Marvel Legends X-Men’97 Magneto review
In 2023, we’ve seen some definitive versions of some Marvel characters from Marvel Legends. With the X-Men’97 Magneto, I had some optimism he’d be joining the list. After all, we’ve gotten excellent versions of Dr. Doom, Kang, Ultron, Dormammu and Red Skull. The X-Men need their top villain to get his figure glory as well.
While he’s not the end-all version (barely), the X-Men’97 Magneto is a very solid addition and improvement over previous versions.
Let’s open up the master of magnetism’s latest figure or see if he repels me with his flaws.
Packaging: Hasbro stuck with windowed packaging for characters done in a retro style. That was a bit of a cheat here with this line. I do appreciate being able to check out the figure with the best paint job thanks to the window.
We get an image of Magneto from the cartoon. The back features a cross sell but no bio whatsoever, which is disappointing.
Likeness: This a less buff Magneto than we’ve seen from Hasbro in previous attempts. I like this less muscular gym bro version as it fits his classic appearances better. The head sculpt is narrower and features a much-improved neutral expression.
The Family Matters Magneto had a portrait that made it look like it was naptime. This figure looks like he’s making a decision on humanity’s future.
The studded collar and cape lays better against the shoulders and doesn’t have that special pop-up “feature” of earlier figures. That instantly makes it one of the better Magneto figures.
Magneto’s cape flares up at the shoulders to allow for easier movement. The cape is wide and folds in at the bottom corner, which makes for a cool aesthetic.
His arms seem slightly longer than they should thanks to the grated gauntlets. I don’t really notice anatomy issues with the figures, but it was obvious with Magneto.
This Magneto is the first to sport pinless joints.
Scale: Magneto isn’t as thick as other versions. That’s not a real issue for me as I’ll use this one as the Dave Cockrum/John Byrne Magneto who wasn’t built like Superman.
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Paint: Easily my favorite aspect of the paintjob is Hasbro finally nailed that subtle shading under Magneto’s helmet. This in essence provides a shadow or veil over his eyes to make him appear more menacing. The effect is done beautifully with a gradient that fades the lower it gets.
His colors are a lighter hue of red and purple than the Family Matters pack. I’m sure the cartoon design calls for it, but I really wish Hasbro would give us a Magneto where the “grated” sections of his boots and gloves were purple throughout. The red in the grates was a minor adjustment during the Jim Lee run that Hasbro thinks is cannon for every Magneto figure.
Not surprisingly, this leads to some overspray in the red sections. What is surprising is how little slop there is considering this extra degree of difficulty tacked on to the paintwork.
Articulation: Magneto is definitely more of a gesturing and aiming “energy” kind of character. The included gesturing hands are great for his distance attack style. Of course, that means he’d benefit from butterfly joints, which are lacking.
We get the standard, solid Marvel Legends articulation that certainly has been good enough. It’s just for a figure that seemed like it could be the definitive Magneto there’s still some room for improvement.
X-Men’97 Magneto has:
- neck (ball-jointed)
- ball-jointed shoulders
- bicep
- elbow (double-jointed)
- wrist
- wrist hinge
- torso
- waist
- hip
- thigh
- knee (double-jointed)
- ankle
Accessories: This series wasn’t overflowing with accessories and Magneto satisfies the bare minimum of extras. He comes with two fists. Having the ability to mix up display options is always welcome, but it’s still underwhelming considering the various accessories that could have been included.
In the end I just opted to swap out the red hands for the FM Magneto’s purple hands. They’re not an exact match, but work well enough for me.
Maybe an alternate unmasked head sculpt, an empty helmet or dare I dream for some new energy effects. Just including fists is weak.
There’s a major gap in price, but it would be nice if Hasbro included some original accessories like the Mondo version.
Worth it? Maybe with accessories I could sorta get the price of $24.99 for these figures, but Magneto just doesn’t offer enough to justify this price. It feels like $20 would be the sweet spot for this line, but we know that’s not gonna happen from Hasbro.
Thankfully, Target had a sale going, which allowed me to get him from that price. Magneto isn’t a great deal at $25 though.
Rating: 9.7 out of 10
I’d love more accessories and butterfly shoulder joints, but this is definitely my main Magneto in my display now.
Where to get it? I grabbed X-Men’97 Magneto from Target, but he’s also available from Amazon and Entertainment Earth.
As an Amazon associate and Entertainment Earth affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.