Why Did ToyBiz's Female X-Men Figures Look So Similar?
Giving new meaning to 'going Rogue.'
A while back, I wrote about how Kenner reused action figure molds in various lines—with a particular focus on how the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves line was made from Star Wars and DC Super Powers characters and sets. I choose to see much of that repurposing as ingenuity, rather than simple cost-cutting or a lack of effort. As an extension of that post, Power Action! is revisiting a different (and more egregious?) 1990s phenomenon: ToyBiz repurposing one female mold for multiple characters.
There’s a constant chicken-and-egg argument about female action figure sales, whether it’s superheroes or sci-fi heroines: Is it really that they don’t sell? Or are they never given a fighting chance? As recently as 2022, Todd McFarlane spoke about female figures in pretty silly terms in a now-infamous interview. That linked Bleeding Cool article gave a 2021 breakdown of female percentages in action figures, including Hasbro’s Marvel Legends (23%); McFarlane’s DC Multiverse (10%); and Star Wars Black Series (12%).
Is this issue new? Not at all. Back in the day, ToyBiz’s beloved X-Men and X-Force toys produced between 1992-’94 came from a more-is-more approach, with 80 figures in its core lines. Yet, of that sampling of 80 figures, females were represented in a whopping 3.75% (or 3 out of 80).
So let’s take a closer look: Prior to 1992, Storm was the only female X-Men member that ToyBiz produced. Her 1993 figure was a nice, modernized repaint of that initial one:
Later on, Phoenix had a neat rendition in the Phoenix Saga line.
It wasn’t until 1994 that we got a proper Rogue figure, which is where things get really interesting:
Does this figure feel a bit familiar, for those of you who collected figures in the ’90s? It should. Keeping that same silhouette in mind for a sec, including the hair, the closed right hand, the left fist with weapon slot, and those distinctive leg sculpts, let’s take a look at what happens a couple years later with Polaris ...
At least Polaris has a “Power Upper Punch,” not Rogue’s “Power Uppercut Punch.” Was Polaris’ powers related to punching people? Nope, but what was once Rogue’s is now Polaris’.
Around that time, ToyBiz started releasing its massive 10-inch figures. Big Rogue took her own mold, understandably.
Oh: Hi, Big Mystique! Something seems familiar about you.
And Big Polaris …
And Big Jean …
Well, at least She-Hulk got her own sculpt in that same 10-inch Marvel Universe line:
Wait a sec.
OK. So any longtime collector knows that repaints are a reality of the toy business. But in order to have a good faith discussion about gender and action figures, you’d have to consider the historical effort. A relatively common action like reusing and repainting old character can look a bit different in this context.
Has it gotten better in recent years? Sure—particularly in properties like Hasbro’s Marvel Legends and recent McFarlane output. But when it comes to that aforementioned chicken-and-egg debate, I know which way I’m leaning, historically.
I pretty like this article, especially you said "I choose to see much of that repurposing as ingenuity, rather than simple cost-cutting or a lack of effort". It's an insightful viewpoint. And, after reading this introduction, I knew the 10" Jean and Rogue were the same mold. I was surprised I never noticed it.
Using the same mold to make different female figures was very common from Toy Biz's 1990s waves. There are much more examples and I organized them recently, please read my Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DErk9IlT5cf/?igsh=d21vOWV3MXd6cDZw