Review of Ascending Knight - Mezco Exclusive
Action Figure

Introduction

Mezco's One:12 Collective series has been tremendously popular. In fact, the figure I'm reviewing tonight, the Mezco store exclusive version of their in-house designed Ascending Knight Batman is already selling for hundreds of dollars on ebay. It just started shipping, but the demand for these exclusives is far beyond supply right now.

It's somewhat surprising too, because it's not like there aren't enough versions of this guy. This is the third one to ship, and I've already reviewed the regular release as well as the super hard to find Toy Fair exclusive. Still to come is the Previews (PX) exclusive version in blue and gray.

This guy originally cost $80, and was exclusive to the Mezco store. Finding one now might be tricky, so patience is probably a good idea. Better yet, grab the standard version before he's history too.

Packaging - ***
Same box as the previous releases, with gold gloss printing and a sticker declaring its exclusivity. The package is all collector friendly of course, but the cardboard always seems a little weaker and thinner to me on these low run exclusives.

Sculpting - ****
Nothing has changed here, and both portraits remain exceptional.

The masked version, with it's long, sharp ears and triangular shape, hearkens back to a Golden Age style. It has a stern but not overly emotional expression, and works great with just about any pose.

The unmasked version is a classic Bruce Wayne. The hair detail is impressive for the scale - remember, this guy is only about 6 1/2" tall without the ears - and the slightly pissed expression looks great. I've mentioned before that it has a bit of a Keaton-esque vibe, which is particularly appropriate for this color scheme.

The sculpted pieces of the costume, including the gloves and boots, look great as well. The hands are designed to work with various accessories, and he stands fine on his own.

Paint - ***1/2
As with the regular release, the paint work here is quite good, but there are a few stray marks.

Both portraits exhibit some dots and drips on the faces. You'll need to look at them with a magnifying glass (or a macro lens) to see it clearly, but Mezco has set an extremely high bar for themselves in this particular category and any minor slip is all the more noticeable because of it.

The eyes on both are the highlight for me. I'm consistently impressed with how good the normal eyes are on all the One:12 heads, and Bruce's are a perfect example. Straight, clean, and sharp, you'd never guess this was such a small figure.

The white eyes on the masked version are also just about perfect. They are slightly slitted too, adding some malice to the expression.

The big difference (other than run size) between this release and the others is the color scheme. This time it's almost all black, like the Toy Fair version, but with a gold belt and gold highlights on the accessories. I'm a big fan of this combination because it reminds me of the Burton Batman, and with the Bruce head in place, it's like I've got a massive update to the old Kenner figure.

Articulation - ***1/2
The underlying body works great, with excellent movement in the neck, shoulders, elbows, and wrists. You can get natural arm poses, and use all the accessories with various fighting stances.

The suit can be restrictive of course. The torso does turn and crunch, but leaning side to side is tough. The hips and knees are also less mobile thanks to the tight material, but it's not a lot different than if a real person were wearing a costume like this.

The ankles have good rocker movement, and I was generally able to keep the feet flat on the ground in short to medium stances. It can get tricky when you widen them up further, but it's not a major problem.

The hands and heads swapped easily, and they stay in place when you're posing and working with the figure.

Accessories - ****
Yea, it's re-use city, but there's still a ton of extras.

There are seven hands in total. He comes wearing fists, and you can swap in wide grip or medium grip hands as well. There's one additional gun grip right, perfect for the grappling gun.

Speaking of which, the gun has the gold and black color scheme, which really makes the sculpted details pop. There are three different tips - closed, opened, and opened with a string cord. These tips fit neatly in the barrel for multiple set ups.

He has to have batarangs of course, and there's ten of the little tiny ones. Even the cat can't lose all of these. And for the big bads, he's got the big batarang, also called the 'brick'. It folds neatly at the center.

Like the other releases, they included the small dart crossbow. It can be held in the gun grip hand, but you should be careful working with it, as there are some tiny pieces that could get damaged with too much pressure.

I almost forgot to mention the second unmasked portrait. I've already discussed how great the sculpt and paint are, but it's inclusion is worth noting as part of the Accessories section as well.

Finally, he has the cool display base with the foot peg or the clear plastic support rod. This support system can hold him in jumping or leaping poses, and there's an additional support to hold the cape in dynamic ways.

Outfit - ****
I really prefer this outfit in the all black - with the different textures, it looks great. It does have more of a military style than most Batman costumes, but I'm digging it.

The smooth pieces are tightly glued to the textured cloth, and the hard three dimensional emblem is even and straight.  The pleather cape flows neatly over the shoulders or around the arms, and has enough weight to hang naturally in most poses.

The switch to a gold color for the belt is the big difference here, and I really like the contrast. As I said earlier, it gives off a Kenner vibe, if Kenner had made figures that were 100 times better than they did. You can also slip the grappling gun into the back of the belt, a feature with all the Ascending Knight figures.

Fun Factor - ****
Plenty of accessories, plenty of articulation - plenty of fun posing and re-posing this figure!  Unfortunately, with the current state of secondary market prices, many of these guys might end up staying in the package, and that's a shame.

Value - **1/2
The price has eeked up on the general releases, but this exclusive was originally at the $80 price point they used for exclusives previously. I can deal with that price, considering what you're getting in terms of accessories.

Things to Watch Out For -
I mentioned handling the little crossbow with care when fitting it inside the hand. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

Overall - ****
I've been a fan of the overall design on this figure since the initial photos. As I predicted, my favorite of the four variations is this one - the all black costume with the gold belt speaks to me. Obviously, your mileage will vary, but you won't be disappointed with any of the four.

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

Where to Buy 
This guy was a Mezco direct store exclusive originally, and as you'd guess, he's no longer available. You can always get on the wait list and cross your fingers, or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered the two previous Ascending Knight figures, including the regular release and the Toy Fair exclusive.

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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