Marvel Legends DP&W Brown Suit Wolverine & Stan Lee review

Not much correlation can be said between Wolverine and Stan Lee beyond their involvement with the X-Men and Marvel as a whole. Stan Lee once said he wished he got to create James Howlett, while other sources claimed he would have dipped the dude in liquid adamantium. We already know about Wolverine by now, and that goes doubly so for the Hugh Jackman version; the same can be said for Stan Lee, given everyone who's even given a glimpse into the Marvel Universe would be aware of the legend himself. Why are both figures brought together instead of here? Because I want to get closer to the 1,000 milestone as soon as possible, and while I don't want to rush reviews out faster than Disney and WB churn out capeshit flicks, I don't want to wait for a specific Legends figure to be paired up with either character. Let's see how these two generally different figures turned out either way.

Let's go over Logan first, because while I have covered a few DP&W figures, there is no plan to cover the second wave beyond maybe X-23 Blade after this point. That said, this Wolverine is way better than the yellow suit version; for starters, the proportions are much closer to Hugh Jackman's than the previous version ever could. The hips don't slightly stick out while the upper body is at least more ripped than the cosplay ass torso of the other suit. In addition, the shoulders are not undersized compared to the rest of him, and the plastic used is not see-through like the yellow suit was. It's not 100% perfect, given the yellow seen here could be better (and don't get me started on those knees looking bad compared to how they look on-screen), but this is the way we should make figures for the line, let alone versions of Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. The suit's textures are that of the usual MCUfication, though executed even better here than before; maybe it's because this one at least fits Hugh Jackman's Wolverine more than the yellow suit, at least in terms of not being flashy like the suits he wore in the Fox movies; it may even loosely resemble the suit that they teased in The Wolverine, which I don't mind given this works better in live action whereas I prefer the Tiger Stripe costume in the comics and any similar media. Even the lines don't stick out too much because at least the costume is not a case where they have to make it realistic or overly tactile. I do wonder how the suit would look without some of the lines...

Head sculpt is slightly better than the one we got with the yellow suit version, though we still have that fuzzy basketball texture on the yellow area that looks a bit distracting. The articulation consists of a double-ball neck, shoulder rotation, outward arm movement, rotary joints rather than butterfly joints a la McFarlane, bicep rotation, double-jointed elbows, wrist rotation, inward wrist hinges, a diaphragm joint, a waist swivel, ball-jointed hips, thigh rotation, double-jointed knees, and ankles that hinge as well as pivot.

The figure comes with alternate hands with claws retracted: a right fist and a left trigger finger hand. No idea what they couldn't make pairs of both, or replace the trigger fingers with relaxed hands. We also get an alternate neck piece with his bare skin exposed as well as a cowl piece folded away. You might be telling me "hey Quantum Surge, you forgot to put the unmasked head on!", but what if I told you Hasbro cheapened out and NOT GIVE US THE FUCKING HEAD SCULPT! We already have two figures from the DP&W waves with Hugh's unmasked head from the 2020s; what's stopping them from wanting to reuse it again??? Furthermore, since when did this version of Wolverine put his mask on during the montage? Did Hasbro look at that one fan edit where the mask was added in and thought, "phew, that can save us some likeness rights trouble"??? And it sucks too because the Brown Suit version of Wolverine otherwise shits all over the awful yellow suit version, both in terms of articulation and overall proportions. Do Hasbro designers have specific costume preferences and make one worse than the other, knowing their consumer fanbase will eat it up regardless?

Overall, Brown Suit Wolverine is one you should stick with at all times if you want to get a version of the dude in a superhero suit; the lack of an alternate head sucks, especially given how easy it could be to reuse the already existing Logan head and add it here. It's one of those things I'm starting to hate with Hasbro including or excluding specific accessories for figures not everyone may have; we saw this with the Lightning Collection Cogs coming with Zeo Blue's Tonfas 2 years after that figure came out, or Studio Series Optimus Primal coming with the axe meant for ROTB Optimus Prime despite, at the time, being a Target exclusive before it was sold at mass retail less than 2 years later. Here, we have this and the retooled yellow suit Wolverine coming with alternate necks and folded-up cowls but no alternate heads, and they expect people to have a Logan head despite the first version having been impossible to get at most stores in 2024? Even this wave is repeating a similar issue where the Cassandra Nova figure comes with an accessory where she can phase her head through Mr Paradox, but there's no figure for that "quirky English accent guy" in sight (unless you just use the body of a generic suit). Then again, that figure would probably warm pegs longer than this Wolverine could. Again, not perfect, but more deserving of your shelf space than most figures from the movie.

As for Stan Lee, we've seen similar versions of this suited body for so long, and we know about the articulation he comes with, but I want to give some special attention to the likeness: I think this is their best real-world accurate head sculpt of all time; Stan Lee has a very specific look that's hard to mess up compared to the usual actors we've seen in the past and present, and I'd argue their face scan technology did one of Marvel's creators proper respect. I like the elderly smile under his mustache, the rose-tinted glasses, his receding yet still recognizable hairdo; it's almost like I could hear him come to life and talk about the history of the Marvel lore he created or helped create. His accessories mostly consist of a reused MCU Captain America shield with his signature stamped on it and a briefcase that rests in his arms. I wish he had a few more character-specific accessories to fit on this buck as nods to his Marvel resume; some Iron Man or Hulk hands would be great, Mjolnir should fit in his hand without issue (unless you want to display him drunk and failing to lift Thor's hammer), or why not have some Thing feet to slip over his shoes to add some Fantastic Four nods if you want to do more than just Avengers stuff. Also, did you know this figure was intended to be a Build-a-Figure for a pair of MCU 2-packs? One featured Ross and Killmonger, the other Falcon & Winter Soldier (not the show); my only guess as to why the figure was scrapped as a BAF before we got a normal release stems from either any sexual allegations against him or the elder abuse he unfortunately experienced in his last few months alive. Perhaps it was only months after his death that Hasbro felt comfortable releasing the figure on its own to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Marvel as a company.

Here he is with Renew Your Vows Spider-Man, who is inaccurately taller than his creator depending on the version of the character we're talking about. These two tend to be paired up when it comes to showcasing how important Stan Lee's history with Marvel is, especially when they "met" in the 90s Animated series. Also, if you remember SDCC 2007, we had a special version of the webhead who can turn into Stan Lee by putting his clothes over the suit and swapping either the masked head or Peter Parker's with his very own. I tried something similar by swapping the head on the RYV figure, and while it isn't a perfect fit and sits too high, it at least lets me recreate the Civil War scene where Spider-Man steals Captain America's shield. Hate that movie, mixed on the Underoos nickname, love that scene. Honestly, I'm surprised Stan Lee's figure isn't as expensive as I anticipated, and I can only assume it's due to the figure not being that new as a BAF or just how readily available it was when it first came out. Given most listings on eBay range between $20-40, you shouldn't have a problem picking him up. Honestly, it's kind of weird to own action figures of real people rather than live-action actors playing a fictional character; I know we joke about kids begging their parents to buy them a Jack Black action figure for that Minecraft movie because it's a middle-aged fatso, but owning figures of comic creators like Stan or Todd has a different vibe from just getting figures of their creations. Maybe it's because of the context going on; you know there's a line between getting the Jack Black figure for how ridiculous it looks versus getting figures of Todd and Stan because of their legacy for comic book fans. Either way, rest in peace, Stan Lee. It's about to be a whole decade since you left us to reunite with your wife in the heavens above...excelsior...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Titans Return Windblade review

Can you believe it's been  a decade since Titans Return happened??? You bet Oprah Winfrey went all out and said "You're a Headmaster, and you're a Headmaster! You're now all Headmasters!" while making that a line wide gimmick from Deluxes to Leaders. Even the Legends had some compatibility as vehicles for them to ride if they already had no other vehicles in their dedicated size class. I don't know if I prefer that over making everyone a Combiner, but at least the retooling was much more effective this way, and we can see that with Windblade. Remember when she used to be marketed heavily in any new media between 2014 to 2020? Then Elita-1 returned just to mostly have beef with Optimus for different reasons depending on what media you're watching. Anyways, the mold Windblade uses for this line originally began as Scourge (who I never got) but was later heavily retooled as Highbrow (who I reviewed 5 years ago). Now I shall see how well she holds up as someone who never got the Thrilling 30 version.

Here we have Windblade in her jet mode. This is a different take from the design we usually see in the IDW comics, with more red and back swept wings reminiscent of Animated Starscream. While she has similar design traits with the VTOL fans as well as the legs on the back, this is generally deviated from the norm given it is also reusing a mold with altmodes mostly fit for male bot designs. The sleeker jet mode for a gal like Windblade is at least consistent with her.

Her cockpit holds the Titan Master known as Scorchfire, who only had the face painted and can also sit in the combined sword set up like some kind of sleigh. 

Both swords tab underneath the wings so you can have her joust at the risk of her wings breaking off. At least the fans can face any direction but they could really use some silver paint. 

For an altmode comparison, here she is with her Cyberverse version, which is slightly closer to the design her altmode usually has in fiction. Specifically it is the Legacy United version. I have no preference for either altmode design, but I like the silver paint for the fans on the more recent toy.

Transformation is very basic, as you have the forearms face forward, straighten the legs with a whole 180, hinge the front section all the way on the back, and shift the spine all the way up. Of course, the transformation ends with the Titan Master gimmick one should expect for the whole line. I love that feature, no doubt thanks to the optional head swapping between different figures and other versions of a specific character (like Voyager Optimus Prime and Legends Ginrai's heads or using the Titans Return Apeface head instead of the Siege version), and it's nice to see it continue even as recent as AOTP Horri-Bull. I don't remember how involved the original Windblade's transformation was, but if the fanbase complained about the engineering then, maybe this might be an overcorrection? At the very least, the robot mode looks good, if thiccer in the right spots according to longtime friend Ernie. I don't mind that since she at least is still feminine in her build in spite of reusing the Scourge/Highbrow engineering. In addition, she doesn't suffer from stability issues thanks to he added bulk in her legs and competent heel spurs. Not even the backpack leans her to the point of toppling over, though she is still hollow in some areas. 

Head sculpt is decent for a Titan Master take on her design, and despite having a robot folded on the back, at least we keep the Japanese influence intact for the most part. Her fan won't come off her head for obvious reasons. Articulation consists of a ball joint for the head and shoulders, bicep rotation, hinged elbows, universal hips, thigh swivels, and hinged knees. Instead of the single purple sword usually associated with her, we can now use the same swords showcased earlier as intended. They can also tab into the thighs for storage.

The Takara Legends version is slightly nicer than the Hasbro version, mostly due to them adding some extra paint apps that the Hasbro version sorely needs. The Titan Master has less black visible, but more importantly, she comes with Targetmaster Pinpointer, who comes with her since we didn't have a new version of G1 Crosshairs until Siege came out. Also, her swords are replaced with a more traditional one similar to the Thrilling 30 version.

For another Windblade comparison, here she is with the Flame Toys and Legacy United versions. I don't have that many versions of her, but it is funny that the Flame Toys version was the first one I got, and we know how that pissed so many people off on Twitter (you know who I'm referring to), and it wasn't until a decade after her debut that I got a transforming version of her to begin with. As for the Titans Return version, she is way better than I thought she'd be. Some of the initial photos always turned me off with how unnecessarily bloated she came across, but then hearing more positive things about her stability and being a heavy retool that almost makes her feel like a new toy won me over. Now I own her and am generally happy with her, though I heard she is pricey in the aftermarket. If you can get her for less than $60, dewit.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

McFarlane Collector Edition Hellboy review

Discovered as an infant near the end of World War II, Hellboy was adopted in New Mexico and would later be part of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, an organization aimed to go after occult occurrences and any similar threats to society. He would team up with the likes of a folklore professor as well as Abe Sapien during their encounters with beings stranger than him. More casual comic fans would recognize his duology directed by Guillermo Del Toro and starring Ron Perlman (we got 2 reboots that get less attention), or they would probably have picked up the DLC for Injustice 2. After Spawn, I always wanted to do a figure review on Hellboy, so let's see if this Collector Edition from McFarlane is worth picking up!

Here we have Hellboy in-hand, shirtless and gun in holster. As a figure built from the ground up, this appears to be generally accurate to the artstyle and the overall character design. The proportions can be seen as a bit inaccurate to some, mostly the left arm being as long than the right arm (which should be accurate) or the legs having a bit less muscle than some would expect. Given his demon history, it works as well as it should, though I want to talk about the shades of red used all throughout: the torso appears to be matte (and the chiseled pecs turned out decent), yet the arms are a little shinier than they normally would be on other figures. I'm not sure if it's because they were made on specific kinds of plastic with different durability concerns in mind, but it can be distracting without the trench coat. I also have similar thoughts regarding the Right Hand of Doom; I love the sculpt overall, and the size is perfect, but it could use a darker wash to distinguish itself from the rest of him. As for the tail, it is pre-posed with no bendy wire implemented like with Page Punchers Cheetah. While I can sort of see the design limitations on her thinner tail, I'd argue Hell out shouldn't have that issue on top of being priced higher. So for the most part, I like what McFarlane cooked with their take on big red here, though there is always room for improvement in some areas and missed opportunities in others. 

Head sculpt is perfect, and I love the craggily texture on his face as well as the heavy eyebrow below his filed horns; this combined with his side burns and goatee give him the right kind of permanently pissed-off face that only someone like him can pull off. While similar to the other McFarlane DC Multiverse line, I'll go over the articulation for a new body like this. It consists of a double ball neck, rotation via the ball joints connected onto the shoulders, hinges for in and out movement, washer joints to serve as additional shoulder range a la butterfly joints or further arm raising, bicep rotation, double jointed elbows, double wrist pegs with a hinge in the middle, a diaphragm joint as well as a lower ball joint for the stomach area, slightly clickity hips with deecnt enough range in spite of his gear, slight thigh rotation, double jointed knees, ankles that swivel, hinge, and pivot, with hinges toes to boot. No pun intended.

His accessories include fists meant for the Right Hand of Doom and the left arm, but we also have the trench coat to keep his rocky body warm...though I wish it was a slightly thicker material than what it's made of. I know McFarlane gets some flack for the inconsistencies between cape materials, but something like the cloth goods on BvS Armored Batfleck would be better. At least the collar is there, but he also comes with a left hand holding a cigar. Looks more like whipped cream, so maybe an alternate head chomping on a cigar would have been better.

He also has the aforementioned gun, known as the Samaritan. The sculpt is decent, though the ring in the bottom of the handle always has me worried it'll tear itself off from how flexible it is. Not as annoying as the holster peg refusing to go in place, and equally as annoying is the Platinum version with horns unfiled, the Excalibur sword, a flame effect part, and a possibly better wash. Oh and you can see his collector card and figure stand. I guess you gotta display both versions of Hell out at once, but make that an option

For a size comparison, here he is with ol' reliable in the form of Godzilla Superman with the Action Comics 1000 head. Some sources say Hellboy's height is 6'11", meaning he should be taller than Superman by a few centimeters here. I know Ron Perlman is slightly shorter than Superman's comic height, but this isn't the 2004 movie version. That aside, what's the verdict? In general, I like this Hellboy figure, but as is the case at times with some Collector Editions of late, there are some things I would rather they change or include, especially with the coat materials and the cigar. On the other hand, I am so happy he isn't an Elite Edition; I theorize that's due to him not originating from Image Comics (he is instead from Dark Horse, same company that used to do Star Wars comics for the Expanded Universe), but then again Doomslayer and I believe some stuff from Warhammer and Fallout are given that treatment IIRC but I am unfamiliar with either. Regardless, the lower price at least makes him easier to recommend than the Elites...now to hunt down the chase variant...

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Age of the Primes Liege Maximo review

The Fallen may have been infamous for betraying his brothers, but there is another evil Prime who eventually grew into a similar status, but for different reasons: Liege Maximo. Appearing in the Generation 2 comics as a tease for an impending threat on top of being said to serve as an origin for the Decepticons, he would eventually be reworked into one of the original thirteen Transformers for the semi-official Alignment story, he would eventually see more use in the Aligned Continuity as well as the IDW comics; even Earthspark had some use for him apparently, where he was said to look all cloak and facially resembled Ultron more than ROTB Scourge did mask less. Some media redesigned Liege to resemble Loki from the Marvel Universe, yet it was the old, ugly villain and not the version from the MCU that made all the girls normally not interested in comics into fan girls. So while he may believe that evil is infinite, we shall see if it's $55-60 worth that amount too.

Here we have Liege Maximo in his vehicle mode, which resembles the motherships from Dark of the Moon but with his signature horns. If that was the intent, I am all for it; given how "round" his armor comes across, that kind of ship makes perfect sense for someone like him, and I love how it retains an even creepier, almost technorganic look than what we see in the movie aesthetics. Even the front section gives it the look of a sentient ship rather than something traditionally technological, almost like the machines used by the Yuuzhan Vong. The only issue I have would be that his blaster doesn't tab in that great in the front, but this otherwise looks badass.

For an altmode comparison, here he is along with Quintus and Amalgamous Prime, all three of them having way better altmodes than Nexus Prime. I like that there is a bit of a pseudo animal theme to these; we know of the Squid motif for Nexus and Amalgamous looks a bit like a frog, so what would that make Liege Maximo? Bug like seems to fit well but the spikes and horns are comparable to thorns, so maybe he could also resemble a flytrap. 

Transformation is weirdly close to a mix between Cybertron Megatron and Siege Starscream. I say that because the arms work similarly to the former while the use of a waist swivel is comparable to the latter. I do wish the leg panels could look less shellformery while the shoulder pads could stay on better. The robot mode is very close to his G2 design, but with a few design elements from the concept sketch by Aaron Archer as well as being generally original. I love how gnarly he comes across, almost like a mix between Swamp Thing and TFP Unicron; they went all out on making him as antagonistic as The Fallen, and the shades of green in addition to the mechanical details throughout the torso and arms gives that toxic look. He also has a decent bit of planetformer in his DNA, and going back to the Unicron comparison has me wondering if this would eventually be retooled as the rumored Unicron Soldier for the line. I already mentioned the issue regarding the shell pieces clashing with the lower legs, but I hate how we have a bit of gorilla arm syndrome where the nicer arm details mean the elbows bend inwards, though at least the wrists can rotate.

Head sculpt is a little busy given you're dealing with all of the spikes on the head as well as chin guard almost resembling a weird jaw. I kind of wish he would have the horns that are pointing downwards at part of his head, but requiring normal neck articulation means that had to be altered. Speaking of, his head is on a ball joint, shoulders rotate as well as hinge in and out, biceps rotate, elbows bend, wrists rotate as well as utilize finger articulation and a hinge for the thumbs. Waist rotates, hips are universal, thighs rotate, knees bend, and the ankles are on pivots. I wish he can hold his gun better since the design of the hands means the shorter peg let's it slide out, but I like how it's another weapon without utilizing an existing design like the Requiem Blaster from Megatronus. His artifacts, however, are the Liegian Darts uniquely designed from each other.

The cannon can also peg into the left forearm despite that intending to be a cannon to begin with, but I like the way it looks even more this way; it's almost like it transformed from his arm! An equally cool thing about this toy is that it is compatible with the throne of Coronation Starscream. It's a bit undersized, but I like this way more given how well it matches the G2 comic panel he was seen in; the horns on the back even fit behind the throne!

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is with the other 2026 Primes we got. Don't worry, we'll bring em all together when AOTP Vector Prime pops up. Until then, let me say that Liege Maximo is worth gushing over. I thought I was going to like Amalgamous Prime the most since he had a shitton of potential from his play feature, but Liege Maximo ends up taking the throne, literally, as far as overall design and engineering goes. I still like Megatronus a tiny bit more, and laying over $50 isn't ideal, but in this economy, he earned it for the most part.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐