Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Wolverine (Gamerverse)

Release Date: June 2026

RRP: 9900 yen

Marvel vs Capcom fever continues over at Bandai Tamashii Nations with the third release in its revamped Marvel Gamerverse line-up - S.H. Figuarts Wolverine (Gamerverse)! As the only character to appear in all of the original six Capcom 2D fighting games (X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, X-Men vs Street Fighter, Marvel Super Heroes vs Street Fighter, Marvel vs Capcom and Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes) as well as Marvel vs Capcom 3, Wolverine was perhaps the most obvious choice to join the line next. Much like previous releases Cyclops and Spider-Man, Wolverine is retail release figure that mixes up the characters' traditional comic book looks with video game aesthetics.

Wolverine comes in the same standard Marvel Gamerverse packaging previously seen with both Cyclops and Spider-Man, lacking any distinct visuals from the Capcom games and instead opting for a relatively plain blue colour scheme. The front of the box features a nice big window section showing off the figure, accompanied by an enlarged image in the bottom corner alongside the character name and various brand logos. One side of the box sports a bookend style image of the figure, whilst the other features the character name in larger font instead. On the back of the box is a selection of images showing the figure off in a variety of poses, and then inside both the figure and accessories are neatly stored in a moulded plastic tray. The signature hyper combo diorama background pieces are in a plastic bag behind the tray, together with a detailed instruction leaflet on posing/parts-swapping/accessory use.

As the name suggests, Gamerverse Wolverine is based specifically on his appearance in the Capcom fighting games - however with very little differences to his general 1990s tiger stripe costume the figure works pretty well as a generic Wolverine as well. There are elements that are slightly more exaggerated in the games (the beefier proportions, the more elongated black parts on the mask and boots), but Bandai haven't gone quite as wild here as they perhaps could have - it certainly feels more like it could work as a generic Wolverine than Gamerverse Spider-Man could work as a generic Spider-Man for example. Iconic as this costume is it's also fairly straightforward, with most of the body moulded in its respective colour and then the black detailing added on top. There's some really nice muscle detailing moulded into the torso though, which makes the predominantly yellow body a bit more interesting to look at. The head sculpt is great too, with the gritted teeth mouth matching just how the Marvel vs Capcom artwork and in-game sprite look. Basically it all looks great until you get to the arms, which reveal what is arguably one of the worst design choices Bandai have ever made on an S.H. Figuarts release. To pull off the sketchy look of Wolverine's arm hair, Bandai made the questionable choice of moulding the lines directly into the arms. This might have worked had all of the lines then been properly painted black so the detail stood out, but instead it's some of the most sloppy paintwork I've seen from the line in all my years of collecting - minimal splotches of black here and there and Wolverine looking like he's covered in scars rather than arm hair. This isn't just a case of my copy looking like this either - every copy looks like this and has been known to look like this since the initial preview images. Just how this even made it past the design stage is baffling, since it really spoils what is otherwise a great looking figure.

Wolverine's claws are also a good match to how they appear in the games, with both a good length to them and a shiny silver paint job to make them stand out. They attach to the fist at the knuckles via a panel that can be swapped to display him with them retracted as well. It's a simple solution but not the most elegant, leaving some obvious seamlines where the panels attach. The claws don't lock into the fists very tightly either, which is good for switching but bad in that it doesn't take much for them to suddenly pop out whilst posing/displaying the figure. Given that the figure doesn't come with much in the first place it would have been much better if he came with some hands that have them moulded onto them and then alternate ones to display them retracted instead. While not the most egregious example on the release, it's just another example of Bandai overthinking things when it came to this figure.

A great sculpt is only half the reason collectors pay S.H. Figuarts prices for these figures, with articulation being the other major area the line has to deliver. Unfortunately the Gamerverse range hasn't proven to be among the line's best offerings so far, and that continues with Wolverine. Altogether the figure features;

- Ball jointed head, neck, upper torso, mid torso and wrists

- Butterfly joint shoulders

- Swivel hinge shoulders, hips and ankles

- Double hinge elbows and knees

- Single hinge lower torso and toe sections

- Bicep and thigh swivel

The blue shoulder pieces are connected to the back of the arms via ball joints, meaning they pull away from the shoulders along with the arms when being positioned. They can however sit a bit weirdly at times, so be sure to keep an eye on poses so they don't end up looking too disjointed. The main complaint levelled against the Figuarts Gamerverse figures is that they try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to poseability - making strange engineering choices that ultimately don't benefit the overall articulation all that much. This can be said of Wolverine's three-section torso, which looks like it would be enough to get the figure in the game sprite's default crouch pose but actually isn't as effective as the ab crunch on the Marvel Legends version. The middle torso cut on my copy is actually quite loose as well, which may not be a widespread issue but worth noting nevertheless. Meanwhile the beefy arms also mean the elbow bend is surprisingly limited given that it's a double joint. Compared to that, the sliding panel "diaper" look of the crotch/hips doesn't seem so bad. It provides Wolverine with plenty of hip movement, and the knees and ankles prove just as good when it comes to movement. There is some good movement in upper torso as well, with the butterfly shoulders providing plenty of movement even if it leaves the shoulder pads looking a little unsightly from time to time. Another aspect I really like is just how chunky the wrist joints are as well - no risk of them accidentally snapping here. Overall it isn't bad by any means, it's just confusingly not quite up there with what the line usually has to offer.

As previously alluded to Wolverine's accessory count is extremely minimal, in total consisting of an alternate open-mouthed shouting head, an alternate pair of open hands and then alternate pieces for each pair of hands to display them with the claws retracted. No slash parts have been included whatsoever, immediately making it a bit of a downgrade from the previous two Gamerverse releases - both of which had some effect pieces included (Cyclops had optic blast pieces, while Spidey had the web line, web shield and spider-sense effect). Those are the most obvious accessory Bandai could have included, but another possibility could have been alternate bone claws - something which would have been easy for them to do as they made the claws swappable pieces. Instead it really is the bare minimum here. The open hands are a nice alternative, but with the claws unsheathed they don't look as good as the default fists anyway. The shouting head however is pretty good though, especially for displaying your Wolverine with that extra bit of rage. But even that feels low effort when you consider what this figure could have had - how about an unmasked Logan head to recreate his victory pose for example? Even if a Gamerverse figure is limited to solely what is featured in the games it's based on, there is SO much Wolverine could have come with to make it a more substantial release.

But despite the lack of plastic accessories, Wolverine doesn't skip out on a key staple of these Capcom Gamerverse releases - a two piece background diorama based on one of the character's hyper combo attacks. In Wolverine's case it's "Fatal Claw", which first appeared in Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter and then carried over to the first three Marvel vs Capcom games. Directly based on how it appears in the games, it features the X-shaped slash sprite against a black background, with "Wolverine" written in the top right corner and then "Fatal Claw" in the bottom left. With the help of a Tamashii Stage it's really easy to get the figure into a pose which matches that of the games, making it a pretty good background choice overall. Of course like the previous figures it would have been more exciting as moulded plastic accessories, but it's still more interesting than the usually plain cardboard inserts S.H. Figuarts figures usually come with.

While personally I found a lot of the complaints with Spider-Man to be a little overblown, I have to agree that it feels like Bandai lost their way a bit with S.H. Figuarts Wolverine (Gamerverse). Make no mistake there are plenty of things to like about this figure - the sculpt (for the most part anyway) is great and works wonderfully both as a generic Wolverine and a specifically Capcom one. But there are also many things about that should better - the articulation, the swappable claws, the accessories, the godawful way the arm hair was done. It feels like a big step down from Spider-Man, who despite also having some strange articulation choices was otherwise a spot-on representation of how he appeared in the games. It's a real shame because in many ways Wolverine is the poster child of the Capcom Marvel fighting games, given how many of them he appeared in. While it's incredibly exciting to see the S.H. Figuarts Gamerverse line continue to grow, it would be great to see the quality improve alongside the roster.