated by the standards of most action figure lines of the day, but as an ML, it is less-so than most we have seen over the past several years. Most of the points are there in terms of numbers, and while this retains important cuts like double knees, and forward ankle rockers, some spots are limited. The skirt is made of a pretty thick plastic and while it has a slit up one side, the hips are still really limited in terms of movement. The “elbros,” while prevalent in most ML females feel more limited here than in most. Jean also has a great neck joint, but that is limited as well due to the long hair. So, if you were wanting to get some Spider-Man like poses out of this figure (even as out of character that might be), you are likely not going to get there.
Marvel Girl comes with swappable open hands to compliment the fists, and yes, you have seen these before. The Tri-Sentinel Build-a-Figure leg is also included, as is the Krakoan flower. The flower itself is a great touch for an accessory, so it is cool to get something we have not seen in the line before.
Overall, this is a good Marvel Girl figure and a nice entrant into the line for an iconic costume for Jean. The articulation doesn’t feel up to snuff for what ML usually offers, but it isn’t bad. This wave also has Moira, Wolverine, Charles Xavier, Magneto, Cyclops, and the Omega Sentinel, and you can order all of them from Dorkside and BBTS.
How do you have two skirted figures in the same line, and one can move her legs still while the other can’t??? I love Jean, but gosh she’s the only disappointing figure in this wave, for me. I already want a Marvel Girl 2.0.
Glad to have a classic green dress Jean in more modern style, but I have to echo others’ sentiment about the flaws. The hair color choice and hairstyle are close to her current incarnation in the comic. They could have put some dark red wash in there to add contrast but alas, no. The face…totally dead behind the eyes. To be fair, she is the same in the books…a dead, blank stare…a walking cactus with red hair and an occasional pink energy effect over her head.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9a80e4641bf35234c82a150d91fb753b4e8d427fa36ca7135465b1f77c71a0ab.jpg
it is supposed to look modern. It represents the character as she appears in a comic that’s currently being produced.
Why does she look so bored?
Aside from the articulation hindering skirt, by gripe with this figure is that the hair looks too modern. I’d have preferred the sculpt of the hair to resemble the Mary Tyler Moore flipped out bob hairstyle that artists like Werner Roth, Don Heck, and Neil Adams drew in the 70’s. The Marvel Select Marvel Girl figure absolutely nailed that hairstyle, and even the terrible first Marvel Legends Marvel Girl figure sported that kind of hairdo.
Ooof, those painted on boots are a step backward for ML.
What an excellent idea! Now to troll the Bay to find a shield and paint it in translucent pink!
More new telepathic/telekinetic effects, please.
Going by the box art, I wonder if this figure was intended to come with Invisible Woman’s energy shield, molded in translucent pink? That sure would have been cool. And a major incentive to buy the figure.
Did Hasbro ever address why they used the shoe sculpt for boots?
This is one of the few ML figures that I’ve been really disappointed with. I pre-ordered based on the classic(ish) costume, but the wax dummy face and crappy articulation mean she’s right at the back of my X-Men shelf, sorta leaning against Cyclops…
I hate the head, she looks so bored.
I like this figure, but the face and skirt are frustrating. The skirt is far too hard to get any posing from, and makes her pretty much a statue with arms.
I don’t really get this, since it’s a new sculpt, has a slit for movement… and is base on an outfit that wasn’t shown as having a tight pencil skirt. I assume they used the same plastic for her body for the skirt instead of something more pliable from a different mold.
Her face is also a little disappointing. I find that the narrative on Jean is being re-written lately. She is portrayed as a semi-useless ‘mother’ figure for the team who didn’t really do much outside of that. But that’s not reflective of any of the comic books and seems more about how new fans see things, as opposed to what was actually written. I think her face captures that blank Mandela version of her, and not much of the actual character.
My biggest issue with the figure is the inconsistency with the other Jean Grey’s that have been released.
Why go with bright Orange hair when every figure prior had the Red. In the OG comics and both the House of X runs she had the red hair too. It’s just a really odd choice.
Speaking of odd choices, why the heck did they use the Peggy Carter Heel when they have the sculpt for the Gwen Stacy Boot?
I hate that Marvel Legends is really starting to feel as lazy as Power Rangers in terms of quality.