Earlier this year, Hasbro gave 6” figure collectors their very first dose of a modern X-23 Marvel Legends figure in the Deadpool Sasquatch Series with X-Force X-23. I was taken off-guard by how much I liked that figure, primarily because of its awesome head sculpt. But a few months later, Hasbro hit Laura Kinney fans up again with the version of the character everyone had been waiting for: the Marvel Legends X-23 Wolverine figure! Though she’s hard to find in some areas, you can get ML X-23 Wolverine online for MSRP without a fuss—should you?
When Toybiz made the first X-23 Legends figure a decade ago, loads of fans cried foul and said that the newbie character wasn’t qualified yet to be a “legend”. Well, what a difference a decade makes! Several solo series and a major movie appearance in “Logan” later, fans have been crying out for new toy versions of Laura Kinney—and in 2018, Hasbro delivered!
The ML X-23 X-Force variant that hit in the spring was a strong figure that won me over despite my own preferences, whereas this version let me down just a bit despite my bias toward it…
While this Wolverine Laura Kinney figure shares much of the same tooling with the X-Force version, there are some major differences between the two. The boots, heads, feet and paint apps the two versions have are totally different.
While my favorite thing about Marvel Legends X-Force X-23 was her personality-rich, vicious head sculpt, this Wolverine iteration’s head is rather, well… bland. The closed mouth that Hasbro gave her looks serious and perhaps slightly perturbed, rather than angry and ready to strike. It just feels boring.
Perhaps to compensate for the dull masked head, we also get an Unmasked Laura X-23 portrait. Unfortunately, I don’t like this head much at all. She looks too old to me, and the hair in front of her left eye makes me see Madame Hydra/Viper when I look at her and not Laura Kinney. Always appreciate an extra head, but this one doesn’t resonate with me.
One new aspect of the figure that was much needed and is a winner, however, is the new feet with removable claws. I was pretty miffed we didn’t get foot claws on the X-Force version, so getting them here feels like a victory. The foot claws are a bit too loose on mine, though, so I think I’m going to glue them in—I almost lost them forever to falling out several times while I was taking photos.
She has pointed-cuff boots now instead of the five-buckled ones the X-Force edition had, which is less exciting visually, but also comic-accurate. Thumbs up.
Her belt has also been changed to a new and more accurate one for this costume, though it still wobbles like crazy (and hence drives me crazy).
One major area where this ML figure falls short is the paint quality control. Simply put, the paint on this figure is not at the level we’re accustomed to from Hasbro Marvel Legends. Mine has a big silver splotch in the middle of the belt, random blue lines scribbled on the yellow of her back, yellow and blue paint lines that are uneven all over the place… the paint deco QC just isn’t as good as we’re used to.
Coupled with blue plastic with yellow paint being used for the legs where the yellow pint is clearly darker than the yellow on the upper body, and Wolverine X-23 looks a mite, well… messy.
Looking over my notes, it probably sounds like I hate this figure, but that’s not really the case. While there a bunch of minor issues that mitigate my joy for this X-23 Wolverine Marvel Legends figure, I’m still glad to have it.
I like this costume a lot, and owning a super-articulated 6” figure of it is definitely worthwhile, even if it has its share of issues. I like the costume design, I dig the wind-swept hair on the masked head, and the foot-claws are a critical innovation.
In addition, she comes with a huge Sauron Build-A-Figure wing, making her necessary to build what’s easily my favorite BAF of 2018, so that’s a plus as well.
Overall: Although I was far more hyped for and invested in this Wolverine X-23 figure than I was the X-Force version that preceded it by a few months, I’m surprised to say I don’t like this iteration quite as much. The more stoic, emotionless portraits for Laura don’t resonate with me as well, the claws seem a lot looser, and the paint deco isn’t as clean.
Even so, I think this is a nice-looking action figure representing one of the more important eras of X-23’s existence. The foot claws are a wonderful addition (even if they are a bit loose), I appreciate the unmasked head (even if it is a bit emotionless), and the sculpt and articulation are still very solid (even if imperfect in some regards). This is the best figure we’re likely to get of this character in this costume, and I’m glad it’s a “good” (even if not “great”) one.
GRADE: B-/C+
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