Action Figure Review: Wolverine from Marvel Legends Retro Series by Hasbro

 

   Back when I was in third grade we had an assignment shortly before Christmas where we had to draw what we hoped to find in our stocking. While plenty of kids drew goofy, oversized stuff that wouldn't fit in a stocking, there was another kid who drew an orange. I know that's traditional and all but it just boggled my mind that this kid would ask for an orange. What did I draw? The Toy Biz Wolverine figure. I kind of drew an amalgam of Wolverine v2 and Wolverine v3, though with a removable mask. While I would eventually have plenty of Wolverine figures, I'm pretty sure I didn't have one yet, so I was probably adding in bits of the original brown costume Toy Biz Wolverine as well. Wolverine isn't on my Christmas list this year but I did find this guy not too long ago at a bin store near my house. He was only $4 bucks and for that price I snapped him up. The only other figure from the 3 3/4ths inch Marvel Legends Retro Series I have is the Sentinel, which I bought to go with my 6 inch X-Men collection. This smaller scaled line can be found on clearance at most places now and it seems like Hasbro is done with it. ready to look at the Tiger Stripe version of Wolverine? Then join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 3 1/2 inches

Articulation: Swivel hips, Swivel shoulders, swivel forearms, and a swivel head.

Accessories: None

Non-Scalper Price: $12

Little Known Facts: "Snikt!" was his second choice for a sound effect after "Schreengk!" failed to land with the test audience.  

The Positives:

* I know Hasbro also released a brown costume Wolverine and I assume this guy is just a repaint of that figure. Still, he looks pretty good and has some unique sculpted elements like shoulder pads and a darn cool belt. He's also shorter than your average 1/18th scaled figure (he's 3 1/2 inches instead of the standard 3 3/4ths-4 inches). The paintwork is bright and colorful with neatly applied tiger stripes on the front and back of the figure. 

* Wolverine has a good portrait with a cool little snarl on his face. Interestingly, Hasbro didn't really go very "retro" with this series. They don't look or feel like what you'd get if Kenner had made Marvel figures. They seem more modern, though with just an older style of articulation. It makes me wonder if these would have done better if Hasbro had made them more like the Mego Pocket Heroes, Kenner's Super Powers, Mattel's Secret Wars, or even Toy Biz's early 1990s offerings. 

* Wolverine's claws look nice. They're pointy enough to look dangerous but not thin and brittle. 

* Wolverine's flared boots are very, very cool. I love the design and the colors.

* Besides having the standard 5 points of articulation, Wolverine also has swivel forearms. That actually does give him the ability to take some better poses and just makes him a bit more fun. I have a friend with an older toddler and a preschooler and they apparently really liked these. They are durable and kind of fun. 

   I've seen many of these Marvel Legends Retro Series figures on sale and clearance over the last year or so but Wolverine is the first figure I snapped up just because he was really cheap at a bin store, I'm a huge Wolverine fan, and I have a lot of nostalgia for the Toy Biz Wolverine v2 figure. He is a neat little figure who gets a Great from me. Since Hasbro didn't really go for a full retro style and design with this line, it would have been nice to have some extra joints like a balljointed head. That and some accessories with each figure might have made this line more appealing. It's tough to figure out who the target audience was supposed to be.

Interested in more of Wolverine, AKA Logan, AKA James Howlett, AKA Patch? Then check out my reviews of the Marvel Legends Retro Collection Wolverine (Strike Force) and the Juggernaut BAF Series Wolverine.

For more Marvel Legends Retro Series reviews check out the following:
Sentinel