It’s a helluva thing, to have such an iconic version of a classic anti-hero captured so perfectly, and then have it disappear almost like it never existed.
So it was that Jon Bernthal, one of the best casting choices in a generation of great comic castings, assumed the mantle of Frank Castle- a little modernized, a veteran of Afghanistan but still just as Marine. Showing up, subsequently stealing the show in the 2nd season of Daredevil, and then blasting into his own series for a couple seasons. And it was an exciting, if a little short-lived, take on bringing the Punisher to life.
And that take brings us Mezco’s version, a figure that almost challenged Superman for longest wait from reveal to release. It may well be all of that Netflix/Disney/Marvel drama that exacerbated that release, but that doesn’t change this Punisher from being probably the last of the Netflix figures we’re likely to see from any company.
This is a great looking figure, with an excellent pair of headsculpts, but it’s going to fall just short of his predecessor due to one flaw- and that is the choice of the “Star Trek” body, and it’s single elbows.
But let’s cover the good- his uniform and vest are two great new additions, no doubt why they ended up on the just-barely announced Stealth Ops Gomez. The tactical vest has nice detailing and paint detail, particularly the skull. The K-bar and 1911 can store on the vest, which keeps him pretty un-hindered. The tactical pants have integrated knee pants, very 5.11 style, and some clean short combat boots.
Those headsulpts, like I said, are excellent, with good looking eye paint and stubble. These use the integrated neck piece, instead of the separate pieces, but it’s not a bad choice for unmasked characters. The sculpts are similar, but the blood and bruising effects on the second heads look really good.
For accessories, Frank has a short S&W Magnum, a new 1911 variant- I think it was a Kimber Warrior in the show- that has nice grips and retains the mag and slide features. He also has the infamous M134 minigun, a nice K Bar, and some firing effects. He rounds out with the usual hand assortment, and a mid-length leather jacket. I would have liked for a HK416 or one of the dozens of other rifles in the show, but I suspect they opted against it because of the articulatiom scheme. Although, a bit chicken winged as it might be, he can get some decent rifle poses.
So that brings us to the articulation. It IS functional, as the Star Trek body usually is, it’s just a shame they don’t upgrade to a least more functional arms. As it is, the torso, legs, knees and ankles all work just fine, and even the 90-degree bend is better than some figures get. Truthfully, the good outweighs it, not unlike with Dr Strange, Ash, or Joker- all figures I like more than I expected to. Other than that, the vest hitches up the torso a little, but the design leaves the waist and legs unencumbered.
Once he’s paired with the Netflix Daredevil, it kinda all falls into place. Neither figure has dethroned their comic versions, but they don’t need to. The only real drawback is that they won’t ever be joined by a Jessica Jones or a Luke Cage. So for me, and any fans of the show, I consider this a worthy buy. Thanks to Mezco for helping send him along, and thanks for your patience as I try to catch up on this backlog of figures. There’s nothing I’d rather do, it’s just all tnis other crap I’m supposed to do….
