Huh. Wouldn’t you know it? In the decade that I have been contributing to the Fwoosh, I’ve never actually reviewed any Deadpool product — until today. I wonder if that’s some kind of record.
It’s not for lack of affinity for the character or anything, to be sure. I have always thought Deadpool looked awesome. Equal parts Spider-Man, Snake Eyes, and Deathstroke, he always made for great hand candy. The 5-inch ToyBiz figure from ’92 was one of those awesome Kay-Bee “ends in .33” sale pickups that also scored me a GW Bridge and Shatterstar. When Marvel Legends 2004 Series VI Deadpool popped up over a decade later, I’d already found Joe Kelly’s and Ed McG’s signature run, and the inclusion of an issue of that very run was like instant confirmation I needed that figure.
And it’s probably a really good thing that he was a solid figure, because despite his ever-growing popularity, it took over another decade to get another worthy 6-inch-ish Deadpool, this time from Hasbro. The previous Hasbro attempts — using a body that needed retirement more than most senators — didn’t quite hit the mark, and the Marvel Select one missed entirely, at least for me. So getting a One:12 version is really kinda icing on the cake. Ooh, this cake tho.
The Mezco version comes to us on a base body that actually comes out a little smaller than his recent Legends figure. In terms of Mezco scale, he feels more like a Daredevil-sized bod than a Punisher one. Naturally it’s hard to say without peeking under the uniform, which I’m not going to do.
That uniform is a nice mix of a spandex material, combined with some black pleather elements. Deadpool’s stark colors and blocking really benefit from this approach, and this makes for a very striking figure. Like Daredevil, the pleather made me nervous at first, and again like Daredevil, it’s proven to be groundless. At least for now. The web gear is done in plastic, but it’s done with the articulation in mind — things like hinges on the thigh-drop holsters bear that out. Initially, I thought the shoulder harnesses, combined with that pleather material had me thinking the shoulders were restricted, but I’m thinking now it’s mostly just the tightness of that joint, at least for the most part. Anyway, the rig all works well, with two functioning sheaths on his back, functioning holsters, and space to hold his 40mm grenades.
To fill all those functions, Deadpool brings a respectable loadout: one M16-style rifle with the M203 underslung launcher — with removable mag and opening breach, two custom katana, two Glock pistols with removable mags, and a handful of 40mm shells. He also gets some sword-holding hands, trigger hands, a “shaka” hand, an alternate head, a handful of M67 grenades, as well as the usual armature and display stand.
Back to that articulation, this is going to be very close to Daredevil levels. The rig might inhibit some of the ab-motion, but not much, so you can take advantage of most of that body’s solid articulation. The ankles are likely not going to be the level that some folks are after, but I feel like there are improvements being made- these are at least as good as Daredevil’s, if not better.
But hey, if you need some better demonstration of those points, why not see what Robo thinks?
For me, overall, this is one of the nicest technical demonstrations of this line so far. He hasn’t topped Batman or Punisher, at least not yet, but he is dangerously close. I instantly regret not getting the X-Men variant, since the uniform and harness are pretty distinct variations, but I will definitely be getting the X-Force variant.