With no more major toy conventions in 2018 and the Black Panther Legends M’Baku Series at least a month away from shipping out (and very possibly being held for a January 1st, 2019 release date), we’re likely going to be going through a bit of a Marvel Legends news dry spell once again for the rest of the year. Which means it’s time to dig into the big cache of unreviewed figures once again! Last time, I talked about one of the best Build-A-Figures ever in Sauron, and this time, let’s look at one of the Deadpool Wave 2 figures you need to buy to build him: Marvel Legends Bishop!

The Right:

When word actually broke that there would be a second wave of Deadpool Legends 6″ figures released this year, I think it took most everyone by surprise. Most of the characters best-associated with Wade Wilson like Cable and Domino were already in Wave 1, so Wave 2 ended up giving us some unlikely choices like Omega Red, X-23 Wolverine, and today’s subject: Bishop.

I actually can’t think of a single memorable scene between Bishop and Deadpool, so I couldn’t really tell you why he fits into this series. But hey—I love me some 90s X-Men. I’ll take him—especially in what’s by far his most iconic and well-known costume. Let’s have a look…

Bishop features quite a few add-on pieces to his costume that bring the figure together. Loose add-ons could have been disastrous to the overall quality of the figure, but Hasbro’s design team came through with flying colors and snug, tightly-fitting belts and bracelets. All these pieces give life to a mold we’ve otherwise seen used quite a bit before. Thumbs up, Hasbro.

The holster on Bishop’s back in pretty large, but it fits his sole included weapon nicely, and is thankfully not all that prominent from most vantage points. Compared with those of the Toybiz version of this character, the holster is practically invisible! The emblems on the sides of both of Bishop’s shoulders also look terrific.

I wanted to complain about the simplicity of the boots on Bishop but, well… reviewing my 90s X-Men comic books verified that Bishop’s iconic first costume actually does have exceptionally plain boots with no real detailing on them. I’m not entirely convinced that Bishop’s boots shouldn’t more accurately be blue instead of black, but I can’t deny I like look of the black boots.

The whole head sculpt on this Bishop figure is top-notch. From his furrowed brow to the grimace on his face and famously awesome mullet, this is the time-displaced X-Man through-and-through. Love it.

Bishop has just one accessory: a BFG Energy Rifle. It doesn’t have any paint detailing, but it is nicely sculpted and can be held in one hand and posed with both hands on it. The BFG is nice, but it leaves me wanting more. Which brings me to…

The Wrong:

The main strike against this figure in my eyes is the lack of accessories beyond one gun (and a Sauron Build-A-Figure piece). Bishop’s mutant power is absorbing and redirecting kinetic energy, so is about some translucent energy fists? Or at least an energy effects piece add-on? Or even just a second gun, as Bishop is quite the gun-toting wonder.

Bishop has mutant powers that are easily demonstrable in toy form, and I’m disappointed Hasbro didn’t integrate them into this 6” action figure at all.

In addition to the lack of accessories, the paint deco on this action figure falls short of the mark. A pair of vertical parallel lines is a core characteristic of this costume for Bishop, and the way those lines are recreated here is via yellow paint on top of blue plastic.

The paintwork just isn’t quite right on the lining, unfortunately—there’s some areas where the lines aren’t straight, and others where the yellow isn’t applied heavily enough and you get a sort of “green” from the blue plastic poking through. The paint apps aren’t horrible, but they do stick out as being imperfect and a tad messy.

Also, this won’t be factored into my score for this figure, but I think single-packing this ML Bishop figure was a huge snafu on Hasbro’s part. Bishop is a core member of the 90s X-Men that most X-Men fans are going to want—it makes no sense to shortpack him and then double-pack Lady Deadpool (of all people).

Bishop has consequently been extremely difficult for a lot of folks to find for regular price both at retail stores and even online, which is a bummer given how crucial this character is.

Overall: While I’m disappointed that we don’t get any accessories that portray Bishop’s actual mutant powers in any way, I’m otherwise pretty content with the Deadpool Legends Bishop figure. Some of the yellow paint lining on the blue plastic doesn’t work quite right, but all of the add-on costume pieces work perfectly and the head sculpt is wonderfully sculpted and painted. Although he’s not quite perfect, this Lucas Bishop Marvel Legends figure is an essential component of a 90s X-Men Gold team lineup, and is a very nice figure in its own right.

GRADE: B+