Toybiz appears to be pulling out all the stops on their work with the Marvel license, and showed a ton of new product in several lines. But Toybiz isn't the only company cranking out Marvel product this year, and Diamond Select will be continuing with their successful Marvel Select line.

This line was always designed with the specialty market in mind. The price point is a little higher, there's no action features or other 'toy' qualities, and the characters can be more obscure or comic book specific. the latest release is another Wolverine, but while he's a mainstream character, this is a comic arc specific version.

The Days of Future Past storyline jumped between present time, and a future in which mutants were forced to live in camps, and the world was governed by the Sentinels. It was a very popular story line, done by the much loved duo of Claremont and Byrne.

Tonight's review covers the Days of Future Past Wolverine from Marvel Select. You can find this bad boy at most comic shops, or at various online retailers. Expect to pay between $16 and $20, depending on the retailer.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, you can always reach me at mwc@mwctoys.com. If you enjoy this review, take a minute to check out my other site at Michael's Review of the Week, and let me know what you think. Now on to the review!

"Days of Future Past Wolverine"

This set is a recreation of the cover of Uncanny X-men #141, which kicked off the story line. The cover featured Wolverine standing in a protective mode in front of Kitty Pryde, a character that figured predominately in the story, since it was her future self that 'mind traveled' back in time to possess her current day self, and forewarn her teammates of the upcoming events.

Packaging - **1/2
The Marvel Select packaging has always had one thing going for it - they are designed to fit in a bookshelf (or box) neatly for the MOCer. They also have one other thing going for them at this point, and that's consistency. I have to admit that I like when a line can maintain a sense of consistency and familiarity across a long run.

Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the design, or the huge amount of wasted space that most of these packages sort. Here it's not quite as much of an issue though, since there are actually two figures taking up space.

Sculpting - ***
Bear in mind that this is the sculpt score just for Wolverine. I'll get to Kitty Pryde in the accessories section.

The head sculpt matches the comic cover art pretty well, gritted teeth and all. The clothing details are well done, with enough to make it realistic, and yet remain true to the style of art. The sculpt and articulation work pretty well together too, and you'll have no trouble recreating the pose from the comic cover.

Paint - ***
The paint doesn't match the cover quite as well as the sculpt, although the detail work is fairly clean and neat.

The brown jacket and paints look good, but the 'fur' trim on the cover was a yellow, while here it's much more white. The trim is a little sloppy too, and you know how much you hate sloppy trim. The color of his sweater is throwing me too - I don't recall it being blue, but I couldn't find a good shot to be sure one way or the other. However, the face details are decent, with little bleed or overspray, and that will make most folks overlook the slight inconsistency.

Articulation - ***1/2
Again, this is just for Wolverine, not Kitty Pryde. More on her in the next section.

This figure sports far more articulation than most Marvel Select figures, although the move to better articulation has been evident in the last few releases.

He has a fairly useful ball jointed neck, along with good ball jointed shoulders and hips. Add in the double joints on the elbows and knees, cut wrists and waist, and pin ankles, and you have a figure with quite a bit of posing potential. This isn't ML crazy articulation, but it's more than adequate.

Accessories - **
Okay, pretty good work on Wolverine...but what exactly happened to poor Kitty Pryde?

Her scale is pretty good, and they've sculpted the pose pretty well, a critical aspect since she lacks any articulation. The paint ops aren't quite dead on with the comic cover, but they're in the general ball park.

But good God, it's the face, man! She has a very zombie-like appearance, due largely to the paint application. Add in the sculpt, which is supposed to mimic her fear and surprise from the cover, but ends up looking like a cheap blow up doll. I think the big difference here is that on the cover shot her mouth wasn't in a wide 'O' shape, and you could see a little more tooth. Something went seriously wrong in the translation, and she went from frightened to scary.

Nicer is the base and back drop. The base looks like rocky rubble with the 'wanted poster' on the wall behind them. Again, this is right off the cover, and looks great as part of the overall display.

Fun Factor - ***
Wolverine is a fun figure, with good articulation and a very sturdy build. Unlike some ML figures, there's no week joints or pins present here. Kids will also overlook the awful job on Kitty, since she'll end up tossed aside anyway.

Value - **
While the Wolverine is decent, the inclusion of the base and the Kitty Pryde does not make him worth more than twice the usual Marvel Legends figure. The simple fact of the matter is that the Marvel Legends figures have gotten so good, that the Marvel Select stuff has to go a long way to maintain its place in the food chain.

Overall - **1/2
This set has two things going for it - a decent Wolverine (although not outstanding), and the ability to recreate a comic cover pretty well. Unfortunately, the awful Kitty Pryde hurts this set for collectors, and the price point is still beyond what most folks will be willing to pay.

The good news is that we are seeing a movement toward reasonable articulation - not super articulation like Marvel Legends, but enough to make the figure poseable and fun. Let's hope that trend continues whenever possible.

Where to Buy -
Online is your best bet, although your local comic shop should also be getting them in:

- Alter Ego Comics has this one for about $16.

- CornerStoreComics has it for $17.

- Amazing Toyz has it in stock for $17.

- YouBuyNow has it in stock for $19.

- Yikes Comics has the set for $20.

- Circle Red doesn't have this one listed, but they have a number of other Marvel Select figures on sale right now!

Related Links -
Other reviews of Marvel Select products:

- I've reviewed a number of past Marvel Select characters, such as Carnage, Venom, Iron Man, Black Cat (mrroeww!), Wolverine, and Spider-Man. - and there's guest reviews of the well received Thanos figure, and the Punisher.