As our Mezco collections are slowly but surely gaining momentum, the character variants and exclusives have become some tough calls. In most cases, these variants just come down to a color or costume preference, but what happens in the cases where those variant costumes make for variant characters?
Well, for me, I enlist an extra opinion. Here is longtime Fwoosher Colirio with his thoughts on the latest PX Exclusive …
Arsenal!
Red Arrow!
Speedy!
Truth be told, I had no intention of getting this action figure.
It’s not that I thought it would be a bad figure or anything of the sort. On the contrary, Mezco typically turns out a quality product. Plus, we all knew way back when this guy was announced that he was basically going to be a repaint of the One:12 Green Arrow figure. As DisThunder mentioned in his review, Green Arrow’s only downfall is that he’s a great figure in the company of greater figures.
Plus, I’ve never really been an Arsenal fan. Meh.
So I planned to skip him and spend my treasure on the upcoming Deadpool and Deathstroke figures. Multiples of them, in fact.
So what changed my mind?
In-hand pictures combined with a decent online deal made this too good to pass up. That, and I needed a smaller Mezco body to fit one of those great ninja outfits from CJESIM so he could be customized into a DisThunder-styled ninja. You remember the ones he made … Oh yeah! How could I say no to an armored, hooded ninja?!
You already know the shortcomings of this figure, as Green Arrow was reviewed in March this year. Lame ankles, a teensy knife that falls out of the sheath, and chest straps that don’t quite tick all the boxes are all still present with Arsenal. First things first, though, this version comes with the tin case rather than the cardboard, windowed packaging. I am actually a huge fan of the metal box as it makes for a great place to store the figures and accessories.
That being said, I really do like the small improvements Mezco made. For instance, the metallic red paint looks fantastic on his armored legs and arms. The mask is a darker maroon and has its own metallic sheen. The red vest has a subtle dark red trim around the shoulders, zipper, and hood.
Speaking of the vest, Arsenal’s doesn’t extend below the waist like Green Arrow’s did. Judging from pictures, this gives a slightly more modern, tactical appearance. The wired hood works well again here and looks far better in hand than in test shots.
I was both pleased and surprised by the head sculpt. In pictures, the head looked very plain and boring. In person, the 5 o’clock shadowed face has an older, more detailed look than expected. The bow has a weaker bungie string than Ollie’s, which in this case makes for better functionality. This will make for excellent posing on the shelf as I don’t expect it to pull the hands and arms together over time.
Arsenal comes with all the same arrows and extra hands that we saw with Arrow.
As usual, all the standard Mezco articulation, quality, and value are here as well as the typical issue with the ankles.
So, what’s the final verdict?
Well, looks like I’ll have to get a second one to customize into that ninja figure after all.
This one’s staying in my collection as Arsenal. (Did I mention how much I love the character now that I have a great figure of him?)
