Marvel Legends Legion review – BAF Colossus wave

Legion is the X-Man addition of the second wave of Age of Apocalypse figures. Does he make sense to include in the wave? Sure. Was he a more essential AOA character as opposed to say Storm, Gambit, Banshee, Jubilee, Havok or Bishop? Hardly.

Still, Legion probably got slotted since Hasbro didn’t have another X-Men theme wave. And it was a way to get the star of the FX series out while he had some exposure beyond the comic books. Let’s see if I’ll be more excited about his figure now that he’s in hand.

Packaging:  The X-Men logo is done in the AOA font although this was an instance where using the TV series logo would have been just fine. Legion also gets the overarching theme artwork from David Nakayama with Apocalypse hovering in the background.

Legion’s bio doesn’t explain his connection to the Age of Apocalypse either, but I guess saying Professor X got killed by his son would sound kinda morbid?

Likeness: It’s funny how Hasbro went with a more dynamic expression, but it still feels somewhat understated for Legion. Again, Nakayama always seems to capture exactly how the figure should look simply by going with the most iconic, default image of the character.

For Legion, that’s the wild eyes and open mouth. What we got isn’t horrible — the signature flattop complete with stray hair strand is intact and his mischievous expression is also solid. It’s more that Legion is a character that won’t get multiple releases and this portrait is somewhat understated for him.

He’s sporting his ‘outfit’ of hospital patient garb with short sleeves. The work on the fabric is really well done with a slew of folds and wrinkles they have the natural bagginess of hospital clothes.

Hasbro appropriately gave Legion slighter arms — he’s not a muscle head by any means — although his thighs (a reuse of the comic version Shang-Chi) seem to be a bit too thick and muscular.

These seem influenced by Andy Kubert’s take for Legion on the cover of Legion Quest. Legion is a rarity as he’s wearing clothes but doesn’t wear any shoes.

Paint: For Legion, Hasbro added a black wash that gives his outfit some shading. I’m a big fan of the look although it’s not something Hasbro does enough so it makes Legion stand out. I guess that beats going with just a flat blue outfit.

The right eye of my figure is painted slightly off center, but with Legion that actually works.

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Scale: The flattop gives Legion a bit more height, but he’s not towering over anyone. He’s a figure you can have crouched over a bit more since he rarely will be eye to eye with anyone.

Articulation: If Legion has a signature pose, it’s sitting with his legs crossed.

Fortunately, that’s no issue here and you won’t have any problem having him attack Magneto with a psionic attack.

This body allows Legion to be a very expressive figure and the head tilt conveys a ton of personality.

Legion has:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep
• elbow
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist
• hip
• thigh
• knee
• ankle

Accessories: Legion isn’t loaded with accessories. He has a pair of swappable fists.

Here’s another case where another head sculpt with a more extreme portrait would have definitely added more value. Or some of those flame bursts we see from Human Torch could have helped.

Finally, he’s got the right leg for the Build-A-Figure Colossus.

Worth it? I got Legion thanks to Target’s great Buy 2 Get 1 Free figure. That was a solid deal for recent Marvel Legends figures. Paying $22.99 for Legion would definitely not be the best value.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Legion was far more fun than I imagined. I still wish he had a more exaggerated head sculpt and smaller legs, but not to the point that it hurts his score much. While he’s not a vital part of Age of Apocalypse, he’s a worthwhile addition to the X-Men collection.

Where to get it? You can get Legion from Amazon or Target and  Entertainment Earth.

As an Amazon and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.