“C’mon man — You Borin’ Me…”
After an excruciating wait, Mezco has finally delivered a true second figure in their One:12 Collective series in the form of a SDCC exclusive box set. For the first time ever in figure form, we now have the Mutant Leader to add to our Rogues Gallery.
Oh, and we did get a giant base and a new Batman variant too.
Inside a giant, handsome, and ridiculously heavy box, you will find these two figures and the polystone display base.
First impressions were a little overwhelming, actually. It hasn’t been that long since I got my first Mezco Batman, but I forgot how instantly inadequate he makes your other recent purchases feel. Man, my new Star Wars figures don’t need that grief. The paint work, on figures that are at least half-covered in CLOTH, is nothing short of astounding. The dirt and blood that covers these figures is almost surreal when you’re staring at them.
One thing that does need addressing, though, is, amazing as it looks, the Batman deco is slightly off for this particular moment in the graphic novel as well as the movie. As this first fight occurs in Book 2, Batman is still wearing the yellow oval suit he wore when first coming out of retirement. It’s actually after this fight that he switches to to the black bat suit, either as a nod to a darker mood, or maybe because he just plain exhausted his supply of the first uniform. However, this suit does get torn up, and looks a lot like this, from the cover of the first printing of Book 2:
So, it is comic accurate, just not comic-interior accurate.
Let’s start with a look at the Mutant Leader. While we were told he would use some existing parts from Batman, I have to tell you, for all intents and purposes, he feels all new. The arms, upper torso, head, and lower legs are definitely new, leaving maybe just the lower torso, hips and thighs to be from the original figure.
His articulation is fantastic, with obviously a little better elbow range than his predecessor, but it does feel like his floating shoulder joints are a little more restricted. That, or I just need to work them more. The pleather pants have a great texture and have relieved all my fears for Judge Dredd — they don’t hinder his movement a bit. His feet are a bit different as well, more akin to a NECA Predator foot. They don’t allow for as much lateral movement as the boots do, but the tilting and flexing make them excellent for balancing the figure out.
As a result, he can do crazy stuff like this —
— without any support. His accessories include his crowbar and two alternate fist hands. So far, though, I prefer the ones he came packed with. The face sculpt is truly sinister, and you can even see the hint of his eyes under his translucent visor. I would’ve never thought I’d have a need for such a thing, but this figure has basically sold me on the standard version of the Mutant Leader planned for next year.
Now, Batman, on the other hand, is the same basic figure as the previous releases, other than a new head and battle damage deco:
And holy hell does he try to steal the show. The new face sculpt is literally painful to look at — you can see the swelling setting in around his left eye and the puffiness on his lip, alongside the scratches across his chin. There is no mistaking this for anything different, and I’ve never seen it done so brutally effective as right here — this is Batman getting his ass kicked.
The uniform has amazing paint and damage done to it. the gashes on his chest and shoulder look just like they should and haven’t affected the integrity of the uniform either. But the real show-stopper here is the paint. The base uniform has been covered in mud and blood, looking almost like it was done naturally, playing with the figure in a mud hole somewhere. The gloves and boots got special attention, with all but the batarang hands getting a weathered treatment.
Batman does come with a new accessory as well. This time, he comes with his fast-acting epoxy that he uses to shut down the Leader before he kills him.
I know that quote isn’t from this part, but I still like it. For something you could initially mistake as being kind of silly, the exploding gel effect looks cool as all hell in use, adding even more action to a scene that just bristles with it in every pose.
And naturally, to seal the deal, you get this incredible base:
I’ve always been more of a playset guy than a display-base guy. I always thought that pieces like the Sentinel parts that came with Toy Biz Legends, while cool, didn’t really have a place in my collection. This is a bit different. Obviously the paint work, from the rustic overspray to the wet puddle effects, put this in a class above most pack-ins anyway, but its size and construction lend itself to the action so well, it’s actually kind of hard to imagine this set without it.
All said and done, this set was worth the price tag, worth the wait, and absolutely one of the most amazing things in action figures we’re likely to see this year. All this has done is made the wait for Dredd even more agonizing, since this has served as affirmation for me — this is my favorite toy line going.
Let’s hand-off to Canonball, and see if he can offer a little more useful criticism than I could: