“Battling Jack Murdock raised me to be a fighter. And now it was time to step into the ring….”
Hh. Do you guys think if I keep telling myself that “I’m not a line completist” I’ll ever start believing it? It’s like even when I go out of my way not to preorder, or to try to pare down purchases, I’m just delaying the inevitable.
When it comes to The Man Without Fear, only a certain caped crusader can really claim better treatment when it comes to the One:12 Collective line. With The Shadowland exclusive, the standard red, this “classic” exclusive, and now a Netflix version in the works, Daredevil is very well-represented in this still somewhat-new line. I was immensely satisfied with the first two versions, the Shadowland version in particular really surpassing expectations. And, truthfully, the red version really hits all the right notes, to the degree that I was pretty much settled on old Matt Murdock. The Netflix version threw that askew, and so when a local shop had a pretty good price on this Previews version, I really couldn’t say “no” with any conviction.
As you have no doubt anticipated, this Daredevil is structurally identical to the other two versions, this one with a slightly more dramatic costume. Where the other two share uniforms in just different colors, this one is very unique, and makes for an interesting departure from the style of the others. As that is the case, I’m going to focus more specifically on the suit and changes, so if you need a little more information on the breakdown and the accessories than I’m going into here, may I point you toward my other Daredevil reviews: here and here.
Accessories are essentially a straight carry over from the standard — you have two additional head sculpts, a dozen alternate hands, the “fighting” and “posing” sets of batons, the display stand and “sonar” effect. While the hands and Murdock head are the same as the standard, the damaged mask is appropriately recolored, and surprisingly on the batons — with a little brass paint instead of the silver on the ends.
The uniform is, of course, the big draw for this version. Essentially two uniform pieces, Daredevil has a yellow spandex-like undersuit, similar to Flash and Zoom’s, and a more leathery unitard over it. The effect is a little quirky but endearing, which is kinda how I feel about the classic uniform as a whole. The large “D” emblem is nicely tampographed on the top suit, and the stitching is really nice on the edges, as well as on the yellow suit.
Interestingly, I was thinking that this suit would be the best in terms of articulation, but the red version was better than I anticipated in the use of the armor plates. The yellow does have better range in the shoulders, the only part the other two were somewhat limited, but I found the hips a little tougher to work with than those previous guys. In retrospect, it makes sense- yellow DD has more fabric, and thicker fabric at that, covering those parts. It’s not really a major limitation, but messing with the two side-by-side, there’s definitely a difference.
Overall, this is really just a preference deal. There isn’t one clear winner among these figures other than the design you’re most partial to. If your current Mezco collection veers more comic, or classic comic than the cinematic/modern looks, this will be an excellent addition. If you were hoping to add just one Daredevil to your shelf, I think the red one fills more roles.
Whichever suit he’s got on, this is still a great Daredevil, and an easy one to own multiples of.
