If, like me, Batman is your favorite superhero, and, also like me, you don’t mind paying $80 for your action figures, Mezco’s One:12 Collective likely changed the way you collect. Although Mezco releases relatively few figures a year, company founder Mez is a huge Batman fan, and that gives us hope to see some of the Dark Knight’s ensemble come SDCC.
Mezco has already unveiled two of my favorite Batman foes in the Joker and Deathstroke, but One:12 Collective figures of Batman’s rogues’ gallery would be my personal collecting kryptonite. I’d buy pretty much every adversary in the picture above, and that doesn’t include his allies. That made cutting my Batman wishlist down to five particularly trying. Let’s get into it:
5. Ra’s al Ghul
I’ve always filed Batman villains into a few categories: the kitschy ones (the Penguin, the Riddler), the real threats (Bane, Talon, Two-Face), the morally gray (Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Man-Bat), and the Joker. Ra’s al Ghul is certainly a real threat, but I’ve found him the most difficult to categorize nonetheless. Unlike most of Batman’s adversaries, Ra’s has powers. He also has goals beyond conquering Gotham. He, like Joker, is almost better suited in his own category.
Batman fans are also split on his place in Batman’s rogues’ gallery. Some don’t like to acknowledge him at all, while others argue he’s important than the Joker. His action figure wouldn’t be the most visually interesting, but many Batman characters — namely Hugo Strange, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Jim Gordon — are just guys in lab coats, suits, or plain clothes. Ra’s is essential to Batman, so he makes the list, albeit at the bottom.
4. Two-Face
I believe in Harvey Dent.
Two-Face was one of the first major examples of two sides of a personality fighting for control of the body in popular culture. Similar characters, like Gollum of Lord of the Rings, remains one of the most iconic characters from that franchise. Harvey Dent is no different. Two-Face represents the good and evil within all of us, and the same can be said for both Gotham as a whole and Batman as a result.
Although it doesn’t seem like the majority of One:12 fans appreciate it when Mezco takes a character design into their own hands, I’d like to see their take on this one.
3. Nightwing
Likely the most popular member of the Batman family outside of the main man himself, Nightwing is universally beloved. Mezco’s own Pierre said we’d see Nightwing at some point in a recent interview, and we can only hope that means sooner rather than later. In fact, I’d like to see him next month at SDCC.
2. Bane
Bane, the top villain on this list, lands in the second slot. Bane was featured in a major motion picture and broke (pun intended) his way into comic history with one of the most notable panels in Batman history. He is almost definitely on Mezco’s radar because of that, so it’s just a matter of when.
I think the biggest trouble with Bane would be an appropriate base body. In the modern action figure marketplace, companies have to at least consider body re-use. This hasn’t been the case for all of Mezco’s One:12 Collective figures, and it’s unlikely that they’d be able to find a way to reuse their Darkseid sculpt, but it’s worth considering. Like Hulk and Juggernaut, Bane has been drawn at various sizes throughout his history. I’m a fan of a bigger Bane myself, but I stop well short of the gargantuan Arkham Asylum rendition. Mezco could probably put him on the same body as the Hulk if they wanted a more moderately sized Banner, but that’s ultimately a matter of preference. They could also put him on the same body as a Sabretooth, Apocalypse, or Venom, but again, that’s all a matter of preference.
1. Catwoman
I have no feel for how this pick will be received, but Catwoman is my second favorite DC character behind Batman, so this was a no-brainer. Give me a Catwoman built identically to the One:12 Daredevil (aside from the shoulder pads) and I’ll be a very happy collector.
Phew, that was like asking me to pick which child to leave behind in a fire. Please Mezco, don’t leave any children behind in the fire. Make these five and Scarecrow, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Hush, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, the Riddler, Jim Gordon, Hugo Strange, Talon, Man-Bat, and whomever else I forgot.