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This might be the best thing to ever come out of Canada.
A super-powered agent of the Canadian government, the Wolverine is a skilled fighter with razor-sharp claws
and a fierce temper.
I'm a total sucker for Wolverine's first costume. Don't know why; it's a ridiculous garment for the character he is today. Imagine the modern Logan - post-Claremont, post-"Weapon X" - being handed this outfit by some government worker and willingly wearing it. It made sense when he was just another new character with no strong, set personality, but knowing who he is and who the comics have said he was then, it's ridiculous. It'd be like seeing Danny Trejo dressed as a French maid. And that's to say nothing of the fact that comics' sliding timeline means eventually Wolverine will have had his first fight with the Hulk sometime after the mid-90s, which will mean that he went into battle wearing his Pikachu cosplay.
As you would expect, this figure uses the Wolverine body Hasbro designed a while back, with the big belt from brown and the shoulders from the Capcom one, so that his costume can have its little shoulder pads. The head is new, with his cute little kitty cat mask, though the beefy face behind it still looks like the later Logans, all rough and angry. Why are you so angry, Logan? Don't you think you look cute with your short ears and dark whiskers?
The colors of the figure are very bright,
like the comicbook printing of the '70s: a lemony yellow, a vibrant Crayola blue, and surprisingly pink skin. He gets the hands with the removable claws, and an extra pair with no holes in the knuckles. The claws and the ports on the gloves are a light gray, not intended to look metallic. The pectoral hinges and the legs below the thigh swivel are a lighter color than the center of the body, and so is the head.
Powered by gamma radiation, the incredible, rage-fueled Hulk smashes his way through any challenge and clobbers any enemy.
Funny, I thought Thing was the one who clobbered.
This figure is one we definitely needed, because (unless you're going to count the Ed McGuinness repaint Hulk or the variant Savage Hulk) the last time we got a classic comic Hulk in the Marvel Legends line was the Face-Off Hulk in 2006!
The sculpt is new (though it was also used for this summer's "Retro Collection" Hulk at SDCC). Hulk is BAF-sized, standing just a bit over 8½" tall and with shoulders that are 4¾" wide. He's massively muscled, because of course he is, and his torn pants have been sculpted with a fabric texture in addition to a few rips by the left knee. Large veins snake their way up his arms, but he's so big that his proportions make it look like he's got fat baby feet.
His head isn't really artist-specific, but it's definitely an old-school Hulk. He's got the shaggy hair parted in the center, the small nose tucked up high beneath the knit brows, and the deep lines on his cheeks that point down toward his gritted teeth. He's even got that sort of tucked-in upper lip and pout Hulk was often drawn with. It's great!
This Hulk gets an accessory the SDCC version didn't: the tattered remains of the shirt Bruce Banner was wearing before hulking out.
It's sculpted, not softgoods, and just rests on his shoulders, but it looks great in place. And if you don't like it? Off it comes! You also get your choice of fists or open hands, and there's plenty of articulation to make him look good with either: ankles, knees, thighs, hips, waist, wrists, elbows, biceps, shoulders, neck, and head. There are even additional pectoral hinges in the shoulders, just like Wolverine has (though Hulk's only move back, not forward, which rather limits their usefulness).
With a great representation of Wolverine's first costume and the best Hulk figure anyone's made in years, this set's a standout.
-- 10/21/19
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