This Spotlight was written by Erik (Ringslinger74) Ara�a, and the set pictured is a pre-production piece, meaning that the action figures and packaging are still subject to change before the final product is released.

You know those stories you here that have to be too good to be true? Well, here is mine...

San Diego Comic Con 2002: I take along with my art portfolio my custom pictures of Marvel Legends style figures. Included in these are shots of a repainted Daredevil (sporting a dark red and light red costume) figure from the Spider-Man Classics line. I show them to Jesse Falcon. He gives me his e-mail, and asks for more! Very cool. I give him a set of duplicates and e-mail a set, plus new customs after the con. He also gave me and my buddies some of the Spidey-Classics that weren't out yet. I got the Hobgoblin... I'm still grateful about that. Thanx Jesse! This little Fanboy is happy.

Fast forward to SDCC 2003: Jesse remembers me!! Jesse tells me and some others standing around the ML table about how I inspired the new paint application on the boxed set Daredevil. BY THE VISHANTI!!!! He tells us that he sent the pic of my custom to the factory and said that he wanted to look exactly like this! BY NEPTUNES TRIDENT!!!!! I am sooooo excited. He then tells me that at the end of the con I can have the X-Men boxed set he was showing. BY THE BRISTLING BEARD OF ODIN!!! So on Saturday... he gives me the X-Men Boxed Set. CHEESE AND CRACKERS!!! So thats how I got this set early.

And without further adieu... here are the pics and review.

Marvel Legends: X-Men Legends Boxed set: The five figures are displayed in a window box, in various flying/action positions. Background art behind them is supposed to resemble the Danger Room, and the comic is displayed in the middle behind Magneto. The box looks sharp, and could easily be displayed without opening it (not that I would ever do that!!) It has all five character bios on the back and small pics of all the posters inside. The set includes Gambit, Wolverine, Magneto, Beast, and Rogue. All in their Jim Lee era costumes. I'm not a huge fan of the Jim Lee era X-Men. But, since they started doing them in these costumes... I want them to finish the roster. The Rogue figure is the only new one, while the rest are slightly altered from their original release. Each figure comes with an "X" stand. The comic is actually a poster book featuring all of the 5 characters as drawn by different artists. I think I would have preffered Jim Lee's X-Men number 1... because we already have 2, 3, and 4. Kids don't have these issues... and now could basically get the whole storyline along with the figures. This may get kids into comics. This is the kind of cross merchandising that I think Marvel and ToyBiz should be doing. Although I really do think that Toybiz is doing a great job at this aspect. I just like to think in Storylines and -GASP- Continuity. This is just a nitpick though... this set is really about the toys. So let's do some individual reviews, shall we?

Gambit: Okay, let me get this off my chest. I Hate Gambit. I hate the character, I hate the costume, I hate the name, and most of all... I hate the face bra/mask thingy. Now, with that said, I think this is a pretty good figure. His sculpt is dead on to the way he should look. He is painted far superior to the single carded one I have. His accessories make sense, and his coat is great. His coat is the only thing really different from the single release fig. But, it soooooo much nicer. It's a leather-like material this time, instead of cloth.

Gambit has 36 points of articulation. All of the basics we have come to expect from ML's... plus the newly added shoulder joint which allows him to put his arms above his head. I have only two real complaints about Gambit (aside from him being Gambit) first, I feel the new Ball-Shoulder articulation is a little distracting from the overall sculpt of the figures. It is even more distracting on Gambit than the others. Thankfully, he looks really nice with the Trench Coat on, so all is forgiven here. The other complaint is the accsessories. They make sense for Gambit. The staff looks nice... once it's straightened out. The plastic is just too soft... he looks more like he's wielding a wet piece of spaghetti than a metal staff. The other accessory is the pink goo of cards. I know what ToyBiz is trying to do here... but it just tends to look like some playing cards in Pepto-Bismal. Gambit looks better with his staff anyway... so again... all is forgiven. The only additional problem here is that he's Gambit. If I were a teacher... Gambit would get a "B", but that may be because he's Gambit. Did I mention I don't like Gambit? (Pictures of Gambit)

Wolverine: Finally!!! A maskless Wolverine Variant!! Okay, it's not "The Variant" but it's a close second. This figure is the same as the single carded ML Wolverine figure except he has a new Maskless head sculpt. The sculpt is nice... I like the face part of it. The hair is a little odd though. It's kinda "Flock of Seagulls-ish". Even so, I still like the new head alot. It's not as nice as the original Variant, but ya know what they say about Beggers. As for the body... well I've had issues with this figure since I got the first one around Christmas. I think the sliced up Evolution of X figure is just a tad odd looking. His joints were loose, I couldn't stand him up at all. The "T" waist with ball joint hips looks weird and the plastic felt cheap and brittle. The joints wouldn't work right, and the arm hair was messy. I could almost see through my original... it looked cheap. Now in the box-set, all has been righted...except for the hips. The figure is much more enjoyable this time around.

Logan has 34 points of articulation. I still wish he had a mid-torso joint, ah well. However, He is still a rehashed "non-Legends" figure, and so he loses some points for that. He's better then the first one... at least he's better than mine is. Logan also has a serial number scratched into his butt. I assume this is because I have some sort of production sample, and it will not be there on the general release. I have some idea what this may be, but will not comment on my theories until I know for sure. For now we will assume it's a Weapon X number that never healed. I'll give him an A-. Mainly because he looks wicked-cool on the Rasslen' Motorcycle. (Pictures of Wolverine)

Magneto: The Master of Magnetism. I'm still torn about this figure. Sometimes I hate that his base is an Iron Man... other times I don't mind and I like him alot. I don't know. For the time being, let's assume that I'm in a better mood about the Leader of the Brotherhood. Like Wolvy, The only difference between this figure and the single one is the head. Is the new head better then the old one? Yes and no. How you say? Well, I think that this new head looks better with the Helmet on, while the older head looks better with it off.

Magneto still has 34 Points of articulation. Though Magneto is a cool character, I didn't feel that I needed two of him. If I were King, I would have left him out and made a new head for Elektra to make a Psylocke figure instead. But thats me, and I understand putting Magneto in here... he's pretty well known. Magneto, like Wolvy, has a serial number scratched into the back of his belt. Again I have no comment here. Magneto gets a B. (Pictures of Magneto)

Beast: Ah, my favorite X-Man. Hank is just so much fun in the comics... at least he was when I read X-Men, Avengers, & X-Factor way back in in the day. Beast has 39 points of articulation, and can be put in the best positions. He can actually do handstands, give thumbs up, hold his glasses, BY THE REALM ETERNAL!!! Is there anything he can't do?!?!!.

Anyway, the good Doctor sports a pair of Glasses and a Labcoat in the box set. A great addition to the figure in my opinion. Add on a book and he's near perfect. I say near because here is my only complaint about Dr. McCoy, His head sculpt is A: too big, and B: looks too mean. I realize he was based on Jim Lee's rendition of Beast... for which I will give props to the fact that they did that so well. I personally though, prefer Beast to look more like George Perez, or Walt Simonson drew him. This is preferance though, and not a slight at ToyBiz... they did a bang up job doing what they set out to do. The Labcoat is really well done, as are the Glasses. The glasses, amazingly, stay on his head quite well. I'm much more impressed with this one's accessories over the first one's. Dr. Henry McCoy gets an A+... just like he did in College. (Pictures of Beast)

Rogue: Rogue is the only new figure in this set. Yes, she does utilize the Elektra body as a base. She has enough new parts on her though, that she doesn't look like the same figure. Rogue has new knees, new hands, a new Head, a new belt, and an added Jacket. The Jacket is amazing. WOW! It's fitted so well, that when I tried to remove it I couldn't. At least I was afraid to. Which is just as well, as I think the ball shoulders on Elektra are distracting... I'm sure I would be relieved that she (not unlike her boyfriend, Gambit) has a jacket. This figure is great.

She has 38 points of articulation. The head sculpt is dead on. My only real complaint here is the hip articulation is odd looking. This is probably one of the more creative ways to handle the age old problem of how to make a female's hips work... er... look right. I think that there has to be a better way still. On Rogue, all the moving parts right there make her Green with Yellow stripe suit look all weird. I imagine this was unavoidable. My other complaint is that Rogue can't dance. My Rogue figure has two Right Feet. Hee Hee! It's kinda funny actually. That should be her Mutation from now on. Rogue gets an A. (Pictures of Rogue)

So thats my review. I'd give it an A- overall. I'd say the box is well worth the gelt your gonna shell out for it. I wouldn't feel cheated getting this set. You may want to skip Beast and Gambit as singles though. Then it's definately 100% worth it. The other moral to this whole story is this: ToyBiz does listen to its collectors when it's possible. I just don't think it's always possible to do so. I may want a Wonder Man more then any other figure ever... but I'm the only one. Thats an awful lot of Simons warming the Pegs. So it's not economical for them to make it. But sticking Rogue in a Box Set is workable. ToyBiz also clearly looks at the customizers for ideas. So keep customizing your faves... you just may get an actual one.

Proud of himself for not making a single "X-Cellent" joke... - Erik (Ringslinger74) Ara�a

Where to buy Marvel Legends: The X-Men Legends Box Set is due out in November 2003 with a suggested retail price of about $34.99 to $39.99 USD. It should be available wherever single-packed Marvel Legends action figures are sold, as well as various online toy retailers. The set is available for pre-order at RTM sponsors and The Outer Reaches and Action Figure Xpress. (Be sure to check the other RTM sponsors, listed on the Shop Center.)