While the world waits for more on Mezco's One:12 Collective superheroes, the company is steadily dropping new Star Trek characters to hold the fort. Not that we're complaining. For too long Star Trek's original cast has been relegated to some fairly unremarkable figures. The One:12 Collective has been a solid gold hit for Mezco since it started last year, and its latest additions should keep it trending upwards.

Joining Spock this year will be Hikaru Sulu, the fencing expert and senior helmsman of the original USS Enterprise. Since debuting in the '60s, Sulu went on to become an accomplished member of Starfleet in his own right, eventually captaining the USS Excelsior. As great as it was to see Sulu get proper accolades, he's most fondly remembered for his appearances on the original show, where George Takei made the Japanese physicist such an icon of science fiction. It's also the version Mezco is hoping to celebrate with its upcoming figure.

I love Sulu. The dude is a righteous bad-ass, and this figure just about pays tribute to his awesomeness. He's got a phaser, tricorder and communicator, all Trek staples, but it's the inclusion of his fencing saber that makes the package complete. Where most of the staffers of the USS Enterprise had hobbies, Sulu's is the only one that made him a certifiable ass kicker. I mean I guess you could count Kirk's ability to rip his clothes as a hobby, but Sulu's devotion to his craft gave him the air of a true swashbuckler aboard a bridge full of stiffs.

Like Spock, Sulu will come with two head sculpts to swap around. Unlike Spock, these portraits aren't as strong. The smiling Sulu head gets away with being a bit inaccurate more than the standard head, simply because it's emoting and hiding the imperfections. The standard head lacks the definition of George Takei's actual face. It's too rounded, and doesn't have sharp enough features, leaving the head looking a bit more generic than it deserves. It is still in prototype phase, so there's a chance Mezco might be able to turn things around, but as it stands right now, this is a really good Sulu figure instead of a really great one.

The Mezco One:12 Collective Star Trek Sulu is available for pre-order now for $70. Sulu's expected to release this summer.

 

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