Pulp Arcana Studios: Gotta Love the Classics

Deadpool and Wolverine Wolverine (Brown Suit)

As a comic book loving nerd kid in the 80’s, there was one character that was my absolute favorite. Wolverine. I’ve spoken before about my love for the 80’s Claremont era X-Men, but a huge part of that was my affinity for the man with the claws. That combination of unbridled savagery and the struggle to walk a path of honor was the foundation of some absolutely great story-telling.

It should come as no surprise whatsoever then to learn that I may have more Wolverine figures than I do of any other single character, with the exception of Batman. Though with the acquisition of the WW2 Logan and this one, Wolverine does edge out Bats for the title. Now, I have some really great Wolverine figures, but I did not yet have an MCU style figure. When this brown suit version from Deadpool and Wolverine was announced, I thought I might need to add him to the collection.

I love both of Wolverine’s iconic suit colors. The yellow and black/blue is always great. But maybe because of the majority of my comic-reading years being the late 80s, I have always had a particular fondness for the brown and yellow look. As a color combination, it works way better than you think it should.

The combination of a classic color scheme on a figure from a new movie was too interesting to pass up. So come along with me and let’s take a look together at the Wolverine (Brown Suit) figure from Deadpool and Wolverine, and see if Marvel Legends breathed some new life into a classic look.

A PULP ARCANA FIGURE FIELD REPORT Mission Brief:

Artifact Identified:

Wolverine (Brown Suit)

Marvel Legends Deadpool and Wolverine

Hasbro

OUT OF THE CRATE:

The box design for the Deadpool and Wolverine movie sub-line from Marvel Legends is a nice mix of familiar and new. We get the usual black box that is fairly standard for Marvel Legends, but the movie logo is prominent on the front bottom. The character name is on the side, with a stylized bit of white tape. It is just enough change to catch the eye and set it apart from the other Marvel Legends on the shelf.

The front has a nice view of the figure. I will say that when getting a Wolverine figure, I really appreciate this, as I tend to be very particular about the state of the claws when I get a Wolverine. It is very easy to get bent claws, and while it is not a huge issue, it always bugs me. Being able to check the claws before I bring it to the register is nice.

The figure looks great in the package, and you can see the detail and colors of the costume clearly, as well as the displayed accessories. While the packaging would look just fine on a shelf or a wall, if you are a frequent visitor, you know that as much as I appreciate packaging, I am always excited to get the figure out and get posing. So let’s see what we have in the box.

THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS:

When you get Wolverine in hand, one of the first things you’ll see is that not only are colors crisp, but there is far more detail on the body than you might see initially. The black lining down the yellow sections of the costume, for example, give some great visually interesting patterns. Even better though, the brown areas of the costume have a nice texture to them. It adds just a tiny bit visually, but this little bit goes a long way. Even better, it gives great feeling to the hand as you hold and start to pose the figure. I love this so much.

The facial sculpt is excellent. The shape and design of the mask is perfect, and the exposed chin has not only good sculpting, but nice paint work for the beard stubble. It is little details like this that set the movie figures apart from their comic based counterparts, and I am finding that I really love the extra visual complexity that this gives.

The overall impact of the classic colors on the costume absolutely make this work. While this specific look only appeared briefly in the film (and never with the mask in place), I think it is my favorite film Wolverine look ever. My favorite costume has been updated here in the best possible way.

When it comes to accessories, we find my only nitpick with this figure. You get the clawed hands and they look amazing. There have been a number of different style claws with the Marvel Legends Wolverine figures over the years, but the shape of these is by far my favorite. They have just the right curve and sharp shape to them. You get another set of hands, one gripping and one more open, to give some expressive posing. And finally, you get an additional full neck piece, with the costume open at the throat, and a folded back mask to go behind the neck.

And that’s it.

That is the issue. There is no alternative bare head to go with this figure. No Hugh Jackman face to go with this great neck set up. Now, if you have a bunch of other Wolverine figures with bare faces, you now have a great way to use them. I ended up taking a photo with the extra head from WW2 Logan. It looked fantastic. But, as a stand alone package, not including the bare head when you get the neck pieces for it is a little disappointing.

MOBILITY AND MANEUVERS:

Holy hell.

I had heard from the earliest reviews that this figure could move, but I was not prepared for just how good this thing feels in hand. There is a considerable heft to the figure, as if the plastic used was slightly higher quality than you normally get in a Marvel Legends. This Wolverine feels delightfully solid.

Then you start to move him, and he gets even better. Let’s start at the neck. Maybe it is the combination of the neck on a ball joint and the neck peg that is interchangeable to facilitate a bare head, but the posing you can get from the head of this figure is really fantastic. I’ve started to really value good neck articulation so much in the figures I have, primarily because it conveys so much emotion in photography. I love the movement on this neck joint.

The real stars for me though are the butterfly joints. These joints at the shoulders are significant and give a great expanded range of motion. For a character like this, where you are going to be trying to get dynamic fighting poses, these joints are doing a lot of work.

Pinless joints all around keep the great look of the figure intact, while still allowing great movement at the elbows and knees. In fact, all the joints, like the bicep and thigh cuts, look surprisingly good. More importantly though, they move smoothly. My figure articulated beautifully, with every movement feeling clean and easy.

In my review of the AWOK Atreiu figure, I mentioned the term “hand candy,” and how that figure didn’t quite live up to that term. This Wolverine is pure hand candy. Having this figure on my desk while writing this review led to so many moments of “just one more pose.” And every pose not only looked great, but felt great as well. It reminded me of the Born Again Daredevil I shared with you a few months back. Both this Wolverine and that Daredevil share this fun quality, and are some of the absolute best Marvel Legends I have seen thus far. However, Wolverine has the better articulation of the two. Really fantastic and fun to play with.

RECOVERED EVIDENCE:

FINAL RECKONING:

While the lack of an included unmasked head is a little disappointing, the look and feel of this figure are so good, that it is easy to forget about that. The feel of this figure in hands is genuinely wonderful, and has become one of my favorite Marvel Legends to play with and pose. It looks great, moves even better, and photographs like a champ. This genuinely feels like Marvel Legends is upping their game, and I hope that we see more figures that feel this good. This is the Wolverine you want.