I started off my reviews of the 2016 Marvel Legends X-Men figures with a figure that I thought wasn’t getting the limelight it deserved–Phoenix–and today, I’m going to continue with another underrated six-inch figure. To my surprise, the Marvel Legends Cable figure is still available for order online individually. But it’s not because of any fault of this figure–the X-Men Legends Cable 6″ figure is one of Hasbro’s best figures this year!

The Right:

Although Cable has had more ongoing comic book series over the years than any X-Men character that isn’t Deadpool or Wolverine, Cable’s star has fallen a bit in the last few years and he’s been relegated to sharing pages in one team book for the past year (or not appearing at all).

Even so, Cable is a legendary figure in the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe, and well-deserving of a new Marvel Legends action figure (especially in a wave where he can paired with Deadpool). Thumbs-up, Hasbro.

This particular iteration of the Askani’son comes from the 2012 X-Sanction limited series where Cable tried to take out the Avengers. I know some folks would have preferred a more classic costume, but this version looks great with all the modern characters Hasbro has granted us lately. Love it.

I can’t even begin to guess how much of this figure is new tooling (though I’m relatively certain at least the upper torso, head and robot arm are all-new), but regardless of the source, all of the molds chosen here look like they were made for Cable.

I especially like Cable’s armor, which has a very cool like to it and feels totally fresh compared to all the rehashed parts we’ve become accustomed to.

Let’s talk about the Cable head sculpt here: it’s outstanding. Seriously, this Nate Summers head sculpt is absolutely off the charts. The Marvel Legends Cable head is totally on-model and features the grim, serious expression we all know and love from hundreds of comics.

Some companies would probably give us cheesy, painted on textures for this Cable head sculpt, but Hasbro went the full mile with a ton of fully-sculpted details on this figure, from the scar on the right side of his face to the texture of the techno-organic metal on the left side of his face.

Articulation-wise, this figure is the real deal. While the range of motion of the hips is slightly less than ideal, Cable is one of those characters who simply does not need to be busting out ninja kicks.

The Cable Marvel Legends 6″ figure has all the points of articulation that he does need, though, with the highlights being the double-jointed knees and elbows, the ankle rockers, the ball-hinge neck that can look up, down and all around, and the ball-jointed upper torso that has a huge range of motion.

Cable is a big dude who rightfully comes with two big guns. They don’t have incredible paint deco on them like we saw with Nuke’s guns, but they’re molded in a great gunmetal grey plastic with swirls in it and look suitably lethal. The ammo clip that attaches to one of the guns is another nifty touch.

And thankfully, Hasbro was good enough to make sure that Cable has two trigger-fingers that fit perfectly on his guns’ triggers. It sounds like a minor thing, but many manufacturers skip details like these. Cable can also hold his larger gun with both hands comfortably. Hoozah!

The Wrong:

This just wouldn’t be one of my reviews if I didn’t find some things to complain about, and as such, I’ve got two nits to pick with this otherwise awesome Cable action figure.

First off, like Phoenix, I’m disappointed with the lack of paint wash on this Cable figure. While the last of a dark wash isn’t very evident on the dark blue bits of Cable’s costume, the tan parts such as the chest armor are definitely looking noticeably “cleaner” than you’d expect from a grim and gritty soldier like Cable. And that’s a real shame, because the upper torso armor has a lot of great sculpted texture in it that doesn’t pop as a result of there not being paint there.

In addition, while it’s not nearly as prevalent here as it is in other figures in the X-Men Legends Juggernaut Series, some of the plastic on this figure is a little, well… cheap. Cable’s metal arm has a very soft and rubbery feel to it, and has flesh-and-blood arm is a bit bendy at the joint, meaning he can have some troubles bending his arm and holding up his gun.

Are these deal-breaking cons? Heck no–but they do hold this Nathan Summers figure back from being pure perfection.

Overall: As soon as I saw the Marvel Legends X-Men Cable figure at Toy Fair, I knew it was going to be a great one–and it is. Cable is excellent in almost every category, including superb articulation and sculpting. A tiny bit more paint and some slightly higher-quality plastic on the arms would have perfected this figure, but regardless I believe this is the best 6″ Cable figure ever and one of Hasbro’s best efforts this year. Highly recommended.

GRADE: A