Marvel Universe Mystique Review

For my first review I'll be looking at Marvel Universe Mystique.   I have a lot of toys mainly consisting of Transformers but I decided do my first post on a new toy I received in the mail today.  I paid eleven dollars for this toy though Amazon.com.  My friend Barry was the one who got me to start buying these little 3.75 inch figures and they're pretty nifty because they boast many points of articulation and don't take up a whole lot of space.  Displaying five of these little guys takes up about as much room as three deluxe Transformers.  Alright enough of my jibber jabber and let's get on with looking at the toy.

 

Here is Mystique in box.  Not much to say here except I was kind of expecting the card to be beat to heck and back because it was shipped in one of those cheap cardboard foldout things.  I can't really explain it.  I should have taken a picture of it.  The artwork on the upper left hand of all the Marvel Universe figures is personalized to each figure and it makes it feel like each figure is special.  The is a reason why it says "Fan's Choice Winner!" in the upper left hand corner.  Apparently Marvel fans got vote/choose which Marvel character they wanted to make and Mystique was one of them.  

Back of the card.  Nothing too special here.  I have Ghost Rider out of package and I'll talk more about him in his review later.  The Wolverine pictured here is always shelf warming at my local Targets. 

Close up shot of the description of Mystique. 

All the accessories that come with Mystique.  She has a little file written up about her.  Card with artwork of her on one side.  The other side of the card has her stats and powers.  The envelope which holds the note and card.  There's also her Marvel stand which most Marvel Universe figures come with.  These are really handy because a lot of these little figures have a hard time standing on their own.  Last important thing is her gun.  This gun comes with a lot of Marvel Universe figures but it really doesn't suit Mystique because she cannot hold the gun in two hands.  This forces her to hold it in one hand which looks awkward for her smaller body type.  Not pictured is the code to go to the Fury Files.  I heard the website was taken down/discontinued so it's not important.
*You can also count her skull of skirts as an accessory but you would have to pop her legs off the ball joints to remove it.*

                      

Here is Mystique out of package.  I tried to get her in a good pose with her gun but there is not much she can do that doesn't look two ridiculous.  I could have gave her Winter Soldier's gun to duel wield but for some reason it didn't feel right. 

Mystique is not very big.  She is in the 3 and 3/4th's scale line.  Here's a size comparison of her next to an average sized Zippo type lighter.  Not very big at all which is awesome for keeping on the desk.  A nifty place to display these guys is right under most computer monitors since they are not big enough to block the display.  I might be mistaken with the larger figures like the Hulk or Juggernaut. 

Mystique has impressive articulation for such a small figure.  She can rotate 360 degrees at the head.  I wish her shoulder joints were like the male figures I have.  Mystique can do a lot with her arms but she will never be able to clap.  Single joint at the elbow followed by a rotation at the wrist.  She has a chest crunch to make up for the fact her head cannot move up and down.  She has rotation at the waist, double knee joints, and rotation at the ankles.  I wish my toys as a child were this pose-able, even my Gi-Joes couldn't move the way the does. 

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Paint application is where Mystique suffers.  Granted not all of her paint apps are bad but I think for the price of these figures Marvel could have done a little better.  Main gripe I have with the figure is how the white paint Hasbro used was so weak I can see the blue underneath it.  I guess this teaches Mystique to wear white out into the rain... har har.  I really don't get why there is blue on the skirt as well.  They also messed up the white paint apps on the left boot and there's a faint outline of another boot going up the leg.  her left glove has a paint splotch and she has a small streak of white on her right arm.  

My final thoughts.  Eleven dollars was way too much for me to be spending on such a small figure especially after Target had a buy one get one free event for some of their shelf warmers.  Mystique was more of an impulse buy and if I could do it again I would buy a bigger figure like the Hulk or Cable.  On the other hand I like her because she's a shape shifter and now I do not have to buy any more Marvel Universe figures.  Sorry that was my lame attempt at humor and I will definitely be buying more in the near future.  My only tip is to try to buy these figures in store unless you can get them cheaper online.  My local Targets have these guys for $9.59 a pop so I figured why not spend the extra dough to get the one I really wanted online.  Another reason to try to buy these in store is to check out the paint applications.  A lot of the Marvel Universe characters have paint application flaws so it's best to inspect them in person and pick the one you really want. 

COLLECTORS: Yes buy her if you really like her but try not to pay more than $7.99 if you can help it.

PARENTS:The box says ages 4+ but I really wouldn't give this toy a child under 8.  Marvel Universe figures are Gi-Joe sized but are meant to be displayed in shelves in super cool poses.  Your children might like these little guys for a while but they are not very durable at all. 

If you have Amazon Prime Shipping then here's a quick link for you to get one.