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I haven't really gotten into the sixth-scale Marvel Legends figures, for a few reasons. Partially, it has to do with me being old enough to remember when a Marvel Icons figure was like 20 bucks, and even though I know toy prices have risen across the board, $50 is still a pretty steep increase. But in addition to that I just didn't really care for the character choices... Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man... all "heavy hitters," so to speak, but... yawn.
Then along came Deadpool. [Deadpool Deadpool! --ed.] Yes, he's an oversaturated character, but I'm a sucker for his design. He represents everything that's over-the-top-dumb about the '90s, and I still have his first appearance that I got off the rack at an Eckerd's drug store. So yeah, I was down for a 12" Deadpool, pricetag be darned.
In package, he looks good. And once you get him free, he still seems pretty good at first. The sculpt is pretty plain, but serviceable.
There's not a ton of detail, and there's no texture or anything on his costume, but there are some folds in the sculpted fabric, and his mask has some decent wrinkles, particularly around the brows. The separations between colors on his torso are sculpted, but accomplished with paint most everywhere else.
Much of the body is fairly basic. It's a lanky generalized body, no doubt suited for re-use down the road. There are a lot of separate pieces to "Deadpoolify" the sculpt, including some webgear and a belt, the wrinkled glove sleeves on his wrists, the random strappy things around his ankles, and a leg holster.
Ah... the holster. Holsters, rather.
One on his right thigh, and one on the left side of his belt. They've got golden pistols in them, and they're there forever. The pistol grips are separate pieces, which in the package might cause you to assume they're removable, but only what you can see is actually sculpted, and the holsters are filled in. That's right, a $50 figure without functional holsters.
But wait, you say. Doesn't the 6" Marvel Legends Deadpool have working holsters? Why yes, yes it does. In fact, the 4" Deadpools from the X-Men Origins: Wolverine line (remember that?) had working holsters. Heck, Minimate Deadpools have working holsters! The lack of holsters is such a slap in the face, it makes me want to end this review right h
Just kidding. But I really wanted to. Anything nice I can say about this figure is completely and utterly overshadowed by the fact that his guns are permanently sculpted into his holsters. It just really sucks, you guys. I'm very sour about it. 12" figures should have more features and detail than smaller figures, not fewer.
Sigh. Anyway, what else. Paint's alright. Most of the figure is molded in either red or black, and there's no wash or anything to bring out the detail. There is a wash on the webgear and thigh holster, which is decent. Nothing to write home about. There are some silver buckles on the shoes and gear. It's not terrible or great, it's just there.
Articulation is pretty good, on par with the smaller Legends figures. Balljointed neck, lateral shoulder hinges plus peg and hinged shoulders, peg biceps, double hinged elbows, peg and hinge wrists, balljointed chest, hinged waist, balljointed hips, peg thighs, double hinge knees, peg shins, and peg and hinge ankles.
A few things bug me about the joints, though. One, no waist peg, only a hinge. He can bend down but can't twist side to side. The chest balljoint makes up for it somewhat, but its range is pretty limited. The other thing is the hips. They aren't ratcheted or anything, and they already feel a bit loose. With a heavy, solid figure, you need stronger joints. He poses good now, but I have doubts for the future.
Accessories are where the figure ALLLMMMOOOOST becomes less of a crushing disappointment. Almost. He comes with lots of extra bodyparts, including two fist hands, two gripping hands, a thumbs-up left hand,
and a wide grip right hand designed for a specific accessory. Careful switching them, as the glove cuffs are separate pieces that aren't attached to anything, so they slip off.
The gripping hands are designed to go with either his two swords or his two tiny knives, all of which can slip into sheaths in his webgear when not in use, or they can be used to hold the two guns he comes with that he can actually wield. Unlike the golden forever-hidden pistols, which seem mostly realistic, his actual usable guns are giant techno-Liefeld monstrosities.
And they're red. Almost the same red as his costume, which looks a bit weird when he's holding them, almost like they're extensions of his body. The smaller gun has some black paint on the grip and barrel area, as well as an infuriatingly tiny Deadpool logo sculpted into one side of it. It may say "Dead Pool" next to it, but it's too tiny
to tell and it might also be some random scratches. The larger gun has black on the grip as well, and on the underside of the barrel, as well as a big splotchy Deadpool logo on one side.
The bright red color of the guns makes me think that maybe the reason the more "real" guns aren't usable is that Hasbro is worried that a gun around this size could be mistaken for a real one. It's ridiculous, as any gun in this scale would by definition be 1/6 the size of a real gun, but then why not make his techno guns silver, or gray? Why make them a screamingly bright red that makes it hard to identify what he's even holding? Their weird design and coloration causes them to not even look like guns, and I'm beginning to wonder if maybe that's the whole point.
It sounds ludicrous, but I literally can't think of a single other explanation that would justify the non-pistols in his holsters. If anyone else has any insight, I would love to hear it because I'm going bonkers trying to wrap my head around why the folks at Hasbro would make such a figure-ruining decision!
He's got some other stuff too, and here's where the good actually
comes in after so much "GAH!" and "meh". He's got an extra head, this one with much of the mask torn away to reveal his avocado face, which is smiling in a tooth-filled grin. It's painted reasonably well and clean and the sculpt is pretty nice. He's also got a burrito for his wide grip hand, which is the most detailed part of this entire figure in terms of both sculpt and paint. It's got a very nice silver foil wrapper and the meat and cheese within is painted pretty good for the scale.
The final accessory is a doozy, and is probably the only reason I haven't returned this figure for a refund. It's Headpool! The zombie-head-only Deadpool has some really nice sculptural and painted details on his skeletal face, and he's got a working jaw. The propeller on his beanie even spins! He comes with a clear stand that uses a ball-and-socket joint to support him, so you can pivot him around however you want.
If this figure wasn't $50, Headpool would almost be worth the price of admission. If the figure had working holsters, the soft detail, dumb red guns and soon-to-be-loose hips would be minor inconveniences that wouldn't dampen my enthusiasm for this toy. I'd be telling you to run out and get your own immediately.
Alas, for some inane reason, this 1/6 scale, $50 figure
lacks the functionality of toys that are half its size, or even a quarter of its size. It's inexcusable. I'm usually someone who defends a toy company's right to do whatever they want, and I rarely jump on the bandwagon of thinking they're intentionally trying to jerk fans around, but in this case I kinda want an explanation from Hasbro as to why this decision was pushed through.
I can't recommend this figure. Maybe the idea of non-functional holsters on a 12" figure doesn't bother you as much as it does me, but I still can't think that anyone is going to be pleased to spend the retail price of this figure and not get that basic utility that is all but taken for granted in the action figure world.
This is something I rarely say in reviews, because I usually prefer to let people ultimately make their own decisions on how to spend their money, but... don't buy this. Even at half off, it feels expensive. Headpool is awesome, and having a sixth-scale burrito is cool, but man, those holsters are probably the biggest letdown I've ever experienced in a toy in recent memory.
-- 05/22/17
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