My expectations were set pretty low for the not-quite-summer-blockbuster 2013 “The Wolverine” movie, but this Wolverine movie ended up being a far more satisfying experience than its predecessor. Even so, wary toy companies didn’t exactly flock to make merchandise for “The Wolverine”, and we got a grand total of zero mass-market action figures in time for the movie. However, Diamond Select Toys has finally swooped in to the rescue, beginning with this super-impressive 7″ Marvel Select The Wolverine figure that has just been released!

Hugh Jackman is a killer Wolverine, but it had been so long since there was a good movie featuring the Hugh Jackman Wolverine (no, X-Men: First Class doesn’t count) that I wasn’t looking forward to “The Wolverine” much at all. But as fate would have it, I ended up thinking that “The Wolverine” was one of my favorite movies of the year (not quite to the level of “Iron Man 3”, but well above the “Man of Steel” movie).

Thus, I was super-hyped to go buy some Wolverine toys as I walked out of the theater with a big smile on my face after the awesome after-the-credits scene in “The Wolverine”. And then I remembered that there were no The Wolverine action figures released yet, and I was sad.

Luckily, I only had to be sad for about a month, as the Diamond Select Toys The Wolverine Marvel Select Figure shipped out to comic book stores and specialty retailers this week! As usual, I ordered this latest Marvel Select Wolverine figure from Amazon with no tax and free shipping, but I got impatient waiting for Logan-san to arrive this weekend and hunted him down at the local Newbury Comics to check him out.

Though the Diamond Select Toys The Wolverine Movie Marvel Select action figure is a bit late to the party, it turns out that he’s well worth the extra wait to get him. The likeness to Hugh Jackman in the head sculpt is absolutely uncanny (no, I really don’t mean that as a pun), and I love that he includes three sets of hands including his adamantium claws and (spoilers) bone claws. I see no evidence of the alleged “detailed base” described on the cardback, but otherwise this movie Wolverine figure looks like seven inches of pure win.

The Marvel Select Wolverine movie action figure has now begun shipping out to comic book and specialty stores, and Wolverine is currently in-stock and available from a ton of online stores through Amazon.The first shipments of the Marvel Select Iron Man 3 Mark 42 Iron Man and War Machine figures got wiped out instantly from most retailers, and I’m expecting this Logan figure to sell out fast as well until later shipments reach stores.

With no other “The Wolverine” action figures (besides Minimates) announced from companies like Hasbro or Hot Toys, this is definitely your best bet for a movie-style The Wolverine action figure that’s not only passable, but actually outstanding. Having held this figure in-hand today, I can’t wait for my own Marvel Select The Wolverine 7″ figure to arrive next week.