Toy Review – Hot Toys “Deadpool & Wolverine” X-23 Sixth Scale Figure

With the two title characters finally both released wide last year, the Deadpool & Wolverine line of Hot Toys figures slowly continue to roll out with another much anticipated release in the form of X-23, which is available in the US via Sideshow Collectibles. Nine years after we first met the popular live-action version of the Marvel character in 2017's Logan, X-23 (AKA Laura) has a terrific new collectible here for fans of the character and for the films we've seen her in.

First off, this figure has a really fantastic likeness of actress Dafne Keen. Keen has very distinct features and the Hot Toys version genuinely looks like her, in that impressive and almost eerie way the company sometimes achieves. She's wearing her outfit right out of the movie, which while very much street wear also has a color combo that is a nice nod to her black and grey X-Force comic book uniform.

Still, I would guess that for some people, given what a high end, high priced item this is, that a downside to feeling this needs to be on your shelf is that movie accurate clothing. Because in the middle of a movie, and an MCU in general, with several comic book heroes come to life in eye-catching costumes, X-23 was the only one in Deadpool & Wolverine who didn't have any sort of genuine superhero uniform. Minus the X-Men belt buckle (and the claws), this could just as easily be Dafne Keen in her normal clothes.

And look, the chances are high that X-23 eventually returns in the MCU -- perhaps in a movie with Avengers in the title in the next couple of years? -- and probably gets her own yellow and blue Wolverine costume in the process, like in the comics... and then an accompanying new Hot Toys figure. But with none of that guaranteed, and still quite aways ahead regardless, for those who are big fans of the character, this is about as good as you could hope for for a sixth scale figure of her as she appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine.

On the accessories front, X-23 comes with the requisite multiple sets of hands, which naturally includes fists sporting her two hand blades. But a nice touch with the X-23 figure that the Deadpool & Wolverine Wolverine Hot Toys figure doesn't have is the addition of a second set of clawed hands, this time with an open palm, on top of the closed fist pair. It's an appreciated inclusion that lets you give Laura a bit more variety in her poses.

Speaking of claws, X-23 also comes with her patented foot claws, which are attached to a removable toe piece for her boots that can easily be swapped out for the regular, non-clawed version. They look great, though I would caution that the toe claw pieces can very easily be dislodged in transit. Loo, this is a small plastic piece attached by a smaller magnet, with a long point sticking off of it that is just begging to be knocked into and sent flying. Just taking my photos of the figure, I knocked the toe pieces off a couple of times and then had to very carefully look to find it at my own, non-clawed feet. So while you'll have no problems when it's up on your shelf, you have to be careful when those foot claws are on if you're moving the figure.

Laura comes with sculpted plastic hair, with a nice touch being the two different pieces you can swap out for the back of her head, one of which gives her a more windswept or mid-battle look. This is one thing you can do with sculpted hair you can't with rooted hair (besides keep the price lower, given how much those Hot Toys Artisan figures run), although it does also have its own downsides.

Per usual, for a character with long, sculpted hair, you can't move X-23's neck to the sides much, though you can at least make up for that a good amount with her separate rolling eyeballs, so she can still look in any direction you'd like.

I was a bit more frustrated though with the limitations the hair leads to for the backpack accessory X-23 comes with. In the movie, Laura wears her backpack through most of the film's big battle in the Void, eventually using it to toss Juggernaut's helmet to Deadpool. But the sculpted hair makes it very difficult to pose the figure wearing both straps of the backpack.

It's pretty much a no go at all with the regular "falling" hair, because the backpack can't fit under it. With the windblown version, you can make it work, though it Is still tricky.

X-23 comes with her trademark pink framed sunglasses, which served as a big callback to Logan in the film, and which are very easy to put on the figure thanks to the back hairpiece of the head being easy to remove. Oh, and it's awesome that the aforementioned Juggernaut helmet is an accessory given getting it is Laura's big goal in the battle sequence in the movie.

Yeah, I know, us comic book fans sure can be silly, because the Deadpool & Wolverine version of Juggernaut was based on the version of the character from 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, which was a bad version of Juggernaut from a bad X-Men movie. And yet 20 years later, I'm delighted to have this big nod to that incarnation of the character. Time, the multiverse, and cool collectibles sure heals all wounds.

And speaking of stands, X-23's stand is well done one that adds to her overall presentation, featuring a burning landscape and the ability to easily pose the figure in many ways, including standing triumphantly upon Juggernaut's helmet. All in all, this is a really impressive figure that makes a great addition to the Deadpool & Wolverine Hot Toys line. With Blade already announced, here's hoping Elektra and Gambit figures happen too...

The Deadpool & Wolverine X-23 Sixth Scale Figure by Hot Toys is $265.00 on Sideshow. It's currently a Waitlist item, though as I've noted in the past, the odds are decent you could get one if you join the Waitlist, based on my prior experiences.