Boon returns with another bootLEGO review -- once again, we don't condone piracy here at the LBC.
The box (which was dinged at the top, incidentally) is well-designed, with consistent graphics on all faces. The lone piece of obvious plagiarism is the wordmark from the movie marketing being used in three separate places.
This particular model, which I was fortunate enough to find cowering behind a dozen or more unlicensed blind bag Minions figurines, is the first in the set of 6 according, to the back face of the box model NO.1289-1. Contrary to most Western attempts at logic, the 1289-1 figure is not in fact the Classic Red suited Merc with a Mouth, but is in fact an almost pitch perfect rendition of DC Comics antagonist Deathstroke the Terminator, detailed in an all black medium gloss finish. In another crack piece of legal maneuvering the design team at mystery incorporated have changed out the traditional orange coloring on Deathstroke’s mask for a fetching shade of yellow, seemingly in line with the Silver Age X-Men Uniforms.... But this isn’t fooling anyone. This is 100% DC’s Deathstroke, which is oddly fitting as Deadpool began life as something of an ersatz Deathstroke. Deadpool is merely another in a long and quite obvious line of DC and Marvel’s borderline plagiarism from one another. .
Why borrow from Deathstroke, though? Well, while he wasn’t more widely known among the general public until his appearances on Arrow, Deathstroke was actually quite popular among comics readers for most of the 1980s, thanks to his prominence in Teen Titans. So it’s not really surprising that Deadpool popped up as an analogue/parody in the early 90s -- what’s more impressive is that subsequent writers and artists have made him a strong character who’s long since evolved beyond his origins.
The kit itself comes in a single clear polybag within the box. Oddly, the legs, torso and head are preassembled with the arms and hands being separate. The torso comes printed front and back, there’s front print on the legs and a single face detail printed on the head. Plugging the hands into the arms is simple, and the fit is snug with enough movement for reasonably accurate posing, should you wish your Deadpool/Deathstroke figure to wield his dual pistols gangland style (more on those down the page).
The display base supplied with the kit is a 4x4 baseplate with a single row of pegs along the rear edge. The smooth front portion of the base is emblazoned with an ‘X’ lettermark logo, ‘World’ and the instruction to ‘collect them all’, but lacking any further clues to whom we owe our great thanks for the blessing that is this kit.
The accessory pieces that come with 1289-1 are worth the cost of purchase alone. The pistols are an accurate replication of the twin barrel pistol originally released in 2011, albeit with some additional mold lines, and casting tabs. If these are in fact a common occurrence, a touch up with a hobby knife or nail file ought to knock those off fairly effectively.
The twin katanas supplied are copies of the type 2 minifigure katana, but for some reason the two in my kit are supplied having been cast in two different types, or mixtures of plastics. One is a milky yellow color and the other a translucent shade of the same yellow. Which of the two finishes was intended may never be known, as the only other clues in the box art show the Katanas in black. Wacky color choices aside, these would make excellent additions to your stockpile of tiny plastic armaments should this kit find its way into your wider LEGO collection.
Deadpool 1289-1 is an improvement over Space Batman, having quite reasonable build quality but without the glaring component printing issue that all but ruined Space Batman as a display figure. The plastics are decent quality, without the brittleness one can often encounter with cheaply manufactured toys. On the whole, the kit is a successful off-brand rendition of a character who is still relatively under-merchandised in spite of his rising popularity, and is likely to remain that way until Deathstroke shows up in the next inevitable trainwreck DC/Warner Bros foists upon us.
If you happen across this, or any other of this line of figures, shoot us a pic of your kit and your thoughts on it.
