From Jubilee and Boom Boom to Beast and Gambit, Hasbro fulfilled a record number of X-Men collectors’ dreams in 2019. And I’ve got one more left to talk about–of a figure I’ve been wanting for 27 years! The X-Men Arcade Game hit arcades in 1992, featuring five of the most iconic team members ever… and Dazzler! Alison Blaire was my go-to character in that game, and I’ve wanted a good action figure of her in that 80s costume practically all my life. I happily paid full price for her this summer, but the Marvel Legends Vintage Dazzler figure is 10 bucks online today–should you get one?

In 1989, an animated X-Men pilot called Pryde of the X-Men was created for a cartoon series that never really materialized (and would be a lot different when it eventually did in 1992). Dazzler and Storm were the only females on the six -member roster in that cartoon, and thus when the Konami arcade game was made for six players, Alison made the cut by default.

Jubilee was my favorite member of the X-Men as a kid (and as an adult), so I gravitated toward playing as the woman that was kinda, sorta similar in some aspects to Jubes in the arcade game. Eventually we got a Minimates Dazzler Outback era figure a little over a half decade ago, but a true super-articulated figurine eluded me… until this year!

 

Despite never having a figure in the Toybiz X-Men series, Hasbro picked Dazzler as part of this year’s Vintage Series wave. This is clearly a throwback figure that would have made complete sense in the classic Toybiz lineup, so I’ve got zero qualms about the selection. Nice pick, Hasbro!

As a kid who bought way too many Toybiz Marvel action figures, this retro packaging style never fails to warm my heart. Love it.

The 80s Dazzler Legends figure includes two accessories, which are recolored pink “magical effects” that we’ve previously seen about a million times before with characters like Scarlet Witch, Enchantress, and even the original version of Disco Dazzler herself.

I really loved the multicolor effects piece that Disco Dazzler came with, but she only came with one rainbow light effect for some unfair reason, so I’m pleased we get a pair of the energy rings here. They’re translucent pink with silver glitter molded into them, which I think looks pretty groovy.

What you see is pretty much what you get with this ML Dazzler six inch figure–there’s not really a whole lot for her to do other than stand around with one or both of her light energy effects raised. She’s not really a terribly dynamic character, but the colors and design are fun and I like having her to stick on a shelf of classic X-Men.

The plastic colors and paint deco chosen for this toy are all spot-on, and I dig that Hasbro remembered to put Dazzler’s shiny logo on the side of her right leg as well as on her chest. It’s the kind of detail a lot of companies would just skip over entirely!

The “add-on” part of this costume is the brown leather coat Alison is wearing–which, while technically removable, wouldn’t make much sense since her arms are permanently sculpted with jacket sleeves. The jacket looks slick and completes the look nicely.

At a glance, anyone familiar with this character could identify that the head sculpt here is of 1980s Dazzler. The portrait looks good, as do the hair and headband. I’ve really got no complaints about them.

…But that’s not to say I don’t have any complaints! I don’t know what in the world went astray with the hands on this Dazzler figure, but mine has several fingers that are not only way too long and disproportionate, but also are permanently bent. They look more like Mr. Fantastic fingers than a normal woman’s!

The fingers definitely are jarring when I look at this figure, and once again the X-belt is an ultra-loose floppy nightmare. I hate that the belts for practically every female figure are made far too big so they flop around endlessly, and it makes me crazy that Hasbro hasn’t come up with any way of pegging them into place yet when we’re seeing this problem so frequently.

Articulation-wise, the X-Men Legends Dazzler Vintage figure is exactly what we all knew it would be: solid, but unexceptional compared to male figures. There’s no double-jointed elbows and no swivel biceps, which limits her poses with the light rings–and she’s even got no boot swivels, limiting her lower-body potential.

Retro Dazzler’s complete articulation scheme is:

• Ball-Hinge Neck/Shoulders/Elbows
• Ball Hips and Upper Torso
• Swivel-Hinge Wrists
• Swivel Thighs
• Double-Hinge Knees
• Hinged Ankles with Rockers

She’s fine for standing around in a lineup and holding up her neat (albeit overused) effects, but she just doesn’t have a lot of potential to be action-posed.

Overall: I’ve waited almost 3/4 of my life for a super-articulated Dazzler action figure in this costume, and this one is solid (if unspectacular). The weird fingers and sub-standard articulation scheme are a letdown, and the floppy belt drives me mad.

Even so, Hasbro nailed the portrait and costume likeness for this era’s Dazzler, the glittery translucent pink effects do their job well, and the paint and color choices are all a success. This figure could have been a little bit better, but as it stands, I like it fine. For the half price it’s at today on Amazon, it’s definitely a worthwhile purchase of a character I don’t expect to ever see produced in the costume again as a toy.

GRADE: B