By now, Mezco’s One:12th collective endeavor has been around long enough that you know if it’s for you or not. If you’re not into fabric, if the aesthetic rubs you the wrong way, or if the word “Mego” has at any point crossed your mind in relation to these figures, then you should walk away now. If you’re still here, then you get what’s being done here, which is something akin to shrunken Hot toys along with a shared-world, cohesive group of characters run through a very specific design flavor. Sometimes it’s successful, sometimes it’s not.
I’m trying to be picky with this line, but I’ve already ended up with a figure I didn’t think I’d be getting — BvS Batman. I had no desire to get a tiny Ben Affleck version of Batman, since I’m still thinking “anybody but him” in relation to the casting. But pictures swayed me, and in-hand he just might rank up there as the best Batman figure I own. If that upcoming FA Batman could get rid of some of the over-designed elements, that could quite possibly steal its slot, but that’s a whole other article.
I knew I’d end up with the flash as soon as they announced Zoom, or Reverse Flash, to go along with him. The one thing I think I’m most susceptible to is the “hero/anti-hero” concept, or the perfect villain version of good guys. He-Man and Faker. Superman and Bizarro. Superman and Ultraman. The entire Crime Syndicate is a goldmine of this concept, which is why it remains one of my favorite villain groups. The upcoming Captain Marvel/Black Adam is a guaranteed purchase as well.
For all it’s simplicity, Flash has one of the greatest comic costumes of all times. A lot of red, a bit of lightning, a dash of yellow here and there, and you’ve struck gold. I hate these modern “lightning lines’ they’ve been tossing all over the costume. Red is my favorite color, so the less marred it is by superfluous elements, the better. The Reverse Flash costume is bold, striking and sears its way into your retinas with all that bright and perky yellow. Mezco stuck very close to the classic elements here, without the addition of shoulder pads or extraneous elements that have been applied to other figures. Let’s take a look at these figures and see how Mezco did.
Flash’s head(s)
Flash comes with two heads. One is a Barry Allen-styled head, and one is a Wally West-styled head with whited-out eyes. There’s a cartoony vibe to the Wally head that sits right on the line between realistic and “too cartoony” for the mezco aesthetic. I personally like it a lot, but for me this is always going to be a Barry Allen Flash. If you’re more of a Wally fan, then it’s great to have the option.
Barry’s head has a confident smirk. It’s a nicely realistic head, and the elements of the mask enhance it into the real-world aesthetic Mezco sits in.
Wally’s head has a much broader, fun-loving smile.
Zoom’s head
Zoom’s head has a malevolent sneer, as if he has contempt for everybody around him. It’s the perfect expression for a bad guy. He looks like he wants to rip your throat out before you can blink.
Flash/Zoom’s costume
Without a lot of costume elements, these are as close as it gets to the skintight spandex look as any costume is going to get. This is a fabric that has a tendency to fray a little bit here and there, so you’re going to get little stray fibers here and there just from regular fiddling. I’d recommend getting a little pair of nipper scissors if that’s something that will bother you, just to snip away any loose threads. The fabric itself doesn’t convey the perfect illusion of a little man wearing a costume, but it’s damn close. It’s tight enough over the body so there’s not a lot of excessive bagginess, and you can make out the muscle tone underneath it, which amplifies the Hot Toys quality. I didn’t have much trouble with it getting wound around his arms during posing, and it doesn’t seem to stretch out during playtime, either. While I do like the fabric used on the BvS Batman figure a bit more, this does the job and looks nice, with a nice, satiny sheen that somehow looks superheroic.
The best part is that the colors of the fabric parts and the plastic parts are as close as it gets, so there’s not a jarring difference there.
Flash/Zoom’s arms
There’s a large range of motion in the shoulders, along with double-jointed elbows that allow them to get into running/punching/expressive poses. That, coupled with the fact that the fabric doesn’t bunch or twist, means that you can do anything with these figures that you can with a “normal” toy.
Flash/Zoom’s hands
Both figures feature ball-jointed wrists that allow for plenty of range of motion. They come with three sets of hands each: fists, flat running hands and expression/grabby hands. They can each be mixed and matched for multiple variety. The hands themselves are slightly rubbery so they pop on and off easily.
Flash/Zoom’s torso
While I’m not stripping these guys, there seems to be both a mid-torso joint and a waist joint. While there’s not a ton of range in them, you can get plenty of realistic movement, bending, turning, twisting and so forth.
Flash/Zoom’s hips
They appear to have ball-jointed hips with plenty of range, so you can get into all types of running poses.
Flash/Zoom’s knees
They have double-jointed knees, so the sky is the limit on their mobility there.
Flash/Zoom’s Ankles
One complaint that seems consistent with Mezco is the lack of range on the ankles. While these aren’t terrible restricted, it is true that they could be better. They seem at least comparable to the BvS Batman’s ankles, maybe a bit tighter, but not as bad as I’ve read for other figures. Again, they do the job with running poses.
Flash/Zoom’s accessories
Flash and Zoom come with a tornado effect that plugs onto either hand to simulate when they generate a wind funnel when moving their hand quickly. You remove a hand and plug the peg into the funnel, so it stays on, and they maintain a nice balance with it jutting from their wrist. Flash gets one tinted red, while Zoom’s is tinted yellow. It is a very nice addition.
Flash and Zoom both come with a variety of electrical speed effects that can be attached to their hands or their feet. The effect works very well, giving them a nice momentum effect while they’re standing still. If you happen to have a Tamashii lightning effect to add to it the effect is intensified, but the little add-ons look great as is.
Flash and Zoom are, at their core, extremely good-looking figures and plenty of fun. Unlike a lot of other lines I collect, this isn’t a line where I’m looking for extreme obscurity. If Mezco can pump out a decent roster of heavy-hitters at this quality, then I’ll keep buying what looks interesting.
Flash is up for preorder at Big Bad Toy Store
Zoom is available at Big Bad Toy Store