1969: The X-Men, Marvel’s poorest selling title, flagging in sales and on the verge of cancellation, was in dire need of a shot in the arm. A new direction. A new vision. Enter Roy Thomas and Neal Adams, and True Believer, you had better grab onto your hat and get ready for one of the most amazing evolutions in Marvel history! These two titanic talents threw caution to the wind with sensational stories that brought the X-Men in synch with the thriving youth culture of the late ’60s.
Prepare yourself for the introduction of mutant mainstay Havok, the vampiric villain Sauron, the Mutates, and X-Man-to-be Sunfire! Not to mention, the Living Pharaoh, a classic team-up with Ka-Zar in the Savage Land, as well as the return of Magneto and Professor X!
– from Amazon.com
This Cyclops piece was originally created to be part of an overall line of Neal Adams-era X-Men custom figures. Unfortunately, I found myself distracted with other projects and never finished the series.
The figure itself is reworked from a Marvel Legends Bullseye. I removed the various belts and pouches from the figure and added in forearms and boots from a Marvel Legends Angel figure, I believe. Truth be told, it’s been such a long time I’ve since forgotten. Anyway, the visor comes from the old 5″ ToyBiz First Appearance X-Men boxed set, while any bits of touching up was handled using Magic Sculpt.
In hindsight, I think this is a decent enough custom, although I would certainly try a different approach if I were to reattempt the project today. Still, it was a fun experiment and I still toy with the idea of completing the rest of the Neal Adams-era X-Men at some point.
Finished Summer 2008
Featured in CustomCon 21
