Surprisingly, it’s a pair of short-lived villains who have been turned into two of the most satisfying figures in the second wave of Marvel Legends figures for “X-Men ’97.” That’s mostly because they come with the perfect accessories to make them feel complete.
The action figure of X-Cutioner is somewhat restricted by the mold of his wardrobe, but he can still be posed in a variety of ways that take full advantage of the weapons that he comes with. Not only does he have the rifle that ends up taking Storm’s superpowers away from her, but he also has two combat staffs and the arm blaster that uses miniaturized Sentinel technology. The Sentinel blaster easily fits on either arm, and the rifle is easily held in each of X-Cutioner’s hands.
However, posing the figure so that he can hold and aim the rifle with both hands is basically impossible. Thankfully, there are a variety of cool poses you can still do with the figure, especially since the rifle and staffs can be stored by way of a peg on the figure’s back. Though the mold of X-Cutioners coat and whatnot make certain poses a little challenging, you can’t deny that he looks badass.
Ethan Anderton
Then we have Goblin Queen, who is essentially a villainous version of Jean Grey since she’s a clone created by Mister Sinister. The figure’s hair sculpt is made to look like it’s been blown by the wind (or simply floating because of her magical abilities), which just looks awesome. Goblin Queen also comes with an impressive molded cape, though it does make posing her without a figure stand somewhat difficult due to the weight distribution. Thankfully, like Jean Grey, her feet are more firm than other female figures from Marvel Legend. But ultimately, she looks better when placed in a figure stand that lets her float.
But much like X-Cutioner, what’s best about Goblin Queen is the included accessories. She comes with a pair of swappable hands, as well as a pair of green magic swirls to fit upon them. But perhaps the best accessory is a tiny baby Nathan Summers, wrapped up in an X-Men blanket. Unfortunately, the figure doesn’t include a hand that makes it easy for the figure to both wield magic and hold the baby, but you can make it work if you’re careful and patient.
