HISTORY: Making his first appearance in 1963 in X-Men #1, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought forth a character who would forever change the Marvel Universe. With many aliases, he is most commonly known as either Magneto or Erik Lehnsherr. As a less passive mutant rights activist, his relationship with Charles Xavier has commonly been a story in itself as they fight for the same cause, but just tend to utilize different methods. Magneto has had alliances with the Hellfire Club, the X-Men themselves and most notably his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to name a few.
FIRST GLANCE: In its packaging, there are unfortunately no hidden goodies. It is simply a figure and base. Sculpted by Gabriel Marquez, Diamond Select created a proper figure for the X-Men's arch-nemesis. This figure is easily one of the closest paper to plastic transformations we have been offered since the inception of the Marvel Select line.
PROS: The sculpt on this figure takes the cake among any other feature of this figure. Even though the colors are quite basic, there isn't much else to really improve on this figure besides darker and lighter shades of red and purple. Paint line placement is rather clean and the metallic purple features on the belt and upper chest piece from which the cape attaches is a great contrast to the rest of the figure. Upper body muscle definition is impeccable and his grin on either the helmeted version, or variant, are on point. The base also is a great accessory not just for the Magneto figure itself, but the rubble and broken bricks make for decent fodder for displays. The Colossus hand is also a nice addition.
CONS: With many great sculpted figures, articulation can be compromised. With this figure, it's just nothing special. With some finagling, you can eventually get the legs where you want them and the ankles are awkward as they rotate and have little movement up and down. With that said, without the figure being placed into the peg of the base, it's tough to balance with the weight of the plastic cape. A closed interchangeable hand would have been useful and better arm articulation. The boots also lack detailing. They just appear as socks on feet instead of actual footwear. Kinda leaves something to be desired.
ARTICULATION:
Head moves 360° with decent vertical movement
Ball shoulders with no bicep swivel, hindered by the cape
Ball elbows
360° wrists with cants
360° waist, above the belt
Ball legs with built-in swivel
Double knees
360° ankles with vertical pivots
Note for Magneto bases: (right) first release has more dirt color on rocks.
RECOMMENDATION: So Magneto has had a quite a few reprints so the standard figure should not be so hard to find. Expect to pay the standard SRP, $24.99. You may even find it for less from online retailers. The variant, however, is quite the opposite. As a fan favorite villain, the variant fetches astronomical figures on the secondary market. Rumor mill once stirred the line that less than 200 of the variants were produced but that is unknown as Diamond allegedly doesn't keep production numbers on the variants. Seeing as it was said to be a one per case, but many store owners never saw them, you'll be lucky to get one under $100 loose, expect to pay at least $125 on card. So, to answer the question, is this the definitive Magneto? Yes indeed.
Overall 62 (Add an additional 500 if you find an unmasked variant)
HISTORY: Also making his first appearance, opposite sided from Magneto, Cyclops, or Scott Summers, is brought forward into the Marvel Universe. One of the numerous primary leaders of the X-Men, Cyclops has consistently proven himself in battle as a combatant and a leader of men. As well as a leader of the X-Men, he has also had alliances with X-Factor, X-Force and the more recent Phoenix Five as a villain.
FIRST GLANCE: If you come across the standard Marvel Select Cyclops, you'll likely notice that is doesn't exactly stand out. Based on his classic costume, not his first appearance, Cyclops is given the Marvel Select treatment with another piece of the standard three piece danger room base. If you do come across the X-Factor variant, you'll probably easily notice the beautiful contrast of yellow and blue.
PROS: As a key leader of the X-Men, it's nearly an essential to have this figure. Although, that's pretty much where it ends for this figure. The alternate head is nice and the danger room base is fun to connect with other X-Men figures.
VARIANT PROS: Paint lines are great. Even on the yellow paint across the body and legs, there is slight orange shading that is a nice touch. There isn't much to improve on from that aspect. There is a little paint rub at the leg joints but that is expected.
CONS: Well aside from the paint on the standard, it simply is almost as basic as it can get. Articulation is nothing special. Color and paint apps are nothing special. Sculpt is, again, nothing special. My biggest gripe with the legs is that tend to stay open. It's nearly impossible to keep them straight down, opposed to the legs always at a 45° angle. Otherwise, for a figure with flat feet, I'm surprised at how often it's falling over. Ankle joint construction doesn't exactly stand the test of time and after a short bit, it tends to fall often on the display.
ARTICULATION:
Head does a full 360°
Ball shoulders, no bicep swivel
Single direction elbows
360° forearms
360° waist
Single direction thigh with rotation at the joint
Single direction knees
Boot swivel
Single direction ankles
RECOMMENDATION: Unless you're an MS completist or an X-Men enthusiast, I wouldn't exactly recommend prioritizing this figure to the top of your list. However, if you do come across the X-Factor variant, it would be highly recommended you shed what coin you could to get it. It's highly sought after as many prefer the appearance of the X-Factor figure opposed to the classic interpretation. As far as whether this is the definitive Cyclops, I'm sure everyone is still yearning for that Jim Lee 90's Saturday Morning Cartoon version. But I suppose it'll have to do for the time being.
Overall 30 (Automatic 100 if it's the variant)
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