Long overdue; today we’re going to take a look at the second of Mezco’s Sovereign Knight figures, which is of course also the second in their Knight trilogy. For this “Standard” version, we leave behind the magic of the 1990s and head straight into the current era, for this black and gray variant is very much a product of the New 52/Rebirth age.
First thing we should address might be obvious to most of y’all, but it’s good to cover bases. This Sovereign Knight is functionally the same figure as the “Onyx” version I already reviewed, just with a different costume. Even the accessories are the same, which was great news for one head in particular. Since I’ll be focusing more on the cosmetic differences than an actual breakdown of the figure, you may want to read through that first review, then this one, so if this is the first version of this figure you’re getting, you’ll have a more complete picture.
Okay, so let’s talk about this costume. This version was actually the first that we saw this figure in, and I’m not gonna lie, he felt a little surplus to requirements. There is a pretty distinct lineage between this design and the 2016/2017 movie Batman, and that figure set a pretty damn high bar. But Sovereign Knight doesn’t seem all that concerned with being super distinct from that costume in his final appearance. When we first saw him, though, the body suit was a much darker charcoal or black, with the diamond plate- themed vinyl details cast in a medium gray. Probably in an attempt to keep him more comic book in style, this was changed to a medium body suit with darker gray details. People cheered, people complained- I don’t even read the boards these days and I bet I can recite the comments- but ultimately, both looks were good, this one is probably just more versatile than the more distinctive initial look.
And that look is “modern,” to put it down to one word. Large raised Bat-emblem, a more streamlined techy gold belt, segmented armor plating on his cowl, gloves, and boots– essentially, New 52 through a Mezco lens. And you know, I liked it when I got it, and it has increasingly grown in me since. Possibly because he is so similar to the movie costume, he was a slow burn. But with all three versions and their variants portraying such specific times in his history, this one makes a perfect mid-point to the collection.
The suit is a little bit of a bonus to Batman’s articulation, with less armored panels in the suit opening up his range of motion, well, a little bit. Art imitating life, right? The other significant change is the black parts, including cape, go from that shiny Onyx to a more matte black, a perfect match for the standard Ascending Knight.
Accessories are all here, same as the Onyx, and they’re still a lot of fun. I love when Mezco goes all out. The Kryptonite knuckles hand, the drone, grappling gun, sonic gun and a buncha batarangs are all here, as well as the three masked heads. The nice bonus here was the Bruce head made it to this version too- he wasn’t originally solicited with it- and that head serves as my favorite non-Affleck head right now.
I’ve been asked about this often, mostly because people figured out I have more money than sense, so I also wanted to touch on the interchangebility of parts on this figure. As you might have summarized, yes, you can swap things like the faces and emblems between versions. You just have to be very patient and a little careful. First, the faces on the masked heads are seperate pieces from the cowl. If you apply some heat to them, they are not difficult to pry out- just make sure they’re good and warm- if it’s fighting you, it’s not warm enough. The closed mouth face has a slight bit more plastic on the back of it than the open one does- this just needs to be trimmed down a bit.
Then apply some more heat, and a little glue to the back of the face, and you are good to go. The symbols are held in place by three pegs that peg directly into the chest. Actually, the big bat has three, the oval has just two. These pegs and spaces are identical, so they match up just fine when applied. This again takes heat and a ton of patience. It’s not the end of the world if one of these pegs snaps, but it will make it tougher to change the emblems back later. And of course, you have to be very careful not to damage the vinyl under the emblems too much- last thing you want is a gash the big bat would have covered now shown by the oval.
Other than that, you’ve no doubt seen customizers cranking out trunks, belts, heads- all manner of goodness you can add to this figure. I don’t normally recommend a figure in this fashion, but this is a fun Batman to have a pair of, so you can make one maybe a little more comic looking, or classic, or whatever your taste is, but still have that factory clean look to go back to when you want it. I’m still very certain the Previews version is going to be my main Batman, but until he gets here, this one is a blast to play and work with. Thanks to Mezco and Megalopolis Toys for helping me get a pair of them!
