Jean Grey

In total, Hasbro released 8 figures to celebrate the 30th anniversary of X-Men: The Animated Series. Wolverine was the first, and I already reviewed him. But I also snagged others that really interest me.

Same as the others in this line, Jean comes packaged in VHS style. What I didn’t catch before is the corner box at the top left. For a long time, every Marvel comic book had this on the cover, usually featuring a character or characters related to the series. Not really needed now, it was an easy way to pick a comic out of the pack, back when they were really popular and sold everywhere.

Like Wolverine, Jean is a repaint done with cel-shading, to capture the animated look. And I think they did a pretty good job. It comes off even better because her costume covers almost everything.

Like many comic book characters turned into toys, most of her sculpting is body definition. Besides that and the plates on her thighs, she has a loose belt, gauntlets on her forearms, and shoulder pads. There’s some red on her belt buckle, which is the classic X-Men symbol. But otherwise, her costume is all blue & yellow. This is her Jim Lee design.

Jean is actually the first student recruited by Professor X, which I guess also makes her the first X-Man. And though she doesn’t look it, she’s also the most powerful member of the original team. Codenamed Marvel Girl in the beginning, she may be the most powerful X-Man ever. Basically, she’s telekinetic, telepathic, and psychic. She can fly, control & move objects with her mind, create force fields & energy blasts, and read & control minds. And all of her abilities were enhanced after she bonded with the Phoenix Force, a universal entity of even greater power.

For the first time ever, my favorite accessory is an alternate head. The default works, but I like this more. The volume of her hair makes her feel more full & substantial, less meek & skinny.

And as accessories go, Jean’s on the simple side. Besides the alternate head, she has two alternate hands.

I won’t hold that against her, but overall, she’s good rather than great. Hopefully a design choice, she’s more rubbery than all the male ML Legends I have. Makes her a little harder to pose, but maybe her joints will break in over time. She also has less joints in her arm. No bicep swivels, no butterfly shoulders.

I want the MAFEX figure from Medicom, but that’s $100-ish. For $25+, this Jean Grey does the job. She fits, especially as part of a 90’s X-Men collection. Comic or cartoon, but especially cartoon.