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By Hervé St-Louis
July 23, 2004 - 16:54
The Marvel Select Ultimate X-Men Wolverine action figure captures the moment where the mutant betrayed Magneto so he could join Charles Xavier's X-Men quest for the peaceful cohabitation with humans. Although a very beautiful figure, some serious posing restrictions make the figure no more useful than a PVC figure or a statue, even for a Marvel Select figure.
Likeness
Based on the Ultimate version of Wolverine, the figure has a pinch and sports the early uniform of this alternate universe. However, unlike the comic book, there are no black shoulder pads on the figure. Wolverine's haircut is more similar to that of the regular Marvel Universe character than the Ultimate version. In the Ultimate Universe, Wolverine's hair is not as spiked.
Sculpt
Wolverine's sculpt is excellent. It's probably one of the best available in any Wolverine action figure. The face borrowed a little bit from Hugh Jackman though. The canine teeth aren't animal-like unlike the comic book character. As Wolverine grits his teeth, seeing that would have been fun. Wolverine's back is hunched, but it doesn't diminish the sculpt's quality.
Paint
The paint job is good, like most Marvel Select action figures. There is shading on Wolverine's skin. Instead of being sculpted, they have painted the hair growth on his jaw. The brown paint on his shirt is not thick enough to cover the base colour of the plastic. There are so subdued grey highlights on his leotards. Of course, Wolverine's hair has highlights but instead of being the traditional black, it is brown.
Scale
Because it's a crouching figure, the Ultimate Wolverine will fit with most Marvel Legends and all Marvel Select action figures. He seems a little larger than a Marvel Legends figure, but he will do just fine. Of course he fits perfectly with the Magneto PVC figure that comes with the set.
Stability
Stability is a major issue with this figure. Toy Biz did not design the figure to be self standing. One can move around its legs and feet, but the center of balance is off. Putting the figure on the stand that comes with the Magneto figure is not a quick solution. The pegs, positions are not strategic. Even if one manages to tie both of Wolverine's feet on the pegs, he will look awkward. This is the main design flaw of this set.
Articulation
The figure's articulations are tricky and often useless. There are 20. Marvel Select experimented with new articulations but it doesn't always work. There's double articulations at the thighs, but they don't help the figure's posing nor its stability. The double ankle joints are more useful, but not much. Other than that, the head is ball-jointed and there are articulations at the shoulders, biceps, waist, forearms, wrists and calves.
Plastic
Toy Biz has mixed two types of plastic. The torso is in hollow brittle plastic, while other parts, such as the head, the arms and the legs are in soft PVC. There is a problem with Toy Biz's control quality. There's damage in much of the PVC area, as if the plastic had contained air bubbles that exploded. One expects better from such an expensive action figure.
Diorama
While putting the Wolverine figure on the base with the Magneto insert is a close approximation of the comic book scene in the Ultimate X-Men comic book, it's not exactly similar. It's impossible to make Magneto look directly at Wolverine, though his head is articulated.
Props
There are no props in this set, but the Magneto PVC insert is cool enough. He's on the ground after Wolverine has slashed his guts, as in the comic book. His face looks too stoic for someone who's almost was gutted. Even the posing of his left hand on the ground make the whole scene look more theatrical than real. The helmet is glued on his head. His head has a ball joint articulation.
Packaging
The figure's packaging is the usual big Marvel Select Blister pack with artwork inspired from the comic books.
Cost
This figure has the same retail price than other Marvel Select action figures. It is more than double the price of a Marvel Legends action figure. Although distributed exclusively by Diamond Comics, its price is not the same everywhere. Buyers beware.
Availability
This figure is exclusive to Diamond Select. It was very popular when released. However the limited articulation may limit this set's appeal. Since there are so many Wolverine action figures available already, this one is not essential have. Of course a better Magneto action figure was released earlier by Marvel Legends. For the time being, don't expect shortages.
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