We are building a TEAM! Matt K featured the all-new Marvel Legends movie Deadpool and Negasonic Teenage Warhead yesterday, and I happy to be adding Domino to the mix today. You just knew that these figures were going to be a lot of fun, and Domino ups that expectation by having twi uzis with knives attached to them. Uzis with knives… what a fascinating and violent time we live in.
When the Fox alumni figures were announced at Toy Fair, I wasn’t completely sure if I would be buying into all of them. I was on the fence about the X-Men figures, but the Amazon-exclusive Wolverine sold me on those, and even though I knew I was going to get Deadpool for sure, I wasn’t sure about his supporting cast. Well, the more I thought about it, and the more I looked at the promotional pictures, the more I wanted to add Domino to the mix, too. There has been something striking about this figure since day, I ultimately could not pass it up. I am glad I didn’t, and since I was already in for DP and Negasonic, too, I went ahead and threw in for Cable as well. Domino is the first of the group to arrive for me, and she sets a very high bar for the rest of the crew.
I am probably not alone when I say that I enjoyed Deadpool 2, but not as much as the original. That is not to say that it was a bad movie, far from it, but it just wasn’t as tight in terms of urgency and pacing, and there was a lot of juggling due to the plot and winks. But what it sometimes lacked in focus, it made up for with more Cable, Juggernaut, and Domino, so I still walk away as a satisfied viewer, and I have rewatched the flick multiple times. So, good on Hasbro for brining us two of the major additions to the Pool-verse(?), and the character designs from the movie really lend themselves to translating to striking action figures, so, as usual, Deadpool gets a lot of love in this line. Now, a Colossus would be extra keen.
Anyway, Domino has a unique look in the movie that departs from some of the more classic elements, but on the whole, I think her redesign is mostly faithful to the strong notes. At any rate, it is a cool look, and casting Zazie Beetz was pretty damned ingenious. She embodied the role and really made it her own, and her confidence and ability to hold screen with Ryan Reynolds paid off well because she left me wanting to see more of her character in subsequent films. Which, we all hope will happen under the looming House of Mouse because regardless of the more “grown up” content, these stories need to continue.
Marvel Legends is on a real roll that has been ongoing for several years now, and while their comic book figures have been getting better and better, the movie figures are probably the best thing they are doing in terms of impressiveness right now. Don’t get me wrong, I am HERE for the comic figures, they are my main wants and what I focus on, but the unique sculpting, character/actor likenesses, and breadth of the universe are all pretty damned impressive. Gone are days of all of the costumes being drab and looking the same, and the colors and unique designs run almost as strongly as their four-color counterparts. So, to say that Domino is an eye-catcher even the league of the MCU is quite quite a bold statement, and is most definitely true. Well, to me anyway.
The figure likeness is the big thing with all movie figures, and this one hits strongly with both portraits. The photo-real tech/face printing has, of course, been employed here, and to great success, you can really see Zazie in the face. I prefer the head with the smirk over the other as it conveys the playfulness of the character more to me, but you can’t really go wrong with either choice. Domino’s hairdo is undeniably rad, and it has been rendered here really well. The costume has a few callouts to its comic origins, but again, it is mostly its own thing, and it fits the look of the universe well, while still being mostly practical. Hey, she survived the sky-diving scene, right?
Domino has pretty standard Marvel Legends female articulation, which makes her pretty posable. I am still waiting on some butterfly shoulders in this arena, and the single elbows can always improve in terms of range of movement, but everything works pretty well if you are used to the configuration. The pistol holster on the right thigh does come with the movie-accurate straps, so you might have to finagle some posing as it can make that thigh twist a little cumbersome. She gets two sets of hands, and while the fists are appreciated, I will likely never have them on the figure because the pistol grips allow for…
TWIN UZIS WITH KNIVES ON THEM. I am not a gun-nut, in fact, I don’t really care for them at all, but if we are talking movies and toys, a badass lady with twin silver guns with knives on them ALWAYS looks cool. So, I love that they are both included here, and she will hold them on my shelf for all time. The little pistol mentioned before is, of course, also included, but it can stay snugly place in the holster, just in case one of the uzis goes missing. I know it is said that Deadpool always looks the coolest when guns are involved, but movie Domino is going to give him a run for his money.
So, I was quite take with the Hugh Jackman Wolverine figure, but being honest, I like Domino even better. I can’t wait to get DP, Negasonic, and Cable, because that makes for a pretty damned fun team, and again, I will be holding out hope we can get a Colossus at some point. Domino is available for pre-order from out friends at BBTS and Dorkside, so hop on over, you won’t want to skip on her. Because she might stab you with her gun knives.