Remember when people didn't expect Hasbro to make Marvel Legends figures of Deadpool and the characters associated with him because of the Disney-Fox relationship not allowing Hasbro to make merchandise directly associated with the Deadpool movie (and by extension, every Fox X-Men post-Days of Future Past)? While Legends figures were around whenever a movie was released (and whenever Hasbro decides to add mutants in their kids lines), there have never been figures that were directly part of the Fox X-Men movies until now. Back then, there was no problem with Toy Biz doing these figures as well as Hasbro in the early days of owning the Marvel license, but it wasn't until the merger that fans can now have not just regulars like Wolverine and Magneto but also Deadpool and Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Yep, two characters from an R-rated movie (along with Cable and Domino) are now in a collector's line that's generally accessible in stores. Of course, I got my set off of Amazon, and I haven't seen any Fox X-Men figures outside from the single releases in stores, but now it's time to see if what we got is worth owning!
Here we have Deadpool in-hand, and he's extremely accurate to how he appeared in the movie. The sculpting matches the leather or spandex of his suit, what with the creases, colors, knee guards, and buckles added on the figure. Deadpool also has all of the paint apps you'd want him to have, with the black in some areas of the figure and pouches to accompany it. There are also holsters and a back sheath for the katanas, which are undoubtedly a signature part of Deadpool. The belt has the Deadpool logo applied, but it could use a little more red paint in the middle. I think one would nitpick that some black paint is missing around the ankles, but everything that is needed for this guy is accurate to the figure.
The head sculpt is perfect for the character, from the texturing of the mask to the black eye border and the white eyes. I would love to see more alternate eye expressions since he was able to change the emotions of his eyes in the movie as he has done in modern media and comics, but it feels right. Articulation for Deadpool is as good as one would expect, with two ball-joints at the head and the neck, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, double-jointed elbows, and wrists that swivel as well as hinge in and out. There are butterfly joints, an ab-crunch, and a waist swivel. Hips move front and back, in and out, thigh swivels, double-jointed knees, and ankles that hinge up and down as well as rock side to side.
The accessories he comes with are innumerable in quantity! We've got twin pistols, a knife, twin katana swords, a pair of jazz hands, a pair of slightly-open fists, a pair of trigger finger hands, and a plush unicorn...for some reason, only the weapon-holding hands are given silver paint while the other hands aren't. Why? Might be to help distinguish them, but it's kinda weird.
The display options are always nice, so you can have Deadpool holding his plush and willing to stab anyone that goes near it, two guns that he can hold...and not go anywhere since the figure has guns holstered in already and are also non-removable (I don't get it either)...and twin katana swords that are just itching to be held in his hands! So he's an already amazing figure and one that I recommend you guys get solely for how well-made he is as well as being the perfect translation from screen to plastic when it comes to the movie Marvel Legends. Compared to TASM2 Spider-Man, the other X-Men guys, and the innumerable MCU dudes and dudettes, Deadpool and Venom feel perfect overall.
And here is the only reuse of Deadpool so-far, which is the Dusty version sold on Amazon and only comes as he appeared near the end of Deadpool 2. He's got the same accessories that the original figure had, though the unicorn plush is replaced with more silver paint on some of the hands. Things like the guns still blocking the holster access kind of ruins the effect, and I kind of wish he'd have an alternate Wade Wilson head that captures his ugly yet cool face from getting involved with the superpower program.
And next up, we have Negasonic Teenage Warhead...who doesn't quite have the same sort of polish that Deadpool has. Now, I'm not the most well-versed with Marvel Legends figures compared to someone like ShartimusPrime and Glenn Webb, the latter being one of the smartest collectors until his unfortunate passing, but I remember his review mentioning on an SDCC Ant-Man set that used included Giant-Man, with the figure being a reuse of the Marvel Legends Icons Cyclops mold; that reuse means that the sculpted details used for Cyclops betray the new details added on Giant-Man, and there's even no proper synergy between it and the Marvel Legends Giant Man figure that was a reuse of the Bucky Cap mold. That's the same feeling I am getting with the way NSTW is stacked up next to Deadpool. Her arms, torso, and belt are the only new parts of the figure while the rest of the figure has the same female Legends figure tooling found with plenty of female figures since 2014-ish. Part of me wonders if because the suit is simple in terms of appearance, then there wouldn't be a requirement to go for a new mold overall, yet the thing is that the sculpting doesn't blend together as well. And while I haven't seen Deadpool 2 since 2018, I don't think her proportions were quite as curvy in the film as with the comic art, nor do I think her butt cheeks are that big. I know, it's a weird thing to say, but it's just something that fits better for the comics than the live-action actresses because I don't think they'd all have the exact same proportions with a few exceptions.
The head sculpt does look like Brianna Hildebrand, yet does have somewhat of a weaker actor likeness than what Domino and Cable have. It's got the right amount of paint app detailing to make it look like the actual actress. I do commend the hair and the earring as well as her sullen personality fitting for a goth teenager, but those are about the praises I can give aside from the paint apps making the face look decent but not spot-on to the actress 100%. The articulation is mostly the same with Deadpool, but she has a more traditional neck hinge and a ball joint at the head, swivels at the elbows and single-joints, and a diaphragm joint only. Oh, and she comes with alternate hands and effect pieces that are based on her telepathic powers.
And here we have the Deadpool characters together...though I'd like to at least have Colossus and maybe Yukio to make the cast feel a little more complete (if you exclude Ajax, Russel, and Juggernaut). Overall, this set is pretty much focused on Deadpool, who gets the lion's share of the budget when it comes to the scultping, accessories, and overall quantity. He's one of the best translations from screen to plastic, while Negasonic Teenage Warhead is a well-intentioned figure with a smaller budget yet lacks some of the fulfilling tooling that makes her feel less like she's a custom action figure. Had she gotten the same commitment of being a wholly new sculpt like Deadpool, then that'd be a great way to help her feel more complete, but she's kind of there to stop scalpers from wanting to boost the aftermarket prices of this guy. And honestly, I'm just happy to own at least Deadpool since the comic-style Deadpools don't quite hit the mark for the quintessential perfection I seek, and some that do are hard to find. This movie Deadpool, apart from a few weird things like the missing paint on some hands and the guns in the holsters, gets everything right from the start. And the fact that Hasbro made an action figure of an R-rated movie in a toyline that's generally meant for older older ages is surprising! Sure isn't the same as the heavy amount of R-rated toys in the 90s, but it's a neat aspect of this set of X-Men/Deadpool movie figures.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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