Review of Two-Face - One:12 Collective
Action Figure

Introduction

Since the dawn of time, sitting around the fire eating dinosaur chops (yea, I know, it's a joke), man has told tales of his duality. The idea of our evil side, lurking just beneath the surface, kept in check by our good side, is one of the oldest themes. With all the villains in the Batman universe, there had to be at least one to exploit the concept, and it was done early on with great success in the character of Two-Face. He's been a fan favorite since his introduction in 1942, and it's no surprise he's gotten his own comic themed release in the Mezco One:12 Collective series.

This guy was originally available for $95, but like almost every One:12 release, has sold out at most online retailers. You can still pick him up on Ebay of course, but he appears to be going for a slight increase right now.

Packaging - ***1/2
The exterior of the box mimics the black and red colors they chose for the costume. It's all collector friendly of course, and you can easily remove the figure from his plastic prison and return him later, no harm no foul.  There are no instructions, but the basic functions should be fairly easy to figure out.

Sculpting - ***1/2
The design follows the usual look - one side scarred, with burned skin and exposed muscle and ligaments. The other side is standard 30's white dude, with a nice hair sculpt and reasonable skin texture. It could be a bit better - the eyebrow lacks detail, and this isn't their most realistic face - but the scarred side wins the day.

As with all One:12 figures, there's more than one portrait. The standard is pretty much, well, standard for Two-Face. He comes with a second Two-Face head, this time with a wide, screaming mouth and squinted eyes. This one is perfect for the more extreme fighting poses, and is a really good candidate to use with the various guns and blast effects.

There's a third head sculpt this time as well. This is pure Harvey Dent, no scarring at all. This one isn't particularly useful with this costume (why would he be wearing a funky red/black suit?) but if you're looking to do a custom Dent, a good portrait is the hardest piece to come up with.

The hands are all very unique sculpts this time too. Sure, there's a set of fists, and some various grips to hold the accessories. But there are also several hands specific to working with the coin, or with the coin already attached. That's particularly nice, because while it's always good to get the coin as an accessory, having it already attached to the hand means you'll get a better pose, and won't lose the coin with regularity.

He stands about 6 1/2" tall, fitting in nicely with the rest of the series.

Paint - ***1/2
Like Dr. Zaius, this is a subtle paint job in hand. Remember, these figures are small, so minor variations can be difficult to see, but they make all the difference in realism. The scarred skin is slightly darker, more glossy than the normal skin, and there's a bit of a wash used to bring out some of the rough texture. The messed up eye is bright and clean, although the one on my 'standard' portrait is slightly off center, in terms of the gaze, from the other eye.

My only other issue is with the teeth, and only on the screaming portrait. The regular portrait has the usual sharply defined white teeth, something that's really impressive in this scale. But the screaming mouth isn't quite as clean, although it's a really, really minor nit.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body is no surprise - it can take fairly natural poses, and while I suspect these are single joint elbows, I was still able to get good one and two handed gun poses.

The ankles are particularly useful this time, with plenty of rocker movement. You can get the feet flat on the ground in shallow to medium stances without any trouble.

The heads and hands swap easily as well, and I had no worries about breakage or damage. All the joints were tight, and nothing loosened up while I was working with him.

Accessories - ****
As with many One:12 figures, Two-Face is extremely well outfitted.

He has the three heads I mentioned earlier, but that's a big bonus in this category as well. There's the usually extra hands this time too, including some very nice versions using the coin, posed for various flips or twirls. The hands and heads swap easily.

Speaking of the coin, they included four single versions as well. There are also four with sculpted movement effects, and these fit neatly in one of the supplied hands. It's a pretty creative idea, and sets him apart from other Two-Face figures.

Two-Face needs weapons of course, and he starts out with four switch blades. While I originally though all four were identical - and they look like they were in the original marketing photos - for some reason one of mine has a shorter blade. Not broken, not messed up, but intentionally shorter.

He has two guns, and both have two barrels. Get it? While that's amusing, I don't really like how it causes the handgun to be oversized. There are extra magazines for both guns as well.

That's not all of his violent goodies. He also comes with a rocket launcher - double barrelled as well of course. There's a rocket effect that you can attach to the end, and he can easily support the weight in a variety of stances. Speaking of effects, there are blast effects for the other two guns as well, which fit inside a small hole in the barrels.

He also comes with a unique case. The black tactical case has what I assume is a bomb inside. It pops out, opens up, and you insert two batteries (included). The detail work on this is really good, right down to the latches. More on this in the Light Up section below.

Finally, he comes with the usual display stand. You can use either a simple foot peg, or the more complex clear plastic support system for leaping and flying poses.

Light Feature - ****
As I mentioned in the Accessories section, the 'block' inside the case has a nifty light up feature. This block comes out of the case, and you can remove the back. Two small button batteries slide in place, and a small button on the top turns on the light. It's fairly bright, quite colorful, and easy to use. I plan on putting this case on the ground next to him, open, so I can easily turn it on when I'm showing someone the figure.

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit consists of the shirt, tie, pants, belt, shoes, and jacket.

They went with a black and red combo, somewhat unusual for Two-Face. In fact, I don't ever remember this particular combination, although it's possible it was used in the comics at some point.

The quality of the materials is excellent of course, as is the stitching. The tie is particularly nice, especially considering the scale. The knot and tail are actually the right size, and hang correctly. The collar on the jacket is a nice size too, often an issue even in sixth scale.

The tailoring on the pants and jacket is a little off, but it's a minor nit. The jacket could fit slightly better in the front, and the pants are a smidge baggy. But these are really minor nits, and I'm quite pleased overall. I think the bigger issue for some folks will be the choice of colors, which is purely aesthetic.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Pair this guy up with a Batman figure or a Joker and you'll have a terrific display. He's very posable, and has a nice assortment of extras to add to the diorama. And thanks to the multiple heads, you'll be able to alter up his overall look on a regular basis.

Value - **1/2
I'm giving this guy an average value here, because while the $95 price tag is about ten bucks more than the usual One:12 figure, he has a light up feature.  Now, there's a completely different discussion as to whether he needed a light up function, and whether you want to pay an extra ten bucks for that light up function.

Things to Watch Out For -
It might sound silly, but remember to turn off the light before you shut the case. It's easy to forget, and you'll run those batteries down mighty quick.

Overall - ***1/2
Another great release in the line, especially for those of us who love Batman. Getting another villain for the display is always a big plus, and this guy has a lot to be happy about. The overall quality is solid, and the two scarred faces are both quite useful. I have a nit here or a nit there, but overall I'm really happy with how he turned out.

Now, all we need is someone out there to do a black and white suit for a second custom figure...

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

Where to Buy 
He was originally $95 at the Mezco online store, but has sold out there. Looks like the best bet now is to search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other recent One:12 reviews include Dr. Zaius, KGBeast, Nosferatu, and Hellboy.

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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