Here we have Wolverine in-hand, and he is an entirely new sculpt from the ground up. No parts have been reused from any prior version of the character, especially in order to better capture his physique in the Capcom games. See, while the average person probably wouldn't see this at first glance, the artstyle for the MvC iterations of Marvel superheroes aren't exactly 1:1 with the artstyle used in the comics at the time, and the same goes for the animated series. It's also part of why Wolverine has some exaggerations for the costume details, such as the ear fins and the tips of his boots. That being said, I appreciate that the figure isn't as cheap-feeling as the Secret Wars version or the DP&W costume Hugh Jackman version. The yellow plastic is denser, the paint apps are generally opaque,and the proportions don't have any oddities that plagues other Legends figures. Some will complain about the shoulders being a bit lower but the rest of the arms, at least the shoulder pads and wider physique hide that. I will complain about the single jointed elbows as well as the gap in the back of the head where the neck is. I also don't like the knees, but the arm hair is at least good.
His head sculpt is unmistakeably Wolverine, and while it's not the first time we see him snarling or with ear fins this big, it still captures the character's rate without being poorly made or missing any major details. Even the gums of the lips look natural without resembling lipstick like on the Task Force JLA figures McFarlane made. Wolverine's articulation consists of a ball and disk hinge, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, butterfly joints, bicep rotation, swivel rotation at the single jointed elbows, wrist rotation and inward hinges, a diaphragm joint a waist swivel, ball jointed hips, thigh swivels, double jointed knees, and ankles pivots. His claw hands are longer than normal, but they match the game artstyle. I do wish they could be painted silver.
His signature effect part comes in the form of the claw slashes that tab together and attach onto a flight stand. You can use both, but one stand can help keep it up without issue.
For a size comparison, here we have him alongside the Love Triangle and X-Men 97 versions of the character. I think this figure could not only be Hasbro's best Wolverine, but also the best comic version you could get from any other company. The proportions, articulation, and overall stylization makes him feel closer to what Wolverine should be unlike most versions we got before. He may be slightly taller than what we previously got, but are you really going to complain about that on a $60 with a Wolverine built from the ground up? Who needs a Maximum version when this does it for me?
As for Silver Samurai, this figure is a retool of the retro card version of the character to a more classic design, but here's where the problem arises! Firstly, he's not so much silver but is molded grey gunmetal grey, which only barely works with the silver motif he's supposed to have. I also don't think he's that accurate to the MvC source material. It's be one thing if this was meant to be like the comics, but the shoulder pads are supposed to be much higher up than they currently are, and the upper arms should be much bulkier. So while Hasbro did do enough to retool him from the retro card version, I doubt they did enough to match how he was supposed to appear in the game series proper. The red "Rising Sun" on the chest is applied properly, not there's so little paint on him it's embarrassing. Again, what's there is decent, and at least him having pins on the limbs is at least excusable if both the arms and legs have them, but don't come up to me and call this MvC Silver Samurai.
His head sculpt has me conflicted because on one hand, the snarling expression isn't as bad as others are making it out to be, yet on the other hand, the helmet has this marbleized and glossy finish that makes him look cheaper than the rest of his body. If the whole thing was painted silver like the Silver Surfer we got a few years back that Hasbro later reissued, or the 2021 Ursa Major wave Ultron, that would be at least appreciative. His articulation. Is almost similar to Wolverine's, though he has double jointed elbows and boot rotation.
Other than his decently detailed katana, he comes with an effect part that goes over it. Messing around with it makes me wish Hasbro revived the Lightning Collection because I can't stand seeing just MMPR and no recognition for other seasons made since then. SilSam also comes with his own effect part, this time representing his chest emblem. It should be worth mentioning that Japan renamed those likely out of desire to distance themselves from their war mongering past.
Overall, this 2-pack gives us the definitive Wolverine representing his 90s design with MvC flourish and better proportions than what we previously got. I will say that Wolverine has definitely gotten a ton of love, probably even moreso than some Spider-Man figures. Is this going to be superseded by a Maximum version? I believe so since I'd rather stick with this than something that's going to have issues and have either reused or new accessories. For all the issues I have with Silver Samurai, he is halfway decent and could be even better with some tweaks.
That being said, his shoulder pads come off easily, so customizers, get to work. While we shouldn't have to make our toys more accurate for a corporation like Hasbro, at least there can be some creativity done by anyone known for modding toys in the past.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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