I’m starting to think these One:12 Collective delays are a sham. “Sorry, this figure has been delayed. But while you’re waiting, would you like to order this figure?”
I was perfectly content to wait for the comic-styled Daredevil figure. Sure, that one is now looking like a spring 2017 release, instead of fall of last year, but Daredevil looks at his best in mostly red. I like the wonderful Silver Age-ness of his original costume, and I think the figure will be great. But a good, all-red clad version is really all I need.
That’s not to say Shadowland didn’t look cool as hell in the previews. Black is always badass, and red and black is the stuff the comics glory is made of. I put in an order for one before Christmas, but I didn’t make the cutoff for their initial supply. It was no big deal, and I honestly forgot about it — the one time of year I’m not likely to notice being $80 poorer and all.
When I got this slick little box in the mail last week, I figured I’d give it a look over, and maybe use it for a custom, or, worst case, sell it off and make a little extra coin.
Heh.
It isn’t that I wasn’t expecting Shadowland DD to be less than a good figure. Hell, that was obvious even from the toy show photos. It’s more that I wasn’t expecting him to be THIS good. And not just that he was THAT good of a figure, but he’s THAT good of a Daredevil. And it isn’t that I don’t like Daredevil, he just doesn’t normally crest my top 10 like, say, Nightwing or Snake Eyes do, both being strong candidates for this figure as a custom base.
So what is it that this Daredevil’s got that keeps him off the chopping and the auction block? Well, the first thing has to be the uniform. Using a pleather material that is at once similar to Judge Dredd’s and also somewhat fine-tuned over that uniform, Daredevil’s suit just looks sharp as hell. It has a great sheen to it, the “DD” looks to be thermo’d onto the material, and the fit is extremely nice. Add to that the stretchy nylon in pattern sections to add “stretch,” and the suit has an excellent real-world feel to it, with minimal seams and only some marginal restrictions to the articulation. To match that uniform, Daredevil’s head sculpt mimics the material pretty well in terms of texture and color, and while his gloves, belt, and boots represent a different material, they really flow with the costume. And while not to everyone’s tastes, the shoulder, knee, and elbow pads look slick, and, other than those shoulder pads, don’t impede any other part of the suit.
The articulation seals the deal, though. Using a new generation body not unlike Batman and Captain America, this new build has no peg holes on the elbows or knees. The ankle range is maybe just slightly less than Batman’s, but certainly more serviceable than Cap’s. The rest of the joints have range as-good-if-not-better than Batman’s, rightly so. The only restriction comes at the shoulders, where the combination of materials are a little tight for some extended arm poses — it feels like a bit of strain to put Daredevil’s elbows above his head. He can’t quite get that DaVinci “T” shape, but I’ll be damned if I don’t like the armor — it gives him just a little more bulk. It’s also worth noting his overall size and build are exactly what I would have wanted. He’s similar in size to Dredd, but more defined and trim, making him a great counterpart to the bigger figures like Cap.
Accessories with this version are a little light, unfortunately. While he does have a full complement of hands, we don’t get the unmasked or beat-up Matt Murdock alternates with this one. But you do get two sets of his straightsticks, one with a nice section of very thin wire connection them. The paint work on these is surprisingly nice, as are the texture segments on the gloves. And probably more useful here than with some of the other figures, you do get the display stand and armature for acrobatic posing. This also comes with an extra section and translucent red disc, to emulate Daredevil’s radar proximity sense. This works well when clipped to his upper arm as well as the base, depending on your poses. So it’s not bad, but I can always do with a little more at this price point.
So Daredevil is going to stay as-is, safe in the roster for the foreseeable future. He’s just too damn good. I may reassess when the red version comes out, as you do, but even not being a hardcore Daredevil fan, I can feel justifications forming for both. It’s hard to recommend this figure based on it’s current availability, which is to say if you didn’t order one, you’re paying extra, but if you come across any deals under the c-note mark, I would strongly consider it. It also doesn’t hurt to keep an eye on Mezco’s store site, as a few people snuck in on that last order, so who knows? Maybe there will be a few more.
