In the pantheon of comic book movies X-Men 2 or X2: X-men United, as it sometimes referred to, is one of the most highly respected and enjoyable in the entire sub-genre bettering its predecessor in almost every way and setting the bar high for those other big screen comic book adaptations that followed! X-2 is more ambitious and visually thrilling than the original and yet maintains the very grounded emotional character beats from its predecessor making this sequel a prime example of how to expand upon and in many ways improve upon what had come before but also retain what worked well prior and more importantly what audiences really appreciated about that first instalment.
At this moment in time X-Men 2 is still highly regarded as one of the finest adaptations of a comic book property and despite a slew of other X-Men based movies that followed few managed to fell as epic and emotionally gripping as this 2003 effort which was also by far the best of Marvel's offerings in the summer '03 (the others being the mediocre Daredevil and the disappointing big screen debut of the HULK)
Aside from the slightly anaemic yet fantastically crafted Toy Biz toy line there was less emphasis on X-2 related merchandise than had been the case with the previous X-Men,2002's Spider-Man and that years HULK movie but what was available was above average including tie-in Fast Food promotions from KFC (in the UK and Europe) and Jack -In-The-Box (in the US and Canada) the latter of which were released to coincide with X-Men 2's DVD release. here we will be looking in detail at both those fast food promotional toy sets released in 2003:
This may be the stand out toy in this KFC set in terms of its design and function, who doesn't love a toy that lights up right!? and in order to have Cyclops' visor light up the toy couldn't be a stand alone figure with detachable base combo like the other toys in this set making him all the more unique! He instead comes incorporated into what appears to be a metallic door with an "X" motif crushed around Cyclops! Overall this is a very nice looking toy with a great likeness of the character and some fantastic detailing throughout!
The fantastic detailing in this toy even carries through to the back section where you will find the X2 symbol and what appears to be some damage caused by Cyclops' powerful laser beam! Another function this figure can perform is the projection of a small "X" symbol that can be emitted from the top of the toy!
This figure is a decent representation of the Movie version of Wolverine even if it is not a spot-on likeness of actor Hugh Jackman! There is some very nice detailing throughout though it would have benefitted from some extra paint applications to fully bring out some of the intricate sculpting on the X-Men uniform Logan is sporting! The figure also has an action feature which can be activated via the levers on his back which will make his arms move up and down in a slashing motion! It is also worth noting that each figure (minus Cyclops) has the pegs that attach the figures to the stands situated at the bottom of the figures feet preventing them from standing independently!
Wolverine also comes with a base in which to place him on which while simple in design is still a very nice looking piece which is embellished with the "X-2" Logo in the centre and is surrounded by claw marks!
If there has to be a weak link in this set it is probably the Storm figurine which lets down an over wise really great toy! Its not that it is really terrible but it just doesn't do the on screen character justice there is something about it that isn't quite right even though she has some nice detailing on her X-Men uniform which redeems it somewhat! No such complaints for the Tornado action feature however which works really well and fits the character perfectly!
At first glance Bobby here doesn't exactly stand out amongst the more visually appealing figures in this set, if you weren't a fan of the movies you might not even realise he was a Marvel superhero of any description! However that is all the more reason why this figure is so impressive this is coming from someone who LOVES this franchise and particularly X2 and who fully appreciates it when these promotional toys don't just go down the obvious route and in this case rather than just stick him in his X-Men uniform that he sports very briefly they went for Iceman's civilian appearance and in doing so gave us a figure that could have felt a lot more generic but is surprisingly very accurate to the character likeness not to mention all of the fantastic and intricate detailing on his clothing which is hard to appreciate as there isn't much in the way of additional paint applications to really bring those details out!
Almost as great as the figure itself is the base that accompanies him which is some kind of icy glacier that you load up with ice projectiles (printed on card) and which fires them out as pull the toy along!
The standout character from the second X-Men Movie instalment was without doubt Nightcrawler who features in the film's best sequence set in the white house! Perhaps it is that fondness for the character that places this figure so high up in my estimation but there is no denying this is a rather impressive looking little toy which features some fantastic detailing from the scars etched into the figures face to the tiny details on his over coat despite the fact the coat itself is coloured cream as appose to the grey/black seen throughout the movie but this could have been influenced by the above mentioned sequence in the movie where he does wear a similar coloured but differently styled over coat!
The base on which he can be pegged onto is also nicely designed with similar looking symbols to those on Nightcrawler's face carved in, the action feature can be activated by pressing down the button in the centre and selecting which direction you want the toy to head off in!
If the Figures on their own weren't enough for you each toy came supplied with a collectable trading card featuring the relevant character, on the front of the card are two overlaid images which alternate when you move the card and on the back there is a short bio of the character!
Cyclops: The group leader and husband to Jean Grey Scott Summers is one of the most iconic and beloved characters in the X-Men series of comic books but was sadly underutilized in the original Trilogy much to the dismay of the fans! That said the sequences where the character feature are memorable and actor James Marsden puts in a solid performance in the role!
Though these JACK-IN-THE-BOX toys are relatively small there is quite a good amount of sculpting detail on these particularly in the X-uniforms and especially on Cyclops, the same cannot be said for the likenesses which are hit and miss! Each figurine in this set stands at around 3 inches tall and were originally supplied with a base and a lenticular trading card.
Jean Grey: With her powers continuing to take strange and unexpected turns it is no wonder Jean is struggling to properly control them. As Cyclops points out Jean has been acting "strangely" of late, having to concentrate extremely hard just to levitate a book yet when ever she has a bad dream the entire room shakes! During the climax of X-men 2 Jean sacrifices herself in order to save the rest of the X-men with its closing sequence heavily implying Jean's transformation into "The Phoenix"!
Jean here fairs a little better in the likeness department but has a slightly awkward looking pose! Again the detailing in the uniform is what stands out most on these figures and Jean Grey is no exception!
Nightcrawler: Former circus performer Kurt Wagner had been manipulated into attacking the white house by the shadowy colonel William Stryker who is intent of starting a war with mutant kind! Kurt however is no cold blooded assassin but rather a sweet and kind teleporting mutant who joins the X-Men to combat the evil military leader's deadly plot!
Nightcrawler certainly stands out amongst this set mainly because he is the only figure which isn't clad all in black! He certainly has the most paint applications even if not all of them are exactly screen accurate (His coast is painted gold for some reason!) once again there is some decent sculpting throughout let down however by a rather generic looking facial likeness!
Iceman: Bobby happens to have one of the coolest (pardon the pun) of mutant gifts which he puts to good use in evading the evil Col. Stryker and his military assailants pay an unwelcome visit to Xavier's school! Bobby is your typical teenage guy who just wants to be excepted by society for who he is almost as much as his girlfriend rouge who views her mutant abilities as a burden!
Bobby has been given his trademark "Ice slide" pose similar to the KFC toy above but unlike that figure the likeness here is very generic looking but not so far removed from his on screen counterpart as to be unrecognisable! Iceman is sporting his X-Men uniform which has its own unique detailing even if he only appeared in it for about a minute in the actual movie!
Rogue: When we first met rogue she was a teenage runaway, ashamed of her mutant gifts and looking for a fresh start somewhere she wouldn't be recognised she eventually found solace at Xavier's school for the gifted where she would learn how to use her powers and bring them to their full potential! Of course the inability to be able to physically touch another human being takes its toll on Rogue effecting her from having a full and intimate relationship with fellow student Bobby!
Rogue like Bobby was only briefly seen in her X-Men Uniform which Wolverine barked at them was "On order and should be ready in a couple of years!" but seeing as this is probably the only figure based on movie Rouge other than the Toy Biz action figures from the first movie its just nice to have her included at all in uniform or not! actually this one came out rather well though could be said that it doesn't resemble the on screen character perfectly but the likeness is certainly not terrible! One thing this set manages to get right above everything else is the little nuances of each suit which are for the most part really nice representations of the on screen costumes even if they are presented in sometimes very odd looking poses!
Other figures available were Wolverine, Lady Deathstrike and Storm.
X-Men 2 (or X2: X-Men united) is as exciting and gripping as any movie in the comic book movie sub-genre and is easily the best movie in the entire X-Men series (Days of Future Past coming a close second perhaps) and so it is always fantastic when a brilliant movie gets brilliant merchandise as was the case here with the Toy Biz action figures and these Jack-in-the-box and KFC promo toys which make for particularly unique little collectables for those who are collectors of X-Men/Comic Book superhero merchandise or restaurant toys in general!
