Mezco One:12 Dark Knight Returns Batman (Previews) Review

Back in the day Mezco made what I consider one of the greatest action figure lines ever: Hellboy.  Both of their movie and comic based Hellboy figures were an incredible mix of sculpt, articulation, and paint.  After that run Mezco and I parted ways for a pretty long period of time.  I’ll almost always purchase a really well made or cool looking toy, but nothing from them really hit my radar.  Breaking Bad may have piqued my interested, but the lack of articulation was a deterrent to me.

I still loved Mezco during these off years, and I wanted them to make something awesome.  They did Hellboy.  They totally have the ability to make something great.

* – Robin isn’t actually on the box, I realize I caught the reflection of the other crap in my light tent!

Well, they may have put together their next big thing with the one:12 collection.  What Mezco appear to be doing with this line is giving the 1/12 (six-inch) scale the same treatment that Sideshow or Hot Toys give the 1/6 (twelve-inch) scale.  The figures include super articulated bodies under tailored costumes, alternate appendages, and loads of accessories.  They are all boxed up in a premium collector friendly box.  Mezco’s presentation with this figure is class personified!

Batman is a lovely figure.  Being the Previews Exclusive he comes in a teal and grey color scheme.  The body is made for contorting Batman into all kinds of poses.  For the most part the body is constructed with a similar articulation scheme to a Marvel Legends action figure.  However, one difference is that the torso allows a much larger range of motion.  This is probably made possible by the cloth costume being able to cover up the articulation cuts.

The soft goods are put together very well on my figure.  I’ve been messing around with him pretty heavily the last two weeks, and he has nary a tear or fray on his costume.  I still have my concerns about the longevity of the figure, however.  I’m sure with constant play throughout the years that something will happen.  It’s probably important to also wash your hands before messing around with him to avoid greasy finger marks.  Everything should be fine as long as common sense is used when handling Batman.  Past the outfit there really aren’t any fragile parts to look out for since he’s pretty well put together.

Oh, and that cape … SO GOOD!  I can’t recall a cape that works as well as this one.  There are little strips weighing it down at certain points, and they just make the thing sit so nicely.  If there is one thing that Mezco mastered right off the bat with this toy line it’s certainly the cape.

It wouldn’t be Batman if it didn’t come with an arsenal of accessories.  This one comes packed with three sets of alternate hands, an alternate head, leg pouches, a sniper rifle, grappling hook, stand, flight stand attachment, and some kind of sex toy that I believe is used for wire posing his cape.  The sniper rifle was a big part of why I went with the Previews Exclusive version.  Batman has no issues holding up that gun and lining his eyes up perfectly, in fact he looks great doing so.  I believe the leg-band is another accessory exclusive to this set; which I wanted to have because you can never have enough pouches.

While this Batman is an overwhelmingly positive experience there are still a few nitpicks I have.  Most of this has to do with how the clothed body looks when put in certain poses.  The side profile of his knees don’t look right when fully bent.  They bend like pipe-cleaners, which is kind of funny because the unclothed body probably would look natural.  The other issue I have is the shoulder balls.  They remind me of Toy Biz body structure where the balls pop out too far and look unnatural.  The cape covers this up most of the time, but it is pretty noticeable when it isn’t resting on his shoulders.

This is an amazing release.  I was completely of the mindset that I wasn’t going to pay $70 for articulated Mezco figures, and I held that resolve for quite some time.  But the reviews and pictures kept on coming in and tempting me.  I’ve finally given into that temptation and I’m damn glad I did.  Mezco really put together something special.  I’m excited to see where things go from here.  I hope they really run with this one:12 line and make some badass toys.

Armored Batman … armored Batman …. armored Batman!

This Batman (the Previews Exclusive version) and the regular one can currently be found in limited supply on Amazon.  The figure appears to be popular because it continually goes in and out of availability.  However, if you want one I would probably jump on it sooner than later … you don’t want to miss out on this guy!

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