Cool Stuff: The Next Wave Of X-Men '97 Action Figures Reveals New Villains
Even though the "X-Men '97" animated series won't hit Disney+ until 2024, that hasn't stopped Hasbro from releasing action figures tied to the continuation of the beloved Saturday morning cartoon from the 1990s. The first wave of "X-Men '97" action figures from the Marvel Legends roster at Hasbro included all the usual suspects: Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Bishop, and Magneto. But as any "X-Men: The Animated Series" fan will tell you, there are plenty more main characters missing from that line-up.
Thankfully, the second wave of "X-Men '97" Marvel Legends figures revealed by Hasbro this week will help complete the main X-Men team, and it also brings some new villains to the table, alongside a revamped version of Magneto, who won't be the main antagonist of the new series. Check out the new "X-Men '97" action figures and get some new character details below.
Familiar heroes and a new leader
First up, we have the return of the X-Men's power couple, Cyclops and Jean Grey, still in their classic '90s outfits. Unlike Storm and Bishop, who are both sporting new haircuts in "X-Men '97," it appears there hasn't been much style change for Cyclops and Jean Grey.
Hasbro
I'm happy to see multiple head sculpts for varying looks, but I wish Jean Grey came with some additional accessories to visualize her mutant abilities. Thankfully, Cyclops makes up for that somewhat, because Hasbro has included an optic blast FX accessory to visualize the beam that he can shoot out of his visor.
Hasbro
Also joining the roster is Nightcrawler, and much like Jean Grey, his accessories are fairly disappointing, with only an alternate head sculpt and swappable hands. It would have been cool if they crafted some kind of visualization of Nightcrawler's teleporting abilities. While making a full-on 3D "BAMF!" graphic accessory might have been too much, including some kind of cloud plume on a little stand would have been pretty cool.
Hasbro
Finally, with a whole new look, there's also the revamped version of Magneto. In "X-Men '97," Magneto is now the leader of the X-Men, with Professor X having been taken away from Earth by Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire, thus bidding farewell to his X-Men. In his new position, Magneto has abandoned his previous wardrobe, losing the helmet and armor and replacing it with a dark purple suit while keeping his traditional pure purple cape.
New bad guys!
Of course, it can't all be heroes in the "X-Men '97" Marvel Legends action figure line-up, and the second wave brings in a couple new antagonists that the team will have to deal with.
First, there's the Goblin Queen. As the Marvel Legends packaging for the figure explains, "A Jean Grey doppelgänger who shakes the X-Men to their core, Goblin Queen becomes a fierce enemy of the X-Men after her mind is corrupted by Mister Sinister." Based on her accessories, which include a baby in an X-Men blanket, she may have been tasked with stealing mutant babies, and that's not cool. This likely means we'll be getting a new Mister Sinister figure at some point too.
Hasbro
Finally, X-Cutioner joins the animated X-Men series, too. According to his description on the packaging, "A mercenary and weapons specialist with high-tech, homemade tactical gear, Carl Denti — A.K.A. The X-Cutioner — is determined to make mutants pay for their perceived wrongdoings toward humankind." Sounds like quite the foe to contend with, though it'll be interesting to see how his tech stands up against the mutant abilities of our heroes.
All of these figures will be available for pre-order in early 2024, and they'll ship in the spring.