Doom Slayer

So, this is that "Master Chief" everybody's been talking about? The Doom Slayer (also known by the UAC as DM1-5, DOOM Marine or The Slayer, the Demons of Hell as the Doom Slayer, the Unchained Predator, the Hell Walker or to the fandom DOOM Guy) has been the main protagonist for most the series and playable character in Doom franchise and in the upcoming Doom Eternal. His origin is intentionally vague, but he wears his iconic green Space Marine armor and slaughters through countless demons and monsters on a perpetual war against hell. His origin really isn't that vague - his great-grandfather fought Nazis in WWII, his father was a boy genius who saved the world from alien threats, and he himself was transferred to Mars after refusing to follow his commanding officer's orders to fire on unarmed civilians (and by "refusing to follow orders" we mean "punched his war criminal CO to death") - it's just that the game assumes you, like Doomguy, are more interested in killing demons than hearing stories. As the text we copied from McToys' site said, this figure is based on the next game in the series. The DOOM 2016 Praetor armor looked like a 4K remaster of a Lego astronaut, and the Doom Eternal version looks like the same thing, redesigned for an appearance in Heavy Metal magazine. The shapes of the armor look more organic than mechnical, and there are short little studs poking out of the calves and forearms. The elbows on this armor are uncovered, exposing his skin and drawing the 2020 design closer to the short-sleeved 1993 original. (The armor plating over the stomach means we won't get the classic ripped T-shirt ab window, though.) Doomguy has always worn a helmet (being the classic faceless, voiceless protagonist so you, the player, could project yourself upon him), though the design has definitely changed over the years. This one is green, with a glossy black visor and various silver details. His original helmet was blue/black, and rather blocky - but like the NFL, his helmet has gotten rounder and sleeker over time. Although the colors are muted, they're not a Gears of War-style gray mess. He still has a lot of green, a rather olive shade of it, but the majority of the Doom Eternal armor is a silver/brown mixture; I guess since Halo has usurped Doomguy's proprietary colorscheme, the new games needed to set themselves apart. There are a couple exclusive repaints out there (bronze at Walgreens, orange on Amazon), but green is the classic. So green is what you're going to want. Plus, it contrasts nicely with the appropriately DOOM-ish black-and-orange packaging, better than either of the variants do. The figure has a decent amount of articulation, but he's such a big meathead, there really isn't a huge range of poseability. Still, this is way better than something we would have expected from McFarlane Toys even five years ago. He has swivel/hinge ankles, hinged knees, swivel thighs, swivel/hinge hips, balljoints for the waist and chest, swivel/hinge wrists, hinged elbows, swivel biceps, swivel/hinge shoulders, and a balljointed neck and head. His shoulderpads are also mounted on balljoints, and the Predator-style grenade launcher on his shoulder has balljoints at the end and a hinge in the middle. Beyond the launcher, the included accessories are the super shotgun and the arm blade. The arm blade is a new feature in Eternal, plugging in under the Praetor suit's left bracer. (McFarlane Toys' site says the figure also comes with both extended and sheathed arm blades, but the accessory being removable is not the same as there being a "sheathed" version of it.) The shotgun has long been a Doom staple, but this newest version includes something innovative: the "meathook," an underslung grappling hook that will allow you to snag enemies and yoink yourself over to them for close-range assaults. Unfortunately, the articulation won't allow you to get him into a nice two-handed pose with the gun. McToys did a pretty good job on their Doom Slayer - not terrific, but good. Good enough, in fact, that we'd like to see them backtrack and do DOOM 2016 or even the original, classic Doom. And honestly, some of the iconic demons would be right up their alley. -- 03/12/20

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