One great thing about a fan favorite character, a good action figure company will try to utilize and monetize every single outfit they have ever worn. Best believe if Luke Skywalker ever got sick and walked around in a robe in “Return of the Jedi,” Hasbro would have put out a special edition “sick” Luke in Jedi bath robes. It can be a good thing and a bad thing. With the X-Man, Storm, it was a great thing.
Hasbro reached back over 35 years and produced one of my favorite looks for the X-Man, Storm…sporting a freshly cut Mohawk and decked down in leather…what I and others affectionately refer to as her “punk” phase.
It’s funny because around the time I seriously got into comics, this is how Storm looked…I knew no other Storm except when they would do flashbacks of her first few years with the X-Men. She didn’t even have powers when I started reading (she lost her powers back in 1984). So for Hasbro to come out with this figure over 30 years later, it has really taken me back to those earlier years, when this was all new to me. I’m already going into this review all glossy-eyed, but did this figure live up to the hype? Check it out…
Nothing new on the packaging front. To note, this figure came out in 2018 (yep, I’m that behind…actually even more than that) so the back of the packaging features a dramatic pose of the figure itself, which to me should be standard…not a picture of the character posed in a way that the figure will never be able to do.
This figure was released 4 years after the previous Marvel Legends Storm figure, which I reviewed 6 years ago (damn, it didn’t seem that long ago). That figure, another X-Men wave which was released as a Toys R Us exclusive gave us a more current Mohawk version of the character. The packaging for that was nearly exactly the same as what we get today meaning Hasbro hasn’t done a box refresh in years (although they are starting to do that with the current anniversary figures, as well as adding $5 onto the price of a 6 inch figure).
The first Storm packaging was a black box with blue highlights, which it nice at the time, but I associate the Gold highlights more with the X-Men team colors, so the deco is on point. However, it’s still the same packaging we’ve been getting for years, so of course I will give it the same basic score..
Packaging Score: 7.5 out of 10 
Outside of the nice Apocalypse build a figure body we get, we also get two attachable lightning energy blasts which is better than what we usually get from this figure…which is NOTHING. I’ve been wondering why Hasbro just now decided that a character known for manipulating weather and harnessing the lightning from storms should maybe have some accessories that reflect that, but I’m glad they decided to now.
These things are great. They are soft, pliable, plastic that can fit around either arm. If you get creative enough like they do in the product shots, you can place both lightning effects on one arm for that superior lightning blast.
The only other accessory I can think of that the is included with this figure is the rubbery vest the figure is wearing which is removable.
What I wish came with this figure was at least one or more pair of additional hands. The splayed out fingers hands which come with this figure is okay, but what I like to call “Vogue” hands don’t necessarily work for everything. A pair of closed fists would have been nice…Storm was without her powers for a time in this outfit and she had to do a lot of hand-to-hand to get her point across.
Accessories Score: 8.5 out of 10
While it is notably easier to make an action figure based on a comic book based character, that is not to say that all toy companies do it great. While Hasbro has had some flubs especially in the beginning (Google Marvel Legends Madame Hydra), they have refined their process over the years. In short, this Storm figure looks bad ass.
Starting with the head sculpt, it looks very similar to the previous Storm mentioned earlier in this review, but the subtle differences (the slight smile, the earrings, the shorter mohawk, etc.) you start to realize that this is an all new head sculpt.
Comparing this figure’s outfit to the comic book, it is very accurate down to the leather choker. The gloves have that little 80’s cuff to them. The belts criss-cross and hang to the side (defeating the purpose of belts, but whatever).
The paint apps are on point as well. If I were to have any complaints at all about the look and likeness of this figure it would probably be the slight, noticeable (to me at least) gap on the front of her head where the figure’s mohawk meets the head. I think if they pushed that in a little tighter, it would be great.
Sculpt/Likeness Score: 9 out of10
This action figure has 27 points of articulation, which in the realm of Hasbro Marvel Legends figures, is pretty much the norm. And not to say the norm is average, because the posing on this figure is well above average.
The balance of the figure is awesome too, being able to stand where ever I place it. Articulation was not too stiff or too loose. And my favorite part, the head can look up and down, thanks to the added neck hinge. Which is great because Storm is a flyer and like I always reiterate, flyers need to be able to look up when posing.
Of course there is some costume blockage with the vest. On the plus side though, the vest can come off and makes that negligible. Overall, an awesome to pose experience.
Articulation Score: 9.5 out of10
I have to say, this one was a nice surprise. I didn’t realize I would like this figure as much as I did. I think the fact that for a while there, this figure was pretty easy to find and was a consistent peg warmer at the time (I had already bought two).
But it wasn’t only that this is a great figure…this figure brought out a lot of nostalgia for me. I started collecting seriously in the mid 80’s. I was reading stories of how powerless Storm lost her power because of her ex-boyfriend, Forge. Stories about how she went down into the sewers and put a beat down on Callisto (without powers) and won the leadership of the Morlocks. I read of how this character came into her own even before she regained her powers and became a team leader for the X-Men.
Along with old school Cyclops, Nightcrawler, orange and brown Wolverine, and Dazzler, this is the start of a classic display. If you don’t have this figure (I know, it’s two years old by now) I definitely recommend you find someway to add it to your collection! You can still find this figure at a somewhat reasonable price.
BTW, on a side note, as you can see, I’m starting to get into some Dioramas, hopefully giving some life to the pictures (other than a plain black background). Hit me up and let me know how you like them.
