I skipped a whole lot of superhero comics between the mid-nineties and the early oughties. Across the board, the art style had become very loose with exaggerated anatomy and facial expressions. Costumes got way too complicated/busy for my liking. And the general aesthetic was extreme. It was an era of gritted teeth and pouches. My general dislike of this era has led to some major gaps in my comic repertoire. I don't know anything about Knightfall/Azrael/Bane, the Rebirth of Superman is a blur, and any X-books past the marriage of Scott and Jean in 1994 is a total black hole of my (normally encyclopedic) knowledge. In fact, it's no joke that my only connection to a good decade of comics is the toys that they inspired. This Age of Apocalypse Jean Grey is a great example. The first time I ever saw this costume was in a 2010 Minimates box set. While not my favorite design overall, it has a certain 80's glam-rock look that I dig. (The shoulderpads are spectacular!) Let's check out AoA Jean Grey below!
This packaging is quite possibly the worst placement of a titular character I've ever seen. She's so pushed off to the side of the giant Sugar Man head that you almost don't see her at all.
In the alternate Xavier-less timeline of Age of Apocalypse, Jean is the leader of the X-Men who keeps Weapon X as a lover and whose genetic material was combined with Cyclops (by Mr. Sinister) to create Nate Grey, the X-Man (aka this timeline's version of Cable, but without the techno-organic virus and with enhanced telepathic and telekinetic abilities) who was designed to be the perfect mutant. So this punk-rock looking Jean is basically the Queen Regent of mutantdom.
The Sugar Man head is ghastly. It comes split into two pieces because it is too deep to fit in the packaging.
Time for some Group and Comparison Pics!
Here she is with her old ToyBiz version.
And a small collection of modern Jeans. From Left to Right: Jim Lee Love Triangle, Dark Phoenix 2-Pack, Age of Apocalypse, Juggernaut Phoenix (with Dark Phoenix 2-Pack Head), and All-New X-Men.
Cheers!
Cool figure. Like you - this time period is a huge gap. Cool costume though.
ReplyDeletenice that they are at least not making the same design over and over again and are filling in some gaps in comic history
ReplyDeleteI agree that the variations are great. But I'm still surprised there hasn't been a Jean in her X-Factor Red (or Green) with a big yellow "X" design. Or an updated green skirted/ yellow mask pre-phoenix version. I like variations, but I think they skipped a lot of classic looks in the process.
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