Review of Doctor Strange
One:12 Collective Action Figure

Introduction

With the inclusion of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a whole new generation of fans has been born. But for those who grew up on the comic book version, worry not - Mezco hasn't forgotten you.

As part of their highly sought after One:12 Collective series they are producing a couple versions from the comic world. Of course, they area also influenced by the tastes of the Mezco designers - it's sort of their thing with this line. But fear not, they don't stray too far from the style you'll remember.

I'm checking out their regular release Doc tonight. This guy is available for $80 from most retailers if you an still find him. He was a popular pre-order, and I suspect he'll be popular on the secondary market as well. There's a Previews exclusive coming soon, dressed in an outfit that more closely resembles his look from his time in the Defenders.

Packaging - ***
Nothing too unique here - sturdy cardboard box with a slip cover, and plastic trays inside holding the figure and accessories safe. It's all collector friendly, and the basic graphics and text matches the earlier releases.

Sculpting - ****
The movie version of Strange actually owes a lot to his look in the comics, and this figure will remind fans of both. Thanks to the high cheekbones, sharp jawline, arched eyebrows, and widow's peak hairstyle, there will be no doubt who this is for anyone, even if the movie version is the only exposure they've ever had.

The sculpted portrait is quite impressive, with the soul patch and mustache soft but realistic, the skin texture subtle, and even nicely detailed hair. Remember, this figure is only a hair over 6 1/2", but looks similar to work done at twice the scale.

I can't help but be disappointed that there is only one portrait, however.  I won't take it out on them here - it's more of an Accessories issue - but the price point is always harder to justify when there's only a single portrait.

The hands are sculpted in various poses that work well with magic spells, and the Eye of Agamotto on his chest looks great. This is actually a removable piece, and it fits tightly in a hole in his chest. There's both an open and closed version, both nicely detailed.

Paint - ****
Again, scale is very important to keep in mind. This is a 1/12 scale figure, not a 1/6, and yet the work on the hair, eyes, and other small details is really impressive.

The hair line is almost perfect, although if you look really, really close you can see some slight blips of black. The eyes are bright, sharp, and even, and the glossy finish looks realistic and creates natural catch lights. The facial hair is perhaps most impressive, with clean edging and subtle color.

Details on the hard plastic costume pieces, like the Eye and the gloves, is also very good. The open eye is particularly impressive, with a glossy coat to make the center pop visually.

Articulation - ****
The underlying body has the usual Mezco articulation, and the costume restricts very little of it.

The shoulders, elbows, and wrists work well together and you can get plenty of magic spell poses. The ball jointed neck tilts and leans, giving every pose a little more personality, and while the torso is a bit restricted, you can still get some decent forward and back tilt, along with the ability to turn side to side.

The ball hips, hinge knees, and rotating hinge ankles (with some rocker movement thrown in there), all work well, and you can get short to deep stances while the feet remain flat on the ground. He's very stable, and using the stand is only really necessary for jumping, flying, or floating poses.

The best part of the articulation is the cape. Without it, I would have dropped this score a half star, but the wire along the edge of the cape and the collar lets you improve every pose. The cape can flow, hang, and billow in all sorts of realistic ways. This is a key feature of the character, and getting it to work well here was crucial.

Accessories - ***
Yep, I'm bummed. There's only one portrait, and at this price point, it makes it a much tougher sell.

There are three sets of hands, however. There's the fists he comes wearing, plus a magic gesture left and right, a flat left, and a wide grip right. They swap easily, and I had no trouble working with them.

I also mentioned that the Eye of Agamotto comes in a second, closed style. You can swap these pretty easily too, and I think having the two versions included, and engineering such a sturdy, well constructed way to wear them is a big plus. The permanence of the Eye allows the shirt to fit tightly across the chest, making the tailoring less of an issue.

He has two magical effects, one offense, one defense. These can be used with pretty much any hand, because the soft plastic wraps around the forearm leaving plenty of space for any of the posed hands.

There's a rather unique 'astral projection' as well. This swooping, translucent plastic piece is sort of a sculpted shadow, and can be placed behind the figure using the support rod. It's not a bad look, particularly if you're going to have him stand on the included base anyway.

And yes, there's the usual Mezco base. You can use the large, translucent rod for jumping or floating poses, or you can swap to the simple foot peg for regular stances.

Outfit - ***
This should absolutely be a four star score. Ah, but I have an issue, and while I suspect most people won't have this problem - it's a one off quality thing - I still have to grade it based on my experience.

I've already raved about the articulation in the cape, but let's do it again. The materials and design are excellent, and the inclusion of the wire is critical. But that's not all that sets this piece apart. The cape edges are attached to the front of the chest with strong - very strong - magnets. They'll stay attached in just about any pose, and keep the cape flowing back over the shoulders in a natural way. If you lift the arms high enough it can be difficult, but bend the edge enough around the arm and you should be able to keep it at least close.

The shirt has puffy sleeves which are tightly attached under the gauntlets, but which have some extra length to droop over the edge and cover the seam. I also love the collar on the shirt, flipped up with just the right curl at the edge. There is a little baggy-ness under the arms, but with the cape in place you won't notice it.

Unfortunately, the shirt is also where I ended up with a problem. The applied designs look great, and Mezco has had great success with this technique. They do it with the black tights as well, giving them some visual, magical flare with swirling patterns. But the center cross on the chest is damaged on mine, with one edge scratched and pushed toward the middle. It looks like during the final processes, maybe even just packing, something rubbed the chest and damaged it.

The rest of the costume looks amazing, including the sash and hard soled feet. The tights don't have a baggy crotch, and if they do, just pull them up underneath the shirt until the bag is gone.

Fun Factor - ****
Plenty of posability and some very good accessories to give you lots of options on the shelf. The posable cape really adds to this score, and I had no frustration when working with him.

By the way, I used the photo below although I noticed after that the cape had popped free from the magnet on the left side of his chest. Hey, I liked the photo anyway. If I had noticed at the time, I could have replaced it and bent it around his bicep.

Value - **
The current going rate for the regular releases is $80. Had this guy come with a second portrait, I would have added the extra half star to the value score, but without it the price is harder to justify.  Thankfully, the costume is extremely well done and much more complex than the norm.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not much. I don't think you can easily damage the appliques on the costume yourself, but you should take a little care when popping the Eye on and off the chest just in case.

Overall - ****
Mezco continues to crush it with this series. This release combines a terrific portrait, fantastic costume, excellent articulation, and some decent accessories to capture one of my favorite Marvel characters. Yes, I had an issue with one edge of the costume detailing on the chest, and that bums me out. But it's a testament to how impressive this release is overall that I'm still going with the full four stars.

I would like to voice my disappointment one more time with not receiving more than one head sculpt with this figure. It's part of the allure and attraction of the One:12 Collective, and this is the second figure in a row (Justice League Aquaman is the other) to not have at least two portraits. I'm hoping this is simply because these characters don't lend themselves quite as well to multiple expressions, and not an indication of a change of direction for the series.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered a lot of the One:12 figures, with the Justice League Aquaman, Batman Beyond, and Wonder Woman the most recent.

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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