Marvel Legends - DARK PHOENIX!

Marvel Legends - X-Men Dark Phoenix & Cyclops 2-Pack - TRU Exc - Hasbro 2017

I had honestly given up on the idea of a good Jean Grey action figure. I don't know why her character always seems to get second-rate treatment in the toy world. Even her inclusion in last year's (beautiful) X-Men Legends wave inexplicably got a salvaged head from a figure rejected three years prior. It was a dud compared to the newly-sculpted Rogue and Kitty. She just can't seem to win. Now this Toys R Us Exclusive Dark Phoenix has hit the shelves and she looks great. A huge added perk is the surprise inclusion of two alternate heads. I might be wrong, but I think this is the first time a Marvel Legends female has ever come with two heads. And the great thing is that two of those heads happen to look fantastic on last year's green Phoenix. So it's as if we're getting two great Jean Grey figures at once. This makes me very excited for any SDCC reveals in a few weeks. With all the love given to the classic characters lately, I think there could be some awesome surprises. Let's check out Dark Phoenix below!

The only flaw with this figure is the plastic used to make her hands seems really cheap. Her right hand has fingers in a very unnatural position and I had to use an Xacto blade to trim off lots of seam flares all over her hands. I hope the finger position can be manipulated with hot water. Almost all of the figures I saw in my TRU (they had about 10 sets) appeared to have wonky fingers on the Right hand. From some angles it looks dynamic and cool, but look above at the sideways shot and you'll see how they are curved and squished. The hands are also made from a rigid plastic, so it's not just from packaging damage.

Here are her three heads. Two of them are a new sculpt: one with pupil-less eyes and translucent hair, and without. And then a third that is a repainted Moonstone head.

 

The Moonstone head is the worst of the bunch for her. This is because the head rides a little high on the neck post and looks weird in person. The dynamic-haired heads sit a little lower and look great.

Dark Phoenix also comes with a cool translucent fire-phoenix accessory for her arm.

Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!

Here is Dark Phoenix with the standard Phoenix from last year.

I hated the head on that figure (I rant about it in the old review).

So here is the Moonstone-style head on the old body.

And the dynamic hair head.

Here she is with her pack-mate Cyclops.

Here is Jean with the Moonstone figure who uses this same headsculpt. This head was also used for the comic-style Gamora and Target Ms. Marvel figures.

And with another recent Marvel Redhead, Mary Jane.

Cheers!