Marvel Legends Rogue and Pyro two-pack figure review

It’s funny. I got the Marvel Legends Rogue and Pyro set at a clearance price, but it got neglected on the to-review pile until I picked up Spiral many months(years?) later. Such is the pull of team completion, I guess?

Course I was excited about Pyro. It was more trying to figure out what to do with one of the few Rogue outfits I had no strong connection to. Now that Mystique has more updated members of her Freedom Force/Brotherhood of Evil Mutants it’s time to finally free this set from its plastic prison.

Let’s see if this set is on fire or needs its powers stolen.

Packaging:  With their two-packs, Hasbro has been very creative with the packaging. There’s been a nice variety of color schemes — the neon blue, pink and yellow — but I like this subtle grey and gold color scheme. And it showcases the figures nicely.

John Tyler Christopher’s lifelike art is gorgeous and I love his take on all of the characters. Pyro has a clever portrait with multiple versions of himself in flame form while Rogue is tugging off her glove and about to snatch some powers. As great as they look, I do wish there were some kind of bio write up on the back.

Likeness:  Pyro looks solid…maybe a little too solid? I always envisioned him being a tad though he’s using the Sunfire buck, which isn’t that huge. Size aside, Hasbro nailed this update on Pyro. Hasbro took the challenge to make another Toy Biz figure redundant.

Every aspect of Pyro is so well done from the head sculpt, the flame harness and the flame blasts are tremendous.

The Toy Biz Pyro was fine and has held up well, but this is a major improvement on every level. This is a very well executed figure.

Rogue looks great even though I wasn’t clamoring for her in the X-Men: Legacy costume. Considering who she’s packed with this would have been an ideal time to get the original costume/Secret Wars era outfit out in Marvel Legends. The wait continues…

Despite the costume choice, it’s very well done with the long scarf functioning as a cape of sorts that plays into Rogue’s Southern upbringing. The pouches on her X-belt. I really like how Hasbro implemented the skirt and boots.

It’s a nice modern-esque costume for Rogue. I’ve given up keeping track of what the X-Men are rocking these days as they change costumes with every new creative team that lasts for all of six issues.

Rogue also gets a great head sculpt with a calm, relaxed expression and some very solid work with the flow of her hair. Excellent work here.

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Scale: Rogue is average height and doesn’t need to be taller than say Cyclops or Magneto. She’s shorter than Mystique so her scale is right on point.

Pyro is lanky but has typically been drawn around the same height as Mystique. His hair gives him a little bit of extra height, but he’s right.

Paint: Pyro has two of the trickiest colors to work with in orange and yellow, but the paintwork is exquisite.

No issues at all, which is almost impossible with those two colors especially when you add in a darker, dominant color like red. He’s even got a wash in his hair to help pump up the details.

Rogue has some paint issues namely the stripes along her arms and boots. White doesn’t play well with most colors and this dark green definitely doesn’t cooperate on that front.

And my Rogue’s right eye is just so slightly off center. It’s not terrible, but I also don’t have to get up close to see that it’s off.

Articulation: Rogue sports pinless joints, which gives her slightly more range than the standard female figure.

Of course, Rogue would benefit from bicep articulation to really hit some nice fighting poses. That’s a downgrade from the usual Rogue figures.

Since she only has single-jointed elbows, Rogue lacks the range she needed.

Pyro is far more of a gesturing character, which kinda makes his fists pointless.

Otherwise, he’s just fine hitting all the poses you’d want from him. Thankfully his flame throwing tubes aren’t so tight that they restrict/hinder his poseability.

Rogue and Pyro have:

• neck
• ball-jointed shoulders
• bicep (Pyro only)
• elbow (double-jointed) (Pyro only)
• wrist
• wrist hinge
• torso
• waist (Pyro only)
• hip
• thigh
• knee (double-jointed)
• ankle

Accessories:  Both Rogue and Pyro made out well in this category.

Rogue gets an alternate head sculpt with a fierce, pissed off expression. This is a terrific looking alternate sculpt and the kind of vastly different portrait Hasbro should do more of especially with price hikes continuing.

Unlike figures with multiple portraits recently, there’s no weirdly different change with her hair.

Rogue also comes with splayed hands as if to suggest she’s about to touch someone. Due to the gloved forearm, it wouldn’t make sense to give her a bare hand, but that might have been a cool option.

Pyro also has another portrait and it’s more expressive as well. This one captures his personality better with a sneering smile and will likely be my default choice for him.

He’s also got two fireballs that have been used with flame throwing characters like the Human Torch and Sunfire.

Of course, Pyro would have benefited from alternate flat palms to better showcase his powers.

Worth it?  The set started at $50, but it hit clearance at GameStop, and I was able to get the set for a little more than half off.  That’s a great price since Pyro was my focus for this set.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Rogue’s articulation limitations hold her back somewhat, but otherwise this is a very solid set. Pyro is a really good figure that brings me just four more members away from completing the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants II/Freedom Force.

Where to Get It? Your best shot is Amazon, which has the set right around $50.