2015 is much more likely to go down in history as “the year a lot of awesome X-Men merchandise got cancelled” than as “the year a lot of awesome X-Men merchandise came out”. Disney is putting a hard stop to the production of X-Men collectibles by many of their licensees–but luckily, there are some items already approved and in the pipeline! And one of those statues is the White Queen… in black! The Kotobukiya Emma Frost ARTFX+ statue is now up for order!

I imagine that some people who haven’t been reading the Marvel NOW! X-Men comics by Brian Michael Bendis are scratching their heads right now in wonderment at the apparent oxymoron of a black-wearing White Queen.

Let me clarify for those collectors that, believe it or not, this dark grey/black costume is the actual White Queen Emma Frost costume that she’s been sporting for the past two years of Marvel comic books. And thus, as this line of ARTFX+ statues is purely driven by the comic books (which is probably why Disney is allowing them to be produced), this is actually the authentic canonical look for modern Emma Frost. Weird, right…?

All that said, I am (for the most part) very pleased with this new White Queen statue. I’ve enjoyed Brian Bendis’ X-Men run more than I expected to, and while that run (and the present Marvel Universe as a whole) are now coming to a close, I find myself wanting some mementos of this era of the X-Men. And this lineup of 1/10 Kotobukiya X-Men ARTFX+ statues will definitely fit the bill nicely.

The 7.5″ Emma Frost statue will be the second release in the Marvel Now X-Men Kotobukiya ARTFX+ series of statues, with the previously-solicited Kotobukiya Cyclops statue being the first figure in the line. Cyclops and Emma Frost are, of course, the heart of Bendis’ Uncanny X-Men, so it makes complete sense for them to be the first releases in the line.

If you take a close look at this Emma Frost ARTFX+ 1/10th scale statue up-close, you can see that most of Emma’s costume is actually a very dark grey/silver color, with black accents such as her belts, gloves and cape. As controversial as this particular look for Emma Frost is, I think the color scheme for this statue is super-classy.

And while the hair color may look a bit flat and untextured to some, I think it’s an almost spot-on representation of how Emma’s hair is portrayed in the Marvel Now Uncanny X-Men comic books.

Ordinarily I would say that this statue would be a guarantee for a future San Diego Comic-Con exclusive repaint into a diamond form Emma Frost statue, but with Disney/Marvel putting their foot down about X-Men merch, I’m not sure whether we’ll ever get that variant at all. I’d sure like one, though, and there’s a lot of time between now and SDCC 2016, so we’ll see.

If I had a complaint about this Emma Frost statue, it’s that–and this will sound odd coming from me–this interpretation of Emma Frost seems to be far too flat-chested.

Believe me, I am not asking for some ridiculous over-exaggerated chest (as might be found on certain Bishoujo statues), but the torso on this statue just… doesn’t look like the White Queen that I’ve seen in hundreds upon hundreds of comics over the years. Emma Frost is… better-endowed than this. Alas.

The Kotobukiya X-Men Emma Frost ARTFX+ statue is now available for order, and is scheduled to be released in December 2015. The statue is carrying an MSRP of $54.99, which seems a bit high for being a bit on the thin side, but I suppose that the flowing cape does add some complexity to the piece. BBTS is, however, giving a $5 discount for pre-orders right now. I’m an X-Men guy, so she’s a lock as a purchase for me regardless.

What do you think of the Kotobukiya ARTFX Emma Frost statue, Marvel collectors? Is this black White Queen bound for your collection, or are you holding out for a variant of this statue (or no White Queen ARTFX+ statue at all)?