



The Marvel Legends X-Menaissance soldiers on, with today's look at the two final figures from the vintage wave. The peg-warming Dazzler, and the highly requested update of Storm in her Jim Lee costume.





Packaging:





The packaging, as noted before, is a retro throwback to the 90's ToyBiz figures. It's very authentic, down to the colors, word balloons, and even the art on the back. Seeing them side by side, as we can above, really hammers home how well Hasbro pulled off this look.





Sculpting:





Storm is a beautiful figure! From the neck down, she's on same standard female body we've seen dozens of times, but the head, arms, shoulder pads and cape are new.





The head sculpt in particular is great, and I especially like the detail in giving her the accurate lightning bolt earrings.





Her hair is a double edged sword. On the one hand, its expertly sculpted, long, and has impressive detail. On the other hand, all that hair at that density makes it heavy. So heavy, that if there's not something behind her to balance on, she tends to topple over from the weight of her gigantic hair.









Dazzler gets her second Legends figure in this wave, after her first appearance "disco" costume from the Warlock wave. This one is updated, exchanging her tired early 80's look for a more contemporary mid to late 80's look.





Her costume is charmingly 80's styled, and the figure pulls it off well. I think both the belt and jacket are reused from Rogue, but they suit her well. The headband looks great, and her head sculpt is nice and glamorous, especially the detail work on her hair. Dazzler seems to be on the standard female body Storm is, with the added Rogue pieces.









The jacket has some impressive details sculpted in, like the texture of the collar, and especially the wrinkles on the sleeves. There are some excess bits of plastic from the molding on her jawline. It's easily fixable, but unfortunate that this error got through.





Articulation:





Storm has a pretty good amount of articulation, some of it more useful than the rest. Ororo has: A ball jointed head, ball shoulders, ball/pin elbows, cut/pin wrists, a ball torso, ball hips, cut thighs, double pin knees, and rocker ankles. Her long, flowing ivory locks limit her head movement pretty severely, and the cape can get in the way of some arm poses, although it can be repositioned easily.









Dazzler has the same basic body as storm, but her less busy design means she can move more fluidly. She has: A ball jointed head, ball shoulders, ball/pin elbows, cut/pin wrists, a ball torso, ball hips, cut thighs, double pin knees, and rocker ankles. I had fun posing her, and all of her joints are tight and hold in place nicely.





Accessories:





Storm has three accessories, technically. The first two are yellow lightning effects. We've seen them before, in various colors. The Apocalypse wave "Punk" Storm even came with the exact same effects, but they're key to have for Storm, and I appreciate the inclusion for those who may not have the previous Storm figure.









The second is a soft goods/ plastic cape. It can be removed without ripping it off, as it connects to the figure under the pegs of her shoulder pads, which are also removable. The loops go around her wrists, and her hair helps keep the back in place. The fabric is very thin, but it flows well and I was never concerned of it tearing. I really appreciate the brand new piece, and it would make a good accessory if Hasbro decides to take another crack at Banshee.





Dazzler comes with two accessories, some glittery, pink hex bolts. Like Storm's lightning, we've seen these many times before, usually with magic users like Dr. Strange. The glitter is a nice touch, and they look good, clipping onto her wrists securely.





Paint:





This Storm doesn't have the most detailed costume, but what's there is great. The silvery white looks great, and the yellow sections really pop. Her head has the most impressive paint, with her eyes, lips, eyebrows, and especially her mountain of hair being expertly detailed. I also really like the rex X shoulder pads, since they add a nice splash of color.









Dazzler is an interesting case, as most of her costume details are painted rather than sculpted. The star and ribbon on her calves look great, as does the starburst on her chest. The fingerless gloves are very well done, with no visible paint slop. There's even a visible difference in tone between the jacket and the costume underneath, showing that the material is distinct. It's a detail most won't notice, but it's a great touch.





Overall:

Storm in her 90's costume has been an oft requested update, so was the wait worth it? Well, mostly. I haven't heard any other collectors mention the hair throwing her off balance, but it's a big issue with mine. It could be mine is just defective, but keep that in mind if you decide to pick her up. I'm considering swapping her head with the punk Storm, just to have an alternate choice. The rest of her figure is pretty solid, and I'm still glad to have her animated series look on the shelf.





Dazzler is a figure I fully expected to be bored by, but the combination of the retro costume, detailed paint, and solid articulation surprised me. I don't know if I'll keep her, but I'm not as eager to sell her as I expected to. Hmmm.





Best/Worst

This wave wraps up the vintage X-Men series, which means it's time to rank the single best and single worst figure of the wave.





Worst





Now, Wolverine isn't a bad figure. But the combination of his storyline specific costume, pretty basic sculpt, and the fact that Hasbro has given us roughly six Wolverine's recently mean that this one doesn't feel entirely necessary.





Best





Ironically, the one bad guy in the wave is easily its best figure. Silver Samurai has a gorgeous new sculpt, bright silver paint, and enough articulation to take any battle pose you'd want. It's kind of surprising how much work clearly went into him compared to a wave filled largely with repaints and reuse. He's almost needlessly good, and easily my favorite in the series.





Gallery:



























