 Phoenix and Wolverine
Hasbro Pulse Exclusive
Marvel Legends 375 Action Figure
Item No.: No. F4741
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Includes: n/a
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $20.99 pre-order, $22.99 when restocked in October 2022
Availability: ca. December 2021
Other: Phoenix exclusive to this set, Wolverine released individually in 2023
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I initially skipped the X-Men set of Phoenix and Wolverine because I was skipping this line - then it sold out, but came back in stock, and sold out again. Life as a toy fan is weird, you never know what may smile on you. The set is an alternate deco pack - Hasbro released Wolverine in brown and yellow on a single card, later releasing a nearly-identical blue and yellow Wolverine on an individual card. Dark Phoenix would be sold in stores, but regular green and gold Phoenix is exclusive to this set.
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I already reviewed Wolverine [FOTD #2,524] and he's pretty great - but this one, I like more, because he looks like he did on the cartoons. He has the stripes on his sides, the yellow suit, the blue gloves, and of course the adamantium claws. It's all here! Maybe the shade of blue isn't quite as bright, but it's certainly good enough - he has the red belt, too! Of course, it was an "X" on the buckle of the cartoon, as opposed to an actual realistic buckle on this figure. It may not be the perfect dream figure for cartoon fans, but it's certainly very nice and I'm having fun with the swivel wrist gloves and the claws of stabbing. He stands, he sits, it's a good figure that gets the job done. He has a nice little snarl and big - but not huge - ears on his mask. It's Logan! You like Logan, I like Logan, or maybe it's James, I have no idea. I know the cartoons and most of the movies.
Phoenix is good, and gives me the willies - Hasbro has a weird track record with anything metallic. This figure is from late 2021, and their recent gold paint has been bad in the long term - it's sticky, and it seems to be molting on some figures from 2019. I already see a few places on this figure that don't look very good, so I wouldn't be stunned if I'm wiping off melting gold paint in a decade and debating repainting it. If you're not scared yet, go look at an old Fisher-Price Adventure People Space Commander - gold sometimes won't last.
The figure is otherwise good! I love the dynamic red hair sculpt, even if it is way better than anything you'd have seen at this size in the 20th century. Her eyes turned out well, and despite using the same lady body as the rest? She looks great. The gold Phoenix on her chest looks sharp, the gold sash on her waist is good (if stretchy), and the gold boots look good too. This figure would have benefited from different hands - open, fists, something to imply her power - but Hasbro is on a budget. You just get the normal lady hands. This is where you can be somewhat glad that most Marvel women of this era were very similar in their general builds, Hasbro certainly takes advantage of the whole skinny-in-spandex thing which seems to be standard fare for hero toys. As a set, it's a good one - I wish these guys were easier to get.
Time is cruel to us and our toys, and I'm hoping it's kinder to Jean here. That gold paint does not look long for this world, even if properly cared for. I recommend not letting her touch any other figures lest the paint molt off and melt onto them, I've seen it happen before with Star Wars lightsaber hilts. Wolverine, on the other hand, seems fine as long as you don't get his claws bent out of shape. They're both good repaints/prepaints/whatever and the kind of thing you want to use sparingly in any line, reserving them for where they actually make sense. Like this! At a low enough price I'd recommend the set, they each come on foil cardbacks in a small box.
--Adam Pawlus
Additional Images
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