Today, we get a chance to look at a fascinating addition to the ranks of Mezco’s Wolverine figures, in a style and era that the Fwoosh clearly has some love for.
As a Mezco-Con excusive, Ronin Wolverine came really as a surprise to most of us. After 3 Wolverine variants and an Old Man Logan, I don’t know that he was a likely candidate for another release, let alone such a unique and specific one. But it’s now clear that there will be plenty of additional Wolverines in this line, and that is a-okay with me.
Especially with just how unique and visually striking this Logan turned out. While he may use most of the same parts as Old Man Logan (more on that in a bit), the clothing is nothing short of amazing. Logan is wearing tailored hakama and a kimono, and has sculpted tabi socks and geta-style sandals. He also comes with a wired scarf that allows for a lot of options in posing and wearing. The pics don’t do this stuff justice, they are truly fantastic in terms of their fit and quality.
Logan also comes with his daisho- the katana might be the same as the previous Wolverine’s- a second more feral headsculpt, and the usual assortment of hands, two with claws extended.
I did read the Ronin 5 book, though I confess I didn’t pay too close of attention, so the adamantium claws may be appropriate. Even so, I’m maybe just a little bummed we dont have a set of bone claws for our boy yet. The important part for this Logan though is the inclusion of two proper sword-gripping hands.
The katana and wakizashi both store sheathed in his cloth sash, making them easy to adjust or reposition in poses, or wherever you prefer to store them. I like the old 2 o`clock position.
The headsulpt that he comes packaged with is the big star here for me, with a stoic, contemplative expresson and top-knot hair. Of the Wolverine headsculpts we have so far, this one may be my new favorite, just edging out Old Man Logan.
The base body is slightly modified from the previous one. The articulation is unchanged, perhaps even allowed a little better range due to the loose clothing, but Logan now has a new upper body sculpt that reflects his furriness.It’s a sublte change, but a good reminder that even the Mezco variants and exclusives still get those special little touches to make them stand out.
This is an interesting Wolverine figure to review and recommend, because he’s really just a change of costume, and it’s perhaps not a demanded costume at that. But the choice of costume carries a TON of weight if you find yourself at all enamored by that Edo-Feudal period of Japanese history. And maybe it is a little bit of playing “Wolverine dress-up,” but when the dress-up choices are cowboy, superhero and samurai? Fuggedaboudit. Getting this figure makes me really regret letting somebody talk me out of my Articulated Icons base pieces.
That may categorize this figure in that “more than the sum of his parts” category, and that does fit. He’s a mix of good existing parts with just the right amount of “new” to make it worthwhile. In the non-Mezco world, we usually call those types of figures re-tools or re-decos, but in this case where the “deco” is a whold new set of figure-specific clothing, that makes Ronin Wolverine more a figure in his own right than just a variant exclusive. Especially once you add in the new heads, footwear and at least one new sword.
So with that being said, recommended, recommended, recommended. For no reason other than just how good he came together, this is my favorite of the exclusives this fall.
