22 Obscure X-Men Toys from the 90s
If you’re at all familiar with the X-Men cartoon then you’ll know it was a mega hit in the 90s.
And with a hit cartoon comes a massive toy line so kids can collect their favourite character. However, you can only create so many versions of Wolverine toys before the kids get bored.
Due to the hit show and the hugely popular X-Men comics, Toy Biz got busy with producing as many figurines based on the hit comic book series and cartoon as possible. Some figurines which were even quite unknown (unless if you’re a hardcore fan).
Let’s delve in to the lesser known and, dare I say, obscure X-Men toys which Toy Biz released back in the 90s. Some you’ll know and some you’ve probably never heard of.
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1. Tusk
If you’re a hardcore fan of the X-Men animated series, heck, if you’re a hardcore fan of the comic book then you’ll probably recognise Tusk. But, those only familiar with the X-Men movies, have probably never heard of Tusk.
A character whose power seems to be super strength but who can also hatch a miniature version of himself out of the scales on his back. Umm what!? Exactly, why in the absolute F would they create a character that did that. It’s taken the term “mutant” to a whole new bizarre level.
2. Strong Guy
Strong Guy is exactly the kind of toy a young kid looks for. Huge, muscle bound and with a cool set of shades to match (that’s sunglasses for you Gen Zers playing at home). This character’s does nothing great other than look gargantuan amongst this smorgasbord of X-Men mutant characters.
In a way, perhaps it’s a perfect character as Strong Guy’s mutant ability is growing as strong as possible. Even though the extra bulky muscles could one day break the bones under all that muscle weight. Think of Arnold Swartznegger back in his hey day except with the spine and skeletal structure of Steve Urkel – now you’ve got Strong Guy!
3. Ahab
Ahab has been many things. In an alternate reality he’s been a mutant tracker in charge of mutant tracking hounds but in the main Marvel 616 Universe he’s been captured by Apocalypse and transformed into one of his four horsemen: Famine.
While all of this sounds cool and all, this X-Men figure got lost somewhere in the conception stage and the toy itself looks like complete junk. But ask yourself this: why would any kid care about this Horseman of Apocalypse when you can get Archangel?
What a waste!
4. Bonebreaker
As an Aussie, no one can appreciate the inclusion of Bonebreaker more than I. He was the original leader of the Reavers, a gang of Cyborgs living in a ghost town in Australia, who committed all sorts of crimes all around the world. Does it get any more Mad Max than that?
Despite never taking on the X-Men directly, the Reavers have tried to take on Wolverine many times. This has caused Bonebreaker to team up with Lady Deathstrike and Donald Pierce on many occasions. However, given he’s really just a torso mounted onto the body of a tank, he was probably the most inexpensive toy to make.
5. Ch’Od
It’s hard to be a kid of the 90s and not immediately gravitate to Ch’Od. This 10 foot tall reptilian alien who looks like creature from the black lagoon on steroids was first introduced to us as one of the Starjammers crewmen.
As Corsair’s right hand man, Ch’Od was basically the Commander Worf of the Starjammers crew. With all the growling and snarling, he’s as close to a Klingon on a bridge of the Starjammer that you’re going to get in the X-Men.
6. Kylun
A Scottish character who really didn’t deserve his own toy. He was born in the Earth 616 reality, only to be transported to an alternate reality where he became that earth’s greatest hero, only to be transported back to the Earth 616 reality and join the mutant team, Excalibur. He also has brown/orange fur and feline cat eyes which sets him out from the crowd.
Given there’s very little Excalibur figures in this run of toys, the inclusion of Kylun is a definite head scratcher.
7. Raza
Another Starjammer and fellow crew mate of Ch’Od’s, Raza is a swashbuckling intergalactic pirate who looks like a futuristic elf with a cybernetic eye and body. He’s also the sole survivor of an unknown alien race. A race which chose to sacrifice themselves in one last final battle with the Shi’ar Empire.
Because he sports a really cool sword, Raza is definitely one of the cooler toys in this list.
8. Forearm
Part of the Mutant Liberation Front, which was a new team of villains for X-Force to fight. Thankfully, they didn’t last, and this lame character has faded from most fan’s memories. Unless, if you’re a hardcore fan of the cartoon then you’ll note he’s on Magneto’s side during the X-Men intro song of the 90s cartoon. Not to mention many unvoiced sporadic cameos throughout the five seasons of the show.
As for the toy? Yes the arms rotate but they rotate into each other. Some action feature. Meh!
9. Gideon
Another lame character from the early issues of the series. I mean, a bald guy with a long ponytail? Please! I think there was a plan to make the X-Ternals into a major threat (something to do with Cannonball or Sunspot), but I honestly can’t recall if anything was done with that. The figure includes the standard punching action feature, as well as a sword that was “hidden” in a briefcase. Okay, that bit was kind of neat…
10. G.W. Bridge
Another new character introduced to the toy series, G.W. Bridge had the thankless task of hunting down Cable for S.H.I.E.L.D. Whatever happened to this guy? He got old and fat and last showed up in the new Punisher War Journal title. He should have stayed retired. This figure does pretty much nothing, but the rifle that’s included makes a ‘clicking’ sound. So there’s that.
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11. Kane
When this guy was introduced, he was touted as the “new Weapon X”, and the Wolverine fans among us wouldn’t hear of it! Later, Kane was revealed to be a member of Cable’s “Wild Pack” team, and he eventually faded back into obscurity. The figure included a snap-back left hand, that worked really well, so that’s something I guess.
12. Grizzly
Here’s a guy that wasn’t part of the X-Force team, but rather a character from Cable’s past. Turns out Cable has a history of working with various strike teams, and Grizzly was on one of those early ones called “Six Pack.” While the design is decent on this guy, the figure suffers a bit because he ends up looking somewhat squished… he’s wider from the front (good), but seems too skinny when viewed from the sides (not good). Plus, the legs are pretty thin, so he tends to fall over a lot (bad).
13. Krule
Here’s an example of a really nice figure based on a really lame character. Come on… Krule? Really?
While this X-Ternal is very lame (as almost all of them were), the fgure is actually quite nice. The sculpting is very detailed, and although the long braided ponytail is goofy, it has skulls attached to them. Repeat: SKULLS ATTACHED TO THEM! And not just any skulls…if you look closely, you can see the Alien and Predator elements that were combined for each skull.
14. Quark
No, not the Ferengi from Star Trek.
Another character from the Longshot limited series! Quark is so obscure, most fans probably had no idea who he was. But he was a big character (which toy Biz loved to make over in the X-MEN line), and he has a ram head… a RAM HEAD! Cool story.
15. Rictor
A former member of the New Mutants, Rictor rejoined his friends in X-Force and sported an outfit that looked more like he was part of an old Heavy Metal hair band! Despite this really goofy costume (which must have been a challenge to draw consistently), Rictor is a great representation of the character.
Why? Because Rictor’s mutant power is that he vibrates things until the fall apart. This figure includes a knob that when wound up and released, vibrates the figure so much that he moves across the surface until he either stops or falls down. Which leads to hours of fun (okay, maybe 5 minutes or so)!
16. Black Tom
Here’s a long-time enemy of the X-Men, who faced off against X-Force thanks to his niece, Siryn (we never did get a figure of Siryn… a shame). Black Tom Cassidy used to carry a shelaleigh, but he was merged with it at some point and was given the power to shoot blasts of energy from his hands… which is what this figure is meant to represent.
Bizarre, given the majority of this toy line was meant to promote the cartoon. The included “Power Bio-Blast!” is held back by a string, which was most likely done for safety reasons, but is a little odd.
17. Commcast
Here’s another great example of Toy Biz’s willingness to really take chances with this line. I mean, does anyone know who this guy is? He had a handful of appearances in the first Deadpool limited series, and that was pretty much it.
But he still became an action figure due to the interesting design and Deadpool’s growing popularity…and hey, Deadpool needs someone to face off against, right? Commcast also included a first for this line… a working holster! And he’s got a cool hovering platform which doesn’t hover at all. It’s just a stand. See why he became an action figure?
18. Killspree
Another one of those silly X-Ternals is made into a figure….although this one is actually pretty cool. He’s got a unique outfit, lots of blades (kids love characters with blades!), and his action feature allows him to slash at his opponents. Aesthetically, he’s not a bad looking figure!
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19. Slayback
Speaking of characters from the Deadpool limited series, here’s one character that Deadpool faced off against, and then was killed shortly afterwards. But he also had some cool abilities, like extending cybernetic arms. This Slayback figure included that feature by having arms that expanded and contracted at the touch of a button. So even if you didn’t know who he was, you could see that he was fun to play with.
20. X-Treme
Created during a summer full of new characters introduced in the annuals, there’s not a whole lot behind this character. He’s Adam-X, the X-Treme, and he was meant to be a lager character in the overall X-Men mythos… He was intended to be a long-lost third Summers brother, but that story line was changed, and X-Treme has faded back into obscurity. The figure can throw the twin axes, and we know kids loves blades on their super folks…
21. Caliban
Once upon a time, Caliban was a meek, timid Morlock living in the New York City sewers. He could locate other mutants, which was a pretty handy skill for some evildoers… like say, Apocalypse?
Apocalypse turned Caliban into the huge Hound you see here, and Caliban took his pent-up frustrations out on those he called enemy. A nice figure representing a turning point in the life of the character, and he also comes with a cloak to hide his gruesome features.
22. Genesis
Here’s another example of Toy Biz really giving the new guys a chance…Genesis is the son of Cable, but he was brainwashed into becoming a villain. At one point, he tried to force Adamantium back into Wolverine’s body (after it was ripped out of him by Magneto), but Wolverine’s healing factor rejected it and turned him into a bizarre mutated caveman-like beast.
As a way of saying thanks, Wolverine killed him. A fun little accessory of Spyne was included with this figure, who came with a removable tail. A nicely-made action figure of a new character that wasn’t around very long.
Did you recognise any of these Obscure X-Men toys?
Do you remember the first appearances of any of these X-Men characters? Did you own any of these toys back in the 90s?
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