By Phantom Troublemaker
If you’ve been following me here or anywhere else on
social media – like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram –
you know that while I recognized some issues with Dawn of Justice, I liked it a lot more than many people. Especially
the extended cut once I saw it. And the one thing that everyone seemed to agree
on was that Ben Affleck was great as Bruce Wayne and Batman.
You can read more of my thoughts on the movie here
and check out our BvS
episode of the Needless Things Podcast.
Mezco’s One:12 Collective action figures are the best I
have ever owned. They’re basically the toys I have dreamed of my entire life.
Check out my reviews of the Dark
Knight Returns Batman and Judge
Dredd for more about how incredible those figures are.
But then all of those other figures got delayed by
months. The earliest any are going to hit is March, and I’ll believe that when
I see it. So after getting some sweet Christmas cash and jonesing for One:12
figures, I ordered this one from BigBad. I mean, a Batman is a Batman, right? And
I have a whole shelf of them. It’s not unprecedented for me to have tons of
different versions of Batman. And it’s not like Mattel’s
version cut the mustard.
FIRST
GLANCE
I have discussed the One:12 figures with some other
collectors and a common reaction is that they’re always smaller than you think
they’re going to be. Intellectually we all know that they’re twelfth scale
figures – roughly six inches – but it’s always surprising to get your hands on
one and realize they really are. I’ve finally figured out that it’s because of
the fine detail and the quality of the soft goods.
We’re so used to seeing Hot Toys releases that look
almost exactly like these. Our brains are used to this kind of quality at sixth
scale. More than that, we’ve spent our whole lives knowing that this style of
figure – smaller clothed figures – run around 8” like the classic Megos. So
there are two levels of expectation that have been bred into us by years of
following toys.
Anyway, Batman looks incredible. From the sculpt of the
plastic portions to the fit of the suit, it’s all fantastic. I don’t know that
I’ve ever owned action figures that are as instantly gratifying as these. As
soon as you open the box you’re glad you made the purchase.
This is the same gorgeous style of box that DKR Batman
and Dredd were in. Apparently it’s the standard for One:12 Collective releases,
and I’m good with that. It’s beautiful.
The exterior shell is a plastic slipcover with various
elements printed on it such as the title logo, the BvS emblem, and all of the
images of the figure on the back. The graphics are beautiful and eye-catching
and it’s clear that a lot of thought went into putting over the fact that this
is a deluxe toy. This piece slides off easily.
The box itself has a monochromatic image of Batman on the back. It’s all done in a lovely flat finish that looks so much classier than glossy print. The box is made of a thick, sturdy cardboard.
The front panel opens to reveal the figure and accessories and an embossed, flat black Bat symbol. There are two magnets in the front panel to keep it closed.
The box opens easily. Inside there are two plastic trays, each with their own cover. These separate easily and are not taped together, which I liked. The bottom tray holds the arm and armature for the display stand. Everything else in is in the top tray. The figure itself had a couple of plastic pieces around it to protect against scratching. Rather than tape, the accessories have a piece of film over them that clings to the plastic.
This is a fantastic box. It’s a perfect combination of everything that collector packaging should be – it has a beautiful design, it’s easy to open and remove the figure, and it’s also completely resealable with no sign of damage; not even tape marks. Mezco put together a box that is utilitarian and attractive and it might well be the best I’ve ever owned. I didn’t have even a second of difficulty removing any piece of the toy from the box, and that’s significant.
I should’ve gotten a better picture of the head. But I do
like that in this picture you can tell that the cowl and the face are separate
pieces. My flash didn’t do the figure any favors, as it washed out all of the
details on the jaw and made the washes on the cowl, gloves, and boots look
really inconsistent in places. Trust me – this is not the case. Everything
looks wonderful together in person.
The cowl sculpt has the subtle frowny eyebrows that are a
trademark of almost every Batman. The ears look great and are pointy enough to
stab you when swapping the heads, so be careful. The eyes are nicely painted
and feature the blackout on the skin around them. The blackout that Superman
magically whipped off when he removed Batman’s mask…
The head, neck, and cape are separate pieces. In the
pictures they don’t look like they match up, but they do. The cape and neck are
nearly perfect. The cowl has the wash, but like I said – my pictures are not
representing it well.
The cape is huge, but not overwhelmingly so. The movie version was CGI more often than not and did a whole lot of majestic flapping and waving and unfurling. The figure version is made of a light material that is designed to look leathery on the outside and has a shiny lining. It is the perfect weight for this scale, as it is light enough to fold and pose, but heavy enough to drape properly.
I don’t love the mud deco around the bottom, but my assumption is that it is present throughout the movie and is therefore accurate. I’m not saying it doesn’t look good, but I am usually not a fan of wear and “battle damage” on my figures. It’s personal preference, not quality.
The suit is remarkable. Every aspect of Mezco’s One:12 figures is impressive, but this work with fabric and designs is where they truly shine. The base material is stretchy and features a design that captures the look of the movie suit. It looks great, but the details on top of that are the mind-blowing part. All of the seams are some kind of rubber that has been fused with the fabric. I don’t know how they do it, but it’s not just a screen print. This stuff isn’t going to rub off. The Bat symbol is the same material, only thicker so that it stands out. The detail in the symbol is all there, from the texture to the seams and what look like “scars” from previous battles.
One nitpick – the Bat symbol on mine is off center. It doesn’t line up on top of the seams like it should. I don’t care because it’s not even noticeable until you’re up close, but if you’re super picky you will. It’s unfortunate that these figures are pretty much online-only, because it means you’re not going to be able to pick and choose like we so often have to with other companies’ figures.
Batman’s gauntlets are all plastic and the same basic
shape as traditional Batgloves, but with some cool additional details. I wasn’t
aware of just how much brass coloring was in this Batsuit. It’s on the
knuckles, the fins on the gloves, and the toes of the boots. I didn’t care for
it at first, but I’ve grown to like it. These are all “attack points”. It’s
almost like Affleck’s Batman wants to highlight how he’s going to maim you.
Plus the brass matches the utility belt and makes a lot of sense from a design
perspective. Otherwise the gloves have texture and detail that matches the rest
of the black portions of the suit.
The utility belt is a great mix of the different versions
we’ve seen through the years. It features pouches and capsules. The base is
grey with metallic copper details that match the ones on the gloves and boots.
The back of the utility belt has a sculpted closure and a
more basic belt design that’s almost military. There’s also a peg to store the
grapnel gun.
Like the gloves, the boots are reminiscent of classic
Batman designs, with the raised portion under the knees. The textures, seams,
and folds are all intricately sculpted, as are the soles and treads. The brass
toe caps match the other highlights on the figure.
Batman comes with a stand, a
posing armature, a cape armature, an extra head, three sets of extra hands,
three Batarangs, a grapnel gun, three grapnels, a smoke grenade, a Bat branding
iron, and a storage bag.
The hands swap out easily
with the default hands, but stay put well. You’ve got two Batarang hands, a
hand for the grapnel gun/Bat brand, an open fist, and “it’s an operating table
and I’m the surgeon” hands.
This grapnel gun is a very
different design from anything we’ve seen before. The wooden handle, in
particular, stands out. It’s a very cool design, but it isn’t very Batmanly.
That isn’t the point here, though. The point is that Mezco did a great job
making a toy version of the movie prop. The sculpt and paint are excellent and
the three grapnels are above and beyond what I find necessary for this figure.
Each one fits in the barrel of the grapnel gun. I particularly love the one
with the lien attached because that’s such a classic toy feature. We all loved
the ones with climbing gear.
The gun fits perfectly into
Batman’s hand or plugs onto the peg on the utility belt.
The three Batarangs are hard
plastic and pointy and sharp. The metallic silver looks great. I wish there was
a place to store them, but I don’t know where it would be.
The smoke grenade and brand
look good. I’m surprised at the paint and detail on the brand. It’s such a
disturbing accessory, but it’s very well executed.
The extra head is Batman’s
angry head. Mrs. Batman packs it for him when he goes on big missions. It’s a
little tough to switch the heads out. With the pointy ears it’s difficult to
get them situated on the ball connection. The angry head looks great and I
think I prefer it to the default sulky head.
The base and armatures are
crazy. The base is super shiny and will scratch easily, so be careful. There’s
a removable peg so that you can simply stand the figure on it, but there are
also two armatures if you want more extravagant poses. One holds the figure in
various jumping or kicking or gliding positions, the other clips onto the cape
so that you can pose it in any number of dynamic ways.
This is a brilliant piece of
toy engineering and I salute whatever mad Mezco designer came up with it.
This figure is all kinds of fun. The posability goes
above and beyond anything you’ve seen from a twelfth scale action figure. The
head and neck are jointed, the knees and elbows have double joints with DEEP
pivots, there’s a waist and abdominal joint, the shoulders have an incredible
range.
This is still an amazing figure to play with and pose. I
would say the biggest limitation comes from his feet, which have a very shallow
pivot. They do swivel, but they just aren’t as functional as I was expecting.
It’s not any kind of big deal at all, but it is noticeable compared to the DKR Batman
figure. They’re better than Dredd’s, though.
Obviously the huge number of accessories add a lot to the
play value. Being able to change up the look of the figure is great and the
multitude of weaponry make for near-endless posing options. This Batman has
stayed on my desk since I opened him, forming an uneasy awesome toy alliance
with NECA’s newest Ash (which I plan to review soon given it was the 2016
Action Figure of the Year).
I also want to emphasize that he’s much sturdier than you
probably think he is. I’m not saying that you should buy one for your kids, but
I would be much more comfortable handing a One:12 figure to my nine year old
son than I would any DC Collectibles release.
I am so glad that things worked out in such a way that I
was compelled to buy this figure. It’s a fantastic Batman. I’d be lying if I
said I wasn’t tempted to go ahead and order the matching Superman. And I guess
that’s how they get you.
This one isn’t quite as perfect as the prior two
releases, but I love it. I want to
give it a perfect score, but it’s basically just the crooked Bat symbol that
keeps me from doing it. As I said – it’s barely noticeable and I don’t care.
But it shouldn’t be that way and I’ve got to acknowledge that.
Otherwise this is truly an elite action figure and one of
the very best that I own.
4 out of 5
I can’t even imagine how much the forthcoming One:12
Batmobile is going to be. Maybe we’ll find out at this year’s Toy Fair.
Buy this Batman from Amazon and help Needless Things pay
the bills!:
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enjoy SupportPhantom.com.
Just got mine in the mail on Saturday. He is very, very impressive. Haven't given him my full attention yet but I like what I'm seeing.
ReplyDeleteYeah, my Cap is still in the box because I just haven't had time to open him properly. It's not like popping open a Star Wars figure.
DeleteWhich Cap is it?
DeleteThe regular One:12 version. I didn't like the classic one as much. I might have some time today.
Delete