With the exciting rumors of a possible Excalibur Marvel Legends box set coming this year from Amazon, I thought I would revisit the only real action figure of an Excalibur character that I own. In the late 90's, exclusive mail-away action figures were a real thing. It sounds like a bizarre concept now, but between Wizard and ToyFare magazines and various comic and videogame offerings, there were always exciting little exclusives to be had. These were mostly simple repaints, but were often surprisingly significant characters - like Feral, Firestar, and of course Shadowcat. Kitty Pryde has always suffered a bit of an identity crisis in the costume department, but I think her blue, puffy-sleeved look is the most iconic. And ironically it's the costume where she looks most like a mature adult woman, rather than the youthful energetic X-Man she is typically portrayed as. But still it's my favorite and I really can't wait to get her in legends form (along with Meggan and Rachel of course!). Let's check out Kitty below!
Mail-away figures are usually devoid of packaging. Shadowcat came polybagged in a simple unmarked white box.
Like a lot of 1990's figures, QC never seemed to be a major concern. The most glaring issue with my figure is the paint on her hair. It both bleeds onto her forehead (below) and is so thinly applied in other places that you can see the fleshtone plastic beneath (above right).
So the rumors of the Excalibur box set are based off the conspicuous placement of an Excalibur comic in the background during a recent Hasbro Pulse livestream from the Marvel Legends team, paired with a $150 Marvel Legends listing found in Australia with the codename "Jungle" (which following past precedent usually means an Amazon exclusive). With Marvel Legends prices currently ranging from $20-$25, that means this box set could include 6 to 7 standard figures. The core Excalibur team is only 5 members (Captain Britain, Meggan, Rachel Summer Phoenix, Nightcrawler, and Shadowcat). So perhaps the extra figures could be Cerise or Kylun. Both would be awesome.
I always love trying to figure out what molds are re-used for Toybiz figures. Shadcat's sculpt was previously used in two different Mary Jane Watsons and a Shanna the She-Devil.
Time for a Comparison Pic!
Cheers!
Marvel Legends needs to make a Shadowcat and an original Kitty Pryde/Aerial in her black and yellow X-Men suit.
ReplyDeleteI believe the first time Toy Biz used this Mold was for the F4 TV show translucent Invisible Woman
ReplyDelete