Every once in a while you get a figure that is just the right balance of style, form, function, and accessories, and you find yourself occasionally stepping back and saying: “Damn, I own this?”
While he has been a long time coming, I can confidently say I had Deathstroke pegged as a sleeper hit. Not quite as heavily armed as Punisher, not quite as bold in style as Deadpool, I could tell that Mezco’s take on the deadliest mercenary in DC was going to hit that sweet spot between those two excellent figures.
As you may expect, Deathstroke is built on a very similar body as Punisher. He’s appropriately thick to begin with, but the ballistic chest armor, shoulder guards, and gorget fill him out even more so. This gets some lower balance in his heavy shin guards and boots, as well as the forearm bracers and gloves. I don’t know how well it transcends screens, but the blue of his armor is surprisingly vibrant, and with the orange highlights it stands out very prominently against the matter blue and black of his uniform underneath.
But the style stops well short of being a “juggernaut” armor layout, by omitting a lot of abdominal gear, as well as thigh guards and such. From a practical standpoint, this was probably done to preserve more articulation, but from a style standpoint, you can almost imagine Slade de-bulking his fighting rig over time, just keeping what he needs.
A few extra mag pouches on his belt, a sheath mounted on a bandolier, and a thigh drop holster fill in a little, but it all feels very utilitarian, like enough for the mission and a maybe a variable or two, but not much, because he knows he won’t need it. It’s like the stories my friends who went overseas tell — first tour they spent every mission with 90 lbs of kit. By second or third, it was a backpack with water and ammo.
I would say that feeling translates over to his gear as well. Where Deadpool has a M16 with a M203 and ladder sights, Deathstroke has a clean and all business H&K XM-8 styled rifle. Where Wade goes double Glocks and Katanas, Slade goes one of each. And that sword is nice. Slade even springs for some grenades — I’d say probably smoke ones — but just a handful, and they are secured to the shoulder armor.
And as I said a little above, that “just what you need” approach gives his articulation room to work. He is very close to Punisher in terms or range, and thanks to a ball-point on the shin/ankle armor, he gets to continue that welcome trend of improving ankle motion as well. The shoulder pieces rarely seem to hinder positions, and the open sections of his chest rig let his abdominal joints work pretty well.
In addition to the weapons, Slade has extra fists and gripping hands (although I wish he had a true left trigger hand), the usual display accessories, and one mean-looking unmasked head. I don’t know what else to say about it, other than it’s awesome. Like Punisher-awesome.
Obviously, I am very impressed and love the hell out of this figure (thanks, Mezco!), but an added enjoyment of it comes from sharing that experience with my friends. And after a loooong wait, I got to watch in real time as my buddy Prodigy took his first step into flavor country:
While DisThunder is an old pro at the Mezco One:12 figures, I have to admit that I haven’t boarded that train just yet. I did purchase the initial DKR Bats what seems like eons ago. I still love that figure, but admittedly, I haven’t purchased a One:12 figure since. Not because I didn’t like the way they looked, or felt that they weren’t going to be fun enough. I just never felt like I needed to have them.
Well Deathstroke changed all of that for me. I’ve since pre-ordered three more Mezco One:12 figures and I’m now scouring the secondary markets looking for good prices on some of the previous figures. He’s just such a great figure that I want others like him. This guy is just that amazing. He’s made so well, is so great to look at, and is just damn fun to play with, that he may shift your collecting habits in an entirely new direction.
Seriously, you have to have this figure if you like DC characters or just amazing figures in general. Even if you still don’t feel the need to own any other One:12 figures after him, you will not regret the purchase. Go. Now!
