Review of Gomez of Death
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Introduction

For many years, the mascot of Mezco Toyz has been Gomez, an ant-like dude with a lot of attitude. He first made it into figure form back in 2008, when they produced several versions of him in an 8" scale, wearing soft goods, and hyped as a 007 style man...uh, bug...of mystery.

But with their hit series the One:12 Collective, where they produce figures in a 1/12 scale (about 6 1/2" tall, technically) wearing cloth outfits and sporting amazing quality, they really went all in with Gomez. Not only have they produced a number of versions in different outfits and different themes, but they've created villains and a richer history for the character as well. And they've been rewarded with a lot of fan love.

One of the most popular releases was the Gomez of Death, first put up for order several months ago. It sold out fast, as all Gomez releases tend to do, and I ended up on the wait list. Thankfully, that wait list converted for me, and I just received him this last week.

When this guy first went up for pre-order, I saw a lot of folks - young, foolish, and culturally unaware - say he was somehow based on the Bride from Kill Bill. While Elle certainly wore the same costume, it's because she was also paying homage to a Bruce Lee movie, the Game of Death. Lee wore this yellow suit with the black stripe, and a number of the weapons included in this set come from his various movies. In fact, the front of the box shows Gomez in the same pose as the movie poster. Sadly, Lee died before the film was finished, and the final original version has little of him in it.

This guy was available only through the Mezco website, where he was $90.

Packaging - ***
The simple box is sturdy, and the interior trays are all very collector friendly. The top of the box sports a sticker based on the poster from Game of Death, and there's an extra one of these stickers included inside.

Sculpting - ****
I've been a big fan of most of the heads used with Gomez. They've gone with several different looks, and you get four with this release.

There's the standard ant-like appearance, with dimpled eyeballs and a great looking, realistic chitin skin. His expression is pissed, and the articulated antennae allow you to add some of your own personality to the look.

The second standard head is the more traditional, less anthropomorphic ant head, with the eyes on either side and the antennae down on the nose. While this is a more realistic look, it's not my personal favorite.

This release also includes a black skull, which can be used with any base body to create another of the Black Skull figures. Nothing too exciting, and we've seen it before, but the scale is good and it's a nice addition. These extra heads will go a long way in the Accessories section, although this guy is so loaded it won't make a lot of difference.

The fourth head is the standard look, but with some blood and damage added. They could have just added the blood, but they went the extra mile and altered the left eye as well, changing the sculpt to look like it's been injured. I like this look the best for this figure, since it's new, and it's also appropriate to the character.

The figure stands about 6 1/2" tall without the antennae, and fits in nicely with the rest of the line.

Paint - ***1/2
The paint work is solid all around, although the heads look a little less detailed and flat to me this time. The skin coloration is good, but the yellow eyes aren't quite as natural, and look a bit more toy-ish.

This is a minor nit though, and the addition of the blood is extremely well done on the battle portrait. The paint work on the accessories is excellent as well.

Articulation - ****
The underlying body has the maximum articulation, and all the joints are tight and solid. Thanks to the stretchy cloth outfit, they are all unencumbered as well.

The neck and antennae can give lots of personality and attitude to any pose, and the torso can twist, tilt, and crunch, breaking up unnatural straight lines in the upper body. The shoulders, elbows, and wrists can create most fighting poses, and the hips, knees, and ankles can manage even deep stances.

A little more rocker movement in the feet would have been great, but there's enough here to keep the feet flat on the ground in even wide stances.

It's also worth noting that the small Grub that comes with him has some basic articulation, and the nunchaku have a metal, poseable connector.

Accessories - ****
If you love accessories, this guy is for you!  He's loaded, and while some are re-used, all make sense, and several are right from the Bruce Lee playbook.

I've already mentioned the three extra heads he comes with, giving him a total of four. The new bloodied head is particularly nice, but they all look great and swap easily.

He has a ton of hands as well, and they all swap cleanly. There are 13 extra gloved hands to go with the set of fists he comes wearing, sculpted in various grips and poses perfect for any fighting stance. There's even one so he can flip you off!

There are three more hands, although they might not be obvious at first. These are the flaming effects, called 'fists of fire', and they are sculpted complete hands, rather than attachments for the other hands. This is the smart way to go, as they are easier to work with and always look better in place.

Let's talk weapons. There's one 'naginata', a long spear with a wide blade. There's a set of sai, four small shuriken, three throwing blades called 'kunai', two nunchaku (with that metal wire connector you can pose), a kyoketsu-shoge and kusarigama (two different bladed weapons with a ball on one end of a real metal chain, and the blade handle on the other), two tekko (sort of brass knuckles with lots of pointy parts), two shuko (wolverine hands - fans of Enter the Dragon will remember these being used against Lee), and a katana sword with sheath. That's an amazing array of weaponry, and gives you a ton of options for the display of the figure.

To sneak into places, there's a grappling hook with rope, and to aid him in his quest, there's a small Grub, dressed in the same outfit and with his own tiny nunchaku. Oh, and there's a bloody, dripping heart, freshly torn from the chest of an enemy.

As with every Gomez, he has his big boom box, which can be opened. There are two different foam inserts you can use with it, depending on which weapons you want to hide inside.

To carry all these goodies in a less concealed manner, there's a small waist pack and larger back pack. Both are nice, and the quality of build and materials on the back pack is quite impressive.

Finally, there's a sheet of tiny stickers you can add to various items, as well as the usual display stand with either the foot peg or larger clear plastic support rod option.  *whew*

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit is simple, yet perfect. The yellow and black jumpsuit looks fantastic, is well tailored, and allows for plenty of mobility in all the joints. There's no worries about damage to the fabric from more dynamic poses either, and the look of the black and yellow costume is topped off with the black and yellow shoes.

Adding in the back pack really sets the tone nicely as well, but I do have a couple general minor nits. First, the black strip on the inseam could be attached straighter and cleaner. Second, the zipper pull on the back could be smaller, matching the scale a bit better.

However, both of these are really minor nits in hand, and the outfit looks amazing on the shelf.

Fun Factor - ****
Lots of posability, lots of accessories, multiple heads - you can't get more potential for posing and re-posing than this.

Value - **1/2
The cost of most of their licensed figures in this line is around $80 right now. While this figure is unlicensed, and has some re-use with past Gomez releases, I'm still quite happy with spending the extra ten bucks. You're getting a really cool homage to a great martial artist, and a ton of accessories for that price.

Things to Watch Out For -
I'd be particularly careful with the wire on the nunchakus, especially where it connects. You can pose it, just take a little extra care.

Overall - ****
They've done their fair share of Gomez figures at this point, all of them excellent. But I'm going to go out on a limb and declare this one the best so far, thanks to my personal affection for the Game of Death/Bruce Lee theme.  Getting a new head to mix things up a bit in the display is a big selling point as well.

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

Where to Buy 
The only place to get this guy originally was Mezco's online store, where he was $90. They still have the wait list open, so it can't hurt to try ordering there. Otherwise, you're pretty much down to searching ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Gomez reviews include the first Toy Fair exclusive, as well a the pre-One:12 version.

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

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!