The final episode of the first season of X-Men’97 – an animated series on Disney Plus – drops today. Branko has taken a look at the latest version of the X-Men Jet. How does it shape up on its own, or in comparison with the previous version?

Today, we will be exploring one of the background heroes from the X-Men universe (X-maniverse?), the X-Men Jet. This jet shows up in many X-Men comics and movies but never really takes the lead. Like many X-Men characters, the jet changes appearance regularly, so we’ll have a look at how swooshable and showable this new jet is. In doing so, we will also compare it to a previous incarnation: 76022 X-Men vs The Sentinel.

This 76281 X-men jet contains 359 pieces retailing at AU$99.99/ £74.99/US$84.99/€84.99, which, let’s be plain, is expensive. The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. All opinions are our own. And that opinion is: It’s very expensive, but is there more?

What makes this Jet tick? Is it worth the upgrade if you already have the previous one? How about the mini figures? Do they offer anything special? Why don’t you come along for a meander across various aspects of this 76281 X-men jet after the break.

Originally the X-Men jet was based on a real jet, the SR-71 Blackbird, which I have always found particularly attractive because it looked so futuristic and alien. It completely fits the style of an aircraft created by superheroes who are not limited by the law of physics like us mortals. Stories about how the Blackbird used to leak fuel until the plane heated up enough for the metal plates to push together just added to the charm of a ‘hold-on-to-yer-hat!’ plane.

Alas, over time, the X-men version of this engineering marvel has changed into various incarnations, and it’s nearly impossible to keep track of which one’s which. It’s difficult to find good reference images of the jet that formed the basis for this set, so I’ll leave that and just consider the jet by itself. This particular issue, 76281 X-Men Jet, is based on the newest season of the animated TV series X-Men ’97; it sounds weird to talk about the ‘new season’ for a TV series with the year ’97 attached to it, but there we are.

X-claimer: not an X-men fan

Let me be frank, and apologize to the fans; I am not an X-men fan. I have nothing against X-men, but I have just never really gotten into superheroes in general. My main exposure to X-men has been in the form of several feature-films and the odd loose comic. That being said: I do like cool aircraft, and this fits the bill.

X-Jets

The jet looks slick and fast. In the movies, it is used as a troop carrier, and this unit has seating for 4, so I guess that is close enough. The seating area is a bit of a bulge towards the front of the plane, with the engine and wing section trailing behind. It reminds me a little of the shape of an F16 or some of the other fourth-generation jet fighters.

As you can see in the photos, I mounted the large rear wings incorrectly in some of the photos, which also results in a fast-looking smooth machine, but with the wings forward, it has a slightly meaner appearance. This is LEGO, so it’s all up to you!

The older version of the X-men jet, based on the movies, is significantly smaller and isn’t quite as pointy as the new one. The sharp front also reminds me more of a jet fighter (or SR71 Blackbird) and less of a cargo plane, this is possible due to new pieces that have appeared in last 9 years. Score: new 1 – old 0

From the back we can see an x-like shape in the planes’ tails, a bit more pronounced with the new version. The rear has two large engines reminiscent of the Blackbird, and I like it! I have learned that in X-men history, these engines are driven by alien technology, but I will imagine them dripping fuel before take-off like the blackbird! The old version has nice compression cones at the front of the engine versus a yellow dish for the new one. One point each: new 2 – old 1.

Underneath the old jet is completely barren, looking a lot like a boat (perhaps something to do with the boat hulls used to build it); where the new jet has a few stud shooters underneath, breaking the otherwise barren surface. It amuses me to see hazard stripes on these stud shooters for a group of superheroes who can zap beams from their eyes without any hazard indications! It makes me wonder: who maintains the jets? What is their name? What is the work like for an aircraft mechanic working on a unique craft that gets destroyed or damaged so often that you need a full manufacturing line just to keep a single craft in the air? But I digress. Score: new 3 – old 1. It’s not a race, but the new one seems to be winning.

Finally it strikes me that both the jets are blue with small red and yellow accents. When looking for ‘X-Men jet’ online Wikipedia shows up ‘Blackbird’ and the majority of images the internet feeds me are black variants of the SR71 Blackbird. I feel robbed.

Note that this jet is very sturdy and swoosh-able, as you can see in the video. After a few crashes I can also confirm that the jet fuselage is strong and will keep your X-men safe; the wings may come off but the body remains largely intact.

Based on the score I prefer the new edition of the X-men Jet; progress has been made due to new parts that have become available, and I found the closer similarities to the historic SR71 Blackbird appealing. However, for the jet alone I would not recommend you replace your older version; it is an awesome set and the differences are too small.

X-Men (they/them)

Both the jets come with 4 X-men (3 male 1 female); the ‘baddie’ is Magneto for both but the only female team member is different; it was Storm in 2014 but turned into Rogue in 2024.

The new Wolverine (right in the photo) changed their outfit to a brighter yellow, and his belt buckle changed a little, and he seems to be in a better mood, but otherwise, the figure is very similar. Comparing the figure to the version from the Marvel Series 2 collectible minifigures shows that that version included shoulder printing and dual moulded legs! Otherwise, they appear to be identical

The new Magneto (right in photo) does not come with his iconic helmet but has hair that would make Saruman jealous, and I’m sure long white hair is enough to serve as a mental block, right? That is what the helmet is for, right? The floating platform for the older Magneto, together with the helmet, makes him a bit more iconic to me.

Cyclops is still not a happy camper. He has grown his hair (significantly; I need to learn his trick!) but still hasn’t got a smile to match. His visor in the old version (right in photo) looks a bit cooler to me with the metallic finish, but the new one (left in photo) is more in style with the comic. His chest and back printing is certainly more impressive.

Rogue (new) versus Storm is not really a comparison. I like both figures, Storm with the cool cape and Rogue with the head band (that goes underneath her hair) and the grey patch in her hair. The collectible minifgure version of Storm is dressed in all-white; I personally find the black a bit more stylish, but both are pretty cool with their complicated capes.

The figures for both sets have something to offer, but I feel I prefer the slightly more serious older versions.

X-Parts

The jet comes with a single instruction, a sticker sheet and 4 (plastic) bags, each bag containing one X-men (they/them). The most noticeable parts are the hull pieces used for the bottom and the large canopies for the top of the cockpit. Most of the dark blue parts are unique to this set, and it’s the first time that the Wedge 5 x 1 x 1 1/3 with 4 x 1 Base (left and right) appears outside Speed Champions. Despite the number of unique pieces (10), the price of this set does not make it worthwhile as a parts-pack.

X-build

On with the build, then! Wolverine starts the process, building the jet from the front to the back. The stickers on the front screen show the status of the jet (illustrating the x-shape of the tails from the top), and on the screen towards the back, Magneto (with long hair) shows up, causing trouble. The build looks like a boat hull once the first bag is finished.

Bag two brings us Magneto and the rear and sides of the jet.

Bag three offers up Cyclops, and the shooters on the bottom of the jet, with safety stripes added with stickers. By the time the third bag is finished, the main jet fuselage has taken shape, and all that is left is the wings at the rear. The cockpit canopy is mounted cleverly using stud reversion, resulting in a nice greebling effect for the hinges.

That brings us to bag 4 with Rogue and all parts to finish the jet tails, wings and engines.

As you can see, the build is quick and quite satisfying, but not quite as satisfying as I would have expected for this price.

X-pected conclusion

The conclusion is simple: this set is overpriced. From a LEGO perspective, it is poor value for money, but it is just so cool! The jet looks awesome, and I will happily leave it hanging from my ceiling for quite some time, but I recommend you have patience and see if you can get it on sale somewhere. I suspect many people may do this so if it even goes on sale you might have to be quick! I give it 3 out of 5 arbitrary praise units.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!