Review of Deadpool - One:12 Collective
Exclusive action figure

Introduction

Who's the most popular Marvel superhero these days? You can make an arguement for a lot of them, but I'd say Deadpool. His initial movie was a massive hit, particularly considering its February release, and the sequel is one of the most anticipated in the ever combining and growing universe.

Most companies have been on the Deadpool wagon for awhile now, and you knew Mezco would include him in their terrific One:12 Collective series. They've actually got three versions, starting with the exclusive release last summer of the X-Men suit variation, and following it up with this standard costume version.  The Previews Exclusive X-Force variation is the next (last? Sure, let's say that) to be released, sometime hopefully in the next month.

I suppose you could argue that there are really FOUR, not three, releases of Deadpool in the One:12 line up. That's because they also did a Mezco store exclusive of the standard costume, and included one extra accessory. This is the version I'm covering tonight, although it's identical in every other way to the regular release.

You can expect to pay $85 for this store exclusive, or $80 for the regular release, depending on the retailer of course.

Packaging - ***1/2
The packaging is the usual stuff - heavy card stock, attractive graphics, and all of it completely collector friendly. No muss, no fuss, and no need to damage anything when removing the figure and accessories. It also includes an 'exclusive' sticker on the front, in case you were unclear.

It's worth noting that I'm happy to see the heavy card stock with this one, since most of the exclusives (when they aren't in a cool metal tin) are in a cheaper feeling package. I'm hoping we see this with others, like the upcoming Previews release.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Deadpool comes with two portraits, like most One:12 figures. The X-Men Deadpool also came with two, but here's the odd thing - I don't think these are the same two.

One is, clearly. That's the portrait with one squinting eye and one wider eye. They've used that for both figures, and I assume we'll see it again with the PX X-Force variant.

But the other sculpt has two squinted eyes, much tighter and with greater wrinkling around the sockets than we saw with the X-Men figure. It looks slightly different to me - your mileage may vary.

Either way, both of these portraits are excellent, with lots of detail and texture considering the scale. Remember, Deadpool is only about 6 1/4" tall, yet he looks as good as many sixth scale figures out there.

The sculpted hands work with the various accessories, and are properly scaled. Swapping them was tougher this time, particularly the left, but I didn't have any breakage or damage issues.

So why the drop of a half star? I really would like a little more variation between these two head sculpts. Sure, you can tell the difference in macro photos, but in hand it's a lot harder to discern.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work on the portraits is pretty standard stuff, but it's super clean and neat. The white eyes are particularly well done, but the edges and lines on the various plastic body armor and straps are excellent as well.

There's still a blip here and there that you can pick up on in the photos - like on the belt buckle, where there's some problems with the red and silver - but overall the quality is very impressive for the scale.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body has plenty of articulation, and the joints are tight and solid.

The ball jointed neck allows for tilt and lean in all directions, and swapping heads was quite easy. While the shoulders, elbows, and wrists are a little restricted by the costume, I had no trouble getting lifelike arm poses, including those with the various accessories. Swapping hands was a little tougher this time - I'd recommend using some heat - but was still doable with reasonable effort.

The hips, knees, and ankles are tight and can hold deep stances long term.  I found the rocker movement in the ankles wasn't quite as good this time, and I'm suspecting a manufacturing variation, since these are the same feet and boots that we saw with the earlier figure. Rocker movement was less of a problem there.

The only area where I couldn't quite get all I wanted was in the waist and chest joints. While he does tilt back and lean forward at the waist pretty well, there isn't much side to side or twisting movement, reducing some of the realism in fighting stances.

Accessories - ****
As with most standard versions of characters, Deadpool is very well outfitted. Most of this is re-used between the other two variants of course, but as the standard figure he really is the 'originator'.

I've already mentioned the two head sculpts, so I don't need to go back into detail on the sculpt or paint. However, their mere inclusion is a huge boost to this category.

He has a total of six hands: a pair of fists he comes wearing; a pair of gun grips; a pair of tighter grips (for the swords); a wide grip right (for the grenades); and a shaka symbol left hand. Swapping was a little tougher this time, but they definitely stay in place once attached.

He's all about the weapons of course, and there's plenty. He has two handguns with removable magazines. These fit neatly in the holsters on his thighs. They also have itty bitty symbols imprinted on the grips, and the sculpt and paint work are excellent.

The same is true of the machine gun/grenade launcher. The magazine is removable, and you can pop one of the six grenades into the chamber as well. These grenades can also fit in the loops on his shoulders.

Speaking of grenades, there are also four hand grenades, once again adorned with his logo. You can hang these from the various belts and straps on his costume, but I opted not for the photos. I felt they made his overall look too busy, but again - your mileage may vary.

His final weapons are the two identical katana swords that fit in the scabbards on his back. Again, great sculpts and paint work make them stand out in this scale.

All the Mezco One:12 figures come with a display stand, and Deadpool is no different. The stand can be used with the large clear support rod, perfect for jumping and leaping poses, or with a simple foot peg. They've also included the usual plastic bag, great for storing all these goodies long term.

The exclusive includes one more accessory - Headpool! This disembodied head is adorned with his propeller hat, and the sculpt and paint work are amazing. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like there's a good way to support it in a 'floating' pose, at least not that I could see.

Outfit - ***1/2
Another outstanding outfit, particularly considering the tiny size.

While this is clearly Deadpool, it's important to remember that Mezco does do their own take on these standard comic book characters. What they've done here with the leather, strapping, and armor looks great, and I really like the combination of materials.

This design means some construction though, since the pleather needs to be attached to the material. The quality is excellent, with no loose edges or slip ups with the glue. The shoulder straps, belt, and holsters are all connected, but they don't restrict the movement of the figure or get in the way of most poses.

My only minor complaint is with the straps on the holsters themselves. While you can probably get them to close, I wouldn't bother. I left them unstrapped, and they look fine. I would suggest moving the straps up and out of the way though, to avoid damaging them when you put the guns in the holsters.

They've had the baggy crotch issue solved for awhile now, but it's always worth noting that the issue hasn't cropped back up.

By the way, I debated which way to slide the grenades into the loops on his shoulders. I did it the way you see in the photos because it was simplest - the head and neck don't get in the way of inserting them. However, the more I thought about it, the more likely it seemed that they should go the other way, since you'd (if you were Deadpool) pull them out of the loops by using the opposite hand. I'm going to switch them around for my final display.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Plenty of posing and re-posing potential here. Thanks to the multiple portraits, extra hands, and plenty of accessories, you can make good use of all that articulation in creating lots of interesting looks. Just when you think you have the perfect pose, you'll come up with another - trust me.

Value - **
Prices are edging up on these guys, and you know how much I hate it when prices start edging up.  This exclusive version was $85, but the regular is $80 at most retailers, $5 more than many of the other recent regular release figures.  I'm hoping this doesn't become the new norm, or worse, goes even higher.

Things to Watch Out For -
As I mentioned, swapping hands was a bit trickier this time, so I'd use a hair dryer to make it less risky. You'll also want to take care with the tiny straps on the holsters, and avoid damaging them when sliding the guns in place.

Overall - ***1/2
Another terrific release of a great character in the One:12 line. Mezco continues to fire on all cylinders, and the One:12 Collective remains one of my few completist lines.

While there's a nit here or there, the simple reality is that your appreciation for this figure will rest entirely on how much - or how little - you like the design they came up with. If you like the look of the suit, there's not much else to deter you.

I love the look, making this another top release. I'm hoping that Marvel and DC doesn't end up the only releases we see in 2018 - I'm dying to get those Ghostbusters - but my fears are allayed by the quality of every figure they produce.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***1/2
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ****
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
This exclusive version with the Headpool accessory is only available through Mezco's store, where he is $85  - and surprisingly still available! Online options for the regular release include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
You'll want to check out the One:12 X-Men Deadpool that was a 'summer' exclusive, as well as the recent Deathstroke, Suicide Squad Harley, the regular Red Skull, classic Superman, the Morales Spider-Man. I've also covered the the exceptional classic Punisher, the regular release Punisher the Toy Fair exclusive version, Shazam, the classic Daredevil, the Flash and Reverse Flash, the BvS Superman, the comic based Joker, Green Arrow, the Frankenstein Monster Diorama, Frankenstein Monster, the BvS Batman, the Bvs Armored Batman, Captain America, Star Trek Kirk, the Mirror, Mirror and Cage variants of Spock, Sulu, the Toy Fair exclusive Spock, and the regular release Spock as well. Other One:12 Collective figures released so far include Dredd and his Lawmaster, the NYCC exclusive Judge Dredd, the DKR Batman and Mutant two pack, the Batman exclusives, and the initial DKR Batman.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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