Thanks for checking out Dan's ToyBox action figure review for the Hasbro Marvel Legends X-Men '97 Wolverine Action Figure. Many reviewers, me included, have been clamoring for a Wolverine with the flared mask wings and finally, Hasbro gives us one!!! On top of that, we finally get one of the better unmasked head sculpts that we've seen in a while for the old Canucklehead.
Logan... the man, the myth, the Mutant! The diminutive Canadian warrior has a past shrouded in mystery. Born with heightened animalistic senses and an amazing healing factor, Logan is much older than we realize. He fought during World War II alongside Captain America and is revealed that during his time with the Canadian Defense Ministry, he is kidnapped by Department K, to be a "participant" in the Weapon X program. It is here that the adamantium metal is bonded to Logan's bones. In early origin stories, we are led to believe that Weapon X gave him the claws, but later we learn, that he was actually born with the bone claws. This is actually alluded to in the Barry Windsor Smith "Weapon X" story, although in a rather vague way. One of the technicians is concerned about the excess adamantium drain to the hands and wrists, but the Doctor in charge simply dismisses the concerns with the comment..."I have planned for this." Of course, it is revealed in the story, that he didn't know Logan was a Mutant prior to starting the experiments, so could this have been a comment to cover up the knowledge that Wolverine had bone claws, or just to make those involved think creating the claws was part of the plan all along? Regardless, this is still one of the best Wolverine stories I've ever read and if you can find the trade paperback, or, better yet, the original issues of Marvel Comics Presents (#'s 72-84) GRAB THEM!!!
Time to dive into the meat of why you're here. Let's start out by discussing the categories for our review: Accessories, Appearance, Articulation, and Affordability. Each category will receive a score of zero to ten and the figure will receive an overall grade at the end of the review. Let's have some fun with the X-Men '97 Marvel Legends Wolverine!
ACCESSORIES: 8/10
Granted, Wolverine doesn't come with much, but man, oh man, for the for the first time what we get is very good! He comes with two fists, and two clawed fists, one masked and one unmasked head sculpt and the pulled down cowl accessory. What really excites me about these accesssories is that we finally get a masked head with flared "wings", the unmasked head is one of the best facial and hair sculpts we've ever seen and the claws... the claws aren't those spindly, little warped toothpicks we've got so many times before. I still feel that the claws on the X-Force Wolverine are the best we've seen, but these are VERY close. The design is more in line with the animated series look of the character, but most important... they AREN'T WARPED!!! Show of hands... how many of you are fed up with getting Wolverine figures with bent claws? I am pleased, and rightly so, with the fact that Hasbro got these claws right. I'd have been very happy to give him a higher score, but for one sadly omitted accessory option. Where is the snarling, growling, teeth bared look? The unmasked head has a restrained look of anger, which is fitting for Logan, but why is the masked head in a neutral expression? I'd have been happy to have the flared mask, with a "teeth bared", yelling look on his face. Still, though, beggars can't be choosers and we've finally received a more accurate mask on our Wolvie figures. I'm anticipating seeing Wolverine head sculpts become available online with the angry features, for this specific figures. There are some amazing crafters out there who create incredible custom sculpts and you can find them online throughout social media.
APPEARANCE: 6.5/10
This is the standard Wolverine body we've seen for years. Short, stocky, hairy, and muscular. My first problem though is the hair sculpt on the arms. It stops right at the bicep, and while most people don't have hair on the front of their biceps, the entire muscle is completely bare. There really shouldn't be such a definitive line where the hair ends. Additionally, a dry brush to highlight the hair would have been a fantastic way to give it depth. Looking at his arms, straight on, he has the appearance of some sort of skin disease. You have to kind of tilt the figure so that the shadows play out a bit better to give a better illusion. Other Wolverine figures have some hair highlights, and this would have benefitted from a good dry brush. The ports on the back of his gloves on the non-clawed fists could also use a bit more paint. I noticed that the middle claw port was bluer than silver on the left hand. I also noticed, on the masked head sculpt that there is some odd paint splotching on the chin. You can see it in the introductory photo at the top of the review. I also believe that to be more cartoon accurate, a blue wash in the hair would have been tremendous on the unmasked sculpt. I know I'm being a bit nitpicky on that, but if we're trying for cartoon accurate... add the blue highlights. It may also be a trick of the lighting, but the legs look to be just a shade brighter yellow than the torso. Aside from those issues, the rest of the figure is very nicely done, in my opinion. The tiger stripes are clean and well defined. No fuzzy lines, no spray, just clean applications all around. The belt is re-used but at least the X and the square around it are nicely applied. Thankfully, the belt is floating, and doesn't hinder movement. The tread around the bottom of the boots is still sculpted in and the overall aesthetic of the figure really does bring the cartoon version to life. I would have liked better QC on the issues I mentioned above, and I think had that happened, the appearance score would have been much better. This is the Wolverine we have been waiting for and it feels a bit rushed and not quite ready for production.
ARTICULATION: 7/10
Because we've seen this body so many times before, I don't really have much new to say on it. However, I'll go through the basics and then throw in my thoughts after. The heads have great range, up and down, as well as side to side. Even with the cowl piece in place, the unmasked head still moves easily enough. The shoulders have full rotation, and the shoulder pieces move with the arms, which is great. The arms can raise out to his sides, although not to quite a T pose. There is a butterfly joint, which works much better than we've seen lately. Because this is an older buck, I'm thankful that they didn't screw up by putting the longer pins in the shoulders, which limit butterfly range. The biceps swivel works fine, but due to the size of his muscles, you have to move the arms away from his body to get full rotation. The pinless elbows bend in deeply, but again, the bicep muscle limits the full range. The wrists all hinge and turn easily. The upper diaphragm joint has a nice, deep crunch to it and can bend backward relatively well. The waist joint twists without concern, as the floating belt can be moved upward. His legs can reach a nearly full split, which is excellent, and can kick forward to about 90 degrees. The pinless knees also bend in deeply, though not far enough to bring his heel to his back. I was happy to see that his legs seemed to be correctly proportioned, which is nice. Lastly, his ankles easily hinge and rock, giving a greater range of posing dynamics. I'm sure there could be improvements made to the engineering on this figure... we've seen superior articulation mechanics from companies such as Mafex and Revoltech, but for what we've come to expect from Hasbro, there is nothing surprising or overly disappointing here.
AFFORDABILITY: 6/10
The Hasbro Marvel Legends X-Men '97 Wolverine retails for $25.99. I ordered mine from BBTS but have finally seen this wave in my local Walmart. I've mentioned before that it's good that Hasbro seems to have finally found a consistent price point. I still think it's higher than it needs to be, compared to other lines they offer, but at least they aren't trying to hose us with a higher price point for the "retro" styling. Is it worth the price? For me, I'll say yes, only because there is enough good in the figure for me to be happy with this version of Wolverine. This one will move into my primary X-Men display.
Overall, the Hasbro Marvel Legends X-Men '97 Wolverine is a solid addition to any X-Men collection and will fit in nicely on your display. I feel like this is, finally, the most comic accurate look and am glad to have it in my own collection. Wolvie earns a solid:
7 out of 10 ToyBoxes
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