Marvel Legends Mystique figure review

Hasbro has done some important work in updating its early run of Marvel Legends as well as forcing longtime collectors to finally upgrade their Toy Biz figures. Very close to the top was the Marvel Legends Series 10 Mystique figure. Even back then this was a figure that wasn’t great. With a slender buck and weak plastic, Mystique has been begging for a classic update.

Hasbro released a modern Mystique early on, which likely pushed her back a bit on the update list. But the insistence of a million fanboys was finally enough to convince Hasbro it was time to revisit the figure. The common thread with these long-awaited updates is Hasbro knocks it out of orbit (forget the park). Does that continue with Mystique? Let’s find out.

Packaging:  Nothing too exciting here as this is the basic Marvel Legends X-Men packaging. It does seem weird not to have anything in the upper left side announcing the respective series, but with no BAF there’s nothing to add here.

We still get the gold accents from the standard X-Men line, which is nice consistency for MOC collectors. Mystique looks to have a side portrait drawn by Ken Lashley and I appreciate we get more than one drawing for the back. Her bio neatly sums up her abilities, but I keep finding it weird there’s no mention of her affiliations or rivals in the write-up.

Hasbro has changed up its packaging slightly so that the outer plastic shell isn’t glued to the inside. It makes the sides bow out a little, which is only something to worry about if you’re a MOC collector.

Likeness:  This is what I’m talking about! If I had the ability to make a comic book character into figure form, this head sculpt perfectly captures my ideal version of Mystique. I’ve never been a fan of this glamming up of Mystique. She’s a villain, not some conflicted ant-hero and definitely not leading the movie X-Men.

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The head sculpt wonderfully captures that calculating and devious character Dave Cockrum and Chris Claremont originally created. I love the hair strands and that expression. Open-mouthed, teeth showing head sculpts are the hardest to get right, but this is fantastic. The forehead skull is scaled properly and the skull belt is positioned in a way to hang down as opposed to resting exactly like a belt.   

Mystique has the same slender legs as the Phoenix figure. They’re not my favorite as they’re a little too small and don’t allow for the best support. Ideally, most of the female figures would have the wider hips and thicker legs of the Captain Marvel/Warbird figure as they never have trouble standing.

Scale:  Mystique stands about the same height as Psylocke. I don’t necessarily think of her as some Amazonian character so the height isn’t an issue.

Paint:  White and yellow are always the hardest colors to get right. The arm sleeves and boots have softer lines and fuzziness than I’d like largely because they’re not sculpted. Ideally for lighter colors like white, yellow and flesh tones, we’d get those parts sculpted.

Fortunately, Mystique’s face doesn’t suffer from many paint problems. The eyeliner is sharp, the eyebrows are properly arched and the lipstick doesn’t bleed into the teeth. Those were all potential problems. The skill belt is also solid although it would have been nice if the back was painted gold as well to avoid that cheap knockoff belt look. I had some blue paint stuck to the inner portion of Mystique’s skirt, but I think that’s something I can eventually take off.

Articulation:  Mystique is able to do all of the poses a shape-shifter should do so no issue at all on that front.

Still, I really wish Hasbro would go back to including bicep articulation for the female figures. It’s the one joint that always so noticeable when you try and pose female figures.

Mystique has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• elbows
• wrists
• torso
• waist
• hips
• thighs
• knees
• ankles

Accessories:  As part of the Walgreens exclusive line, there’s no BAF figure piece. Hasbro tries to make up the difference with a generous amount of accessories.

The most useful is her pistol, which has been reused from several figures. I don’t mind the gold paint here as I feel like she’s used a golden gun at some point in the comics.

She also has a larger blaster, which is also cast in gold. This doesn’t look as good and has more of that toy NERF gun appearance. Hasbro probably should have gone with grey or black for this gun.

Additionally, Mystique comes with some fun variant heads. One features her ‘in action’ as she’s shifting into/out of a Rogue disguise.

That’s a fun addition and one that makes sense to show Mystique’s power.

The other is a Lillandra head. Pretty much every customizer has used this and the Silver Sable body to come up with a decent take on Professor X’s main alien squeeze. It’s a nice inclusion and a cool outside the box choice that helps to sell another figure.

Neither head had any paint issues either, which is especially nice for Lillandra since she could be used for another character.

Worth it?  Right now Mystique is $14 at Walgreens. Given the lack of a BAF piece, this the ideal price point

Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Mystique just needed that sorely missed bicep and double elbow articulation points. Otherwise this is a fantastic figure that blows all of the other Mystique figures out of the water.

Where to get it?  Mystique is a Walgreens exclusive and if you time your shopping right you can get her for sale for $13.99. That’s a great price for one of the best female Marvel Legends figures Hasbro has done. Otherwise, you can grab her from Amazon.com.