Much like with last year’s conventions, Mezco likes to get out in front of these things and show off a little earlier than the other guys.
This year, Mezco trotted out some pretty big “Bwaaa?” moments almost a week before the shows, and it was nice to get a change to digest them a little in advance of all the crazy stuff some of the other companies brought to the table–Marvel f**kin’ LEGENDS– and chaos ensued.
The first biggie is the quiet storm that is the One:12 Collective “Brand Sheet.” Spotted at the preview, this little fold-open, which reminded me a little of the Kenner catalogs of the old days, brought confirmations of suspicions and some genuine surprises for what O12C has in store.
It’s been stated a time or two that any licenses that Mezco currently holds are fair game, and that they had acquired a DC Universe license, so seeing mention of Mortal Kombat, Breaking Bad, Universal Monsters and even Beetlejuice, while awesome, were more affirmation than revelation.
The big shockers were the collection of Hanna-Barbera properties and Thundercats being brought in under this tent. Talk about unsuspected. It does make me kind of hope that O12C can “branch out” a little into sub-series, because with this many properties to mine through, my Dark Knight Returns vs Mortal Kombat brawl is going to take forever to get going!
There was also some excellent eye candy on display, running the varied styles and lines Mezco is working, but since it says DisThunder on the author tab, I’m gonna focus on just a couple.
First, the Mortal Kombat X line is shaping up nicely. The usual suspects made another appearance, like Subby, Scorpion and Raiden, but they also debuted in the 1/18 scale line, so that’s pretty slick. The 6″ figures got a major boost with Quan Chi and Kitana, meaning maybe the spell is broken and we can get chicks in a MK line again.
Like I said, looks slick, but I’m a little weary on the articulation. With the O12C figures being called “Klassic,” I can already feel the nostalgia pushing me more to those anyway, and the added poseability seals the deal.
For O12C proper, just a couple surprises here, and they both mean big things. Judge Dredd is going to get a color variation- blue or black- and probably a Lawmaster, once they figure out the logistics. He said casually, while jumping up and down behind the computer. Batman gets his foe the Jo– oh ho! change the script and bring in the Mutant Leader. He don’t shiv. And is an excellent choice, much better than the obligatory Joker pairing that I was expecting.
Not a bad showing, and again, it was nice to get this dialed in before Toy Fair demolished any chances of cutting back on figures this year. Also, check below to see VeeBee get a little hands-on time with the One:12 Batman, it might help dull the pain of waiting on the damn docks :