“Well, I was thinking, if you’re going to be a devil, wouldn’t red be more appropriate?”
“Do you like red, Karen?”
“It’s my favorite color …”
You know it’s not a bad week when you get two Mezco figures on your door. Today we’ll take a look at the more classic red Daredevil, the standard release variant of the three horned-heads we’re getting.
As I have reviewed the “Shadowland” version very recently, I’m going to focus on the deco changes and additions, rather than an overview of the figure itself. If you need a little more info on articulation breakdown and so on, refer to this page here, and then you can pop back on here for the other details.
So we were fairly clear from early on that the Shadowland and the standard version were going to be just “palette changes,” so there’s no surprise that this Daredevil has the same style uniform, complete with pads, just done in red. He’s also obviously the same body and has nearly all the same accessories — the same variant hands and the alternate wired fighting sticks. And, of course, there is the same clip on “sonar” effect and display base.
But this one is red. And, man oh man, as much as I really like the black, I love the red on this guy. The suit material feels to be about the same, and though I had doubts earlier on, it seems to be about as durable as the black one, even though getting those shoulders tight still makes me a bit nervous. The tone of red is perfect, and the matching between the spandex, the pleather-y parts and the plastic is great — not slavishly pigment-matched but very complementary. And that helps Daredevil stay visually striking in this single color without the usual “cheat” provided by a black wash.
But where this Daredevil picks up some points over his Shadowland self is in the extra head sculpts this version gets.
The unmasked Matt Murdock head really came out well. The sculpt and paints are very sharp, and the final product look to his eyes conveys the condition pretty well without being overdone. It sounds strange, and could just be a result of association, but he almost has a young “Ben Affleck” look to him, which further ups the ante for needing an Affleck Batman unmasked head. If only there were a variant he could come with … Anyway, the surprise for me was just how intense the damaged mask head came out looking.
Like Punisher and DKR Batman before him, Daredevil looks rough. Not out of the fight, I would say, but probably not feeling real well the next day. The expression and texture of the mask damage are perfect. In fact, it adds so much personality, it’s kinda tempting to display him this way all the time.
Given that this is the main version most stores are getting, you will probably be able to pick up Daredevil without too much trouble. Which is good, since the Shadowland version is starting to climb in after-market sales. Were this the only of the three you were to get, I think he should sufficiently satisfy this line’s need for a Daredevil. Still, the others look (and are) damn good renditions, and add to that a Netflix version for later this year, and, well, Matt’s got it pretty good. I think this red is going to be my go-to Daredevil for the duration, though, even with Shadowland on the shelf. Definitely recommended.
