Undoubtedly one of the best parts of any line are those “out-of-left-field” character selections that we occasionally get. The good ones leave you scratching your head. The really good ones leave you scratching your wallet.
Diabolik is only a stranger to the English-speaking world, though. I suspect many a Eurpoean (and probably every Italian) Mezco collector out there only had to check and made sure they heard right. His rich publishing history dates back to the early Silver Age, and that has carried over to several movie and TV adaptations, including a Fox Kids cartoon, and even some video games. The easiest comparison I can draw would be to Lupin III- Though sometimes depicted as ruthless, Diabolik is more often conducts himself by a code of honor. He prefers to steal from other criminals, avoids casualties of the innocent, and even tries not to kill cops- Like Lupin, he even has a dogged inspector on his tail.
Diabolik likes the quiet approach. He rarely uses guns, instead carrying a variety of stilletos, daggers, and fighting blades of all kinds to do his dirty work. And Mezco packed him with plenty. He has two throwing daggers that store in his forearm sheathes, a larger fighting knife on his thigh, and plenty of extras that can go into his pack.
He also can store a pair of suction cups (they do work, I’m just chicken) and grip hands to hold them, a large diamond and a fabrege egg, and some awesome NVGS- sadly, they can’t quite fit in the pack, though. He has an excellent unmasked head that actually made me think of Lupin as soon as I opened it- sort of a real-world take, maybe. But as it is, I think Diabolik actually preceeded Lupin by a couple of years…
Diabolik is built on the new Spiderman body, and thanks to his black symbiote-like wetsuit, he can take full advantage of a ton of articulation range. He has seperate tabi boot feet, though, and that give just a little more range, and reduces the chance of breaking an unseen ankle joint.
The poseablility, the accessories, and the aesthetic of the character make for a ton of personality when it comes to playing with or displaying him. I am fortunate that I can read just enough Italian to work through a couple of books, but the reality is his sheer appearance tells plenty of story on it’s own. He strikes that unusual position of looking just generic enough to be a standard ninja-type figure, but unique enough to demand you give him more credit, even if you’re not sure what that credit should be.
So even if your knowledge of his native language stops at the Olive Garden, this is a very worthy addition to any collection. Like the best wild card figures, simply owning it makes you want to know more. Very highly recommended. Thank you to Mezco for helping with catching this figure fof review!
