Thursday, March 23, 2023

Marvel Legends Retro X-Men Gambit/Rogue review

Power couples in comic books are nothing new, but the X-Men pairing of Gambit and Rogue is nothing but a true sign of how the contrasting powers of ones stolen from Ms. Marvel and the capability of manipulating kinetic energy with cards demonstrate how opposites attract. I like seeing these two work together in various older comics, and while they have had their ups and downs (mostly thanks to the comics being fairly amateurish in terms of writing), but as someone who grew up with the 90s animated series, I'm happy to own these figures at long last!


Let's give the hot mama some attention first. Rogue is based on her appearance from the 90s comics drawn by Jim Lee as well as being based on her appearance in the animated series. Her jumpsuit is green and yellow, with PVC pieces including the straps, kneepads, and the rings meant for the gloves. But what makes her stand out is her leather jacket that makes the design feel more complete. It captures her Southern Belle character trait. The same goes for the headband and her proportions, capturing that iconic flirtatious Southern belle that makes her the Rogue fans know and love. And if you're nor distracted by her boobs and ass, you'll noticed her X-logos on the upper body, shoulders, and belt.


Her headsculpt is a step-up from the 2016 release, which had gray hair and derpy eyes compared to this face being a lot more fitting for her. She also has a slightly bigger hairdo that made her feel complete by comparison to the original version. Her articulation is that of the standard female Marvel Legends bucks, including single-jointed elbows, a sole diaphragm joint, and no swivels at the lower legs.
 

While she is lacking in accessories, I do like that her right hand an be replaced with a bare, exposed hand to represent her taking someone's powers, which she has done once when she went in contact with Ms. Marvel. That being said, while she can't always control the powers or memories of anyone she had skin-on-skin contact with, some people lose consciousness upon being touched by her. Her left hand has her holding the right glove while she proceeds to take someone's powers or kill them, though you will need to remove the cuff of the glove since it's separate from the right hand. I should mention that the thing I don't understand is that despite being a more recent release, the figure was still somewhat limited in articulation. Now, I understand that they didn't want to give her double-jointed elbows or lower-leg swivels, but why does she not have a neck hinge?!


And this is Gambit, which is an altered version of his previously made in the Caliban wave with an appearance closer to his debut, what with the more saturated colors that are made to help him fit in better with the 90s. This does mean that he ends up with a trench coat that's a lighter shade which somewhat contrasts with the colors of his suit underneath, but I don't think most fans would mind if they wanted that for the figure to pop more. I like the unique sculptwork for the torso and head to make this guy feel more worth the price he's normally given, especially since he doesn't always have the same amount of attention Wolverine or Cyclops get. His coat being PVC does mean you can't pose it dynamically.


Head sculpt is a step-up from the old version with a haircut that better fits the character, but he retains his signature black and red eyes accompanied by his confident and suave face. I also like that the cowl is sculpted as a slightly raised layer over the face. His articulation is similar to Rogue's, but with the male-exclusive benefits of an ab crunch and waist swivel, and boot swivels. One of his signature accessories is his bo-staff, which his right hand doesn't hold as well as I'd like on its own.


Gambit's other accessories are meant for his left hands, with one alternate hand that depicts him holding his card, a single ace, with a kinetic energy effect, and another hand that has him throwing a diamond, a spade, and a heart with a swoosh effect. 


Overall, I'm really happy with how these two turned out. Compared to their past releases, these ones do them justice, especially if you got them for cheap like I did with Gambit (Rogue had me buy her a little more than I'd like but still better than her ToyBiz release)


Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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