Professor Charles Xavier may be dead in the comic books, but he is alive and well in plastic form with Hasbro’s new figure based on the former mutant leader and mentor. Join us as we take a look at the new Marvel Universe 3.75” wave 20 Professor X figure to see if its one worth adding to your collection.
Check out hi-res images for this figure in our
GALLERY below.
Packaging - The card back is similar to previous Marvel Universe offerings. Art work featuring the character is in the top left side of the cardback. The art work for this wave was done by comic book artist Mike Deodato Jr. In the bottom left corner, the little cardboard “Comic Shot” is displayed next to a the titled figure. The blister on this particular cardback is bigger than most because the figure comes with his signature hover chair as the accessory. The chair splits in half to fit on the cardback with the figure.
The back features a picture of the figure with a brief bio and images of the other two figures offered in this wave, Jubilee and Blastaar. An image of a 70’s version of Dazzler is shown on the bottom of the cardbacks in this wave. Each wave appears to feature a different character with little sayings. Dazzler says for this figure “Dazzler: 1. Dance Floor: 0”.
Sculpt - Professor X appears to use parts from a G.I. Joe figure at least for the torso. To be exact, I believe it is the 2009 San Diego Comic Con Rise of Cobra James McCullen/Destro figure. The biggest giveaway is Destro’s visible little tie clip painted over on Professor X. All-in-all I would say Destro makes a good Professor X, with a new head sculpt of course. The figure looks surprisingly similar to the 6” Marvel Legends counterpart which was released by Toy Biz. Both hands are open on this figure, but the left one is sculpted in a manner that allows you to put it up to the his head so it looks like he is using his mutant ability to read minds.
The suit jacket is actually removable minus the sleeves, but because the shirt underneath the jacket is the same color the figure doesn’t look funny without it. He just looks like he is going casual for the day.
Paint - The paint apps on the figure are pretty good but basic. The entire suit minus the shoes, tie and shirt collar are all a basic navy blue color. The tie is red and the color of his shirt is white. The bald head and hands are a painted a with a true looking skin tone, and he has blue eyes and some wicked almost Spock-like eyebrows going on but overall it looks good.
While the paint apps on the figure are decent, I can’t say the same for the hover chair accessory. The chair basically has two colors, gold for the outside and a reddish color for the interior seat cushions. The problem here is that the red paint seems to have bled through to the outside so all these red highlights show through. It’s not that bad from the front or behind, but on the sides it looks pretty bad. I don’t know if this is something that is an issue with all the figures or just mine, but it definitely is something that detracts from the overall appearance of the figure.
Articulation - For a guy who can’t walk, this figure has a decent amount of articulation, mainly I am sure because he is using a mold from a G.I. Joe figure. He has a hinged ball-joint for the head giving him good movement. He has ball-jointed hips, swivel waist, swivel hinge elbows, shoulders, knees and ankles. There is no type of ab crunch joint on this figure, not that he really needs one especially with the suit coat on.
Accessories - He comes with the hover chair which first appeared in the 90’s and many of us remember from the X-Men Animated Series. The figure overall fits pretty well in it. There aren’t a lot of details on the chair like control panels or anything, but for the most part it gets the job done and stays upright without any issues.
Fun - With so many X-Men figures produced for this line, it’s nice finally having the X-Men founder in plastic form to pose along with them.
Overall - Hasbro, even though they mainly used an existing mold, managed to give us a good Professor X figure in 3.75” scale. The paint job on the hover chair is a little disappointing. Despite that, this is a pretty solid looking figure and will make a great addition to your collection.
Final Score: 3 1/2 our of 5