In another first, crazy as it sounds, I don’t know that I’ve ever reviewed a Wolverine figure for the Fwoosh!
One of the best parts of growing up in the 1980s was undoubtedly the comics of the time. I still remember, rather distinctly, reading my first real Wolverine comic. A friend in grade school had brought with him the original Claremont and Miller series in paperback on a field trip. I was a DC kid, but like most DC kids, I was a fan of several Marvel characters, including the X-Men. Unlike you damn Marvel kids … Anyway, that was the first time I’d ever read a story just focused on Wolverine, despite it being at least 6 years old by that point, and it started an appreciation for the character that would be ripe for the picking once a certain cartoon started a few years later.
When Mezco began it’s journey into the Marvel universe, one of the big questions was just which Marvel characters they would be allowed to do. Feels like forever ago now, but it wasn’t long before that we wondered just how many more X-Men characters we’d get in Legends, so it was anything but a sure bet that X-Character A-listers like Logan and Deadpool were going to happen.
Luckily, that’s all sorted now, and hopefully one of the residual effects of the various buyouts and agreements is even more characters from that corner of the Marvel U. For now, though, Wolverine is definitely here, and I have high hopes for where this goes.
This version of Wolverine is the Mezco site-exclusive deco that premiered at New York Comic Con in 2017. He was, of course, available for a short window to non-attendees, and then we waited. Until Christmas. All that cranky started to melt away once I saw the packaging though. He comes in the smaller exclusive box, like Daredevil’s, that lacks the gate. But I really do like these smaller boxes.
Wolverine still comes with a standard-level of accessories, which include six sets of hands, a tengu mask (to go with the Ogun swords of the other releases), a variant masked and unmasked head, and the usual display stand and armature.
One feature I want to discuss right out of the box is the shoulder pauldrons. These are attached via a hinge that connects the pad to the “rotator cuff” section of his arm. The hinge allows the pad to swing away or into the shoulder, depending on the pose, and the attachment means they move with the arm, rather than staying on top of his shoulders. It’s a cool idea, and probably will help the larger “turtle shell” pauldron versions articulation quite a bit. But for this version, I feel like they are more “fiddly” than I like. I’m tempted to remove them altogether when playing, or attach them differently to the figure. They pop off easily enough, so you’re not likely to damage them or anything, but the constant moving and posing of them kind of pulls me out of the fun, and that would have benefited from a simpler design.
The rest of the figure is really something to see, though. The uniform is a pretty vibrant yellow that complements the deep blues of the boots, gloves and shorts really well. It is a LOT of yellow, as the costume demands, but the “tiger stripes” and piping details help break it up. This is also one of the first figures to use the rubberized vinyl application for the “shorts” section, and while I wasn’t sure this was something I was going to like, it works better than I expected. The color matching is really solid, and I like the texture of them as well. And of course, the more industrial stylings of the boots and gloves look great.
Obviously, Wolverine uses a new body, which I really like the proportions of. He’s appropriately stocky, but still feels “even,” and while he’s a little larger than say the newer Legends versions, he fits well with the other Mezco figures. As the costume leaves the arms open, Wolverine has great sculpted arms, complete with hair detailing. The overall articulation is pretty damn good, and the ankles are starting to finally offer up the range they deserve. One minor note — on mine, the hands seem to be a little more prone to popping off than my other figures. It may just be something on mine, but a little heat on the hands got a better “pop” on them. And those claws….man. Nicest claws in this scale, period.
The head sculpts are really nice, and very comic in their style and feel. The unmasked in particular has a very distinct style, and very classic Wolverine, but I can see where it’s not for everyone. I like the almost animated-inspired look of the masked heads, while keeping the realistic look of the faces.
Honestly, I have always been more partial to the tan and brown suit, but as with anyone who played the Capcom games or watched the cartoon concurrently, the “tiger stripe” look will always hold a special place in my collection.
And not unlike I felt getting the original ToyBiz figure in the early 1990s, I would love to see some more of the dramatic Wolverine variants: civvie clothes Logan is a given, maybe an Astonishing, and please, please, please, let’s get some Team X Logan action in here too. But for now, a big ol’ thanks to Mezco for helping me get hands on this figure!
