The Toy Biz X-Men Blue & Gold Team collection continues with a character that didn’t get a lot of play in the animated series.
Warren Worthington III was one of the founding X-Men, with his mutant ability being giant, feathered wings growing out of his shoulder blades. He took on the codename Angel, after his angelic appearance. Warren was born into a life of privilege, and was a bit of a playboy early on. After the original five X-Men splintered off to form X-Factor, Warren was betrayed by family friend Cameron Hodge, and had his wings cut off. The evil mutant Apocalypse replaced Angel’s wings with sharp, bladed, metallic wings, that could shoot out poison-tipped flachettes, and turned the carefree playboy into his Horseman of Death.
After X-Factor defeated Apocalypse, Warren re-joined the team, but now with a new, more edgy name and appearance: Archangel.
This was Toy Biz’s second attempt at making a figure of Archangel. Honestly, there was nothing WRONG with the first toy, they’d just been beefing up all the figures and making them more detailed as time went on, so after a couple of years, a new Archangel was needed. Warren had recently stopped wearing the hood part of his costume and let his early-90s blonde mullet fly as free as he did through the skies, and this new figure reflected that.
Archangel has great articulation for 1994! Swivel joints at the neck, hips, and shoulders, and hinges at the elbows and knees. If only he had a waist swivel, he’d be the perfect mid-1990s action figure! Squeezing Archangel’s legs makes his wings flap, but the action figure isn’t great and I honestly forgot it even existed before I got the figure.
The most interesting thing about this figure, though, is how hard Toy Biz fell in love with it, and, minus the wings, re-used the torso, arms, and legs over and over again to make all kinds of new characters. Check this out:
Most obviously, a few waves of X-Men toys later, they made an updated Archangel in both the blue and red variants of his 70s costume, which the character started wearing again in the comics as the 90s went on. They also gave him a new head that more closely resembled the art style of then-current Uncanny X-Men penciller, Joe Madureira.
They also used the Archangel II figure outright for the mail-away figure Wonder Man, and the Marvel Gold line’s Captain Mar-Vell.
Some new lower arms were introduced when the figure got used in the X-Men: Savage Land wave’s Ka-Zar (which featured ANOTHER Archangel figure that, ironically, re-used a different body)
And there was the mail-away Alpha Flight leader, Guardian, who used a modified head from the Iron Man villain, Blacklash (That’s right: BLacklash. Complete with extra “L”. The cowards in the MCU changed it to “Whiplash.”)
It ALSO got used on fellow original X-Man Cyclops in a two-pack with a Jean Grey that was made from an Invisible Woman with a new head (Invisible Woman became Toy Biz’s favorite female mold to use).
The Marvel Modern Age line gave us those Ka-Zar arms and the Guardian head to make a Captain Britain.
And finally, with a new head, it became Iolas from Toy Biz’s Hercules: the Legendary Journey toy line. You know, that syndicated 90s show with Kevin Sorbo? Right, his little buddy was made out of Archangel.
Well, I said “Finally,” but also they used the Iolas version with a cape to make Kaine, the Spider-Man clone saga character.
Anyhow, Warren himself is looking good with the rest of the X-Men, and is filling out my Gold Team ranks nicely.
Wait, who’s that BEAST with the rest of the team…!?
