Phoenix, or Jean Grey, was long overdue for an upgrade in Marvel Legends. And that upgrade has arrived in all her glory. Hasbro’s 2016 Juggernaut Series finally delivered a much needed upgrade to the 2004 Series 6 Phoenix.
And that makes me feel very old. To think that ToyBiz’s Series 6 came out in 2004, that I’ve been covering Marvel Legends for that long. Twelve years later and collectors finally get the Phoenix they deserve. Well, almost. Phoenix is sporting the new base that we saw on Silk and Spider-Bitch and (for me) it looks great. It’s a great modern look for what we expect females in comics to look like today. But she misses the hips and chest that was the signature of Dave Cockrum and John Byrne series where Phoenix made her debut. I almost think the Storm base might have popped with this figure.
And if you thought I felt old talking about figures from 2004, just wait till you get the low down on Phoenix. She made her first appearance in the pages of Uncanny X-Men issue 101 in 1976. That’s ages ago, and while I wasn’t full-blown into comics until a few years later, this was one of the comics that I did seek out at a flea market. And, no, I don’t have it anymore, and don’t worry about that since it was one of those issues with crayon markings and no cover. But who cares! It was the greatest stories ever told! Jean Grey, taken down and replaced (we would later find out) by one of the most destructive cosmic entities in the Marvel Universe. One that would haunt Jean Grey over and over and over again.
And now, risen from the ashes, Hasbro gives us Phoenix. As mentioned, it’s using a new modern sculpt and is a great figure to have, there is very little done poorly. The figure does come with heels, they are the better version of the Hasbro heels, but they still don’t match up to the DC Universe Classics high heels, which are incredibly stable and pose really well. Phoenix can be posed and is pretty stable in the heels but it isn’t great.
There are few accessories. One might have hoped for some Phoenix blasts or something cosmic-y to go with the figure. I’d recommend that you hit the import sections for the Bandai Tamashii Effects as they might provide some interesting base possibilities. And if you are a lucky enough to have the original ToyBiz Phoenix figure, then you can use that base. I think the Marvel Select base might also be good.
Phoenix is a great figure, most Marvel Legends collectors are starved for X-Men characters and probably already own this figure. Phoenix or Jean Grey is a no-brainer for any Marvel collection and doesn’t require the ramblings of this review to convince you to get her today.
