Marvel Legends Logan & Charles Xavier review

To me, Logan felt like the last good X-Men movie in terms of having an outstanding bit of quality from start to finish. While Deadpool 2 was entertaining, it felt like a bit of a downgrade from the first movie in some spots. Dark Phoenix was pretty compromised and was a poor attempt at being a single movie instead of a new take on the Dark Phoenix saga, and then there's New Mutants, which sucked. Logan was a brilliant movie that makes me enjoy everything about the X-Men series in terms of characters who feel like they're at their backs when their foes are after them. Believe me when I say that this stuff is what makes me enjoy Fox's movies, and Logan is certainly no exception! Now let's talk about this 2-pack!

Here is Logan in hand, depicted in his black suit (and one of the few outfits he wore in the movie). This figure captures the way he looked quite well even if the suit is a little more pristine than it should be; the white shirt underneath the black suit helps give the suit a somewhat rugged look that proves how shit his life has been in these times. Maybe the outer part of the suit looks more pristine than the wrinkly sleeves, but I think that was something other figures had; as far as I know, a version of MCU Nick Fury had this mold. One thing I don't like is how the head sits on the body; it's not oversized, but it just looks a little more naturalistic if you ask me. It's especially noticeable from the back where the head has a cap at the ball-joint.

Head sculpt is still nice-looking nonetheless. It captures that fucked-up, adamantium-failing-him aspect of the character in the movie, and while the eyes and eyebrows do look a little fuzzy, at least it looks like a real person more than some of the face likenesses seen in other action figures. His articulation is pretty much the same as with every other Marvel Legends figure to-date, with a two ball-joints at the neck and the head, shoulders that move front and back, in and out, swivel at the biceps, bend at the elbows, swivel at the wrists as well as hinge in and out. There is an ab-crunch joint and a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, double-jointed knees, and feet thatswivel, hinge, and pivot side to side. You can appropriately give him a rage face and two alternate hands that give him claws that are pristine...

...but why give him those pristine claws when you can give him the bloody ones?! That's one of the things that sold me on the figure, and now I want to get some blood effects to use them on characters that I hate (I don't hate Zedd, btw, it's just an example).

And here is Old Man Logan next to his younger counterpart. It's a very fascinating way to view two different ages of the character from when we first met him to when we last saw him. Guess I can get the Amazon-exclusive Logan that had the tank top.

And here we have Old Man Charles in-hand; he might be a mostly new sculpt as I don't think he was reused from other Legends figures. He captures the accurate yet somber aspect of the character, as he is much older than he normally is and tends to suffer from seizures that affect everything around him unless he's injected with his medication. The fact that Logan has to take care of him while on the run is almost as sad as a migrant caring for an ill relative. Seeing him stand up is weird since in-universe, Charles' powers don't help him out at this age.

Head sculpt is once again accurate to the movie and looks like Patrick Stewart in the movie, now with a beard and a face that shows he's dying. And with his articulation being the same as Logan's, it's best to put him on the wheelchair.

For a comparison between the older and younger versions of the character, here they both are in-hand...quite the juxtapose between the aging Charles and the more telepathic Xavier. I'm honestly kind of sad thinking about poor Charles in Logan, but on the bright side, his wheelchair fits this specific version of the character more than the younger one.

And here they both are, old and young Logan and Charles next to each other. Aside from a few nitpicks, this is a very promising set that shows how surprising it is for Hasbro to create two toys based on an R-rated movie. And even more surprising is that the outcome is better than expected. No comic-figure-tying-into-non-MCU-movie trickery here! Still, I think the set would be even better if we had a Laura to complete the Logan trio...and maybe even a Caliban, X-24, and Donald Pierce, too. Anyways, Hasbro please give us updated X-Men movie figures and some Raimi Trilogy guys, too.

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

Marvel Legends Professor X vs Magneto review

Mutants...since the beginning of time, they have been quite remarkable for their astonishing powers...some wondered if they were the missing link in the evolution or would replace the normal human race. Either way, we get to see two distinct approaches of humanity between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr. The former approaches his beliefs that mutants and humans can co-exist peacefully while the latter sees humans are an inferior race and would want to bend them at their knees. Now, inb4 people try to add that these guys are totally like IRL people with different political beliefs, we must remember that Charles was born in a rich family despite having some unstable relationships with his relatives while Magneto experienced the Holocaust as a boy. And no matter what, fictional politics are not the same as IRL politics. Okay? Now go outside and play after you're done reading this review.

Here is Magneto in-hand. This guy is based on his appearance from Days of Future Past, which is already a plus for me because of my love for the movie. The sculpted details used for the armor as well as the pants give the suit an added form of essence that mere paint apps on a flat surface wouldn't do justice. The proportions work well, the cape adds a lot to the suit and looks somewhat like fabric despite it being a molded piece of plastic (it's also removable yet doesn't look as good without the cape because it looks naked and makes the neck look weird so don't). The lower legs have boots to them that stand out from the leg region of the suit by having them in a shinier black on top of having distinct texturing. The same can be said for the gloves; while they're already in black to match the hands, they're sculpted as such to look like they're actual gloves rather than just be painted black.

Head sculpt is based on an angry Michael Fassbender likeness with a Jim Lee styled helmet on him, which looks wicked as all hell and is undeniably Magneto. He doesn't look quite angry in this shot and does look like he's trying to take a dump, but at least Hasbro made both the eyes, eyebrows, and mouth look realistic, which is something that I wouldn't quite say for Negasonic Teenage Warhead. And the articulation on this guy is quite good, with a ball joint and hinge at the head, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, bends at the elbows that don't really go past 90 degrees, and wrists that swivel as well as hinge in and out. There is a diaphragm joint that flexes around like on some older Legends and on the Lightning Collection, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, boot swivels, and feet that hinge up and down as well as rock side to side...and if you can't tell, my Magneto broke at the bicep because the shoulder joint for moving it in and out was EXTREMELY stiff; while I was able to hinge it in and out, it resulted in the bicep swivel tearing off at the peg, and as we saw, it tore off. I know that the employees working in the factory have to get their money out, but wouldn't it hurt to test out joint tolerances? This defective one wouldn't normally leave the factory!

There are some alternate heads and hands; the hands are just mirrored ones of the ones already on him, but these new heads are where things get interesting; apart from an alternate unhelmeted Michael Fassbender Erik Lehnsherr head, we have two heads with similar display options yet contain the likeness of Ian McKellen's portrayal of an older Magneto first seen in the original X-Men trilogy Sadly, the Ian heads don't have different expressions and the helmet on the old Magneto head kind of makes the face look like it's not wearing it properly, but at least they gave him a different helmet that better matches his look in the original trilogy...that being said, it's colored to fit in with a suit that the older Magneto never wore; Magneto's suit was more black with a dual-sided cape while he wore some chest armor in Days of Future Past.

And here is Charles Xavier, or as he's commonly known, Professor X. This figure appears to be a reuse of the suit and tie body first used with a Chameleon figure from years ago, and it's a good choice to go for; while I did complain that the Negasonic Teenage Warhead figure didn't feel quite as refined when it combined new tooling with the smooth surfaces or a normal comic figure, Professor X does at least work well thanks to the sculpting used on the figure by comparison. There are plenty of wrinkles on the sleeves and trouser legs, which make sense for the figure to have those sculpting details to go with the creases on the back and the rest of the suit; it could be a little more ironed out given how Xavier isn't the rugged type, but it's less of a sneaky tooling and has worked well with the likes of J Jonah Jameson, Tony Stark, Nick Fury, and plenty of other characters that haven't worn spandex or armor in the past.

Face sculpt for this one is based on the James McAvoy portrayal of the younger Charles seen in the First Class style of X-Men movies, which include DOFP, Apocalypse, and Dark Phoenix; the likeness works well yet does look like a smooth cut, G. Does have a slight lack of James McAvoy but it looks like him better than NSTW's does. His articulation is the same as with Magneto's aside from the torso, which has a waist swivel and an ab-crunch; the joints are a little hard to work with because of the PVC used on the suit.

And here is the wheelchair disassembled on one pic and assembled entirely on the other! Professor X has some alternate hands as well as an older Professor X head with a better likeness to Patrick Stewart than the James McAvoy head. The wheelchair's rear wheels roll decently if you plug the pieces in properly, but the front wheels don't. I kind of wish he had a more custom wheelchair that screams X-Men (no, I don't want it to look exactly like the animated series), especially when this one is pretty generic. Also, I don't like that he can't be securely placed since there is no peg hole or strap to hold him in there.

And that covers this 2-pack; it's kind of a mixed bag because both figures look good, the options for displaying the two mutant leaders as either First Class-era Charles and Erik or original trilogy-era Prof. X and Magneto, and the Magneto figure sculpting is tremendous (with the Charles Xavier figure looking good despite being a reuse of the suited figure), but some things about them just feel a little underwhelming; it's mainly the wheelchair being somewhat decent yet does feel a little cheap (also doesn't help that he can't be secured properly) while the quality control I experienced with Magneto hurts the set quite a bit. I'll give two ratings for the set: With and without the quality control issues I experienced.

Final ranking 1: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Final ranking 2: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marvel Legends Deadpool and Negasonic Teenage Warhead review

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 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marvel Legends Cable review

Many would call Cable a Rob Liefeld Wet Dream, but what makes him work is that he wears it proudly and isn't just some macho-man dude. He also has more of an important backstory going on, as he was once Nathan Summers as well as a married man who raised a daughter with his unnamed wife thanks to Firestar's actions indirectly resulting in the dystopian future. Oh and apparently this is a Walmart exclusive...yeah they don't tell us about anything these days. Anyways, it's time for a review on Marvel Legends Deadpool 2 Cable!

Here he is in-hand, and I have to comment on how there's somewhat of an added heft to him that is missing with the rest of the Marvel Legends figures not in his body frame. Maybe it's the materials used for the plastic, or the fact that he's slightly bigger than the other characters, but it works in his favor. Cable is generally a hefty dude, and the fact that he's got the denser plastic used to go with his appearance was very welcoming. He's got the military outfit to beef him up even further, the vest, and boots, and he looks very good aside from the boots looking slightly undersized. If you thought this action figure was too militaristic, certain details like the metal arm, the exposed metal underneath the skin, the (non-removable) teddy bear, and the head sculpt.

Head sculpt is certainly accurate to Cable in the movie, from the likeness to Josh Brolin to the haircut and coloring, and the left eye having no pupil (on top of the scars all around). I can weirdly see Thanos from the face (which makes sense given he played both Marvel characters). His articulation is very good; his head is on two joints (one at the head and another at the neck) and both are ball-joints. Shoulders move front and back, in and out, swivel st the bicep, bend at the elbows, swivel at the wrists and hinge in and out. There is a waist swivel and an ab-crunch though the bulletproof vest does hinder it somewhat. Hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend at two points, the boots swivel, and the feet hinge up and down while the feet pivot.

Here are the accessories that he comes with, which include a large rifle, two grenade pieces, a small pistol, a cape (which is more like a cloak if we're being honest), and two weapon-holding hands that are both detailed to match their respective arms.

And here he is holding the weapons, which is always a treat to give him the weapons that Rob Liefeld wet dreams can happily take advantage of. Still, he is an excellent addition to any Marvel display, and fans of Deadpool 2 will happily get this guy and even customize him with parts of Thanos. You know that's bound to happen.

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