Before there was an entire X-Men '97 line, there was a series of Animated-style figures sold in VHS boxes. And the X-Men ones were popular enough that eventually Hasbro did Spider-Man, too. But in that case, instead of snigle releases, it was all two-packs.
Doctor Strange actually appeared in more episodes of X-Men the Animated Series than he did in Spider-Man; in fact, of his five total Earth-92131 appearances, three were on X-Men, one was on Spider-Man, and one was on The Incredible Hulk.
Of course, the X-Men ones were just cameos, while Spidey made him a real character and recounted his origin, so it makes sense that's how this figure is sold.
Yet again we have a Dr. Strange figure made from the same molds as before. The cape is different once more, because Hasbro recognizes that if they're going to be reusing an entire body, they have to make at least one major change so it doesn't look too identical. This time the upper "shawl" portion rests entirely against Strange's chest, and the upper edge of the collar is rounded instead of standing up to two large points. Interestingly, the trailing edge of the cape does come to a point, a gentle one right in the center. This is a really nice piece!
The way it hangs does block his arms slightly, however.
As a tradeoff, his legs have a better range, because the animated design apparently kept his shirt tucked in - he doesn't have the "skirt" piece (that's really the lower edge of the tunic) the other Stranges have had. That also means a new belt. He gets the spellcasting hands or closed fists, and translucent blue Dazzler effects.
Even the head sculpt is the same, meaning we now have three different versions of the same mold. But the paint on the head, just like the rest of the body, is what sets this apart: the animated design gave him much more white in his hair, starting right on the forehead and going back to the sides in two wavy, asymmetrical skunk-stripes, and his shirt is lavender, rather than blue. That is exactly the way he was colored on the cartoon, so good work, team.
It's annoying that these Spider-Man animated figures are only done in two-packs, because the majority of them only have one
figure you'd want, bundled with some chump. In the case of this set, though, I'm not sure which of them is which.
Since the cartoon was basically just adapting existing comic stories, it had the advantage of being able to seed ideas early. Like, in the comics, Michael Morbius just showed up as a vampire with no explanation; he just drifted into harbor like Dracula on the Demeter. The cartoon, however, was able to introduce him as a human in the Season 2 premiere, and he spent several episodes interacting with Peter Parker as an academic (and romantic) rival before it was Morbin' time. That's character development! They also managed to tie his origin closer to Spidey: instead of getting his powers from a simple combo of bat DNA and electroshock therapy, a vampire bat got hit by a radioactive laser, then drank Spider-Man's blood sample, and finally bit Morbius when he tried to shoo it away. Perfectly normal, perfectly natural.
In the books at the time, Morbius was wearing a leather rave outfit, but the cartoon gave him normal street clothes instead:
boots, jeans, and a T-shirt, worn beneath a black duster. The figure's coat is smoother than the one they normally use, even if it has the same kind of popped collar, and he pairs that with pushed-up sleeves. The chest has a few wrinkles stretching between the muscles, and the pants get a sculpted fly, but not much else. The belt is even a separate piece. Unsurprisingly, he reuses Morlun's hands: we told you those were a perfect match for the cartoon's silly censorship!
Another change was the face. 616 Morbius already looked like a vampire before he underwent the experiment that gave him his powers -
sunken cheeks, upturned bat nose, all that. He was just pink instead of white. The cartoon actually made him look like a human when he was just "Michael," then went all the way with the vampire face! He looks like a cross between Garret Dillahunt and Robert Z'dar. He has the flat nose and pointy ears, and his mouth is open to show off the fangs the network censors would never let him use. His goatee is black, but his hair is done in blue, which is how it was most often animated - it's hard to show hair blowing dramatically in the wind if it just blends in with the backgrounds.
These characters don't have anything to do with each other on the cartoon. Morbius was in Season 2 and Dr. Strange was in Season 3, and never the twain shall meet. Obviously they both fall into the "Midnight Sons" section of the Marvel Universe, but these are emphatically not comic toys. It really, really would have been better if you could get them by themselves (something that's true for all 14 characters in the line). Like, I may be lukewarm about this Morbius, but it's entirely unlike any other 6" figure he's had; and the Dr. Strange is good, if you don't mind the color of his shirt. But I want the option to only get one or the other of them, not be forced into buying both. You know, the perpetual two-pack dilemma.
-- 09/09/26
Which of these characters is the winner, and which one is the loser? Tell us on our message board, the Loafing Lounge.
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