Today, let’s take a look at the third of Mezco’s Wolverine figures, and maybe the best looking of the bunch.
One thing you have to give Diamond and Previews some major credit for is their choices for costume variants. In particular, Deadpool and Wolverine got figures in their “stealth” X-Force suits, making for distinctive figures in their own right, but the real incentive here is how sharp they look together.
Wolverine shares most of his plastic parts with the “Standard” variant, which includes the base body and heads. For this review, I will mostly focus on the costume, and how that interacts with those existing parts, rather than going over the basics. So, if you haven’t yet, check out my other two Wolverine review (here) if you need more specifics.
So back to the X-force thing. This Wolverine is a pretty straight-up rendition of the suit worn in Chris Yost’s run on the title back in … 2009. Yeah, I had to check that twice. The suit is, for the most part, a panel variation on his “Astonishing” look, which incidentally would make a great variation on this figure.
To get this look, Wolverine has an entirely new uniform, and new boots, with a more appropriate streamlined look. It sounds somewhat stupid, since the costume is why we’re here, but this new suit is really a standout. The mixed media use here, with what feels like three different material types, gives this figure a really unique look that has a surprising amount of function to it. The leather black sections feel like a little different material than the same parts on, say, Deadpool, but look very similar. On Wolverine, these parts seem to work more fluidly, with less bunching than before, and the added touches like the zipper seam on the front turned out really well. The gray sections are actually the same type of nylon/poly bodysuit most other figures have, but there are vinyl panels set on top, that give it an interesting texture without really changing the function. It’s similar to the yellow panels under his arms on the “Standard” figure.
The lower parts of the suit are interesting in that they don’t really limit the posing, but your brain will try and convince you that it should. The material does have a lot of elasticity to it, and it’s strong enough to pull the future’s legs back to neutral if it’s not a “supported” pose. But that also means the suit shows no visible stretching after that posing.
The accessories are essentially samesies with the regular, but there is one nice little upgrade: you get a second grip hand here. This is obviously great for the sword and sheath.
Since everything else is the same other than deco, I feel like this Wolverine would have really benefited from an unmasked head. I think a more stoic expression to counter the zealous grin of the Mez Ex would have been awesome, because like that one, it could be applied across all three figures whenever you wanted.
And a more serious head would have pushed this guy a little more into “Team X” territory, with the right gear.
So this variant really comes down to a deco preference, which isn’t really a bad thing. If the X-Force look isn’t really you’re thing, nothing here is really going to hurt missing, especially without something like an extra head sculpt. But if you have Deadpool, there’s no doubt the two look excellent together. I know Cable proceeds and succeeds this particular team era, but the Marvel Now! Look he had without the eye patch would look badass with these two. While it’s pretty unlikely we would ever finish a specific X-team in Mezco, this black and silver stealth thing has shown up enough times it might make a great way to the some of these guys together.
