I have not read 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, but I do have a love for Captain Nemo based on the old Disney movie and his appearance in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman comic. Not pricey collector figure love, but love. I think it might be nostalgia for the original Mezco Captain Nemo figure set I bought so many years ago for DCUC Aquaman and Black Manta accessories that made me jump on this beauty. More likely this is just a great looking figure. Well, whatever the reason, let’s take a look at Captain Nemo!
Nemo comes in a snazzy metal lunch box with some graphics suitable for any ’80s kid’s lunch toting needs. It’s a little larger than a normal lunch box, but serves well as a carrying case for this guy and his plethora of accessories.
Nemo also comes with a cool little model of his ship, The Nautilus. It’s a very detailed little sculpture painted in a dark gold with a wash that brings out all the details. It looks like it would go perfect in Nemo’s study, however it does have a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea logo, so I don’t think it’s meant to be an in-universe prop.
Another cool item that came with Nemo is an illustrated booklet that gives you more information about his adventures, equipment, The Nautilus, and his crew. The illustrations are really fun and I love the world building they are doing here, especially the cut-away drawing of the inner workings of The Nautilus.
Nemo also comes with quite a few accessories including an alternate angry portrait, a removeable pouch, a sword with sheathe, a knife with sheathe, a pistol with holster, a telescope with holster, a sextet, seven alternate right hands (open, chop, fist, pistol grip, sword grip, looser grip, splayed fingers), four alternate metal hands (open, chop, fist, and point), a harpoon gun hand, a figure stand with flight arm, a cloth coat, a cloth hat, and a little statue with a shark jaw and what I’m assuming is Nemo’s original hand. I’m usually into mass market stuff where I’m lucky to get one alternate hand, so I’ve almost got pose paralysis with all the hand options here. It’s a nice problem to have.
A few of the accessories can be carried on Nemo’s person and there is a leg strap with two pegs that allows you to attach either the pouch, the gun holster, the telescope holster, or the knife sheathe. The pistol and holster are packed with ornate detail and are well painted with metallic colors and the pistol stays in the holster securely.
The knife is also very sharply detailed and is a glossy ivory color giving the impression of perhaps it was carved from whale bone. The knife sheathe can attach to the leg strap or a little clip on the back of the belt. I would caution you to be careful with that knife because it will slip out of the sheathe if you tip the figure over.
The telescope has a little bit of sculpted decoration and it can extend. I like that they put little clear plastic spheres in the telescope tube to simulate lenses. The telescope also fits nicely into its holster.
The sword has a cool squid eye motif around the hilt, which is a fun and appropriate detail for a Nemo figure, and fits securely into the scabbard which can be attached to a strap hanging from the belt.
The harpoon gun hand is also exquisitely detailed with an octopus motif and filagree. It matches well with the left metal arm’s slightly steampunk feel. The harpoon can be removed from the weapon and the rope has a bit of length that can be extended or retracted, but the process of winding up the cable once extended is fairly tedious. I can’t quite decide if I like the look better with the spool side up or down.
The sextet has some neat detail to it and is a lovely gold color. It also has some tiny little lenses, though it is a bit fiddly to get Nemo holding it up to his eye.
My favorite accessory is the statue of the shark jaws with Nemo’s hand. It was something from the old Mezco figure that I always liked and I enjoy the idea of storytelling through accessories like this.
The cloth cape and hat are fun and completely change his look. The cape has wires throughout that assist posing.
There are little elastic loops on the inside of the cape that help keep it down around the shoulders better and ride up less in action poses. The left photo below shows the ride up I was fighting without using the loops, the right picture shows how it works better with the loops:
The figure itself wears a blue pleather outfit with some puffy cotton sleeves, but there is also a ton of really intricately sculpted details on the plastic parts like the vest decorations, the right arm brace, the cybernetic arm, the boots and all the straps and buckles and sea themed decorations on his belts. I especially like the little trident and shell belt buckles.
The portraits are fantastic with the more neutral head sporting a fierce glare and the action head gritting his teeth with wilder flowing hair and scarf. Both feature magnificent beards with fun little bead details. I also really like the flowing feel to the scarf tails on both heads.
The articulation is really smooth while still holding position. Nemo has:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, wrists, and hips
- Double hinged knees and elbows
- Swivel biceps, thighs, boots, and metal arm
- Ball and socket head, lower neck, ankles, waist, and mid-torso
The movement is pretty good, though the metal arm and metal left arm band prevent the double elbows from getting much more than a 90 degree bend. The cloth does restrict arm movement a bit when raising the arm over the head due to the cloth of the shirt bunching up. The ball and socket ankles look great, but I think I prefer the function and stability of a forward facing rocker hinge and swivel. The head movement is also a little limited by the hair and beard.
The paint is also wonderfully detailed on this figure to bring out all the great sculptural work. It’s all very clean and impressive and the metallics are nice and shiny.
Overall this figure has really impressed me. It is on the pricey side of things, but it does feel like I got good value for the money and a very high quality product. Nemo also just looks damn impressive in hand and I’m all-in on him and ordered the crew and the wave rider. I just wish I had taken better care of my old Nemo stuff. Over the years I seemed to have misplaced part of the cabin diorama and those accessories which is a shame because they are fudgeable to work with this figure.
