Whenever I mention Gwenpool, I tend to preface it with “I don’t really like this character”. And so, I don’t think anyone will be gobsmacked to hear that my anticipation for her first 6″ figure wasn’t quite off-the-charts. But to my utter astonishment, it turns out that not only do I not hate this Marvel Legends Gwenpool figure–I really kind of love it. The Spider-Man Legends Gwenpool Lizard Series figure is available online now for MSRP–and even if you’re just buying it for the Lizard BAF tail, you may be surprised how much you like it too…

Okay, cards on the table: I’ve only ever read a handful of comic books that Gwenpool was in—and I didn’t like them. So I’ve never had any real affection for this character. At all.

And then I got this Marvel Legends Gwenpool action figure.

To my immense surprise… this figure is really fun. I had a great time posing her alongside the Lizard Build-A-Figure, changing out her hands–and even the alternate licking head I thought was really creepy…? Yup—it won me over.

First off, the packaging. Though she’s technically part of the Marvel Legends Spider-Man Series, you wouldn’t know it from the packaging. Her own logo is proudly printed across the front, and there’s a wacky bright pink backdrop displayed behind the figure in the box.

She’s even been posed with heart hands in the box! You can just tell Hasbro had a blast with this Gwenpool Legends figure!

The Gwenpool Marvel Legends figure comes with an impressive nine accessories, including the Lizard Build-A-Figure tail, two katanas, an iPhone/smartphone, an alternate head and six interchangeable hands. That’s a pretty nice haul of extras for a $20 6” figure, frankly!

The iPhone accessory is unfortunately a plain black piece of plastic with some sculpted details on it. I would have liked a sticker or something on the screen to add some color, so I might add a bit of paint to this myself. I appreciate Hasbro including this accessory, even if it would be nicer painted.

It’s not an accessory exactly (as it doesn’t come off), but Gwenpool’s penguin backpack is super-cute and colorful. I can’t think of any other character that something like this would be appropriate on, but it’s zaniness really clicks with Gwenpool.

All six interchangeable hands do their jobs perfectly. The katanas (which have painted hilts, thankfully) fit perfect in the holding hands, the “heart” hands are funny (although sort of useless most of the time), and the “peace” gesture hand is always a winner. Good stuff.

ML Gwenpool comes with two interchangeable heads: a normal smiling head and a licking head that’s pretty freaky. I REALLY disliked the licking head in photos, but it ended up being rather amusing when actually playing with it (especially during posing with the Lizard BAF). These aren’t as good as the MAFEX Gwenpool heads, but they’re nice enough (especially at a quarter of the price).

Paint deco is well-done all-around. A lot can go wrong with white and bright pink as the primary colors on a toy, but the Hasbro factory has executed the paint apps on Gwenpool wonderfully.

Articulation is exactly what we all have come to expect from a teenage female Marvel Legends figure mold: ball-hinge head/shoulders/wrists; ball-jointed upper torso and hips; hinged ankles with rockers; double-jointed knees; swivel thighs; hinged elbows… and no biceps.

The lack of biceps articulation is annoying, but the overall arm articulation was good enough that I didn’t hit any snags posing Gwen Poole with her accessories. I’d sure like added arm articulation for female Marvel Legends soon, though.

The one thing about this figure that makes me nuts is the loosey-goosey belt she’s got. I understand not gluing it on so that it doesn’t inhibit the articulation, but as it is, it’s ridiculously loose and is constantly flopping around everywhere. I hate loose add-on costume bits like this, and unfortunately, they’re all over the place in the various 2018 Marvel Legends series so far.

That said, the belt does have the “G” on the front painted, which is in its favor, and I love being able to store the smartphone in the belt pouch. I just wish it wasn’t perpetually flopping all over the place.

Overall: While this is the figure from the Spider-Man Legends 2018 Wave 1 series I was least interested in by a mile, Hasbro once again pulled a fast one on me by making me love a figure of a character I don’t care about. The alternate hands and licking head add a surprising number of options for posing this figure, and she can hold her accessories without a hitch. Paint and articulation are solid (though I’d love female biceps swivels), and the penguin backpack is adorable. I though this ML Gwenpool would be trade bait, but now I’m keeping her for myself. Against my will, I dig this figure.

GRADE: A-