Statue Review: Deadpool (The New Mutants #98) from Marvel by McFarlane Toys

 

   It was quite a surprise a few months back when McFarlane Toys announced they would be releasing a series of 1/6th and 1/10th scale Marvel statues and while I initially thought they would be something pretty easy to pass up for me, I did change my mind when I saw this statue of Deadpool on the shelf at GameStop. I've always loved the look of Deadpool and loved my Toy Biz Deadpool as a kid, so seeing this statue based on Wade Wilson's first appearance from the cover of The New Mutants #98 by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, I was quite intrigued. McFarlane isn't putting out "high end" statues; this guy cost me a little under $30 dollars with my GameStop pro discount and is more like a "staction" figure than a statue made from a fragile material. Is there a market for these? The first series is all heavy hitters (a 1/6th scale Captain America and Spider-Man and 1/10th scale Deadpool, Wolverine, Iron Man, and Spidey) and they're all quite affordable, so that ought to help move these. With Deadpool and Wolverine being the hottest of hits right now, let's give Deadpool a bit of a tribute and check out a statue based on his first appearance. Join me after the break...

The Facts:

Height: 7 1/8ths inches (w/ base)

Articulation: None

Accessories: Cardboard backdrop and collectible card

Non-Scalper Price: $30

Comparison:

* Just for fun, here's a shot of McFarlane's Deadpool statue with two random Deadpool Marvel Legends figures I had close at hand. The base is adding a bit of height, sure, and I've also got some smaller stands on my Hasbro Deadpools, but it's still clear that while Hasbro's Deadpools are a bit shorter, it's not by much. Could you fudge this guy into a Marvel Legends display if you wanted to? I think so, and that's probably what I'll end up doing with him. 

The Positives:

* Deadpool is based on Rob Liefeld's cover art for The New Mutants #98 and the statue takes Deadpool's image from the cover and removes all of the other characters, just capturing the merc with a mouth standing sideways and looking all tall and thin. This really is attempting to capture the look of Liefeld's art pretty accurately, and I like it. Sure, it's a product of it's time, but it nicely captures the look and feel, and even the colors, of comics at the turn of the 1990s and those early years. Giving Deadpool a base to stand on (he's permanently attached) also makes the piece far more interesting than just having him stand on a blank black plastic disc. It also his feet and boots, which are pretty much unadorned, from standing out as much.

* Looking up close you can see that this statue really does adhere to the Liefeld cover art. Deadpool's muscular is still exaggerated even though he's a thinner guy, and there's a smoothness to things with much of the detail coming from the paint work. It really nicely captures the feel of comic book art. There are some textures, sure, like the pouches on Pool's belt and the pouches on his thighs, but a darker wash also highlights them, giving them most of their death. I'm surprised by how effective this is at conveying the look of a drawn image brought to life as a three dimensional figure, capturing both the energy and the strengths and weaknesses of the original work. 

* Deadpool's head is also quite sleek and simply. Rob Liefeld has said in interviews that he was jealous of the Spider-Man artists who only had to do large, simple eyes, so the character's similarities to Spidey are very on display here. There's only the vaguest of facial features beneath a smooth, flat mask, with most of the detail being painted on. The paint mask is incredibly neat and clean everywhere. 

*  Here's a shot of the figure from the back. There's not much paintwork or detail here, though, to be fair, the statue really isn't made to be viewed from this angle. He does have his katanas which are molded as sheathed and permanently attached to his back. When I originally saw these I wondered if they'd be preposed statues with swappable parts, kind of like the Diablo IV statues, but that's not the case here. The accessories are permanently attached.

* Deadpool's incredibly stylized pistol is actually a separate piece but his middle finger and thumb are connected, so you'd haver to sever his fingers to unloosen it from his grasp. It looks fine and is accurate to the art, but it would have been cool if t had a plume of smoke that could have attached to the barrel like on the comic cover.

* The diorama-like base only extends up to around Wade's thighs at its highest and shows him standing in the middle of what looks to be a ruined library, or at least somewhere with a bookshelf. There's a broken bookshelf in the background with some holes in the wood and a good chunk of the shelf blown off, laying near DP's feet. The detail and styling is fitting for a comic cover and doesn't eclipse the image of the character itself, which matches the style of the original cover.

* Besides some rubble and scattered books laying around (including one with the "X" logo on it, there's also a nameplate for Deadpool. It's a nice touch and seems to be a common theme for this line with each of the 1/10th scale statues having the character name or a team name on the base.

* The insert of the box is intended to serve as a backdrop of sorts for the statue. I don't think I'll be using it as it takes up a lot of space and I'm planning on mixing this version of Deadpool in with my Marvel Legends, but it is a cool extra that at least presents you with another option for displaying him. Heck, could us it with some other X-Force figures from this era and have them mixed in, standing around Deadpool.

* There's also a collectible card included, like with the DC Multiverse figures. This one shows off the cover from The New Mutants #98 which was dated as February of 1991 but which actually released in early December of 1990. You know what this cover makes me want? A Marvel Legends figure of Gideon. I've actually wanted one for awhile, but this reminds me again that I want one. I loved the Toy Biz X-Force line and I loved how Gideon stored a katana in a briefcase.

The Negatives:

* Deadpool is holding a smaller Katana in right hand. Unfortunately, it's a bit bent. Now I'm sure this can be easily remedied with a hairdryer, but it's still a disappointing detail on a statue packed in a box. It's plastic, so it's not as big of an issue as if it were polystone or something, but still worth pointing out.

   I have no idea what prompted McFarlane Toys to go after the Marvel license in order to make sure "lower end" statues but I'm curious to see how it pans out. McFarlane Toys does seem to have pretty wide distribution with merchandise in the largest retails and a pretty solid presence at GameStop, so these will definitely get on shelves and be in front of the eyes of many customers. I wasn't sold on these when I saw Deadpool in store I was pretty impressed. It's a very stylized take on the character and that's honestly kind of neat. I really do like Marvel Legends, sure, and collecting the X-Men and mutants is my primary focus there, so I have plenty of Deadpool figures. Of course, marvel Legends sticks to a pretty familiar "house" style, which I like, but it's neat so see something that is incredibly reflective of the original artwork. We might have this costume (or a pretty close version of it) in Legends, but it certainly doesn't look like that figure in it's aesthetic and proportions. For the price of these statues (the 1/10th scale statues are $29.99), I think McFarlane is in a pretty sweet spot. No, they're not action figures, but they can be fudged with Marvel Legends in some scenarios and they're nice-pickup for fans and collectors who want something they can display easily and not feel like they're breaking the bank in doing so. All things considered, I think this is a pretty Great take on Deadpool. McFarlane has another series of these planned in the 1/10th scale for the fall with heavy hitters like Venom, Miles Morales, Magneto, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Green Goblin all lined up. Magneto is based on X-Men #1 and looks to be hovering, which definitely catches my attention as another solid option that could probably work it's way into my Marvel Legends display.

   

   For more reviews of merchandise based on Deadpool/ Wade Wilson, check out my reviews of Mezco's One:12 Collective Deadpool, the X-Men Origins: Wolverine Deadpool and Comic Based Deadpool, the Toy Biz X-Men: X-Force Deadpool, and the Marvel Legends Deadpool in his boxers and Deadpool (X-Force).